“Our popular ‘Movies in the Park’ series offers free box office hit movies and fun activities for the public at our terrific County parks,” said Brian Albright, Director of County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation.

The series, which started June 4, features 29 movies at local parks and pools and is the largest free movie event in San Diego County.

 “Movies in the Park” takes a brief intermission after this weekend but resumes on July 16 with a showing of “The Tooth Fairy” at Spring Valley Park. Future listings include: “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “Avatar,” “How To Train Your Dragon,” and “The Blind Side.” The movies will be presented in high-quality on 28-foot inflatable widescreens designed for large audiences.

Just prior to showtime, families can enjoy karaoke challenges, games, contests and music. Audience members are reminded to bring their own chairs, blankets and refreshments.

The movies are free and open to the public. Showtimes start at dusk. Some locations have a parking fee. For a complete list of dates and locations for the “Movies in the Park” series, visit sdmoviesinthepark.com.

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LAKE SKINNER —- In this neck of the woods, the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival seems to be the official kick off for summer. With wine tasting, hot air balloon rides and live outdoor concerts, more than 40,000 folks are expected to celebrate over the weekend.

Sure, the wine and balloons are in the event’s title, but let’s face it, the live concerts are the icing on the festival’s cake.

The music portion of the festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday with a country music concert on the main stage featuring Jimmy Wayne, Band Perry and Bomshel.

Wayne’s career first took off with a remake of Hall & Oates’ pop classic “Sara Smile.” He sang the tune regularly during his days as a North Carolina prison guard, auditioned with it in 2002 and got a contract with DreamWorks Records. His debut CD appeared in 2003 and produced the top-10 hits “Stay Gone and “I Love You This Much.” After DreamWorks shut its doors, Wayne signed with Valory Music Company and released “Do You Believe Me Now” a No. 1 for three weeks in 2008-09.

The Band Perry currently has their hit song “Hip to My Heart” at No. 24 on the Billboard Country Song Chart, and has spent 22 weeks on the charts. Bomshel, a vivacious duo act of fiddle player Kristy Osmunson and lead singer Kelley Shepard, rounds out the three-act show. Their song “Fight Like A Girl” released late last year peaked at No. 30 on the Country chart. Their album of the same title, was released in October and has peaked at No. 24.

On Saturday, Paul Rodgers, “the voice” of Bad Company, member of “Free” and “The Firm, will headline the main stage. Rodgers is just part of a lineup that includes Vertical Horizon and Gin Blossoms as well as others, starting at 1 p.m.

Rodgers career spans from the 1960s where he was a singer-songwriter with the band Free, a British band that hit the international charts with the Rodgers’s penned hit “All Right Now.” From 1973 to 1982 the band he formed, Bad Company, produced a series of hits including “Feel Like Making Love,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Shooting Star,” “Bad Company,” and “Run with the Pack” and “Rock and Roll Fantasy.” Bad Company earned six platinum albums until Rodgers left in 1982.

Vertical Horizon has been on the alternative scene since 1999 when they hit No. 1 on the charts with the song “Everything You Want.” Gin Blossoms return to the festival with hits “Hey Jealousy,” “Follow You Down,” “Found Out About You,” and “Till I Hear It From You.”

Live music will also be performed on the wine stage featuring many different varieties of performers on all three days.

On Sunday, Spyro Gyra will headline on the wine stage at 3 p.m. but music will be performed all day long.

Since their first top single of “Morning Dance” in 1979, Spyro Gyra has churned out album after album and song after song of contemporary jazz that remains in the forefront for innovation. In 2001 the band’s album “In Modern Times” spent 64 weeks on Billboards’ Contemporary Jazz chart, peaking at No. 2. Three albums later “Wrapped In A Dream” gained the group a Grammy nomination in 2006.

The 2007 release of “Good To Go-Go” scored two Grammy nominations in December 2007; Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Pop Instrumental Performance (the latter nomination for the track entitled “Simple Pleasures”.) In 2008 Spyro Gyra’s “A Night Before Christmas” was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Pop Instrumental album.

At 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday, the WGAS Motorsports Xtreme Motocross Show returns to the festival, sponsored by Pechanga Resort and Casino at the main stage area, and offering a high flying freestyle motocross show that features stars from around the world.

Unique concert and festival experiences are offered for the festival as well. See the festival Web site for details on the Exclusive Festival Experience package, Stage Right Hospitality package and Silver Reserved Seating package.

Twenty-two wineries will be represented with tasting hours of 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. At the Wine & Food Pairing pavilion Saturday and Sunday, local chefs will match culinary treats with local wines. There is an additional charge for wine tasting and the wine and food pairing.

