SOUTH PARK NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2015

SOUTH PARK NEWS

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Vol.1 No. 1 Sept./Oct. 2015

IT’S A THROWATHON!

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Annual ritual produces ceramic bowls for December’s big SoNo Fest and Chili Cook-Off Brittanni Powell on the potter’s wheel is part of the Throwathon that Kouta Shimazaki, owner of San Diego Ceramic Connection, holds to produce the thousands of bowls that will be sold at the Dec. 6 SoNo Fest and Chili Cook-Off, a benefit for McKinley Elementary School. These things last far into the night and early morning hours. See story on PAGE 10

NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS RULE Jefferson, McKinley, Golden Hill

school principal.

and Roosevelt head back to school in style

Ganderton has big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of beloved principal Julie Ashton Gray. But she is up to the task.

It’s time to celebrate, because the happiest time of the year is upon us….back to school! New book smell perfumes the air, pencils are sharp, backpacks are clean, jeans don’t have holes or grass stains, and packed lunch containers are intact and ready to be filled.

As a parent, it means the end to summer camp carpooling, endless piles of sand in the couch and a break from answering the daily, ‘what are we going to do today?’ chant from kids who’ve been away from structure for just a little bit too long.

And kids who are heading back to neighborhood schools have a lot to be excited about this fall:

CONTACT US EDITORIAL/LETTERS Jean Rivaldi jeanrivaldi@gmail.com ADVERTISING Kelly Pouliot kellysdnews@gmail.com

McKinley Elementary, an IB school in North Park’s Altadena neighborhood, warmly welcomes new principal, Deb Ganderton.

Ganderton, whose last post was principal of Rose Elementary in Escondido, couldn’t be more thrilled about filling this position. She has even taken to driving around the Altadena neighborhood during the summer, introducing herself from her car window as McKinley’s new

Teachers at McKinley Elementary got treated to a big surprise when they arrived back this fall. The McKinley Parent Teacher Club renovated and re-decorated the teacher’s lounge, complete with new laminate hardwood-look flooring (donated by Home Depot), custom rustic barn tables, new paint and a new kitchen area. The lounge is now, no doubt, the swankiest teacher’s lounge in town!

And McKinley parent volunteers are already hard at work gearing up for the 6th Annual SoNo Fest & Chili Cook-Off on Dec. 6, 2015 from 11am-5pm. This popular neighborhood street festival, held at 32nd & Thorn, features a restaurant chili competition, live music, craft beer and wine garden, kids fun festival and local handmade vendors.

Jefferson Elementary, an IB and STEAM magnet school in the heart of North Park opens its doors this fall to a plate full of activities including Friends of Jefferson & Waypoint Public Family Movie

Nights! Don’t miss October 13: Puss in Boots; November 10: Inside Out; December 8: Aladdin. Proceeeds from receipts of each evening benefit Jefferson Elementary.

Friends of Jefferson will also present the inaugural Homebrew Festival & Competition, Saturday, November 14 from noon-4pm at the North Park mini-park site south of The Observatory theatre. This brewing fest and competitive event will bring the best of San Diego’s home brewers together with the beer-loving public for a beer-tasting extravaganza.

Proceeds benefit Friends of Jefferson and Jefferson Elementary. To enter go to www.sdhomebrewfest.com.

Golden Hill Elementary, began its second year this fall as a bi-lingual Spanish immersion school. This two-way bilingual immersion blends two language models: an immersion program for English-only speakers and a bilingual maintenance model for English learners. Students from two language groups attend classes together, learning from one another and supporting each others second language acquisition.

Students at Golden Hill will also have the opportunity to participate in ballet classes on campus provided by the generous donation of the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet.

Roosevelt Middle School also welcomed a new principal this fall – Christina Casillas. Casillas most recently served as principal at San Diego High School MVPA and as vice principal at University City High School and Home Hospital.

Casillas’ goals include working with the community to create a quality neighborhood school. She says it is the “collective responsibility of administrators, teachers, parents, students and community members to improve student achievement and outcomes.”

On October 18th, get ready for Halloween and stay fit at Trick or Trot 3k & 5k Run. A fundraiser for the Roosevelt PTSA, this fun run takes participants on a course through Morley Field and Florida Canyon at the edge of Balboa Park.

Prizes will be awarded for best costume! For more information go to www.rooseveltptsa.org.

And a sneak peek of a new event coming for spring 2016 – Pizza in the Park, a pizza and beer taste-off event to be held in Balboa Park.

Details of this event can be found at www.rooseveltptsa.org.

School is now in session. Happy Fall!

