The to-do list

Art 

Moon man

Interdisciplinary artist Wendell Kling has been crafting little eccentricities for decades, mixing sculpture, performance, music and visual art, and his new show at the Rotunda Gallery at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library (1008 Wall St., La Jolla) is no departure. Inspired by ’50s and ’60s science fiction, A Piece of the Moon World will include shadow boxes that incorporate interactive sound, stop-action animation and the transformation of the windows in the gallery. The opening reception, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, might not occur on the day the Earth stood still, but your surroundings might make you think otherwise. www.ljathenaeum.org.

Dreamy: From the sound of things, you shouldn’t let the title of the latest exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego—Automatic Cities: The Architectural Imaginary in Contemporary Art—lead you to think it comprises pictures of buildings. No, it promises to be a more abstract take on the impact of architecture on modern visual art, organized into four themes: architecture as language, memory, model and surveillance. Even the word “automatic” in the title is borrowed from surrealism, so expect the unexpected from 13 artists and one art collective assembled by curator Robin Clark. The multimedia show will run from Saturday, Sept. 26, through Jan. 31 at MCASD’s La Jolla location, 700 Prospect St. Also, artist Sarah Oppenheimer will give a talk on her role in the show at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. Free with museum admission. www.mcasd.org.

Dance 

Movers and shakers

A relatively new nonprofit troupe interested in nurturing teenagers’ interest in the performance arts, Stella Nova Dance Company is one of the only organizations of its kind in San Diego. But where interpretive dance can often be difficult to grasp, co-founders Molly Terbovich and Rayna Stohl set their choreography to familiar modern music (Animal Collective, Goldfrapp, etc.), giving the young dancers a hip soundtrack to contort their bodies to. Stella Nova’s season-opening show, The Magic of Mingling, includes choreography by Stohl and guests Yvonne Hernandez, Haley Young and Ellen Maynard. It kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, with two more performances at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center’s David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. $22. www.stellanovadance.org.

Books 

Mucho libre

In America Libre, our government responds to a bloody escalation of the immigration crisis by passing legislation that transforms the nation’s Hispanic communities into walled-off quarantine zones. Considering where we live, this worst-case scenario hits home and could very well be seen as the 1984 or Brave New World for Mexican immigrants living in Southern California. Raul Ramos y Sanchez, author of the International Latino Book Award-winning novel, will be at Mysterious Galaxy Books (7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in Clairemont) from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, to sign copies of the book, discuss immigration issues both in fiction and real life and explain how he balances storytelling with current events. mysteriousgalaxy.booksense.com.

Activism 

Singin’ ‘single’

Last week, Sen. Max Baucus unveiled a healthcare reform proposal that requires all Americans to buy health insurance but doesn’t provide a government-run insurance option. Hopes for the so-called “public option” are what liberals across the country have been clinging to in lieu of a single-payer healthcare system that hasn’t even gotten a fair hearing. But believe it or not, there are people still fighting for single-payer. Get an update of those efforts and learn how you can help at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at Sing Out for Single Payer, held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4190 Front St. in Hillcrest. Musicians Jason Luckett and Eric Schwartz will perform, and local actors will read from La Jolla playwright Anita Simons’ new work, Ladies for Single Payer. No one will be turned away, but a $10 donation is requested. E-mail asimonsays@gmail.com to get a seat.

Special Events 

Electric (and acoustic) avenue

You could very well call the Adams Avenue Street Fair the original Street Scene. Now in its 28th year, the fest features more than 70 bands and artists, and most are of the local persuasion. If you’re the type of person who loves to see a lot of the local acts but just doesn’t get out of the house much, this is your chance to see almost all of them in one day, spread out over six stages along Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. And while you’re not checking out Scarlet Symphony, The Zeros and Alexis Allan, you can partake of three beer gardens, carnival rides and games and food and craft vendors galore. It goes down from 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27. Free. www.adamsaveonline.com.

Sights and sounds

San Diego Symphony violinist Kate Hatmaker and flutist Demarre McGill’s chamber music series Art of Élan was designed to put the excitement back in classical music, and with added inspiration from pieces at the San Diego Museum of Art, it’s clear that there’s more depth and intrigue to these performances than it might seem at first glance. To open its third season, Art of Élan has chosen Edgar Degas’ “Dancer Fastening the Strings of Her Tights” as its focus for The Dance, which takes the audience through three centuries of dance music, including works by Debussy and Aaron Jay Kernis. Starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29 at SDMA’s Hibben Gallery (1450 El Prado, Balboa Park), the concert is followed by an optional Encore at The Prado, where the audience can eat, drink and converse with the musicians. $25. www.artofelan.org.

Fashion 

Hey, nice huipil

If you’ve been in the Mingei International Museum’s store lately, you may have seen some of the haute accessories courtesy of Mexico City-based Pineda Covalin, and the Mingei thought, Why not bring them in to do an entire fashion show? Mixing both traditional and contemporary Mexican fashion, the “them” in this case is Cristina Pineda and Ricardo Covelin, who started their company to craft extremely limited items—everything from ties and ponchos to handbags and huipiles (traditional Mexican blouses). The fashion show at the Mingei, at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, will also include music by Mexicali quartet La Pura Pulpa, food from Rosarito and wines from Baja wineries. $20 for non-members. www.mingei.org.