| Downtown San Diego E-News April 2010 |
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In This Issue
2010 Census - Very Important News ! March Event’s Details
* Indicates that this event is not covered in more detail in this publication. see also other Calendars of Events March
April
May
Library Hosts Opera Presentations The Central Library will host free presentations on San Diego Opera’s 2010 season featuring lecturer Dr. Ron Shaheen as part of the Opera Insights series. He will lecture on historical and cultural background, music analysis and plot synopsis of the two operas in question. The lectures will be held on Wednesdays at 5:30pm in the third floor auditorium of the Central Library, 820 E Street. The lecture schedule is as follows:
For more information 236-5800 / www.sandiego.gov/public-library / www.sdopera.com. St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival The annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade starts at 11am on Saturday 13 March from the corner of Sixth Avenue and Juniper Street adjacent to Balboa Park. It will then go west on Juniper to Fifth Avenue and then north to Upas, then east for a block and south on Sixth Avenue to conclude at Laurel Street. The parade judging platform will be on Fifth Avenue between Spruce and Thorn Streets. The same day an Irish Festival can be found along Sixth Avenue from Laurel to Quince Streets and runs from 10am to 6pm. It will be offering entertainment stages, a Kids Zone and a Celtic Village. Details of the events can be found at www.stpatsparade.org . Serving as parade Grand Marshal will be the oldest living Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, LT John Finn. He will be accompanied by other heroes of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War in a parade with about 150 entries. The festival and its entertainment are free and open to the public. Flavors of San Diego Culinary Gala The 7th Annual Flavors of San Diego Culinary Gala will be held on Monday 15 March at the downtown Omni Hotel, 675 L Street from 6pm to 10pm. The Flavors Gala is a national culinary event that spotlights San Diego’s premier chefs. Proceeds from the Gala will directly benefit the American Liver Foundation - Pacific Coast and Hawaii Division. During the Gala, each chef prepares a five course culinary extravaganza with wine pairings for their personal table of ten guests. The evening begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction. Guests go on to enjoy the signature cuisine and wine pairings of a celebrity chef, while also participating in a live auction featuring exciting trips, unique experiences, wine collections, personally hosted parties in their home by some of our featured chefs and more. For additional information Kristin Luton or Michele Calamari at 619-291-5483 / kluton@liverfoundation.org / www.liverfoundation.org . Tickets are $350 each. The Horizons Downtown Book Club will meet on Monday 15 March for a review and discussion of the One Book One San Diego selection for 2010, "Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town” by Warren Saint John. This is a true story of an inspiring group of refugees from the world's war zones who locate to a small southern town in Georgia. An American-educated Jordanian woman starts a youth soccer team unifying the refugee children and changing the entire community for the better. The discussion will be led by Heather Forward. The Book Club is open to everybody and meets in the Horizons South Tower Lounge, 510 First Avenue, at 7:30pm. It usually meets the third Monday of each month. For additional information Heather Forward, hhumblef@aol.com. Enoteca Style Open House There will be an open house at Enoteca Style in Little Italy on Tuesday 16 March from 5:30 - 7:30pm at the restaurant, 1445 India Street. There will be samples of Enoteca Style's signature menu items along with happy hour prices on wine. Reservations are requested to info@bamcommunications.biz 619-917-5109. Shamrock Festival on Saint Patrick’s Day There will be 60,000 square feet of green Astroturf, and three stages of live entertainment as the Gaslamp Quarter has its annual Shamrock Festival from 4pm to midnight on Wednesday 17 March. This year the main entrance is located at 5th Avenue and G Street. As usual Shamrock will be offering a designated driver program with free rides home anywhere in San Diego County to any of the expected 20,000 attendees. The proceeds from the event will benefit the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation. For further information www.gaslampquarter.org / 619-233-4692 / 5008. Belonging to be Shown At the Library This 2004 documentary will be shown free at the Central Library, 820 E Street, on Wednesday 17 March starting at 6:30pm in the auditorium on the third floor. Belonging is an investigation into the complex dynamic between those who remained in South Africa and risked their lives to lead the struggle against apartheid and those who left only to return victoriously after living in exile. Born into exile as the daughter of political émigrés, the heroine and her family return to their homeland, South Africa after the end of apartheid. Now a hip young woman with a British accent she finds herself