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COMMUNITY

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Swimming Down the Drain Closure of Bud Kearns Municipal Pool leaves bathers dry and unhappy STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUSAN TAYLOR

UPDATE: THE CITY WILL REOPEN THE POOL LATER THIS MONTH. The Bud Kearns Municipal Swimming Pool in Morley Field was empty this year, unless you count the piles of dirt and excavating equipment in the deep end.

North Park residents and others who would normally be cooling off at the pool were disappointed this swim season as the facility remained closed well-past its usual April opening.

For months a disheartening and lifeless sign on the chainlink fence has read “Closed until further notice.”

No pool playdates for the toddlers, no lap swimming or water aerobic — just one big bellyflop of a swim season.

Bud Kearns Pool is the oldest in

the city, dating back to 1933. Age and a policy of “deferred maintenance” have taken their toll, as problems have exacerbated and repairs become more complex.

Tim Graham, senior public information officer for the city of San Diego, was forthcoming in explaining the situation. During the normal annual closure period, the city conducted a comprehensive inspection of the pump room and detected an overly calcified eight-inch main drain. The problem was causing pump motors and impellers to malfunction and burn out.

Steps were taken immediately, a contractor and plan were soon in place. However, the drain was not destined for a quick fix. Termed a “major plan submittal,” the proposed work is subject to code and

standard oversight by the County Department of Environmental Health. The plans remain under review.

What has been done is demolition and removal of the drain plumbing from the pool to the circulation pump. Inspection is required before a new drain can be installed.

After approval, the repairs will be phased in. When feasible, the drain will be replaced so that public use of the pool can resume.

This is funded by Parks and Recreation, at a cost of $149,000. In phase two, the perimeter curb will be removed, the gutter system restructured, and the perimeter fence will be replaced. There are no cost estimates for this work as of now.

The building at the Bud Kearns Municipal Pool could use some work.

Stroll by the pool, set just south of the parking lot at Upas and Texas streets, and, lacking swimmers, you may see workers sheltered from the sun by a tarp and umbrella in the deep end of the pool . It’s a waterless pit. Mounds of dark brown soil hint at the big dig within.

“The pool is a major resource for the neighborhood,” said Christopher Cunningham, who lives nearby on 28th Street. His companion, Ronni, who swims at another public pool in San Diego, said, “Swimming is the next best thing to an antiaging pill.”

And Nancy Kincaid of Arizona Street says she “really, really, misses

it.”

Lifeguards, pool manager, and staff have been relocated to other city pools and given comparable hours of employment. Meanwhile, the word is that the pool will open as soon as possible, but there is no mention of any extended or extra hours to compensate for the loss of use this year.

Afer Labor Day, thoughts of swimming may fade as school starts and the weather begins to cool, so as of this writing, North Park residents can only look forward to some splashing in 2016 if the Bud Kearns Municipal Pool repairs are finally completed.

Ask Dr. Z The Bud Kearns Municipal Pool stands empty, waiting for repair work by the city.

How do I get rid of this acne?

Acne is just an infection of the pores.

There are three main parts that must occur for acne, and all three are influenced by hormones, so that is why adolescence is the most common time for acne.

First, the skin does not shed as easily as usual. The dead skin cells just stay as a layer on the newer skin below, and it will block the pores. This causes pimples, mainly blackheads and whiteheads. Some people have a natural difficulty shedding dead skin cells and may have pimples their whole lives.

Second, there is an increase in sebum, an oily secretion like oily sweat from the pores. This is affected by diet — sugar and grease tend to increase it.

Third, there is an increase in the bacteria on the face, especially Propionibacterium.

The normal sequence of events is that the pore gets blocked, the sebum cannot get out (pimples) and so it builds up, and the bacteria, which lives in the sebum, increases and causes the infection of a zit (mini boil).

So to get rid of acne, you have to focus on all three parts, and clearly the most important is the first one— get rid of dead skin cells. Without the pore being blocked, it can’t get infected.

Washing the face frequently with a slight abrasive is the way to go. The soap will also kill the bacteria for a great 1-2 punch. Using a washcloth, or a pad with pockets like Stridex pads, help with the abrasive part. Also Benzoyl peroxide is a wonderful abrasive as well

as an astringent that kills the bacteria, and also strips away the sebum on the surface. Retinoids also “peel” the dead skin cells off.

Absolute minimum is THREE times daily. If you are not washing three times a day, then no dermatologist will see you and no other methods will be prescribed because none of them will work if you are not stripping off the dead skin cells. If there is still significant acne despite washing a lot with benzoyl peroxide and scrub, then we use antibiotic ointment or cream topically to help. It is added after the washing. After this, if acne is still a problem, we use oral antibiotics for 4-6 weeks. You cannot stay on them long term as the side effects are cumulative.

For women, birth control pills can control the hormonal effects on the acne, but cannot help the others, so face washing is still needed. For extreme cases only, there is Accutane, which suppresses the immune response to the bacteria. This is dangerous, since then you can get all sorts of other infections.

