Welcome to the WOW Festival FAQ page. The best place to gather information about visiting WOW Festival is the Plan Your Visit page, where many of your questions may be answered. Below we have included extra information and links to help make your visit smooth and fun.
If your question is not answered, please contact Patron Services and we will do our very best to assist.
Patron Services
[email protected], (858) 550-1010
Non-Festival Hours
Tues – Sat, 12pm – 6pm
Closed Sun and Mon
Festival Weekend Hours
Thu 4/24, 4pm – 8:30pm
Fri 4/25, 4pm – 9:30pm
Sat 4/26, 10am – 9:30pm
Sun 4/27, 10am – 6pm
WOW Festival is open during the hours noted below. For specific event times please see event pages.
Performance showtimes from:
Thursday, 4/24: 4pm – 8:30pm
Friday, 4/25: 4pm – 9:30pm
Saturday, 4/26: 10am – 9:30pm
Sunday, 4/27: 10am – 6pm
For in-depth information for how to get to WOW Festival, including transportation, parking, and other options, please visit our Plan Your Visit page.
Your Festival Schedule
– Take a moment to plan your Festival with the My Schedule builder. Whether viewing in our full event list or on individual show pages, you can now select the “Add to My Schedule” button on each event that interests you and add it your own schedule.View the events added to your list by selecting the “View My Schedule” link in the main menu of the website. The schedule opens as a pop-up window and sorts your events by date and time, with options to add individual events directly to your own personal calendar apps. You can also use this view to print or email your carefully curated plan to yourself. To revisit your schedule and make edits later we encourage you to use one device to plan your Festival schedule – the schedule will not transfer between devices.
Please note that ticketed events will still require you to purchase tickets through the website – adding a ticketed event to your Schedule does not mean a ticket has been purchased. To view tickets you have bought, click the “VIEW TIX” button at the top of this site. Your login allows you to view all your purchased tickets.
Timing between events – We recommend leaving 15 minutes between events that take place in different buildings to give you time to walk to your next event. Durations are listed on event pages. The WOW Festival home page has handy buttons to help you find the events happening on the day you will attend. Check out our comprehensive ‘How to WOW’ guide for events listed by day and by hub, suggested schedules, map links and more.“First Look” projects are an opportunity to be part of the very first audiences to experience a new artistic project and to play an important role in helping to grow these works, often influencing future iterations. Collaboration between artists and San Diego audiences is vital. Creators of First Look projects range from first-time artists to seasoned professionals developing site-specific and immersive pieces. Showcasing First Look projects at WOW Festival is a cornerstone of La Jolla Playhouse’s mission to develop “the new and the next” artistic works, contributing to the future of American art and the creative canon.
There is no entry fee. Many WOW Festival events are free to attend and a limited number require a ticket purchase to attend, as detailed on event pages.
WOW Festival 2025 features over a dozen free events and a limited number of events with tickets for purchase.
Ticket Required – Tickets are required for a limited number of events and help ensure you have a place reserved just for you. Projects that require RSVPs include: American Dream Casino, Burnout Paradise, Black Magic Variety Hour, Bring Back the Happening, Escape the Box, Marcel Lucont’s Whine List, The Society of Historic Sonic Happenings (SHSH), and Tale Travelers.
Just Show Up Events – Enjoy these events for free. Start times and opening hours are noted on the event pages. No RSVP or ticket needed. Projects that you can just show up for: Artists Everywhere, Audience Lip Sync Spectacular, Creation Station, FIREBIRD, Garden, Goldilocks Screentime, Green Memories, How to Put On a Sock, I SEE YOU LIKE THIS, Layers, Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles, ODDISEA: A Puppet Procession, Shifting Horizons, Summer Break, THE JUMP UP! Featuring Sandbox Percussion, Steven Schick, and local community percussionists, The Weather Busters of Beachcastle, and when my body talks.
Please reference individual event pages for specific performance times or visiting hours.
On the event information pages, simply click the BOOK TICKETS button and follow the prompts to purchase tickets for paid events.
The WOW Festival home page has handy buttons to help you find the events happening on the day you will attend.
There are no physical tickets for WOW Festival. You will receive a confirmation email for the projects that you RSVP for, please make sure to keep that email for your records.
No problem! You can review all your reserved performances by clicking the “VIEW TIX” button or logging into your La Jolla Playhouse account here.
Paid tickets to WOW Festival are reserved in line with La Jolla Playhouse’s Terms and Conditions. If you can’t make it, consider calling the Box Office to donate your ticket back so another patron can enjoy the performance.
Contact Patron Services at (858)550-1010 or [email protected].
Yes! A WOW Festival map is coming soon and will be available on the website to download and print. Maps will also be available at the Festival.
We invite you to explore an interactive Google Map with all WOW Festival events, convenient restrooms, and dining options marked for your convenience. This is also found in our Map section on our Plan Your Visit page.