struggling to find her place in the new South Africa. For additional information www.sandiego.gov/public-library. Friends of San Diego Architecture (FSDA) Celebrates 25 Years The FSDA continues its 2009-2010 lecture series on Saturday 20 March with Education & Enlightenment: Celebrating 25 years of FSDA. The lecturer will be Architect Ted Smith. On that day the monthly event will celebrate twenty-five years of FSDA. All lecturers from the first 25 years will be invited to the event. The lectures all take place at the New School of Architecture and Design, 1249 F Street at 9:30am on the third Saturday of the month eight times a year and are open to the public. They are not held in June, July, August and December. For further information 224-8584 / www.friendsofsdarch.com. Paper Airplane Festival In Balboa Park The San Diego Air & Space Museum will have their annual paper airplane festival on Saturday 20 March starting at 11am. Attendees of all ages will be able to engage in hands-on activities, competitions and participate in the mass launch at the end of the festival at 3pm. The competitions will include farthest flight distance, longest air time, and flight accuracy. Admission to the museum is required but up to four people under 18 will be admitted for free with one paid adult admission. For additional information www.areospacemuseum.org / 234-8291. Football Under Cover At the Central Library This documentary film is about women finding empowerment in a society with very limited rights for women. An amateur female soccer team from Berlin visits Iran to play against the Iranian female national soccer team that until now has never had the chance to play against another team. This will be the first female soccer match in the history of Iran. Iranian women are not allowed at stadiums to watch games and are not allowed to play with uncovered arms or legs or without headscarves. This movie will be shown at the Central Library, 820 E Street, in the 3rd Floor Auditorium non Wednesday 24 March at 6:30pm. For additional information www.sandiego.gov/public-library. Critical Mass Monthly Bicycle Ride San Diego Critical Mass is a loosely affiliated group of over 700 bicycle riders that take over San Diego streets and public rights of way to conduct a group bike ride on the last Friday of every month. The group meets at the large fountain in Balboa Park in front of the Ruben H. Fleet Theatre / Science Center and the National History Museum at 7pm and participants should be prepared for up to 20 miles of riding. The ride may go in any direction from the fountain but usually goes through downtown. The next ride will be on Friday 26 March followed by Friday 30 April. Additional information at www.sdcriticalmass.com. Japanese Art Show in Balboa Park The Taka Sumi-e Society will hold their annual free Art Show and Exhibition at the Casa del Prado in Balboa Park from 11am to 4pm on Saturday 27 March and Sunday 28 March. The show will be under the guidance of San Diego Community College instructor Takashi Ijichi. There will be performances by Japanese dancers and musicians as well as items of Japanese culture and traditions on display. Wearable art will be displayed and demonstrated. For further information Alice Rogow - obalice@pacbell.net / www.balboapark.org. Library Free Concert Series Continues On Sunday 28 March at 2:30pm the Winter/Spring Music Concert Series in the Central Library, 820 E Street, will continue with vocal music and piano. There will be a wide selection of music played and sung. For additional information contact the Central Library 236-5800 / www.sandiego.gov/public-library. On The Table At Spanish Village in Balboa Park A juried show of work by local artists of tableware items, i.e. dinnerware, vases, candlesticks, serving pieces, teapots, etc. This show will be open from Friday 2 April through Monday 12 April at Gallery 21 at Spanish Village in Balboa Park. An opening reception is scheduled on Friday 2 April from 4:30pm - 7:30pm. For further information John Conrad (858)759-6746 / www.clayartistsofsandiego.org. Lunch & Learn Series Continues The Downtown Sound Bites Speaker Series is held on the first Tuesday of every month from noon-1pm at the Downtown Information Center (DIC) in Horton Plaza. The DIC is located just above the CVS drug store between Victoria's Secret and Sam Goody's. You are asked to bring your own lunch to this free event and then listen and learn from a variety of interesting speakers all of whom will approach issues that are important to downtown's future. A question and answer period will follow each presentation. The event sponsor is CCDC and further information can be found at www.ccdc.com . The next scheduled event in the series is on Tuesday 6 April and the featured speaker is to be determined. San Diego State University (SDSU) Opens New Art Gallery in Downtown SDSU is opening a new art gallery housed in the historic Electra Building. The SDSU Downtown Art Gallery will open on 9 April, with an inaugural exhibition featuring three famous artists who are also SDSU alumni. The 2,000-square-foot gallery is located at the corner of Broadway and Kettner Boulevard. The space and construction cost of the new gallery were donated to SDSU by Bosa