It is similar to being on Chemo.

So the approach to acne is a step wise approach. Washing always, then add in cream, then add in an antibiotic by mouth, then consider birth control pills or Accutane on top of it all. And a good, clean diet with eight hours of sleep a night will help keep your skin clear!

Dr. Tara Zandvliet welcomes your questions. Send them to questions@ southparkdoctor.com. She practices at 2991 Kalmia St. Phone: (619) 929-0032.

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Burlingame Home Sale Tops $1.3 Million STORY AND PHOTOS BY TOM SHESS

Original staircase has been restained.

Front upstairs bedroom shows new oak flooring (throughout the home) plus a view of the terrace. ‘As kids we could see all the fireworks in San Diego from the wrap-around terrace,’ said Marty McDaniel, home seller.

A historic North Park two-story home on Kalmia Street in the historic Burlingame neighborhood has sold at a reported $1.38 million, a “record for Burlingame home sales,” said Marty McDaniel who, along with his sister, Julie McDaniel Kellems, representing the McDaniel Family Trust, were the sellers.

The Prairie-style home, completed in 1913, has been in the McDaniel

Family since 1963 when Rita and Julius McDaniel purchased it. Siblings Marty and Julie have spent the past 3.5 years restoring the family home to get it ready for the private sale.

New owners are Alpine residents with North Park ties. “I grew up in North Park and am really happy to return,” says Amy Bowen, who with her husband Dane closed escrow in mid-September.

Prairie-style exterior of 3113 Kalmia, which was designed in 1913 by San Diego icon architect William Wheeler.

Marty McDaniel and his sister Julie McDaniel Kellems have sold the family home they lived in since 1963 for a reported $1.38 million.

Designed by icon San Diego architect William Wheeler and built by contractor W.A. McIntyre, the home at 3113 Kalmia cost $6,000 to build.

First owners were Harry and Verna Benbough, who owned Benbough Furniture Co., Downtown. Harry was the brother of Percival Benbough, a mayor of San Diego.

Julie and Marty were project managers for the restoration. The added bath, shown here, was originally her childhood bedroom.

With no design experience, the McDaniel siblings showed remarkable taste in the recently completed new look of an upstairs bathroom.

North Park Mixed-Use Property Sells for $1,065,000 A mixed-use property on El Cajon Boulevard in North Park has been purchased by HTC Investments LLC for $1.06 million.

The sellers were Emad and Sarah Mirgoli. The property is at 2029 El

Cajon Blvd.

The total building area, which includes two retail storefronts and a detached duplex, is 3,756 square feet and sits on a 7,118-square-foot lot.

The sellers originally purchased

the building in 2012 for $700,000.

Limor Spilky, senior associate of commercial property investment sales for Location Matters Brokerage Services, represented the sellers in the transaction.

EDUCATION

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COOL CAMPUS ADAMS AVENUE NEWS northparknews.biz/digital MidCityNewspaperGroup.com Serving San Diego’s Premier Mid City Communities Chairman/CEO Bob Page BobPage@sandiegometro.com Publisher Rebeca Page RebecaPage@sandiegometro.com Associate Publisher Brad Weber ReachLocals@ MidCityNewspaperGroup.com Editor Manny Cruz Manny@sandiegometro.com Art Director Chris Baker cbaker@sandiegometro.com

As California continues to suffer from one of the worst droughts on record, a key UC San Diego sustainability initiative is water conservation. Since 2009, the campus has reduced its water use by more than 30 million gallons a year, and in the last year has recycled 400,000 gallons. All new landscaping at the university uses drought-tolerant plants (above).

UC San Diego the 7th ‘Coolest School’ in nation for sustainability UC San Diego has been named the 7th “Coolest School” by Sierra magazine, climbing 10 spots from last year in the publication’s annual ranking of America’s greenest colleges.

Sierra magazine is a publication of the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest environmental group in the U.S. “It is an honor to be recognized as one of the nation’s top colleges for our commitment to protect the environment,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Sustainability is part of our institutional DNA, imparted to us by UC San Diego’s early scientists like Roger Revelle, one of the university’s founders and a pioneer of climate change research. We have built upon their legacy to become a living laboratory of sustainable solutions that benefit our local and global communities.”

According to the editors at Sierra magazine, factors that helped schools like UC San Diego land in the top 10 included having dining halls that serve organic and local foods; waste systems that divert trash from landfills; transportation options that keep students and staff out of cars; academic programs that are heavily eco-focused; and strong methods to conserve water and energy.