Held both Friday and Saturday nights around 8 p.m. (after dusk), the Balloon Glow is one of the most popular entertainment options of the festival. The glow, set up in the center of the festival’s wine tasting area, is where balloon pilots set up their balloons next to one another and synchronize igniting burners of the balloons to a musical beat or the crowd’s demand to “glow.”

Saturday and Sunday mornings are when the colorful hot air balloons take the skies over Lake Skinner and Shipley Preserve. Weather permitting, the balloons will lift off between 6 and 7 a.m. They usually return to the ground before 8:30 a.m. However, balloons usually do not return to the launch site because they come down wherever the wind takes them.

If you want to take a ride, some 50 balloons will offer the early morning rides as well as free tethered balloon rides from sunrise to about 10 a.m. For balloon ride reservations, call 800-965-2122.

In addition to all the events, concerts and wine tasting, there will be numerous food, arts and crafts, service and goods vendors stationed throughout the festival.

Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival

5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Lake Skinner, 37701 Warren Road, Winchester

$20 in advance ($22 at gate) on Friday, $22 in advance ($25 at gate) on Saturday, $15 in advance ($17 at gate) on Sunday for adults; ages 7-12 are $5 each day and children ages 6 and younger are free throughout the festival

tvbwf.com

Posted in Music on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:00 pm | Tags: C

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Date Line February 21, 2010

It was a 7th-grade teacher who guided Dennis Brown toward an interest in Martin Luther King Jr.

“That’s why it’s so important for me to tell kids about Dr. King and what he accomplished,” Brown said. “I know the effect his life had on mine.”

Brown, 62, has performed as Dr. King at schools and libraries in California since the mid-1980s. He will appear in free performances of “The Voice of King” at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Mission Branch Library Community Room, 3861 Mission Ave., and at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Civic Center Library Community Room, 330 N. Coast Highway.

In the performances, Brown will deliver excerpts from Dr. King’s famous speeches as well as sing songs associated with the King era and slavery.

“I give a narrative discourse on the Civil Rights movement, and simulate Dr. King’s voice,” Brown said. “I start out with what happened with Rosa Parks and her arrest, and talk about incidents that made Dr. King who he was. I sing the songs and I close with excerpts from the mountaintop speech and the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. I let them know that for 13 years Dr. King led this movement of peace, yet for 13 years he was living under the threat of violence. But he pressed on.”

The performances compel young people to ask questions about Dr. King, and older audience members to sometimes become emotional.

“It’s not uncommon for people to shed tears,” Brown said. “I tell the audiences that love has power, and power has conviction.”

Brown performs 50 to 70 times at schools and libraries each January and February. He delivers speeches on other topics —- including anti-drug and tobacco lectures —- the rest of the year. Brown, an ordained pastor based in the San Bernardino area, travels throughout the state. He is the founder of the nonprofit youth education and empowerment organization Im Inc. In addition to performing live, Brown records gospel and soul music.

Brown remembers the Civil Rights movement well. He grew up in Los Angeles, and traveled to Arkansas as a child, where he was told by his grandfather that the two of them must sit at the back of a bus.

“I couldn’t understand it,” Brown said. “I wanted to understand more what was going on in this country.”

When he was 15, Brown skipped football practice to hear King deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech. After high school, Brown joined the Marine Corps and engaged in combat for nine months in Vietnam.

“That experience affected me very much,” he said. “My memories of the time are very strong. My experiences were the kind that stay with you.”

These days Brown’s experiences involve talking to those who remember that era and answering the questions of curious children.

“The question they ask most is about why Dr. King was killed,” Brown said. “I received a letter from a young girl who said that her parents were racist, but if they heard my performance they would change their minds. I tell them that 40 or 50 years ago, a performance like this would not be possible, but that their lives can be different.”

The free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Oceanside Public Library and is open to all ages. For more information, call (760) 435-5600 or go to www.oceansidepubliclibrary.org .

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Earthquake Preparedness: Lessons Learned from Haiti and California

The Community Preparedness Webinar Series is conducted in DHS’s HSIN Connect system. You do not need to register in advance, nor do you need a HSIN account in order to view our webinars. Audio for this webinar will be broadcast within HSIN Connect; there will not be a concurrent, phone-based teleconference. Questions and answers will be moderated via text-based chat inside the webinar. In order to ensure that your computer is capable of viewing our webinars and webcasts, we highly recommend that you read the below documents and perform the compatibility test prior to the start of the event. In addition, please ensure your computer’s speakers are working prior to the webinar. If for any reason you have trouble accessing the system, please send an email to citizencorps@dhs.gov.

