If you like getting up early, enjoy a walk in the park, and want to support a worthy cause, you’re in luck. The 21st Annual AIDS Walk & Run San Diego, the largest one-day HIV/AIDS fundraiser in San Diego County, is being held Sunday, September 26.

The 5K walk starts at 8:05 AM, and the 10K run starts at 8:00 AM. The starting point is in Balboa Park near the corner of Sixth Avenue and Quince Street. Online registration is available, and you can register in person on the day of the walk/run starting at 6:00 AM at the registration tent at Sixth Avenue and Olive Street.

Supporting local HIV/AIDS services is especially important this year, when the state has been hit with record unemployment and medication assistance programs have been cut. Funds are desperately needed for testing, prevention, education efforts, treatment for those with low incomes, or counseling for those infected and affected. The money raised at this event stays here in San Diego and supports dozens of local groups and programs which might not otherwise exist.

I’ll be walking with the Qualcomm team, as I have for the last 5 years. Show you care and make a donation today!

If you like getting up early, enjoy a walk in the park, and want to support a worthy cause, you’re in luck this week. The 20th Annual AIDS Walk San Diego, the largest one-day HIV/AIDS fundraiser in San Diego County, is being held this Sunday.

The 5K walk starts at 8:05 AM, and the 10K run starts at 8:00 AM. The starting point is in Balboa Park near the corner of Sixth Avenue and Quince Street. Online registration is now closed, but you can register in person starting at 6:00 AM at the registration tent at Sixth Avenue and Olive Street.

Supporting local HIV/AIDS services is especially important this year, as state budget cuts have slashed funding by $1 million in San Diego and $83 million statewide. That’s money that won’t go to testing, prevention, education efforts, treatment for those with low incomes, or counseling for those infected and affected. The money raised at this event stays here in San Diego and supports dozens of local groups and programs which might not otherwise exist.

I’ll be walking with the Qualcomm team. Show you care and make a donation today!

Ozomatli, out of the City of Angels, play a collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga. I’ve been a fan since their first album and have seen them perform at venues small and large. Their live show is a high-energy delight. Now, they are returning to San Diego as headliners at the 5th Annual San Diego Healing Arts Festival on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 in Balboa Park. I don’t know about the Healing Arts Festival, but a little Ozo will cure what ails me!

Also appearing and not to be missed:
The Greyboy Allstars
Buck-O-Nine
Pau Hana
Lady Dottie & the Diamonds

It’s Spring Break in Canada, and I’m happy to be hosting visitors to San Diego this weekend. To keep it fun, I’ve got a five sure-fire tips to pass along.

We took our guests to Torrey Pines State Park on Friday afternoon and cruised down to Flat Rock, watched dolphins play in the surf, and enjoyed the bluffs, caves and tidepools. Our friends loved Torrey Pines and said it was more fun than the outrageously expensive and crowded Disneyland experience they’d had the previous day. (more…)

Museum of Man in Balboa Park

In a move that may encourage San Diegans to discover the cheap thrills available in hard times, 3 local museums are offering half-price admission every day before noon.

From this Sunday until May 25, admission to the Mingei International Museum (normally $7 for adults), the Museum of Man (normally $10 for adults), and the Museum of Photographic Arts (normally $6 for adults) will be half-price between 10 AM and 12 PM. All three museums are located in Balboa Park.

For more information and a list of current exhibits, please see this press release. You can also follow MOPA on Twitter at @MoPAsd.

If you’re an early bird, take this opportunity to save a few bucks and get a little culture!

photo courtesy of sandiegohistory.org

When Peg mentioned last week that the San Diego Historical Society will no longer be maintaining two of San Diego’s most beautiful historic properties due to overhead in this painful economy, it really bummed me out.   I have such respect for local vintage architecture, both well-known and hidden gems.  From the many tiny post-war bungalows in our coastal communities to the semi-famous Cabrillo Bridge over 163 (which caught fire in 1951 and again in 2004), the architecture of this city deserves to be respected, preserved and protected.

Of course, we can’t blame the SDHS, they are doing everything they can in a city that has many valuable sites.  This economy is hard on everyone and spare clams are hard to come by, but even just a little support of the San Diego Historical Society could help.

You can become a member from $35/year and and if you aren’t into that, you could always visit the Museum and exhibits they offer.  The Museum of San Diego History is one of my favorite museums in the city– it holds so much wonderful information.  It’s only $6 to get in and every 2nd Tuesday of the month, it’s totally free.  Who doesn’t love free?

Got a wedding in your future?  If you’re planning an event, the San Diego Historical Society has several incredible locations to choose from, so that is another way to benefit the preservation of our local history.

If you’re an About San Diego junkie like myself or you just love old buildings, please “spare a square” and support the San Diego Historical Society and Museum of San Diego History soon… before they’re forced to give up other incredible sites.

Villa Montezuma - photo courtesy of San Diego Historical Society

The San Diego Historical Society recently announced it can no longer maintain two historic properties, the Marston House and Villa Montezuma.

The Marston House, built in 1906 by city father George Marston, was closed to the public last Sunday, February 15. It’s especially ironic that the SDHS will no longer be maintaining it, as Marston helped found the society 81 years ago. The property is located at the edge of Balboa Park on Seventh Avenue.

Villa Montezuma, a Queen Anne gem built in 1887, has been closed for repairs since 2006. It’s located on K Street in Sherman Heights.

Both properties will be handed back to the city of San Diego. Given our city’s current financial state, it’s probable that another entity would be needed to raise funds, maintain the properties and reopen them to the public.

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