Update June 21, 2013: The Council's final vote, originally scheduled for July 25, has been postponed to July 9 due to a key staffer's vacation schedule.

By Miriam Raftery

June 20, 2013 (El Cajon ) – The El Cajon City Council has allotted $2.8 million in its budget to restore and reopen the East County Performing Arts Center (ECPAC)  next summer, Councilman Gary Kendrick told ECM.  “I proposed  that we open up the performing arts center and everyone was on board with that. We’re out of the great recession,” he added. “This is a time to do great things for the city.”

The money  set aside and will be available as of July 1, 2013,”said Kendrick.   Council voted unanimously for a preliminary budget with the ECPAC funding and will take a final vote on Tuesday, July 9.  “People interested in the performing arts center should definitely come for Tuesday’s meeting.”

June 15, 2013 (San Diego) – The world premiere of the documentary film “Who are My People?”, presented by the Activist San Diego, will be June 22, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Joyce Beers Uptown Community Center, 3900 Vermont Street, San Diego.  The film created by Robert Lundahl is about the environmental struggles, indigenous lands and native peoples.  Lundahl and several tribal elders and leaders will attend the premier.

June 11, 2013 (El Cajon) – The summer series of the San Diego County Library Acoustic begins in June.  Erika Davies will be performing June 15 at 2 p.m. at the El Cajon Branch, 201 E. Douglas, El Cajon.  Davies first came to local attention singing with former Rugburn Gregory Page before striking out on her own as a solo artist.

The Acoustic Showcase offers a variety of some of San Diego’s very best singer/songwriters, folk music performers and story tellers.  The concerts are free to the community.

May 30, 2013 (El Cajon ) – Round up the art lovers and music lovers in your family for the third annual Western Music Jubilee on Saturday, June 1 starting at 7 p.m. at the Cuyamaca Performing Arts Center.   The show stars Sourdough Slim, Dave Bourne, Mary Kaye, and the Red Hot Rhythm Rustlers.

It’s all to benefit educational programs at the Olaf Wieghorst  Museum in downtown El Cajon.Wieghorst was one of America’s premier western artists.  A cowboy and cavalryman who once pursued Pancho Villa,  his paintings hung in the White House and were owned by three presidents: Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

May 23, 2013 (San Diego) – The Salvation Army Kroc Center’s Kroc Kids Junior Theatre Company presents a performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS on May 24 & 25 at 7 p.m. and May 26 at 2 p.m. at The Joan Kroc Theatre.

The show will feature local talent ranging in age from 6 to 18, led by a professionally acclaimed production team including: Director and Choreographer – Laura Hodge, Musical Director – David Kamatoy, and numerous others.

May 10, 2013 (El Cajon)--Ally Benbrook, an artist and resident of El Cajon, took the third place award in San Diego Watercolor Society’s May show. Her watercolor, Last Connection #4, is one of a series of paintings the artist is currently producing which illustrate in harsh reality the connection between human beings and their dogs. 

In discussing his selection process, juror Mark Smith said he was drawn to the painting because of its urban patterning, its stylized forms and the artist’s smart use of a limited color palette.

May 8, 2013 (Spring Valley) – David and Mary Cuzick will be holding a Mother’s Day show and pottery sale at their studio at 9204 Campo Road, Spring Valley on May 11 and 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Featured artists are David Cuzick, Mary Cuzick, Evan Lopez, Frederick de la Cruz and Rachael Blackmore.  American Art pottery, dinnerware, planters and much more will be featured. 

Please call 619-461-3019 for more information or visit www.cuzickpottery.com.

By Ali McCall

April 12, 2013 (Jacumba Hot Springs)--Spend a cool afternoon jammin’ to some blues that won’t “tax” your wallet at  the free Jacumba Blues Fest on Saturday, May 4 in Jacumba Hot Springs. 

The festival, sponsored by the Jacumba Arts Council, runs from 12-8 p.m. at Highland Community Center on Olde Highway 80. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy food as well as cold, non-alcoholic beverages while you listen to some “smokin’ blues,” organizers suggest.

May 1, 2013  (Spring Valley) – Under the direction and choreography of mother-daughter team Michelle Mullen and Chelsea Mullen, a Steele Canyon High School senior, and Beatriz Corral, musical director, Young Actors’ Theatre is pleased to announce the upcoming The Little Mermaid, a beloved and family-friendly tale. The Little Mermaid will run for eight performances in the intimate setting of the ENCORE! Theater located in Spring Valley.

