

May 7, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes a butterfly festival, a mother’s day event in a vineyard, Ramona Western Days and Wild in the Country. Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including America on Main Street, Explore Mission Trails Day, Arts and Crafts fair, and the Santee Street Fair and Craft Brew Festival.So stay tuned for all of these events and more!
WILD IN THE COUNTRY MAY 9 AT LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS
Lions, Tigers and Bears in Alpine invites you to Wild in the Country – Passport to the Jungle on Saturday, May 9 from 3 to 7 p.m. The exotic animal rescue facility in Alpine will serve up dinner, live entertainment, live and silent auctions, plus prize drawings to benefit the nonprofit’s efforts to make a real difference in the lives of more than 50 rescued animals that call the sanctuary home. For tickets or details visit www.LionsTigersandBears.org
BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL MAY 9
The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego hosts is annual Butterfly Festival on Saturday, May 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Activities include tours of a butterfly pavilion and butterfly discovery lab, workshops, a pollinator party with Ms. Smarty Pants and Miss Metamorphosis for kids, live music, food, crafts and jewelry by local artisans.
Children are encouraged to dress as a caterpillar or their favorite winged pollinator for the Pollinator Party at 11:30 am. (Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children ages 3-17). For more information visit http://www.thegarden.org/butterfly
RAMONA WESTERN DAYS MAY 9
Ramona Western Days, a living history encampments and gunfighter skit competition will be held Saturday May 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 10th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the : Ramona Rodeo Grounds (421 Aqua Lane in Ramona).
Hosted by Ramona Old West Days and Guns of the Round Table, the encampments will feature people representing the conditions people endured in the 1800s including mountain men, pioneers, Civil War soldiers and cowboys.
New this year is a gunfighter skit competition on Saturday and Sunday showcasing comedies dramas, melodramas, history and more. For details contact RamonaOldWestDays@gmail.com
MOTHER’S DAY AT GRANT JAMES VINEYARD MAY 9-10
Grant James Vineyard in Ramona will be celebrating Mother’s Day on May 9th and 10th, with flowers and chocolates for every Mom. For more information, visit http://www..VineyardGrantJames.com.
AMERICA ON MAIN STREET MAY 16
America on Main Street, a fun-filled family event, is being held this year on Saturday - May 16th, in the downtown El Cajon area, beginning at 8:00 a.m. and lasting until 8:00 p.m.
Admission is free--as are miniature pony rides, a kid friendly petting zoo, large Ferris wheel, and varieties of games & crafts for the children. There will also be four different stages featuring live entertainment and music for your listening pleasure. For details visit http://www.AmericaonMainStreet.org.
EXPLORE MISSION TRAILS DAY MAY 16
Explore Mission Trails Day will be held on Saturday, May 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mission Trails Regional Park . This free event features free guided nature walks, talks and programs throughout the park including live animals and special kids’ programs from pony rides to a climbing wall, as well as a program in the ampitheater featuring coyotes. There will also be a bicycle demonstration and a program in the ampitheater on coyotes. For details see www.MTRP.org.
Now for a preview of coming attractions….
SANTEE STREET FAIR AND CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL MAY 23
The Santee Street Fair and Craft Beer Festival organized by Santee’s Chamber of Commerce will be held on Saturday, May 23rd from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. This large festival features local breweries from around San Diego County, live music and entertainment, a crafter row and artist alley, over 300 food and vendor booths, carnival rides and games for the family. In celebration of Memorial Day weekend, there will also be a tribute to veterans. Admission is free, though there is a fee for beer tasting. The location is at the junction of Riverview Parkway and Town Centre Parkway. For details visit www.SanteeStreetFair.com.
JULIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR MAY 23
Julian hosts its Arts and Crafts fair on Saturday, May 23rd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Organized by the Julian Fire Plugs, the event benefits the Julian Cuyamaca Fire Protection District and will be held at 2033 Main Street in Julian.
FIDDLE AND PICKING CONTEST MAY 30 IN JULIAN
The California State Old Time Fiddlers Asssociation’s District 7 presents the Julian Fiddle & Pickin’ Contest on Saturday, May 30th at Julian’s town hall in the historic gold-mining town of Julian. Building on the decades-long history of the former Julian Banjo and Fiddle Contest, the Julian Fiddle and Pickin’ Contest provides fiddlers, guitarists, mandolin player and banjo players an opportunity to demonstrate their talents in a festive and friendly atmosphere. For details visit www.SanDiegoFiddler.org.
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 http://www.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!
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