“Sustainability is a top priority in UC San Diego’s education, research and campus operations,” added Gary C. Matthews, vice chancellor for Resource Management and

Planning. “From building green to saving water to offering hundreds of sustainability related classes, our efforts are changing not only the campus, but also the minds of the students we’re educating.”

As California continues to suffer from one of the worst droughts on record, a key UC San Diego sustainability initiative is water conservation, which editors at Sierra noted.

“Since 2009, the campus has reduced its water use by more than 30 million gallons a year, and in the last year has recycled 400,000 gallons,” they wrote. “All new landscaping uses drought-tolerant plants.

There are many eco-groups on campus, including Aquaholics Anonymous, which hosts water-saving competitions in the dorms.”

Other eco-friendly accomplishments at UC San Diego highlighted

by Sierra magazine include encouraging campus commuters to use alternative transportation options such as public transit, carpools, vanpools, bikes, car sharing, ride matching, campus shuttles and more. The university was recently recognized with a Diamond Award from the San Diego Association of Government (SANDAG) for making strides to promote alternative commute choices in the workplace.

Additional UC San Diego sustainable efforts lauded by the magazine include the following: Food

17 percent of all food purchased in Housing, Dining and Hospitality

locations is locally grown and/or certified organic or fair trade.

100 percent of coffee in in these locations is certified fair trade.

The campus composts pre-consumer food waste in all dining halls.

UC San Diego is home to student-run gardens that also feature locally grown produce.

Energy Conservation

UC San Diego has an aggressive goal to be climate neutral by 2025.

The campus generates 92 percent of its own electricity and has one the largest, most advanced microgrids in the world, which features alternative sources of energy such as photovoltaics.

Waste Diversion

One of UC San Diego’s goals is to be zero waste by 2020.

During the spring 2015 student move out, more than 25 tons of donations such as food and clothes were sent to a local charity and food pantry.

The campus avoided 86 tons of plastic water bottles usage through

its hydration station refill program.

UC San Diego’s graduation gowns are made of 100 percent recycled products.

Academics

UC San Diego offers a range of “green” majors and minors from environmental systems to urban planning to hundreds of sustainability-related courses.

As part of the campuswide strategic plan, UC San Diego produces research that helps to better understand and protect the planet.

Campus Life

UC San Diego is home to the Sustainability Resource Center, a onestop-sustainability-shop where the campus community can learn about courses on sustainability-related topics, how to conserve energy and water and how to get more involved in sustainability on campus.

UC San Diego was the first UC campus to launch a Staff Sustainability Network which provides grants for sustainability projects.

Marketing/Advertising Kelly Pouliot kellysdnews@gmail.com -----------------------------Writers/Columnists Todd Gloria Bart Mendoza Delle Willett Anna Lee Fleming Sara Wacker Media Consultant Tom Shess Social Media Ali Hunt Photography Manny Cruz Sande Lollis Letters/Opinion Pieces North Park News encourage letters to the editor and guest editorials. Please address correspondence to Manny@sandiegometro.com or mail to Manny Cruz. Please include a phone number, address and name for verification purposes; no anonymous letters will be printed. We reserve the right to edit letters and editorials for brevity and accuracy.

Story ideas/Press Releases Do you have an idea for an article you would like to see covered in this newspaper? We welcome your ideas, calendar item listings and press releases. For breaking news, please call us at (619) 287-1865.

For all other news items, please email Manny@sandiegometro.com.

ADDRESS PO Box 3679, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 PHONE (858) 461-4484 North Park News distributes copies monthly to residents and businesses of North Park, South Park, Golden Hill and Normal Heights.

The entire contents of North Park News is copyrighted, 2015, by REP Publishing, Inc. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without prior written consent.

All rights reserved.

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | SEPT. - OCT. 2015 | 7

Guardians of the Park ‘Friends’ and other groups work to keep Balboa Park alive and well into the next century

BY DELLE WILLETT

On the last day of 1999, a group of volunteers called The Millennium Society threw a fundraising gala for Balboa Park. All of the society’s charter members attended, paying $199.99 a ticket.

Moving into the new century, The Millennium Society rebranded itself as the Friends of Balboa Park, dedicated to Balboa Park as a whole, initiating park-wide projects that transcend individual institutions, and addressing human-scale needs, with the vision of keeping the park alive and well into the next century.

Leading the charge is Betty Peabody, who has been involved in Balboa Park since 1969 when she heard and responded to a radio spot: “Docents wanted to teach sex education at the Museum of Man, no experience necessary.”

Over the years her volunteerism expanded exponentially to encompass the entire park and includes chairing the board of the House of Hospitality, The Millennium Society, and Friends of Balboa Park, and membership on the boards of the Museum of Man and the Central Balboa Park Association.

From a core group of six, the circle of Friends has grown to over 500 supporters, and their accomplishments number in the hundreds, some being a one-time effort, others ongoing year after year.

