Display spotlighting works of the organization’s san diego chapter members will also feature educational programs for art enthusiasts

Photo: Grace Schlesier at her show at the Wieghorst Museum in 2012.

November 13, 2013 (El Cajon) – Members of the California Art Club’s San Diego Chapter and the Olaf Wieghorst Museum unveiled the “Landscapes of the West” exhibition with a gala opening at the Museum on October 5. The display will be on view through January 11, 2014.

Art enthusiasts at the opening enjoyed hors d’ oeuvres and wine, while viewing over 35 juried works by some of San Diego’s finest painters.  The event was also coveted by collectors, who appreciated the opportunity to have a first look at the paintings, all available for acquisition. A portion of proceeds from sale of artwork will benefit both the Club and the Museum.

Educational programming during the exhibition will include a November 14 presentation by CAC Artist Member Mark Fehlman on California Art Club’s history. Reservations are suggested for the lecture and the reception that will precede Fehlman’s talk, as space is limited.

November 6, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society will present a special edition of "History Alive" on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive Street, Lemon Grove when theater pros Anne Charlotte and Michael Harvey will recall in words, music, and images their production of the four-act melodrama "The Drunkard," presented during the glory days of the Lemon Grove Players.

In Lemon Grove in the late 1970s, along with a brand new city (1977), a revamped school district (1978), and a fledgling historical society (1978), there was a new theatrical troupe with big dreams.  The Lemon Grove Players, spearheaded by such talents as Dorothy Dubois, Dr. Robert Burns, Robert and Donna Adams, Victoria and Michael Dietrich, Estelle Lauer, pianist Anona Bolieu, and a platoon of volunteers, presented everything from melodrama to Molière in local school auditoriums for the next five years.

Photo: Dog Dreaming, by Marc Kitaen

October 22, 2013 (El Cajon) – East County artist Marc Kitaen, El Cajon, won third place in the 10 annual Digital Art Show of St. Mark's United Methodist Church.

The show, which has the theme "Visions of Peace," includes 28 works by 12 San Diego County artists. It will run October 13 to November 10 in the church sanctuary, 3502 Clairemont Drive. The juror was Professor Craig Carlson, SDSU.

The other winners are: first place, Michael Sussna, La Jolla; second place Rachelle Farber, Carlsbad; and Honorable Mention T. Antoinette Fassel, University City, and John Valois, Mission Hills.

September 30, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – The San Diego Festival Chorus is a non-audition, 70-member chorus with singers from all across East County.  Beginning its 13th season, the group has performed everything from Beethoven to Broadway and everything in between.  The chorus has two concerts in December and May with its 45- piece orchestra for audiences of up to 1200.  The chorus also does outreach performances.

By Paul Kruze

It has been said that the opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings.  Those who had hoped El Cajon’s East County Performing Arts Center would be open by December may have a bit more waiting to do until the proverbial fat lady sings.

While El Cajon City Councilman Gary Kendrick had set a target date of December 1, 2013 for the much anticipated reopening of the theater which has been shuttered for nearly three years, it may be at least another year until the curtain opens and the stage lights come on.

photo, left: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

September 17, 2013 (La Mesa) – On September 27 from 5 to 7 p.m., costumed “Steampunk” fans are expected to join the celebration of “A Day in the Life,” an art show opening at O’Dunn Fine Art.

 “Colorado artist Joe Bonomo has taken the characters from the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’ album and interpreted them as Steampunk characters…totally original,”  gallery owner Shannon O’Dunn told ECM.  The artist will be on hand at the opening, which will also feature live music, food and beverages.

“Even if you don’t speak Steampunk (or the Sixties, for that matter) these oil paintings are gorgeous,” said O’Dunn. The exhibit will also feature a replica of the time machine seen in the 1960 movie Time Machine  and in The Big Bang Theory.

By Miriam Raftery

September 11, 2013 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – “The  people of this town came together,”  said famed sculptor Ricardo Breceda after hoisting a 1200-pound metallic rattlesnake sculpture into place in front of the Jacumba Community Park.  