Development Corporation. The three artists represent different styles and generations within conceptual art, ranging from text paintings, horse sculptures made of found materials and modernist furniture installations. The opening exhibition will be on view until this summer. The Gallery will also provide a venue for lectures, symposia and a host of interdisciplinary events. Construction on the gallery began in fall 2009. The idea came about in the summer of 2003 when SDSU’s School of Art, Design and Art History opened a temporary exhibition space in the Gaslamp Quarter. The success of that gallery led to a collaboration with Center City Development Corporation (CCDC), in consultation with The San Diego Historical Society and the City of San Diego Planning Commission, to locate a permanent site for an off-campus gallery in downtown. Through this collaboration and the generosity of Bosa Development, a venue for the SDSU Downtown Gallery was established on the ground floor of a newly renovated and historic San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) power plant known as the Electra Building. The original Electra Building was built 99 years ago and started as a power-generating plant for John D. Spreckels’ San Diego Electric Railway Company. It soon became known as Station B. Throughout its seventy-two-years of operation Station B remained the primary energy-generating source for the city of San Diego. After closing its doors in 1983, Station B lay abandoned for twenty years before being restored through redevelopment and preservation by Bosa as a residential condominium tower (named Electra) was built over it. The gallery is free and open to the public five days a week, Thursday through Monday from 11am to 5pm. For additional information www.downtowngallery.sdsu.edu . Balboa Park Walk Walk San Diego will be conducting a walk through and around Balboa Park on Saturday 17 April starting at 9am at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street with a focus on the history and legacy of the 1915-1916 and 1935-1936 expositions that gave us many of the buildings and gardens that are in the Park today. It will cover some of the quirky trivia that characterized these fairs that in fact attracted visitors from all over the world. It is a four-mile walk on generally level terrain with a few modest uphill sections. For further information Dave Schumacher at dsc@sandag.org / www.walksandiego.org. Chicano Park Celebrates 40th Anniversary The 40th annual Chicano Park Day will be held 24 April from 10am to 5pm in the park that is located in the Barrio Logan section of downtown under the Bay Bridge. This family event is free and open to the public. Established in April 1970 Chicano Park has received international recognition as a major public art site for its commanding mural paintings. Some of the murals are painted on the supports for the Bay Bridge. This year’s keynote speaker will be Nita Gonzales, president and CEO of a private school in Denver. There will be various musical artists performing at the event. For more information, call 563-4661 / www.chicano-park.org . Twenty-Sixth Annual Mission Federal Art Walk The Mission Federal Art Walk will take place in Little Italy on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April from 11am to 6pm along India Street from Beech Street to Fir Street. It will also branch out from India Street onto the cross streets. Art Walk started out as an event that featured open galleries throughout downtown but when Sony became the title sponsor they took it into Little Italy excluding the remainder of downtown where it has remained until today. It is also no longer open galleries but now consists of booths set up for just that weekend in Little Italy. Mission Federal Credit Union is the current title sponsor as they have been for several years. For additional information www.missionfederalartwalk.org . The Port of San Diego is calling for artists to propose creations for a sculptural artwork exhibit for the North Embarcadero. The new exhibit is to be called Urban Trees 7. The current exhibit of thirty trees, called Urban Trees 6, will remain in place along the North Embarcadero until September of this year. Up to thirty artists (or artist teams) will be selected to create original sculptural artworks for display in Urban Trees 7. They will be displayed along Harbor Drive between the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal and Hawthorn Street. Submittals must be received by the Port's Public Art Department not later than 5pm (PDST) on Monday 3 May. Art Work from all prior Urban Tree exhibits is available for purchase. The Port does not have any involvement in the sale or price negotiations, nor does it receive any percentage of the sale. For additional information 619-686-7246 www.portofsandiego.org Framework Completed for Broadway Pier Cruise Ship Terminal The structural steel framework for the new multi-use cruise ship terminal that is under construction on Broadway Pier has been completed. Workers celebrated with a traditional topping off ceremony on 9 February by placing an American flag and live tree on the top beam. The tree signifies that work was completed without any injuries. About 2.5 million