DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS AND EVENTS SEPT. 10 - OCT. 16

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East County News Service

September 6, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s Destination East County includes a chili cook-off, a breakfast for wounded veterans, the Sycuan powwow, and VW Mania at El Cajon’s Classic Car night.

 Plus, we’ll tell you about coming attractions including concerts and music festivals, Julian’s Apple Days, a barbecue competition in Spring Valley, Oktoberfests in La Mesa and El Cajon, the Laguna Mountain Rendezvous, and a hike to the Valley of the Moon.

So scroll down for all of these events and many more!

SANTEE MUSIC FESTIVAL SEPT. 10

Santee’s annual Bluegrass Festival will be held Saturday, September 10 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Town Center Community Park East.  This year’s musical lineup features two talented bluegrass bands, the Homesick Hitcher and MohaviSoul. Admission entitles ticket holders to sample several varieties of wine, beer from numerous craft breweries, and food prepared by local restaurants.

Proceeds from the one-night festival are used to fund recreation scholarship programs, programs for seniors and low-and moderate-income families, and funds for the Santee Teen Center. For tickets and details, visit www.SanteeBlueGrassFestival.com .

SYCUAN POW-WOW SEPT. 9-11

The Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay nation will host its annual pow-wow on September 9-11 at the Sycuan reservation (5459 Sycuan Road) in El Cajon. The three-day tribal gathering will feature traditional Native American dances, hand drum contests, bird singing and dancing competitions for cash prizes, peon games, authentic Indian cuisine and a flag ceremony. For details see www.SycuanTribe.com.

ALPINE KIWANIS CHILI COOK-OFF AND CAR SHOW SEPT. 10

The Alpine Kiwanis Club will host a Chili Cook-Off and Car Show on Saturday, September 10th, from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Alpine Community Center Park.  You can taste and vote for your favorite Chili and check out the car show next door at Alpine Elementary School.

Face Painting, Raffles, vendor booths and live music are all part of the fun! Tickets are available at the event or you can get early tickets at the Alpine Community Center or Alpine Postal Annex.  For more information, visit www.alpinekiwanis.com/events

SEPTEMBER 11 WARRIOR FOUNDATION FREEDOM BREAKFAST

On September 11, the Warrior Foundation invites you to its Freedom Breakfast at the Sons of the American Legion Post in Julian (2503 Washington St.)  Proceeds will benefit injured veterans and also provide injured warriors a round trip home for the holidays. Breakfast ($15) will be served from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.  For more information, you can visit the Sons of the American Legion Post 468 website at http://salpost468.org

VW MANIA SEPTEMBER 14 IN ELCAJON

Bugs will be crawling the streets of downtown El Cajon on Wednesday night, September 14th—Volkswagen beetles, that is.  It’s VW Mania night at Classic Cruises, taking place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Main Street in the heart of downtown El Cajon. This week’s event will also feature live dance performances.   Find out more at www.DowntownElCajon.com.

NOW FOR A PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS…

SIREN’S CRUSH CONCERT IN DOWNTOWN EL CAJON SEPT.16

Siren’s Crush, a high-energy dance band that’s one of the hottest entertainment acts in town, will be performing live at El Cajon’s Dinner and a Concert night this Friday, September16th. The modern pop and dance music concert will get you movin’ and groovin’ from 6 to 8 p.m. at Prescott Park in downtown El Cajon. For details you can visit www.DowntownElCajon.com.

MONARCHS AND MILKWEED SEPT. 16 IN ALPINE

Children of all ages are welcome to come to the Alpine Library for Funtastic Friday on September 16th at 3:30 p.m. for a hands-on demonstration on how to grow milkweed to attract monarch butterflies. 

Kids will also learn about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly and why it is so important to grow milkweed. As an added bonus every participant will go home with a free kit which includes milkweed seeds, Ranger Rick’s Wildlife notebook and many other items.  For more information, you can e-mail WildlifeHabitats@aol.com.

HIKE TO THE VALLEY OF THE MOON SEPT. 17

Jacumba Hikers and Walkers invite you to a full moon hike to the Valley of the Moon. This five-mile, four-hour evening hike to an otherworldly location in the desert just past the San Diego/Imperial County line near the Mexican border is rated hard.   Meet at 5 p.m. at the Jacumba Spa (44461 Old Highway 80 in Jacumba Hot Springs). Bring a flashlight, plenty ot water, and wear sturdy shoes.

For questions you can contact hike leader Bill Pape at (619) 766-4927.

