Last year, The B-52’s had the entire audience on their feet!

2010 San Diego County Fair – Headliners

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Daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. ET Sunday,

Better set your clocks ahead by an hour before you go to bed Saturday night!

Sleeping catz by Fotolia/Urlaub-UA

St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner, and everyone is feeling a bit of the luck o’ the Irish.  Not all are so fortunate, however. The annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser event for childhood cancer research is a great way to lend a hand & shed some locks for a great cause.

In San Diego, Basic Urban Kitchen and Bar is hosting the event this Saturday, March 13th at noon. Here’s why you’ll want to shave your head…

Over one hundred ’shavees’ are expected to attend the event, and the more the merrier!  Show up & enjoy drink & food specials with a $10 cover at the door, or pay $20 to also receive a T-Shirt and raffle tickets. All proceeds will go directly to St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Last year’s event raised $10,000 and this year’s goal is $15,000.

Beginning on St. Patrick’s Day in 2000, three executives got together to raise money for kids with cancer.  Instead of raising their goal of $17,000, the first St. Baldrick’s event raised $104,000.  Since then, events in 24 countries have raised more than $74 million!  The St. Baldrick’s Foundation uses the donations to fund research grants for childhood cancer by local institutions, and cooperative research on a national scale to help doctors work together to develop the best treatments for all children with cancer.

I’m seeing green everywhere!

This Saturday, come on down for what some say is the biggest St. Patties Day Parade west of the Mississippi! The theme for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is ‘Celebrating 30 Years of Community Unity with Special Thanks to our Veterans and Military.’ The Parade & Festival are hosted by the Irish Congress of Southern California.  The Grand Marshal of the parade will be Lt. John Finn, USN (Ret.), the oldest living Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.  Other veterans and heroes of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf will also be honored.

Starting at approximately 11 a.m.,  the parade starts at Sixth and Juniper Streets near the Cabrillo Bridge in Balboa Park, and will continue north on Fifth Avenue to Upas, and then return south on Sixth Avenue.  The expected 160 entries will include Police and Fire Department units, equestrians, five marching bands, three bagpipe contingents including the All-Star Marching Band from Dublin, dancing groups, roller skaters, the reigning Miss Colleen, San Diego’s current Smiling Irishman, and representatives from Ireland, as well as antique cars, clowns, and some furry revelers.

From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Festival will host a Celtic Village located at the corner of Sixth and Quince. House McFionn, a troupe of Renaissance re-enactors, will portray the daily Irish life and warfare (circa 1582) with fighting demonstrations, dance, song, crafts, and story-telling. Two beer gardens will open at 11 a.m. with the morning’s festivities, and entertainment will run on two different stages until 5:30 p.m.

The Patriot Zone of the Festival will host groups including the USO, Operation Homefront, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Operation Caregiver, and The Chosen Few. Veterans and members of the Irish community will have a place ‘in the Zone’ to gather and swap stories, and  to explore services that are available to them.

The Kids Zone will entertain younger parade goers with games, rides, llamas, face-painting, and plenty of other activities.  There will also be booths with Irish crafts and refreshment.

Festival entertainment includes the bagpipes and drums of the San Diego Firefighters Emerald Society; Brian Baynes, a frequent guest artist of the San Diego Symphony who has performed with many world-renowned names in Celtic music; recording artist Tony Cummins, whose pub acts are legendary; Brehon Law, an “in your face” Irish folk rock trio from Carlsbad; the Shamrockers, the city’s favorite Irish band with a “classic rock problem,” original Celtic-style music from San Diego-based Sheela-na-Gig; and Celtic vocal talents Heloise Love & Richard Gordon.

“You may call me Sir”

Rascal was our favorite to win in the Ugly Dog category at the Del Mar Ugly Dog contest last Sunday, and win he did! To the delight of Rascal’s owner Dane Andrew, Rascal (a hairless Chinese Crested) won the coveted title of 2010 World’s Ugliest Dog.

Last year, tiny Rascal with his perennial bad hair day, was overshadowed by the towering behemoth Chomper, a mutt of dubious dental hygiene. SanDiegoSunCoast.com sponsored the Ugly Dog Category, so I had the honor of presenting the winning trophy to both Rascal and Dane. Victory never looked so good!

Atta Boy Rascal!!!!

Video taken by Petopia.tv (from our very own Del Mar!)

Passing through Carlsbad along  I-5 this time of year, you’ll notice a sea of a different color. The Flower Fields of Carlsbad cover the hills in a blaze of technicolor.   Over 50 acres of brilliant blooms with a backdrop of vivid blue ocean, and you’re invited to take a walk through the kaleidoscope.

