Want to party with Picasso, mingle with Monet, or socialize with Seurat? Want some culture with your cocktails, anthropology with your mixology, or art talk with your small talk?

Culture and Cocktails at Balboa Park.

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If the answer to any of the above is a “yes,” several of San Diego’s most popular museums are happy to oblige by holding after-hours mixer events on a regular basis. Designed to attract a somewhat younger crowd that might not ordinarily visit the various museums (mid 20s to 40, but all are welcome), these parties often center around a particular new exhibit or film, and include live music and/or performance art, wine and cocktails and sometimes munchies.

About every two months, the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park presents “Culture and Cocktails,” when the usual quiet hush of the museum is replaced by the low roar of the often packed-to-capacity crowd augmented by the throbbing sounds of DJ-spun tunes. Exotic cocktails and wine flow, the priceless artworks provide the dazzling backdrop, and new friends are made among the well-dressed crowd on both floors of the museum. The next Culture and Cocktails will be on Thursday, February 25, from 6-9 p.m. and will be themed around the exhibit, Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood. The event is free for museum members, $15 for the public.

Also on February 25, the neighboring Museum of Man will be hosting Tower After Hours, which is generally held on the last Thursday of every other month, from 6-8 p.m. Held on the main floor under the 100-foot high rotunda, Tower After Hours celebrates the rich heritage of different global cultures, and this month’s focus on Ireland is sure to give guests a headstart on enjoying St. Patrick’s Day. There will be Irish food and drink samples as well as lively music and dance performances to coincide with a month-long exhibition of traditional folk art. Admission is $10 for Musuem of Man members and $20 for the public, with special pricing for seniors, students, children and military.

Taking art to the edgier side, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Downtown will go out “On The Verge,” at its quarterly Thursday Night Thing (TNT) on March 25 from 7-10 p.m. This high-energy event will showcase radical artistic experimentation and innovation on the verge of the latest in contemporary art practice. Featuring the opening of newly commissioned works by artists Laerke Lauta, Ruben Ochoa, Lael Corbin and Mara De Luca, this TNT will include artist talks by each exhibiting artist, live music, DJs, art-making activities, and more. The evening is free to members, $10 for the general public and $7 for students.

On the third Thursday of every third month, Balboa Park’s Museum of Photographic Arts hosts POP Thursdays, blending cult classic films, such as The Lost Boys or The Big Lebowski, with photography exhibits, music and libations. Now, in its third year, POP Thursdays is particularly geared to artists, film buffs and photographers, but others will enjoy it as well. The event usually starts at 7 p.m., with the film shown at 8 p.m., and is free to MoPA members and $6 for everyone else.