JULIAN MUSIC FESTIVAL SEPT. 17

Here’s something to howl about!  The Julian Music Festival on September 17th will benefit the California Wolf Center, which is working to preserve a rare and endangered wolf species.  The music festival will be held on September 17th from 1 to 7 p.m. at Menghini Winery in Julian.  The 47th annual music festival will feature a diverse lineup of entertainment.  For tickets and details you can go to https://julianmusicfestival.com/.

JULIAN APPLE DAYS SEPT. 24-25

The annual Julian Apple Days Festival offers weekend full of fun for the whole family on September 24th and 25th.  It’s part of the longer Apple Days celebration.  The two-day festival will be held at Menghini Winery featuring apple displays, music and dancing, an antique tractor display, children’s games and activities, gold panning demonstrations, a beer and wine garden, food and merchandise vendors, contests, and, of course, apple pie.

For more information, visit www.JulianCa.com (or http://visitjulian.com/to-see-do/special-events/apple-days/)

LA MESA OKTOBERFEST SEPT. 30-OCT.2

Wilkommen! You're invited to the largest Oktoberfest celebration west of the Mississippi:  La Mesa Oktoberfest from September 30th to October 2nd.  This community event is spread out over nearly six blocks in La Mesa Village and features hundreds of exhibitors, family friendly activities, German food, music, dancing, outfits, games and of course, beer.

(Hours:  Friday, September 30:  4 p.m.- 10 p.m.; Saturday, October 1:  10 a.m. 10 p.m.; Sunday, October 2:  10 a.m. 6 p.m.  Admission is free.)

For more information, visit http://www.thelamesaoktoberfest.com/.

GERMAN-AMERICAN CLUB OKTOBERFEST IN EL CAJON FIRST 2 WEEKENDS IN OCTOBER

The German American Club in El Cajon will host its annual Oktoberfest over two weekends:  September 30th through October 2nd and again October 7th through 9th.

This Oktoberfest features a band from Germany, authentic German food from Bavarian pastries to an ox on a spit, plus German beers, and folk dancer. Plus, you can dance to oom-pah music, polkas and waltzes and let the children enjoy a kids’ zone.

The German American Club is located at 1017 South Mollison in El Cajon.  Learn more at http://www.GermanClubSanDiego.org .

LAGUNA MOUNTAIN RENDEZVOUS SEPT. 30-OCT. 2

You’re invited to step back in time and enjoy an authentic 1800 to 1840s Rocky Mountain fur traders’ encampment at the Laguna Mountain Rendezvous from Sept.30 to Oct. 9.  Day visitors and period campers are welcome.

The rendezvous of mountain men includes demonstrations of primitive survival skills including cooking, tool making, tomahawk throwing, archery and black powder shooting.

The event will be held at the Mataguay Scout Reservation (27955 Highway 79) in Santa Ysabel. For details, you can visit http://www.lagunamountainrendezvous.com/.

STOCKZILLA AT SANTEE LAKES OCT. 1-2

Santee Lakes invites you to “Stockzilla” on October 1st and 2nd, when all seven lakes will be stocked with 3,500 pounds of catfish.  There will also be tagged fish and surprise prize giveaways.  The most stocking will be in lakes 6 and 7, which are reserved for campers.  For more information or to reserve a campsite, you can visit www.SanteeLakes.com.

TAILGATE BARBECUE COMPETITION IN SPRING VALLEY OCT. 16

Fire up your barbecues and get your best recipes ready!  The 7th annual Spring Valley Tailgate BBQ Festival is looking for participants in its annual barbecue competition.

The event is sponsored by Cali Comfort Restaurant and the Marso Walchef Youth Empowerment Organization to raise funds for youth sports.  The barbecue competition will be held on Sunday, October 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Troy Street in Spring Valley outside Cali Comfort’ restaurant.  Besides sampling barbecue, you can also visit a beer garden, shop at street vendors, enjoy live music and plenty of family fun.

For info on how to enter your amateur BBQ team call619-490-0684 or visit http://www.CaliComfortBBQ.com.

That’s all for this week! You can find details on all of these events and more on our Calendar and in our Festivals and Events section online at eastcountymagazine.org

If you have an event you’d like added to our calendar, or if you would like to sponsor the Destination East County column on our website, or the Destination East County show on KNSJ radio, you can contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org   Destination East County is the most-read feature on our website.

We’ll be back next week with more festivals, events and attractions in San Diego’s East County.

Audio: 

Destination East County 9-8-16

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