Stroll through fields of alternating stripes waving  a floral version of Old Glory in red, white and blue Anemone flowers.  Lose yourself in the Sweet Pea Maze, see more than 20 varieties the legendary Ecke Poinsettias. More than 50 different kinds of miniature roses bloom in the All American Rose Selection (AARS) garden, one of only 130 AARS accredited public rose gardens nationwide.

Check out these special events…

Kids Day - March 27th, featuring sledding (in real snow?!) arts & crafts, puppetry, theater, and more.

Arts & Crafts Fair – April 10, 11, 17 & 18

Music - Bluegrass on Saturday April 10th,  Blues on Saturday, April 17th.

Photography Workshop – April 18. Participate in a free  macro workshop

Red Hat Ladies’ Day & Style Show – Saturday, April 24th

Mother’s Day Celebration – May 9th

Flower Shows – Orchids at the Flower Fields (April 23-25), the Spring Rose Show (May 1), and the Bonsai Show & Sale (May 8-9).

Master Gardeners – April 10, 17, 24 & May 8.

The Flower Fields are open seven days a week, from 9 AM to 6 PM.  Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for children ages 3 – 10, and free for children under 2.

Poetry in motion

Coastal Del Mar is steeped in equestrian history. From thoroughbred racing to polo ponies, cowboys to dressage, hunter-jumpers  to pleasure riders,  all share a common bond – a deep love of horses. Since its inception in 1946, the Del Mar National Horse Show has steadily grown to become one of the most prestigious equestrian competitions in the Western United States. This years event, held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, will bring even more excitement to the coast!

Over 1,500 horses of every breed and training are expected at this eagerly anticipated event.  Some of the best competitors in the nation will be vying for prize money, coveted titles, ribbons and trophies. Purchase tickets – Official Show Site. The competition is broken down into three categories, and will run over a three week period…

Western Week  – April 22 – 25

Dressage Week  – April 29 – May 2

Hunter/Jumper Week  – May 4 – 9

Need a new Stetson to go with your chaps? The Wild West Expo preceeds the Del Mar National Horse Show April 16th to 18th, with three days of Western themed antiques, art, clothing, leather goods and jewelry for sale. Patrons will be able to peruse everything from Western Americana to Contemporary Western couture with lots of premier exhibitors on hand at the Bing Crosby Exhibition Hall, also at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Specialty antiques dealers will be showcasing Native American, Vaquero and Cowboy art, memorabilia and finery, as well as photography and furnishings.

Top photo from Fotolia, bottom  photo from Wild West Expo

]]> http://sandiegosuncoast.com/2010/03/10/del-mar-national-horse-show-2010/feed/ 0 http://sandiegosuncoast.com/2010/03/10/del-mar-national-horse-show-2010/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SanDiegoSunCoast/~3/cIvciZ3D9PI/ http://sandiegosuncoast.com/2010/03/05/youre-on-an-1800s-revenue-cutter-when-she-fires-her-guns-in-the-dead-of-night/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:28:40 +0000 Sandi Beach http://sandiegosuncoast.com/?p=12580 Click here to view the embedded video.

Imagine for a moment if you will… You’ve won the 33rd America’s Cup Race and you’ve just returned home to the US, victorious and celebrated. You are minding your own business and an 1847 behemouth of a tall ship sneaks up on you and fires her guns across your bow.

WHAT DO YOU DO? You celebrate!

NOTE: We edited out the part where Jocelyne almost dropped both herself and her camera into the water after the first reverberating shot. You can hear the gigging in the background…

Spring is near & romance is in the air sea…

Spike and Mike (of Sick & Twisted animation fame) are debuting ‘New Generation Animation‘, a collection of mainstream award-winning (Cannes, Academy Award nominee, Comic-Con…) cutting edge animated shorts. Don’t miss their critically acclaimed ensemble of the best and funniest  international animation shorts from around the world. Talents include Bill Plympton, PES, The Town Called Panic team and many more. Avant-guard meets clever with a twist!

For a VERY LIMITED ENGAGEMENT at the Museum of Contemporary Art – La Jolla. Prices are very reasonable considering the on-screen talent, only $15 per person, or $12 per person group rates for 4 or more. Show times are:

March 5th – Friday – 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM → That’s TONIGHT!!

March 13 & 20th  - Saturday – 7:15 PM & 9:30 PM

TO SEE WHAT THE SHOW WILL BE LIKE, CLICK HERE → New Generation Preview