San Diego is My Home

24
Apr

Saturday Spring Events

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Arts, Events & Happenings, Festivals, Food, Neighborhoods

Clearly spring has arrived in San Diego.  There are quite a few celebrate-spring type events to choose from this weekend.  Here is a sampling:

-The 5th Annual Spring Garden Festival - This one takes place at Cuyamaca College and is sponsored by the San Diego Watercolor Society. You, basically, go to the The Water Conservation Garden and paint. It’s free and outside…that’s a pretty big draw. The event is on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

-The 7th Annual Point Loma Garden Walk & Home Tour - This is exactly what it sounds like. You pay to go on guided tours of private gardens and homes in Point Loma. The proceeds benefit the Craniofacial Services at Rady Children’s Hospital. Good cause. Lots of fun. Check it out. this Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-The Linda Vista Multicultural Fair and Parade - Music, food, floats, artisans showing their skills…what’s not to like. The event is Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Linda Vista Road, just north of USD.

Enjoy the festivities.

09
Apr

Wine Festival

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Events & Happenings, Festivals, Wine Events

You don’t have to travel to Northern California or even Temecula to do some serious wine tasting.  This weekend you can stay in San Diego and…drink.

Friday (April 11th) is the first day of the California Wine Festival, complete with a wine tasting and silent auction.  The events start at 6:30 p.m. at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, Seaport Plaza. You can then stumble home (walk, take a cab or have someone else drive) and start the whole process over at a new location on Saturday. In fact, Saturday’s event even gets a different name. It’s the:   “Reds, Whites & Blues” on the Bay - A California Wine Festival.  The blues part deals with music events happening during the festival. See, it makes sense.

The second day of fun takes place at the Embarcadero Marina Park North. Again you get to engage in wine tasting, enjoy a festival, listen to music and take part in a live auction.  Sunday you rest and recuperate before heading back to work.

Two days of drinking in the sunshine. I’m not sure why you’d go anywhere else this weekend.

08
Apr

Art Auction

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Arts, Museums

Are you into art?  How about charity?  Well, you can combine the two.  The Museum of Contemporary Art is holding its 6th Annual Benefit Art Auction.  And you get to hang out in La Jolla.

The event is this Wednesday (April 9th).  The Silent Auction starts at 6:30 p.m.  The Live Auction (with the Vice President of Sothebys presiding) begins at 8:00 p.m.  The specifics go like this:  cocktail attired required.  Honestly, do you need to know more than that?  If so, think cocktails, light food and tickets prices starting at $100. 

01
Apr

The Superfrog

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Beaches, Exercise, Military

Love Coronado?  Love the Navy SEALs?  Love exercise?  Love at least one of those…?

Sunday (April 6th) is the Superfrog Triathlon.  That’s just the best name ever. It stands for a triathlon consisting of a 1.2-mile swim, 54-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run.  The highlight, of course, is that you get to race along with the SEALs.  The other good news is that this benefits a great cause.  The proceeds go to the Naval Special Warfare Foundation, an organization that honors those who have served in the sea commando services since WWII.

The event takes place at Silver Strand Beach.  You can register here.  Or, if you’re like me, just come out to watch people who are in such great shape get even more fit.

19
Mar

Wounded Marines

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Exhibits, Military, Special Shows

The Wounded Marine Careers Foundation has established the The Wounded Marine Training Center for Careers in Media to help Marines wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan train for alternate careers in journalism and filmmaking. The Center then assists the program’s graduates in finding job placements in those industries.

The Center is newly opened and ready for business. The faculty and facilities are impressive. The idea behind this is pure genius.  We all talk about doing something for injured servicemembers.  This Foundation is doing something. 

The first class graduates soon. A student film festival showcasing their work takes place this afternoon at 4:00 pm at the Center (4705 Ruffin Road).

18
Mar

World Water Week

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Environment, Food, Restaurants

In case you were wondering, it’s World Water Week.  As part of The Tap Project, a campaign to help bring clean and safe drinking water to children around the world through UNICEF, several San Diego restaurants are stepping up for charity.  In these establishments, you’ll have the opportunity to donate $1 for tap water.  The amazing part is that every $1 raised translates into clean drinking water for 40 days to someone who desperately needs it.

Participating area restaurants include: Aubergine, Celadon, Chive, Laurel, Stingaree, Rama, and JRDN.   The week ends March 22nd, so get out there and order some San Diego water.

10
Dec

Gwen Stefani Scholarship

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Emergency Situations, Neighborhoods

Gwen Stefani is best known as a singer and tabloid favorite.  She’s also a clothing designer and has a perfume line.  Now, she can add charity donor to her list of titles. 

Stefani recently set up the After-the-Fires Scholarship for high school seniors and college students who lost their homes as a result of the October wildfires.   She funded the scholarships through The San Diego Foundation with a $166,000 donation from her October concert in San Diego.  Who will get the scholarhsips and for how much has not been determined.  For more information, including deadlines, visit The San Diego Foundation.

06
Dec

The Gift Of iPods

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Emergency Situations, People

Some people lost everything in the recent fires that raced through our area.  Houses, furniture, security - all gone.  Remember being a kid?  Remember how “your stuff” mattered to you?  Well,  someone at Apple must remember because the company donated nano video iPods to 100 fire victim high schoolers in Poway last week.   

Poway resident Steve Boyack helped with fire clean-up.  He remembered that with past fires the community acted with great generousity toward the victims.  Some donated items for toy drives.  Others held special events for parents.  Inadvertently lost in all altruism were the high school kids. So, Boyack contacted Apple CEO Steve Jobs for help.  And Apple responded.  Apple’s goal is to get iPods to all kids who were victims of area fires.  A pretty great goal.

26
Nov

Sunday In The Park

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Events & Happenings

You have a second chance to participate in a terrific charity.  Due to the widlfires, the Komen San Diego Race For The Cure was rescheduled to this Sunday, December 2nd.  Approximately 14,000 locally and 1.5 million nationally take part in this run/walk to benefit cancer research every year.  If you don’t want to run/walk, you can opt to Sleep For The Cure.  Under this option, you sign up, pay the registration fee, get a shirt but don’t walk or run. 

For those running and walking rather than sleeping, the event will be held in Balboa Park (go to 6th and Quince) with a race start time of 8:00a.m.  Race day registration opens at 6:30a.m., and there’s a survivor’s celebration at 7:30a.m.  There’s also a health expo to keep you occupied.

11
Nov

Area Wins

Author: HelenKay, Category: All For Charity, Events & Happenings, Sports

The Breast Cancer 3-Day walk just came to a conclusion.  The statistics are amazing:  4600 people walked 60 miles to raise money to help find a cure.  San Diego was the last of the regional walks and the largest.  Walkers here raised $12.3 million for the cause.  

In a less impressive accomplishment, the Chargers hung on to win against the Colts yesterday.  The Chargers should have lost that one.  Tried to lose it.  Stopped playing offense in the second half.  Still, they somehow won.  Sometimes miracles happen.  Let’s hope one comes through for breast cancer research as well.