February 8, 2013 (San Diego) – Once again Museum Month is happening in San Diego County including five East County Museums.  During the entire month of February individuals can pick up a free Museum Month Pass at any local Macy’s store and receive half-off admission to 42 San Diego County museums.  Guests with passes may bring up to three people with them to any participating museum.

January 27, 2013 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon’s Centennial Historical Speaker series continues for 2013.  The next speaker is Ms. Kate Breece from Helix Water District, with a presentation titled “From the Flume to the Ozone.”

This talk is scheduled for Thursday, February 7th, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Downtown El Cajon Library, located at 201 East Douglas Avenue.  Talks are scheduled for the first and third Thursday of the month.  Light refreshments will also be provided.

January 26, 2013 (Lemon Grove) – The next "History Alive" lecture, sponsored by the Lemon Grove Historical Society, on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove, will feature Alexander D. Bevil discussing "Angels at 7 o'clock," his illustrated story of pioneering women aviators who made history between World War I and the 1930s when aviation was in its infancy. 

"Faced with gender bias, ridicule and sometimes outright sabotage, these 'First Ladies of Flight' had a single-minded determination to fly," said Bevil, who has been a California State Parks historian since 1998 and is the current president of the Congress of History of San Diego & Imperial Counties.

By Blake Powers and John Chapman

The East County Produce Exchange is kicking off the New Year with an event on Saturday, January 26th. It will be held in the Jamul Hardware parking lot from 3:30-5:00. The Exchange is a monthly event in Jamul, where people come from all over the county to exchange freshly grown fruits and vegetables. The produce exchange is like a farmer’s market, but it is a free event. There is no money involved!

 You set out your produce on a table, and then walk around and take what you want from others, while others will take from you.  This month the exchange expects to have lots of oranges, lemons, chard, cabbage, broccoli, kale,  onions, and herbs.

January 14, 2013 (Campo)--All aboard! Vintage Train Rides and museum tours are offered each weekend in January at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, Campo, one of the "eight great" railroad museums in California. 

Ride the museum's "Golden State" excursion train to Tunnel 4 and the Lower Campo Creek Bridge at 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. each day. Reservations not required, however reservations are required to ride with the engineer.

January 13, 2013 (La Mesa) -- Tradition holds that Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) ushers in the reflective season of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 13th.  The United Church of Christ of La Mesa (UCCLM) will be celebrating that tradition on Sunday, February 10, 2013 with a Mardi Gras Sunday worship service. The public is invited to dress up (carnival masks and beads welcome!) and join in this service celebrating the joy of faith.  Music – from “Just a Closer Walk” to “When the Saints Go Marching In!” will highlight both the 8:30am (in Friendship Hall) and 10:00am (in the Sanctuary) services.

January 4, 2013 (Ramona) – HawkWatch 2013 begins on January 5 at 9 a.m. at WRI Headquarters in Ramona on Highland Valley Road.  Observe wintering and resident raptors including Golden Eagles, wintering Ferruginous Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcons and Red-shouldered Hawks, to name a few.  There are over 19 species of raptors that can be seen at the Ramona Grasslands.

View video of countdown and ball drop:  click here or scroll down.

December 30, 2012 (Alpine)--Thousands of people looking to get a jump on their New Year's Eve celebrations gathered at Viejas Casino Friday night.

Friday marked the start of a four-day New Year's Celebration at Viejas Casino. Each night, including New Year's Eve, New York City's Times Square is re-created at Viejas Casino, including a massive, 700-pound New Year's Ball that drops at midnight, with a countdown and fireworks to ring in the new year.

Each night, the party is free and features New York-style food, drink specials, free music and dancing to the local band Rising Star and DJs all night. And each night from now until December 31, at 9pm, a Porsche Boxster will be given away on the Viejas Casino floor.

December 24, 2012 (Lemon Grove) --The distant hoof beats of America's ancestral horses echo across the centuries into the living present in a thrilling presentation by Kathleen Hayden, president of Coyote Canyon Caballos d'Anza, scheduled for the "History Alive" series, hosted by the Lemon Grove Historical Society, on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in the H. Lee House Cultural Center, 3205 Olive, Lemon Grove.

Founded in 2004 by Robert and Kathleen Hayden, the nonprofit Coyote Canyon organization, headquartered in Santa Ysabel, is restoring San Diego's only Heritage Herd of wild horses to their historic habitat.

November 28, 2012 (El Cajon)--Like the incessant sounds of a metronome, the clock is ticking for music students working behind the scenes on the Winter Wonder Jam -- Cuyamaca College’s answer to Lollapalooza -- set for Saturday, Dec. 7, in the performing arts theater.

Open to the public, the event will showcase five local bands rocking at the Rancho San Diego college from 7-10 p.m. This year, students in the college’s Music Industry Studies Program came up with the idea of a toy and food drive for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and the campus food bank for needy students with families.

November 21, 2012 (El Cajon) – ECM videographer Paul Kruze captured video highlights from the 2012 Mother Goose Parade, celebrating 100 years of El Cajon history in the city’s centennial year. 

This year’s parade featured fewer Hollywood celebrities than in the recent past, drawing on hometown heroes, Western equestrian groups, high school marching bands and a city centennial float for this once-in-a-century celebration. In keeping with tradition, the parade's finale featured Santa Claus and his reindeer-drawn sleigh, ushering in the start of the holiday season.

View videos:  Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

November 18, 2012 (San Diego) – The Far East Project will celebrate its firs year with the 2012 Closing Ceremonies to be held at 3rd Space, 4610 Park Blvd., San Diego on November 30 at 7:00 p.m. The first year of The Far East Project draws to a close with an enormous amount of accomplishment under its belt: a conference on the future of East County arts, a photo contest, a website archiving populist submissions, events on two college campuses, and the first published volume of a people’s history of East County, “Everything Just as It Is”.

By Miriam Raftery

November 12, 2012 (El Cajon )—Congressional members Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis, community leaders, a  Navy color guard and citizens from across East County turned out this morning for a ceremony honoring veterans, celebrating the city of El Cajon’s centennial, and dedicating two legacy projects.

“May El Cajon continue to be the gateway to East County, a refugee to many, a thriving community and  place we all call home,” Chaplain Chuck Price with the El Cajon Police entreated in the invocation. 

November 9, 2012 (San Diego) -- Much is happening in San Diego County parks and recreation centers this November.  There is something for everyone, from crafts to wild life and nature hikes.  Visit www.sdparks.org for more information regarding the events listed below.

"Ask the Experts" and the most diverse water-wise plant sale in the County

November 8, 2012 (Rancho San Diego) -- Considering fall and winter as, “prime gardening months” would be scoffed at in many parts of the United States, but not in San Diego.

With its Mediterranean climate, characterized by mild-to-cool wet winters, and warm-to-hot dry summers, the Fall Garden Festival, held at the Water Conservation Garden from 10am-4pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012, helps San Diegans make the most of the region’s fall-to-spring planting season…and save water while they do it!