Currently there are 20 members on the Friends’ board, 30 members on the advisory council, and 25 on the bylaws committee.

Since its inception, Friends of Balboa Park has invested and contributed over $4 million in private money to Balboa Park.

“Our greatest successes are not always the most conspicuous: quietly identifying and meeting a need, seamlessly integrating a new feature into an historic setting, and partnering with other organizations and public agencies to raise the park’s profile and give its interests a voice in city government,” said Peabody, a founder of Friends.

The Friend’s core programs include preservation and enhancement of parkland, structure and infrastructure, visitor safety and security, park access and understanding, and preservation of the park’s legacy.

Peabody has her favorite projects.

“Whatever we are doing at the time is my favorite. Just knowing what we are doing is the best for the future of the park,” she said.

However she did pick a few to illustrate current successes: A true labor of love and example of the private/public partnership that Friends has with the City of San Diego are the five information kiosks conveniently placed around the park. The kiosks provide the visitor with maps and information about the park’s many attractions and institutions and their offerings. They also have ATM machines.

This project was seven years in the

Betty Peabody has been involved in Balboa Park since 1969.

making at a cost of $500,000.

During the centennial year, the Adopt-a-Plot Program invites individuals, families, organizations and businesses to adopt a garden or landscape area within Balboa Park. This program is so successful they are hoping to continue it beyond the centennial year.

San Diego’s first Arbor Day celebration was on March 17, 1904. Kate Sessions helped to organize that first planting, a community event attended by 350 school children who came to what was then called “City Park” to plant 60 pine and cypress trees.

The Friends brought back the tradition, and recently celebrated its 8th Arbor Day at the War Memorial Building when 11 American Tulip trees were planted with volunteer help from local area students.

“Going into the centennial we asked ourselves, ‘How can we be sure the park is going to be here 100 years from now and into the next centennial?’— and the answer is water. And that’s why we chose water as our 2015 project,” said Peabody.

The Friend’s Water-Wise program was designed to optimize water use in the parkland by 2020, to make the park more environmentally sustainable while keeping it healthy and fit for appropriate human enjoyment.

An example is the Zoro Garden Water Reclamation project currently under construction, where water from the roof of the Casa de Balboa (rain, dew and HVAC condensation) will be captured, stored and used to irrigate the adjacent Zoro Garden and canyon.

Friends is also tackling the park’s water infrastructure, financing a documentation of the park’s underground water pipes which were laid in the early 1900s with little or obsolete documentation.

Over the last 2.5 years Dr. Matt Rahn, an environmental scientist and professor at San Diego State University, and his students have been mapping the water pipes and valves that deliver water into the park.

GPS is allowing Rahn and his students to develop an app that will help city workers locate weak points in the park’s water pipes as well as enabling them to stand anywhere in the park at a broken water main, look at a map

Dr. Matt Rahn, an environmental scientist and professor at San Diego State University, and his students have been mapping the water pipes and valves that deliver water into the park.

of Google Earth in real time and say, “This is where the closest three valves are to isolate that piece of pipe.” Once a break is isolated, the city won’t have to turn off water to the entire park, shutting it down. Using this technique, there’s a 90% labor-saving in those areas.

To date, 11 water sources (all drinkable) have been identified, supplying water to buildings, gardens, landscapes and fountains. Students are locating the pipes and trying to determine the size, the age, the manufacturer, and the materials the pipes are made of.

The survey will take another one to two years to complete; it is critical for troubleshooting leaks and digging for any reason.

Every year in October, since 2000, Friends of Balboa Park — an apolitical organization — holds a luncheon to honor long-time park volunteers, many of whom have worked quietly behind the scenes for years. All of the park’s organizations support and value this event, which typically draws over 300 participants to witness the giving of awards: five “Inspiration” awards and one “Millennium” award.

Peabody, who has worked seven days a week for the park for more than 45 years, said, “A very generous benefactor has given one million dollars to Friends of Balboa Park as a lead gift for an endowment fund. In addition, in this centennial year we’ve been challenged to raise $500,000 more which will be matched dollar for dollar by year’s end. Thus our endowment will be doubled. This will allow us to give more support to the ever-challenging needs of Balboa Park, from water infrastructure to the gardens to educating school children for the future.”

Learn more about Friends of Balboa Park by visiting their website: http://friendsofbalboapark.org.

Delle Willett is a freelance writer with 30 years’ experience in marketing and public relations. She can’t leave home without her: Nikon camera, running shoes, sunglasses, ChapStick, Tums, and cell phone.

