January 8, 2008 (La Mesa) — The City of La Mesa's 13th
annual Multicultural Festival on January 18th aspires to be an afternoon of
civic pride and festivities for the family in a celebration honoring our community's
rich diversity of cultures and international traditions. The ceremony, held
on Martin Luther King Day weekend, also honors the slain civil rights leader's
vision.

December 6, 2008 (San Diego) — A series of events commemorating Kwanzaa have
been announced, including several in San Diego's eastern region. 

The 18th annual Pan-African Associations of America Umoja Day program will
take place December 26th at the Malcolm X Library located at 5148 Market Street
in San Diego.  This a day long event and includes an adult workshop
explaining how to observe Kwanzaa in the home and a children's arts and craft
workshop on Kwanzaa: 10am to noon.  A Youth/Hip Hop discussion on Kwanzaa
will take place from 1pm to 3 p.m. The traditional lighting of the  first
Kwanzaa candle will take place at 4:30 p.m. and includes a program of  words
of inspiration, spoken word, music, drumming and dance, African martial arts,
silent auction and vendors.  The program ends at 8pm.  All
events are free to the public.

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2008 (Alpine) — Looking for the coolest place in East County?

The largest outdoor ice rink in Southern California is now open for the holiday season at Viejas Outlet Center in Alpine. 

For
a frightfully good time this week (not to mention satisfying your sweet tooth
cravings), you’ll find plenty of Halloween haunts in East County.

Start with Wednesday night’s “Trunk or Treat” in El Cajon,
where classic car club members will be doling out goodies.  On Thursday,
dig into a pumpkin pie-eating contest and costume party in Valley Center, or
chill out at the Otay Haunted House.

October 1, 2008 (East County) - Time to get into the zeitgeist (spirit
of the time) and take to the streets for some old-fashioned celebrating at
East County’s multiple Oktoberfests!  

Began in Bavaria to celebrate the marriage of royalty, Oktoberfests have since
gained popularity worldwide.  Below are details on our region’s
oldest and biggest Oktoberfests, where you can savor German food, music, and
more.

Plus Candidate Forums, Oktoberfest Parade, Hello Dolly and more

By Miriam Raftery

Borrowing
a tradition from Spain (with a few Southern California twists), Tierra Miguel
Farm in Pauma Valley is hosting La Tomatina – a tomato fest complete
with authentic Spanish cuisine (bring your own paella), wine and beer tasting,
live music and a tomato fling!  Call ahead to join in the fun this Saturday
(see our calendar for details).  This event is limited to age 18 and over;  bring
your own goggles! You can also help prepare the soil for next year’s
crop – and sign up for Tierra Miguel’s community agricultural program
to receive their fresh-grown produce. 

By Miriam Raftery

September
21, 2008 (JULIAN) - “We’ve
had at least 500 people here so far,” Dick Thilken, president of the Julian
Lions Club said
of the 38th annual Julian Bluegrass Festival on Sunday afternoon, September
21st.  “Each day we’ve had six musical groups playing.” 

Besides
officially scheduled acts, players from various areas joined in for some impromptu
musical performances at California’s oldest bluegrass
festival.

By Miriam Raftery

Sept. 1, 2008 (East County)--We first planned to call this column Festival of the Month.  But after discovering how many great events communities and groups are hosting in San Diego’s eastern region we changed the column name to tell you about as many fun-filled festivals as possible.