pounds of steel, that began arriving at the pier in December of last year, was fabricated in Santa Ana California and used to construct the frame of the 52,000-square foot two-story building. When completed, the Broadway Pier cruise ship terminal will be able to accommodate 2,600 passengers at one time. The new building will also serve the public as a space for events and gatherings. The first 400 feet of the pier can be utilized for public events as can an area on the west side of the terminal. Inside on both levels of the building there will be more public event space. Scheduled for completion in December of this year it will be the Port’s first green building and is being designed and constructed to qualify for silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. For additional information www.portofsandiego.org. BMW Oracle Racing Team Honored Aboard USS Midway Museum Officials from the Port and City of San Diego along with the general public gathered to celebrate the America's Cup winning BMW Oracle Racing team on Sunday 21 February aboard the USS Midway Museum. BMW Oracle won the 33rd America's Cup match off Valencia Spain 14 February. The victory returns yachting's oldest active trophy competition in international sport to the United States after a 15-year absence. San Diego hosted the Oracle team while it trained off of Point Loma for 16 months during 2008 and 2009. Mayor Sanders asked Larry Ellison to make San Diego the home for the future defense of the trophy. Larry Ellison is the founder of Oracle and bankrolled the team. The BMW Oracle team represents San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club and Ellison said San Francisco was his first choice to defend the trophy but he also said that the decision of where the match would take place could only be made after he talked with representatives of several countries who would compete for the trophy. For additional information www.bmworacleracing.com . Free Downtown Tours: North Embarcadero Walking Tours The Maritime Museum of San Diego is offering guided Historic Walking Tours along the North Embarcadero. The free tours last a little under an hour and are offered twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 11am and 1pm. They will be held through Sunday 27 June 2010. The Historic Walking Tours, which are sponsored by the Port of San Diego, cover about one mile along the waterfront. The tour begins in front of the USS San Diego Memorial at the foot of G Street at Harbor Drive, just south of the USS Midway Museum. Those wishing to take the tour can spot the tour guide by looking for a blue and white Maritime Museum flag. On the tour you will see and learn about:
The tours are first come, first served. Please note that the tours have been temporarily suspended because of a problem but are expected to resume shortly. Please call the Maritime Museum, Robyn Gallant at 619-234-9153 x123 for further information. Sofia Hotel Downtown Walking Tours Each weekend on Saturday and Sunday the Sofia Hotel offers complimentary guided two mile walking tours of downtown that include the Gaslamp Quarter and the bay front area. The tours are open to all and not just guests of the hotel. No reservations are needed and the tours leave from the lobby of the hotel at 9am. The Sofia Hotel is at 150 West Broadway at the corner of Front Street. For additional information 619-234-9200.
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The Port of San Diego is offering a new series of free bus tours that will take members of the public along the tidelands and behind the scenes of the working waterfront. Participants can now choose to start their tour in either Chula Vista or Coronado. On the two-hour tour, the public will learn about San Diego Bay and what the Port and its tenants are doing to protect the tidelands. On the tour you will also become familiar with Port operations, see shipbuilding and repair facilities, and get an up-close look at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and the National City Marine Terminal. Many of the areas on the tour are normally off-limits to the public due to security concerns. Space is limited so early reservations are suggested. Make your reservations online www.portofsandiego.org/tours or by calling 619-686-8008. Due to shipyard security restrictions, participants must be 18 years or older and must also show proof of US citizenship or permanent residency. Free Downtown bus tours offer close-up views of downtown's unique neighborhoods and highlight recently completed and upcoming new projects. All tours begin at the Downtown Information Center (193 Horton Plaza) just above the CVS drug store between Victoria's Secret and Sam Goody. Most tours are on Saturday and reservations are required. Please call 235-2222 for reservations or further information. Masthead & Disclaimer All items in this publication are the opinion of the writer of the piece. Any item without a named author is the responsibility of the editor. Any submissions for inclusion in this publication should be submitted to the editor. All telephone numbers are in the 619 area code unless otherwise noted.
Editor, Stan Marder, smarder1@alum.ups.edu
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