The tale tells the story of a magical kingdom fathoms below, where the beautiful young mermaid Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father King Triton, make a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula, and convince Prince Eric that she’s the girl with the enchanting voice. The Little Mermaid is based on the Hans Christian Andersen Story and the Disney Film produced by Howard Ashman & John Musker and written & directed by John Musker and Ron Clements.

By Miriam Raftery

April 28, 2013 (Rancho San Diego)—Cuyamaca College hosts its 5^th annual Coyote Music Festival from 12-5 p.m. on May 4, featuring nine bands/solo artists on two stages showcasing their original music compositions.

Performers will take stage on the grand lawn on campus at 900 Rancho San Diegio Parkway in El Cajon. Genres at this event, which has free admission, include acoustic, rock, and folk by these talented home-grown songwriters.

The music festival is produced by students in the Music Industry Seminar class.  You’ll find plenty of shade and free parking.  For details and directions, see:  www.coyotemusicfest.com .  Scroll down to see the complete line-up.

How exactly do an East Country actor and a San Diego homeless man become friends? Theatre, of course.

Story and photo by Ron Logan

April 22, 2013 (Little Italy, San Diego) – Jerry is homeless. He likes movies and the arts. As a younger man he enjoyed watching the filmmaking students at Long Beach State University as they created their films near his home. As it turns out, he also has a knack for theatre.

Jerry is one of the estimated 10,000 homeless in San Diego County. He is a pleasant man. A San Diego native; intelligent, well-spoken and polite. Nearly 56 years young, he has been on the streets for about seven years now.

When I first heard about Jerry I assumed he might have fallen on hard times and wasn't very happy – that he didn't have control of his situation. I was wrong.

Event is prelude to nine days of music, with Ramona Bluegrass Festival May 4-5 as finale

April 13, 2013 (Ramona)–Sara Petite and a variety of exceptional music artists will rock Dos Picos County Park during the sixth annual Ramona Music Fest on Saturday, April 27. The event will feature headlining acts, well-established performers and exciting local talent. This is the kick-off event for the nine days of music in Ramona, rolling into the Ramona Bluegrass & Old West Fest ending with the Ramona Bluegrass Festival the following weekend.

Among those set to appear on two stages are the Combos, HarryJoe Reynolds, Ramona High School Royal Blues Jazz Band, the Shirthouse Bluegrass Band, and Roy Rapid and the Rhythm Rock Trio. Musical styles will include ska, rock, Americana, rockabilly, blues, jazz and bluegrass.

Daughters of the Appalachians debuts April 25-27

By Miriam Raftery

April 13, 2013 (La Mesa) – A 76-year tradition returns to La Mesa with the revival of the Lamplighters Community Theatre.  On April 25-27, the group will present “Daughters of the Appalachians”  in the Lamplighters’ first performance since 2006, when the old theater was torn down to make way for the new La  Mesa police station.

The theatrical group was founded back in 1937, originally known as the La Mesa Little Theatre. In 1976, the organization became Lamplighters Community Theatre, performing in the Ben Polak Fine Arts Center until its demolition force the limelight to go dark.  But now , like a phoenix, the group has found new life—and a new theater is rising in La Mesa, a city which just celebrated its centennial. The new Lamplighters theatrical performances will take place at the La Mesa Village Center, 5915 Severin Drive in La Mesa, at the corner of Severin and Amaya drives.

April 18, 2013 (La Mesa) – Biz Center Art, the art gallery in residence at the La Mesa Biz Center, is featuring art based on the idea of "POSSIBILITIES", what is possible in the creative mind of an artist with an opening reception from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 20th. Local artists' work will be shown, as well as our feature artist Peter Hammar, a New York artist from Stockholm Sweden. There  will also be work displayed by the STAR program, survivors of trafficking.

The "Possibilities" opening is  a fundraiser for STAT (Soroptimists Together Against Trafficking) program. Representatives will be on hand to discuss their projects and there will be a raffle of art by Biz Center artists as well as various services by tenants of the La Mesa Biz Center.

By Paul Kruze

April 11, 2013 (El Cajon)--Members of the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) Board on Wednesday night decided in principle (with no formal vote) to begin exploratory talks with the City of El Cajon on becoming a partner in the operation of the troubled East County Performing Arts Center (ECPAC) , as well as build a multi-purpose conference center adjacent to the theater. 

The Board also voted 4-1 (with Priscilla Schreiber voting “no”)  to endorse building a 325-seat performing arts center on the campus of Grossmont High School at the cost of $15.1 million dollars.

Representing GUHSD on the ad hoc committee will be board president Jim Kelly and board member Jim Stieringer.