Balboa Park Support Groups Some groups that support Balboa Park as a whole, and organizations within the park include: • The Committee of 100 Founded in 1967 to preserve Balboa Park’s Spanish Colonial Revival architecture from the 1915–1916 Panama-California Exposition, its mission has expanded to include the architecture, gardens, and public spaces of both the 1915–1916 and 1935–1936 California Pacific International Exposition. Since 1967 all four remaining “temporary” 1915 buildings have been reconstructed in permanent materials and not a single building has been lost.

• The Balboa Park Trust is a family of nearly 40 endowment funds managed by The San Diego Foundation and a dedicated committee of volunteers. Since 1985, the Trust has supported the enrichment and enhancement of the park and its cultural and recreational programs. Grants have totaled more than $1.7 million for a wide variety of preservation, beautification and maintenance enhancements.

• The Balboa Park Conservancy promotes Balboa Park through its programs, Balboa Park Visitors Center and Balboa Park Marketing. The Conservancy is also responsible for the National Historic Landmark House of Hospitality building, the Balboa Park Visitors Center, a police storefront, offices of cultural and educational organizations, and The Prado restaurant, all in the House of Hospitality.

• The Balboa Park Cultural Partnership includes 28 arts, science and cultural institutions in Balboa Park who collaborate to achieve greater organizational efficiency, innovation and excellence. The partnership was formed in 2003 to provide a means for members to identify and achieve collective goals and to speak with one voice on issues of mutual benefit and importance.

• BPAL is a Balboa Park Alliance with members from the Committee of 100, Friends of Balboa Park and Balboa Park Trust of the San Diego Foundation. They each raise money for the park and each has a distinctive role but work collaboratively on projects of mutual interest.

• Since 1997, Patrons of the Prado has provided over $2 million and thousands of volunteer hours to benefit the distinguished array of arts and cultural organizations that occupy the Prado.

• For nearly 100 years, The Thursday Club members have combined social activities and volunteering their time for civic and benevolent projects benefitting various entities in Balboa Park and the San Diego community.

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By Bart Mendoza October 9 A Benedetti Tribute to John Lennon Virtuoso guitarist Fred Benedetti performs a special birthday tribute to John Lennon at Dizzy’s on Oct. 9. Benedetti will be joined by daughters Regina and Julia, as well as multi-instrumentalist/bassist Jeff Pekarek for a set that will take in material from throughout Lennon’s career. Between Benedetti’s immense talent and what is easily the greatest song catalog of all time, this show promises to be captivating from start to finish. Songs will include such gems as “In My Life” and “Help,” but whatever is chosen for the set list will please even the most jaded Beatles fan. dizzysjazz.com

September 25 Blues-Oriented Hard Rock from Royal Blood You’d think the two-man band trend would be played out by now— the very format seems limiting. But then a band like Royal Blood comes along and all bets are off. Appearing at the House of Blues on Sept. 25, the two play an intense, blues-oriented, hard rock set that manages to have both intricacy as well as serious rock ‘n’ roll bombast. Though still relatively unknown Stateside, the band’s album hit No. 1 in their native England, as well as hitting No. 17 here, so it’s safe to say Royal Blood is currently upwardly mobile. With a blistering attack and a ton of great singles such as “Figure It Out,” this is a band with real potential staying power. houseofblues.com/sandiego

October 6 With Paul Weller, A Concert Season Highlight One of the most important songwriters of the 20th century, Paul Weller appears at the Observatory on Oct. 6. Through such legendary groups as the Jam and the Style Council, Weller’s mod-influenced sounds have inspired generations of music fans, with a slew of classic tunes to his credit, ranging from “Town Called Malice” to “Speak Like A Child.” Never one to stand still for very long, Weller is currently on tour behind his latest album, “Saturns Pattern,” which, while still rooted in R&B inspired rock, finds him expanding his sonic palette. Long-time fans know this show will be one of the year’s concert highlights, while anyone who may not have yet been turned on to his music, should make this event a priority. You won’t be disappointed. jwww.observatorysd.com

September 23 Redd Kross Returns San Diego is blessed to have many great unique music venues, but the coolest has to be Panama 66, located in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Balboa Park. The scenery is great, the food and drink are top notch, but it’s the no-cover music sets that makes the place a stand out. Wednesday evenings are highly recommended for jazz fans as trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos presents new talent in his Young Lions series. On Sept. 23, Castellanos welcomes singer and guitarist Kate Sprague. That last name alone should be enough to entice any jazz aficionados into checking this out, as the Sprague’s have been San Diego’s first family of jazz for decades.

