Paul McCartney’s OUT THERE Tour has added a San Diego concert set for Sunday, Sep 28th at 8:00 p.m. at Petco Park. Our freelancer, Ariele Johannson, attended the McCartney concert in August at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles—and also shares memories of a Beatles concert in New York 50 years ago that she attended back in 1964. Written for the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles first U.S. tour, this article is a “must read” for all Beatles fans of today and yesterday.

Photo, left: Beatles in 1964,  Library of Congress image

THE BEATLES! IN PERSON                                                                             

By Ariele Johannson                         

September 23, 2014 (San Diego)--The year was 1964, and I was touched by a movement—the craze of “Beatlemania.” An eleven-year-old girl in Long Island, New York, my life still felt like a closed book. I didn’t fit in anywhere…yet. I was quiet, smart, freckle-faced, and wore glasses. Yes, they called me “four eyes.”

By Ariele Johannson

May 20, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s  Destination East County includes many outdoor activities from hiking and fishing to car shows, festivals and outdoor movies! Memorial Day activities are included and two local theatre groups have final weekend performances.

By Ariele Johannson

Butterfly Pavilion is still open for viewing

April 24, 2014 (Rancho San Diego)--The Butterfly Festival at the Water Conservation Garden marked the opening of their new Dorcas E. Utter Memorial Butterfly Pavilion on Saturday, April 5^th, 2014. The celebration involved participants traveling through the pleasant maze of The Garden with a Pollinator Parade led by Miss Metamorphosis. The event also featured a butterfly-habitat plant sale, face painting, animal encounter, Miss Smarty Plants, a butterfly laboratory, kids’ arts, and crafts, live music; and of course, the new Butterfly Pavilion.

By Ariele Johannson       

November 13, 2013 (El Cajon) – In observance of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the crowd shouted, “No more violence! No more pain!” as they rounded the turn into Prescott Promenade off Main Street in El Cajon with signs and energetic chanting. The East County Domestic Violence Coalition “Not to be Forgotten” rally on Friday, October 18 was also a memorial for the 26 San Diego County victims, some from East County, who lost their lives in 2012 in domestic violence tragedies.