WOW Festival venues are accessible by walking and are wheelchair accessible. The closest parking is the Gilman Parking structure. Please see our Getting to WOW Festival section on our Plan Your Visit page.
For Tale Travelers audiences will meet at the entrance of the Geisel Library on UCSD’s campus. ADA accessible parking and an additional entrance can be found down the asphalt driveway off Hopkins. Guests can then ring the buzzer and library staff will escort guests inside. See more information here.
Yes. For a comprehensive list of the venues that make up the 2025 WOW Festival, please visit our Venues page.
To fully enjoy WOW Festival 2025 and the variety of unique art experiences we recommend that attendees bring:
- A portable charger for your electronic devices. We also encourage you to tag us on social media @lajollaplayhouse and #WOWFestSD
- You are welcome to bring low lawn chairs and blankets, but with action happening around campus, be prepared to move locations throughout the day.
- Bring a hat, sunscreen, snacks and water – WOW Festival is almost entirely outdoors
Check our the Food and Drink page for info about vendors on site at UC San Diego
What to Bring: Show Specific
Bear | Goldilocks Screentime
Seating will be available on the lawn, we recommend bringing a small lawn chair as well as blankets and jackets for evening performances.
Matthew’s Quad | Escape the Box
We recommend wearing comfortable shoes.
Epstein Family Amphitheater | FIREBIRD and THE JUMP UP! Featuring Sandbox Percussion, Steven Schick, and local community Percussionists
This venue is outdoors and includes walking and sitting, we recommend dressing warm.
The Loft | Marcel Lucont’s Whine List and Black Magic Variety Hour
Attendees must have a valid ID to order alcohol.
Town Square | Summer Break
Seating will be available on the lawn, we recommend bringing a small lawn chair as well as blankets and jackets for evening performances.
Warren Mall | Audience Lip Sync Spectacular, Layers, Shifting Horizons, Summer Break, The Weatherbusters of Beachcastle
Seating will be available on the lawn, we recommend bringing a small lawn chair as well as blankets and jackets for evening performances.
WOW Festival is operating under UC San Diego’s guidelines. UC San Diego does not permit animals other than registered service animals on campus.
Service animals trained to perform specific tasks are welcomed at UC San Diego in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Per ADA, service animals are dogs or miniature horses individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.
UC San Diego food vendors will be open during the WOW Festival at multiple venues across the campus. For a list of vendors and their availability please visit our Food and Drink page.
Pro Tip: Use our WOW Festival Google Map to plan your meal around the same area your event is located.
WOW Festival takes place at UC San Diego and will adhere to campus rules. Please be aware of the below restrictions as you plan your WOW Festival experience.
UC San Diego Campus
- Weapons are prohibited on campus. For more information please visit here.
- Only service animals trained to perform specific tasks are permitted on the UC San Diego Campus.
- Guests are not permitted to bring their own alcohol to WOW Festival or the UC San Diego campus. Alcohol will be available at the Epstein Family Amphitheater and must be consumed at this location.
- Smoking, the use of smokeless tobacco products, the use of unregulated nicotine products and the use of electronic smoking devices (which includes e-cigarettes) is strictly prohibited on all University controlled properties. Visit Smokefree.ucsd.edu for complete information about this System-wide policy.
UC San Diego Epstein Family Amphitheater
- Prohibited items include: strollers, large backpacks, large blankets, flags, tobacco products, alcohol, cans, bottles, ice chests, picnic baskets, lawn furniture, weapons of any kind, umbrellas, pets, hula hoops, musical instruments, laser pointers, bicycles, and skateboards. Cameras with a detachable lens of any kind and professional recording devices are not allowed, including GoPros. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
Please reference the Patron Notes section for each project that you’re interested in participating in/attending, located towards the bottom the event page.
Comfortable shoes are highly recommended to enjoy a full day of WOW. Festival-goers may prefer to bring a blanket and wear layers for the cool evenings.
Some WOW Festival projects will have limited seating available. For projects with a required reservation and a limited capacity, attendees should plan to arrive on time to ensure their seat or place; shows will not be held for latecomers.
If you are not able to stand for long periods of time, we recommend that you bring a folding lawn chair or picnic blanket for projects where you may enjoy sitting, but for which no chairs are provided.
If you are experiencing an emergency while on the UC San Diego campus, please call (858) 534-4357 (534-HELP) if using a cell phone. Notify the police of the injured person and location. For a full list of campus emergency contacts please click here.
Note: When using a cell phone to call for an emergency on campus, dial (858) 534-HELP. Dialing 911 from a cell phone will reach the nearest California Highway Patrol, and not the UC San Diego Campus police.
You can contact Patron Services and we will do our very best to assist.
Patron Services
[email protected], (858) 550-1010
Tuesday – Saturday, 12pm – 6pm
Closed Sunday and Monday