It’s wonderful to see a new generation take the stage. panama66.blogspot.com

SEPT. 24 Stevie Harris to Recreate Marvin Gaye Album

September 23 Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos’ Young Lions Series It almost sounds impossible, but on Aug. 4, members of punk legends The Sex Pistols, Blondie, Gen X will be at the Soda Bar. Performing under the name the International Swingers, the quartet features drummer Clem Burke (Blondie), bassist Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols), guitarist James Stevenson (Gen X) and frontman Gary Twinn, essentially performing their greatest hits, from “Dancing With Myself” to “Pretty Vacant.” It’s like an ultra-hip jukebox, with one classic track reeled off after another, and stellar playing from all involved. But keep an eye on Burke — one of the world’s greatest drummer’s is also a master showman. sodabarmusic.com

A new venue, The Music Box, has opened Downtown’s Little Italy neighborhood, taking over the location formerly housing the much missed Anthology nightspot. The Music Box seems to have a more eclectic booking policy than the previous lease holder, with more indie rock than jazz on it’s schedule at the moment. On Sept. 24, the club will host a free show from dynamic soul singer, Stevie Harris. Backed by an eight-piece band, Harris will recreate Marvin Gaye’s iconic 1971 album, “What’s Going On,” mixing in other soul classics as the night progresses. Harris is one of the area’s best front men, a commanding presence every bit as good as the acts he will be covering on this night. musicboxsd.com

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | SEPT. - OCT. 2015 | 9

WEEKEND MUSIC FEST

Adams Avenue Street Fair to bring 110 musical acts to the neighborhood

The Album Leaf.

The 34th annual Adams Avenue Street Fair — the largest free, twoday music festival in Southern California — returns to the street on Sept. 26-27 and brings 110 musical acts on eight stages to the neighborhood.

The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Besides the musical entertainment, there will be beer gardens, beer tastings, carnival rides, exotic foods and more than 350 arts and crafts booths.

Headlining artists include: The Rugburns, The Wailing Souls, “The Stray Cat” Lee Rocker, Kid Ramos & the 44’s, HoneyHoney, Stranger, Steve Poltz, and the Creepy Creeps.

A full list and bios can be viewed online at www.adamsavenuebusiness.com.

The Adams Avenue Business Association sponsors the festival each year.

Beer connoisseurs will enjoy the Street Fair’s Craft Beer Taste, (from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday only), across from the Starbucks Stage.

Visitors to the craft beer taste will have the opportunity to sample 12, 4-ounce tastes for $20. Last year among the 30 types of craft beers being featured from 16 breweries during the tasting included offerings from Aztec Brewing Co., Automatic Brewing Co., Ballast Point, BNS, Stone, Stumble Foot, Goose Island, Green Flash, Twisted Manzanita and Mission Brewery..

Four additional beer gardens are open throughout the two-day run of the street fair featuring full pour servings of San Diego’s best craft beer selection.

HoneyHoney

Alaina Blair

The Wailing Souls

Alice Wallace

Big Jay McNeely

Burning of Rome

Heartless Bastards

The Stray Coat Lee Rocker

Pat Banton, Patrick Murray

Stranger

The 44s with Kid Ramos

The Creepy Creeps

The Rugburns

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IT’S A THROWATHON!

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MANNY CRUZ

Annual ritual produces ceramic bowls for December’s big SoNo Fest and Chili Cook-Off

Mercy Southan (left) and Jessica Morris are among the several volunteers who show up to make bowls for the chili cook-off.

Scott Powell spins a bowl.

Kouta Shimazaki and volunteers having fun at the throwathon.

This is not a typical Friday night at Kouta Shimazaki’s San Diego Ceramic Connection. The place is crawling with volunteers.

On one side of the shop on Thorn Street, people are crammed shoulder to shoulder on both sides of a long wooden table, each person kneading a clump of clay into a shape resembling a big brown teardrop. Occasionally, Kouta will step in and give hands-on lessons on how to shape the clay.

On the other side of the room, several seated volunteers are busy working with clay on spinning pottery wheels, shaping the clay into 4 and ½-inch diameter bowls that later will be fired and painted. The technique is called “throwing a bowl” and Kouta’s Friday night spectacle is called

a “Throwathon” that will last until the very early hours of the next day.

The event attracts adults, teens and children who come to Kouta’s place to work and have fun.

Several Throwathons are held each year to produce the thousands of ceramic bowls that will be sold to visitors at the annual SoNo Fest and Chili Cook-Off, a December festival that has grown so huge in popularity that Kouta is hard-pressed to make enough bowls for the event.

During the festival — which will be held on Sunday, Dec. 6 this year — chili recipes from competing restaurants will be sampled by the crowds of visitors, all eating from the bowls specifically made for the occasion. Everyone who samples the chili can vote for their favorites. Local

celebrities and politicians will crown the winners.

The free event, sponsored by San Diego Ceramic Connection and the McKinley Elementary School Foundation, benefits McKinley Elementary School. It evolved from a chili cookoff that Kouta had been running since around 1998. The SoNo name comes from a blending of the two communities, South Park and North Park.