Accommodations for Those with Special Needs

If you need special accommodations or require additional assistance to view or listen to this webinar, please email us at citizencorps@dhs.gov no later than 5pm EST on Tuesday, February 16th and we will provide you with additional resources so you may participate.

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Posted on Saturday, July 18 @ 10:02:39 CDT by drclaytonAnonymous writes ”    New Vision Theatre Company presents the 4th annual Summer Shorts (a collection of 8 ten minute unpublished plays) at the Sunshine Brooks Theatre, 217 North Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA. Performances are July 17 – August 2, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 2:00 PM. This collaborative effort of local writers, directors, and acting talent will ensure fun for all viewers as the production is comprised of different genres.

     New Vision Theatre Company presents the 4th annual Summer Shorts (a collection of 8 ten minute unpublished plays) at the Sunshine Brooks Theatre, 217 North Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA. Performances are July 17 – August 2, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 2:00 PM. This collaborative effort of local writers, directors, and acting talent will ensure fun for all viewers as the production is comprised of different genres. 

     There is a gala opening night sponsored by Oceanside Civitan and San Luis Rey Rotary. Savor appetizers and deserts during this pre-show gathering from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. July 17. Several writers and directors will be in attendance at this gala opening. 
     For gala tickets, call 760-439-1543. Ticket price for gala (includes show) is $30.00. General admission at all other shows is $17.00, seniors (55 and up) $14.00, military $10.00, students $10.00. Please call 760-529-9140 or visit our web site for reservations other than for the opening night gala. New Vision Theatre Co. is a 501c3 non-profit organization and an official participant of the civic revitalization program from the city of Oceanside.

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The City of Oceanside Senior Center and the Oceanside Senior Commission is excited to announce that the 2009 Senior Expo will be held Saturday, October 3rd. This year will mark the twelfth edition of this annual event which will be located at our new El Corazon Senior Center.

The Senior Expo attracts over 4,000 attendees of age 55 and older and is the largest event of its type in North County San Diego. Statistics show that  Baby Boomers are today coming of senior age in record numbers. As a result the Senior Expo continues to grow in popularity by offering healthy lifestyle information, extensive resource material, popular entertainment, and prime exposure for the over 145 senior provider exhibitors seeking to attract these mature consumers.

The 2009 Senior Expo is a unique event that offers a valuable marketing opportunity for any company looking to create positive community goodwill and identification with the senior demographic in San Diego North County. Please consider directly associating your company name with this emerging population through partnering with this year’s “Senior Citizens Day” Expo.   

The Oceanside Senior Services  and the Senior Commission invites you to join us as a presenting sponsor of the 2009 Senior Expo. As a local corporate leader your participation and financial support helps to ensure that this event continues to grow for the benefit of our expanding senior community. Attached are several suggested levels of involvement for your consideration. Please let us know of your interest by August 15,  2009, so that we may include your business in all of our pre-Expo promotional material. If you wish to take advantage of this sponsorship opportunity please direct responses or questions to Maureen Fleming at (760) 435-5250.      

Thank you for considering sponsorship of the 2009 Senior Expo. This October will see thousands enjoying our best event yet and it would be great to have you join us!

If you wish to be a sponsor you can call the center at (760)  435-5250 or you can email me at Sponsor

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OCEANSIDE —- An annual party that celebrates the emancipation of slaves at the end of the American Civil War will be held in Oceanside on Saturday.

The 23rd annual Juneteenth Multicultural Celebration and Street Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Oceanside Bandshell near the Oceanside Municipal Pier. The free event will offer live entertainment on three stages, a children’s carnival, car show and international food court.

The festival is organized by the North County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has staged the Juneteenth celebration in Oceanside for more than two decades. � 

“This is the 100th year since the NAACP was founded and this year’s event is memorable because of that,” said Satia Austin, vice president of the North County chapter.

She said the celebration is a fun time and an opportunity for local residents “to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.”

“Everyone is very proud that we now have an African American president and they’re expecting him to change everything,” Austin said. “But change begins at home and we have to start in our own community.”

Commemorating the emancipation of Texas slaves on June 19, 1865, Juneteenth has grown into an annual celebration of black heritage and traditions.

Although President Lincoln had proclaimed that all slaves held in rebel territory were to be freed as of Jan. 1, 1863, with his Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862, Texas remained under Confederate control —- and blacks remained enslaved —- until Union troops landed in Galveston in June 1865 and enforced Lincoln’s order. When the Union troops ordered the slaves to be freed, the new freedmen (and women) took to the streets of Galveston to celebrate —- spontaneously creating a holiday that has been officially observed as “Juneteenth” for the past 98 years.

With the June 19 falling on a Friday this year, Oceanside has moved its annual Juneteenth observance up several days to fall on a weekend so more folks can enjoy the festivities.

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