Best Bets for the Break: A quick guide to online entertainment and virtual experiences

This is a continuing series of online activities to undertake on your computer or tablet during your quarantine quandary.

D-Day remembrance

• Residents are asked to ring a bell at 6:44 p.m. Saturday, June 6, in observance of the 76th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces invaded northern France during World War II. This is part of the Freedom Rings Global initiative. freedomrings.global

Lectures to answer questions on Netflix series

Join Chabad Jewish Center of RSF on Monday, June 15 at 7 p.m. for a Benedek Summer Lectures presentation. The virtual lecture features an honest discussion about the Netflix series Unorthodox. Hear the true facts from guest speaker Sara Berkovic, first cousin of Deborah Feldman (the main character and author of the book the series was portraying) and someone who grew up with her in the Satmar community in Williamsburg. Gain insight into many unanswered questions. Limited space.

By advance reservation only. Visit JewishRSF.com for more information or to register.

Lectures & learning

• June 8 at 5 p.m. Science Squawk hosts Amanda Caniglia and Steve Chapple with special guest, Dr. Patrick Whelan, MD, PhD, a pediatric specialist at UCLA, immunologist, rheumatologist and rare disease expert. Watch on BellaV TV YouTube Channel.

• The La Jolla Community Center’s Distinguished Speaker Series continues online at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 9. This session will feature Elaine LaLanne, a fitness expert, motivational speaker and author (and wife of late fitness icon Jack LaLanne), who will address the topics of fitness, health and longevity. Free. Registration is required via email at deborah@ljcommunitycenter.org.

• Warwick’s, Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke will host author Hannah McKinnon online at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. The free event features a discussion of McKinnon’s new book, “The View from Here.” For information, visit warwicks.com.

• Vanguard Culture presents “The Forum: Money Making for Creatives — Adapting and Thriving in Uncertain Times with Shaun Cassidy,” founder of Cassidy Creative Solutions. The online workshop will be held via Zoom from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 12. It is intended to help artists maneuver through the dozens of available resources for a donation. bit.ly/vc-moneymaking

New Documentary

Del Mar resident and filmmaker releases documentary on love and loss in a pandemic

KPBS is premiering “Expect A Miracle: Finding Light in the Darkness of a Pandemic,” a new documentary telling the dual story of the AIDS crisis in San Diego and Fraternity House — the only hospice in North San Diego County that took patients near death to give them a safe place to die with dignity and love. “Expect A Miracle” makes its world premiere on KPBS TV and at video.kpbs.org beginning Tuesday, June 9 at 9 p.m.

“I was initially hired to make a short grant video for Fraternity House. I really didn’t know what the place was about,” says Del Mar resident Jonathan Hammond, director and producer. “When I walked in the front door, it felt like it was like walking into a brick wall in that I was overcome with a mysterious, beautiful, horrifying, unknown emotion. I immediately asked my host what this place was exactly. It was a house where people had to come to die from AIDS. But now it’s a place where they come to live. Reflexively, I asked if I can make a documentary about this place, which isn’t anyone’s normal reaction judging from my host’s expression, but she immediately agreed.”

The riveting film centers on a handful of everyday people who became heroes, caring for a marginalized and persecuted population in a time of heightened fear, misinformation and mass rejection from their families, society and the government.

As scientific advancements progressed, changing the nature of the disease, Fraternity House also changed its general purpose — now giving the same population a place to re-learn how to live. And how to love.

“The fact that a movie about surviving a pandemic is coming out right now is a coincidence -- but one we really need. I want to tell this story because we live in dark times and I want to remind people that others found light in the dark. I want to remind people that they can be the light. A lot of people need to know that right now,” says Hammond.

The film is part of KPBS Explore, a local programming initiative to grow the quality and quantity of uniquely local content.

The 30-second trailer can be viewed at video.kpbs.org/video/expect-miracle-pb884c/

Cooking & creating

San Diego poet laureate Ron Salisbury will participate in an open-mic night online Friday, June 12.

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• The San Diego Poetry Annual and Border Voices Poetry Project present their first combined online reading and open mic event at 7 p.m. Friday, June 12, featuring San Diego poet laureate Ron Salisbury, Garden Oak Press author Al Zolynas, other published writers and any other participants who would like to share one poem. Free. Email mkklam@gmail.com to sign up and receive the Zoom link.

Family & children

• San Diego company A-Taste-of-Tech is offering a free online course that teaches website development for beginners. The videos, for all ages, guide students to create their own website. The videos can be accessed at bit.ly/tasteoftechwebsite.

Travel & outdoors

• You can tour Yosemite National Park virtually anytime from your screen through an interactive experience that includes more than 220 locations in Yosemite and surrounding areas. bit.ly/virtualyosemite

Art & culture

• The San Diego Museum of Art holds an online video series in partnership with Art of Elan at 6 p.m. every other Tuesday. Featuring musical performances inspired by works of art from the museum’s permanent collection, the concerts begin Tuesday, June 9, with a violin performance from Art of Elan Executive and Artistic Director Kate Hatmaker. Free via the museum’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/SanDiegoMuseumofArt.

• Scripps Ranch Theatre and Oceanside Theatre Company will hold an online reading of “The Longer You Wait” at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 6. The play, a romantic comedy-drama by Paul Coates set in San Diego, will be available via Zoom for a donation. scrippsranchtheatre.org/longer

• La Jolla Playhouse has postponed the scheduled June 9 premiere of “Binge,” the third show of its all-digital 2020 Without Walls Festival. The one-on-one Zoom performance piece involves a performer choosing an episode of a classic TV show for an audience member that they watch together as a means of opening a conversation. It’s personalized after the ticket buyer fills out a questionnaire. For updates and more information, visit lajollaplayhouse.org.

Virtual summer camps

• A virtual summer camp is available beginning Monday, June 15, from San Diego Junior Theater. Held via Zoom, each camp (available across all ages) offers innovative ways for children to participate and create remotely. juniortheater.com/classes

North Coast Repertory Theatre will hold virtual summer camps for budding thespians.

(Courtesy)

• North Coast Repertory Theatre offers performance-based theater camps online beginning Monday, June 15. Camps are offered at various times by age group and are designed to inspire children to learn new skills while creating theatrical fun. For information, visit northcoastreptheatreschool.org.

What have you found for entertainment from a (social) distance? Email your leads to efrausto@lajollalight.com. ◆