Get Out!: Your Weekly Guide to Family Events and More

The great outdoors beckons in Rancho Bernardo and beyond from May 12 to 18.

Take your favorite four-legged mate on a cruise or enjoy art in a beguiling seaside nature reserve. If you'd rather tap your toes there's a host of bands happy to help.

By the way, we know this is called “Get Out.” But there's one event on the list you don't have to leave home to be part of. Just a little curveball for a nice May weekend.

CLOSE TO HOME

• Where/when: , 11740 Bernardo Plaza Ct, Rancho Bernardo, 7 p.m. Thursday.

• Why go: See Dorothy confront witches, find friends, seek Oz and finally find that there's no place like home. Yep, it's the Wizard of Oz, presented by Extreme Youth Broadway, in six performances through May 22.

• Price: $6-$12.

• Where/when: , 14134 Midland Rd, Poway, Saturday and Sunday.

• Why go: Watch as the U.S. Navy and Marine bands lead the 17th annual Southern California Community Band Festival and Art Market. Performers trek to Poway from all over the southwest for the event.

• Price: Free.

• Where/when: Your house, Rancho Bernardo, Saturday.

• Why go: No, we're not showing up unannounced. But when your postal carrier comes around on Saturday, he or she will be prepared to do you a favor: if you want to hand in some extra cans or boxes of food that won't spoil leave them for the carrier. As part of Stamp Out Hunger day the items will be distributed to local food banks and pantries.

• Price: Free.

• Where/when: , 15498 Espola Rd, Poway, 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Why go: Not that dancing is hard to take, but Mary Poppins could make everything better. A Poway dance company, the Center for Creative Arts, re-tells the classic tale, entirely through dance. 

• Price: $8-$22.

BEST BETS, A LITTLE FARTHER OUT

• Where/when: Hornblower Cruises, 1066 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

• Why go: Does your pooch like to stick his head out the car window and feel the breeze in his fur? Then he just might love taking a cruise for “Pet Day on the Bay,” a fundraiser for the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. Tours also leave at noon and 1:30 p.m.

• Price: $10-$20, pets free.

• Where/when: Kit Carson Park, 333 Bear Valley Pkwy, Escondido, 11 a.m. Saturday.

• Why go: The Escondido East Rotary Club hosts a Military Appreciation Barbecue, including games, raffles and live music. 

• Price: $5-$10; free for active military and dependents.

• Where/when: Ski Beach, Mission Bay, Ingraham St & Vacation Rd, San Diego, 7 a.m. Sunday.

• Why go: Celebrate Israel's Independence Day with a fund-raising walk/run and bicycle ride, followed by a fair featuring performances and a chance to win a trip to the Holy Land. 

• Price: Free.

• Where/when: Torrey Pines Natural Reserve, 12600 N. Torrey Pines Rd. San Diego, 10 a.m. Sunday.

• Why go: “Art in the Pines” features a Plein Air contest, artists who work in all manner of media, food and live music, and the added bonus of benefiting the reserve's education programs for children.

• Price: Free.

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