From West Side Story to a talk on Monopoly

Ya by Kelsey Brookes

Art

Get cultured: Interior designer Amy Noel has good taste. For her Pre New Year’s Eve party at Suite 102, her new interior-design firm (750 West Fir St., Little Italy), she’s rounded up some pretty darn good food, music and art. From 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, Quint Contemporary Art will provide the artwork—so artists like Robert Barry, Kelsey Brookes, Roman de Salvo and Ryan McGinness will be on the wall—San Diego rockers Lion Cut will play the music and Bencotto Italian Kitchen will serve up the food. Free champagne and wine will be available, but try to keep things in check. This is a cultured affair, so save all your binge drinking and booty shaking for the real New Year’s Eve party the following night. quintgallery.com

Film 

It takes a village: Remember The Village, that crappy M. Night Shyamalan film with Joaquin Phoenix and Ron Howard’s daughter? It sucked. In Dogtooth (or “Kynodontas” in the film’s native Greek), director Yorgos Lanthimos takes a similar concept and gets it right. A couple keep their children captive in a walled world and teach them a different version of reality. Whereas The Village was PG-13, Dogtooth delves unrated into perversion, cruelty, incest and ridiculous dancing. The film won the Prix Un Certain Regard at Cannes, and CityBeat film critic Anders Wright calls it “one of the weirdest, buzziest films of the year.” Dogtooth opens Friday, Dec. 31, at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp (701 Fifth Ave., Downtown). Check readingcinemasus.com for showtimes.

Peace in: There’s something about the start of a new year that gets people focused on peace and prosperity and all that good stuff, which is awesome. The Red Lotus Society, a nonprofit that gets involved in peaceful activities all year round, will start 2011 off very peacefully with Peace in the Streets. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, more than 200 volunteers will spread out on the streets of Downtown San Diego to meditate, practice yoga, dance, paint and give hugs. Before hitting the streets, the society invites you to attend a light yoga and meditation class from 9 to 10 a.m. at its home base, the Ideal Hotel (540 Third Ave., Downtown). If you’re interested in being a volunteer, e-mail peace@redlotussociety.org. Or, you can simply head Downtown and witness the spectacle. redlotussociety.org

Spoken Word

Keep it comin': The literary cats behind So Say We All are on a mission to provide creatives of all mediums a forum in which to do their thing. It’s something this city desperately needs, which is why their recurring Video Art, Music, Performance (VAMP) nights are crammed with talented folks (they get tons of submissions, which means they pick the cream of the crop). This month’s theme, “Home for the Holidays,” promises stories, songs and performances involving Santa, baby Jesus and terrible Christmas gifts, so head to Whistle Stop Bar, 236 fern St. in South Park at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, to give it a listen. Then, at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, head back to the Whistle Stop to check out So Say We All’s newest creative forum, F*ck Alt Comedy, a night for aspiring comedians. sosayweallonline.com

Theater

Singin', dancin', brawlin',: With a price tag of $14 million, the production of West Side Story coming to San Diego this week had better be good, right? Truth be told, the classic interpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is almost impossible to screw up, what with its recognizable tunes, rich characters and forever-relevant moral on race relations in America. The production, which launched on Broadway on Feb. 23, 2009, will open Tuesday, Jan. 4, at the San Diego Civic Theatre (1100 Third Ave., Downtown) and run through Sunday, Jan. 9.So, reacquaint yourself with Maria, Tony, Anita, Riff and Bernardo (and don’t forget that bloodthirsty Chino!) and take in some amazing dance numbers. Check broadwaysd.com for tickets and showtimes. Oh, and— Krup you!

Monopolizing your time: Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Or, at least, don’t bother until you’ve heard what Timothy Vandenberg, the second-ranked Monopoly player in the country, has to say. The San Diego Museum of Man is bringing the sixth-grade teacher from Hesperia to town to complement the Counter Cultures: The Secret Lives of Games exhibit, which runs through April 2011. At 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 4, Vandenberg will speak (and share tips from his math-based strategy) at the next “Culture, Coffee and Conversation” event, Monopoly: Insights & Insider Trading from a tournament Perspective, in the Gill Auditorium (1350 El Prado in Balboa Park). Free with $10 museum admission. museumofman.org