Best known for his larger-than-life sculptures of present and prehistoric wildlife in the Anza-Borrego desert, Breceda yesterday sold additional sculptures to Jacumba Hot Springs art fans – works that will soon grace rocks and roadways in this high desert community seeking to reinvent itself as an arts colony.

It all started with a winged dragon.

Photo: Artist with a similar snake sculpture; installation set for Sept. 10

September 1, 2013 (Jacumba Hot Springs)--On Tuesday, September 10, Jacumba Hot Springs welcomes a giant striking rattlesnake sculpture by artist/designer Ricardo Breceda at the Community Park on Old Highway 80. The sculpture is constructed of welded metal and weighs over 800 pounds. It was a gift to the community from an anonymous community booster.

The artist , who is best known for his gigantic metal sculptures in the Anza-Borrego Desert, will be on site for the September 10th installation--and the community is planning festive activities all day from 9 am to 5 p.m. to celebrate the event.

By Dennis Moore

August 29, 2013 (Del Cerro)--The father and son team of Jack Cohen and Mikey Adam Cohen, lifelong residents of Del Cerro in San Diego’s East County, are firmly entrenched in smooth jazz. As a matter of fact,  it can be said that Smooth Jazz is their love and lifeblood, as well as profession. Mikey is a music/smooth jazz professional and has worked with his father to become one of the leading names in the smooth jazz music industry, by co-founding Smooth Jazz Live, an online contemporary jazz magazine. (Website: http://smoothjazzlive.wordpress.com/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/smoothjazzlivei and www.facebook.com/accessmediaceo.

In an interview with ECM, MIkey said that growing up, he didn’t have a strong relationship with his father, who wanted Mikey to be a sports prodigy – until they founded Smooth Jazz Live.  Soon they were supporting, producing and documenting live music acts together as they traveled across the world and became among the biggest names in the music business.

August 28, 2013 (Ramona) – The Olde Ramona Hotel Gallery is getting ready for its 24th Annual Fine Art Show.  Artists are encouraged to participate in the show and entries are due September 26 through 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 845 Main St., Ramona.  There is a maximum of three entries per artist.  Categories include: oil/acrylic, watercolor/watermedia, photography/computer art and other (collage, pen & ink, pastels, sculpture, graphics, other media.

August 18, 2013 (San Diego) – A year after the release of their critically-acclaimed sophomore album Gossamer, Passion Pit have announced a massive fall headling tour across North America, including an appearance at the Open Air Theater at SDSU, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego.  The tour will feature special guests The Joy Formidable.

August 12, 2013 (Lakeside) – Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church is holding a series of free concerts through the end of the year at 9908 Channel Road in Lakeside.  The concerts are as follows:

July 23, 2013 (Spring Valley) -- The Young Actors Theater is presenting “Grease” August 15-18 and 22-25 at Encore! Theatre, 9620 Campo Road, Spring Valley.  At Rydell High's senior class of 1959, duck-tailed, hot-rodding "Burger Palace Boys" and their gum-snapping, hip-shaking "Pink Ladies" in bobby sox and pedal pushers, evoke the look and sound of the 1950s in this rollicking musical. Head "greaser" Danny Zuko and new (good) girl Sandy Dumbrowski try to relive the high romance of their "Summer Nights" as the rest of the gang sings and dances its way through such songs as "Greased Lightnin'","Beauty School Dropout" plus many others that became the soundtrack of a generation.

By Janis Mork

July 17, 2013 (El Cajon)- At the July 9 meeting, El Cajon City Council unanimously voted to authorize the city manager to issue a formal request for qualifications to hire an architect to prepare and provide construction documents ready for bid on renovations to reopen the East County Performing Arts Center (ECPAC).

According to Ray Lutz from Citizens Oversight, who also organized a Save ECPAC group last year when the theater was threatened with possible demolition, “This is the best news we have had on this issue for over a year."

July 13, 2013 (El Cajon) – The Young Actors Theater is presenting Les Miserables July 25-28 and August 1-4 at Cuyamaca College Performing Arts Center, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon.  Les Miserables, recently a blockbuster movie, is the story of Jean Valjean and his search for peace in 19th century France which culminates at the beginning of a revolutionary uprising.