“This event has evolved from a small group of friends and patrons gathering to eat chili and have a good time into a major street festival and fundraising event to benefit McKinley,” said Kouta. “The people in our community have really pulled together to make this a success and that’s something I’m proud to be part of.”

Kouta Shimazaki, owner of San Diego Ceramic Connection, presides over the annual Throwathons.

Volunteer Katie Spencer.

Bowls made during the Throwathon will be fired and painted at a later date.

September 19 - Taste of South Park October 3rd - South Park Walkabout, 6-10pm October 13 - FOJ & Waypoint Family Movie Night* October 18 - Trick or Trot 3k & 5k Run* November 10 - FOJ & Waypoint Family Movie Night* November 14 - FOJ Homebrew Festival & Competition* November 29 - South Park Tree Lighting Ceremony, 6pm December 5 - SPBG South Park Walkabout, 6-10pm December 5 - Makers Arcade at North Park Post Office December 6 - McKinley PTC SoNo Fest & Chili Cook-Off* December 8 - FOJ & Waypoint Family Movie Night* *These events support neighborhood schools.

As thousands of children prepare to embark on their trick-or-treating jaunts in neighborhoods near and far, it is best to once again revisit safety tips that can help ensure this Halloween is enjoyable and injuryfree. Š Visibility: Visibility is key when donning a Halloween costume.

Children should be dressed in highly visible costumes so drivers can easily see them. Parents and chaperones also should be dressed in bright colors. Reflective tape and flashlights also make pedestrians more visible to oncoming cars. Š Routes: Children and adults should plan their trick-or-treating routes ahead of time. This way they kids can be found quickly if they are separated from their groups, and parents can choose safe neighborhoods. Choose neighborhoods and paths that have the least amount of automobile traffic. Š Walk, don’t run. Trick-or-treaters should stick to sidewalks and only cross the street at intersection crosswalks. Make sure kids know to avoid darting out between cars or cutting across lawns and driveways.

When darkness sets in, fast-moving children can be difficult to see. Š Visit only lit houses. Residents who don’t want to answer the door will typically leave their homes’ exterior lights off. Only visit homes that are decorated, bright and welcoming to trick-or-treaters. Š Go in groups. Children should go out in groups and always be accompanied by an adult chaperone. Š Costume safety: Everyone should wear well-fitted costumes that do not drag on the floor or impede mobility. Choose face paint over masks so that vision is not obscured. Š Beware of fire hazards. Keep clear of jack-o-lanterns that are lit by real flames. Homeowners can opt for LED lights or other, safer methods of illumination rather than candles and open flames.

Halloween is an exciting day for youngsters, and following a few safety can make the day both fun and safe.

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Historic Home Tour: Prairie Style to be showcased The Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego features a rich variety of early 20th century architectural styles.

This year, Mission Hills Heritage will showcase Prairie Style homes built in the 1910s and 1920s on its 11th annual Historic Home Tour Saturday, Sept. 27.

Six homes will be open for tour attendees to view the exterior and interior details of the residences.

As an additional feature on the tour, there will be a showing of the 1920s historic United Church of Christ at 400 Jackdaw, a highly substantial landmark in Mission Hills.

The Prairie Style was developed by a group of Chicago architects who have become known as the “Prairie School.” Considered radical design from the perspective of Victorian America, features of the Prairie Style include a low-pitched, usually hipped roof, widely overhanging eaves with one-story wings or porches, cornices

and facade detailing emphasizing horizontal lines, wide bands of windows and often massive, square porch supports.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s early work was in the Prairie Style and he was acknowledged as a master designer of the Prairie house. Many of the other Prairie architects worked with either Frank Lloyd Wright himself, or with his earlier employer and teacher, Louis Sullivan.

How did the Prairie Style migrate to San Diego and Mission Hills? It originated in Chicago and the landmark examples are concentrated in that city’s early 20th century suburbs and other large Midwestern cities.

However, vernacular examples were spread widely in pattern books and popular magazines such as “Western Architect.”

Seeking a new life in the West, numerous architects, builders and individuals traveled from the East and arrived in San Diego, introducing

fresh and new home designs.

Irving Gill, a prominent San Diego architect, worked under Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago. Gill built several Prairie Style homes and buildings in San Diego and the style also influenced his later designs.

The Prairie Style also caught on with many local San Diego builders working in Mission Hills, including Nathan Rigdon, Martin Melhorn, Alexander Schreiber and Morris B. Irvin.

Local adaptations included hybrids combining elements of Craftsman, Mission, and even Mediterranean

Revival Styles. Our milder climate provided designs for open balconies and porches instead of the enclosed porches of Chicago and pergolas and porte-cocheres with climbing wisteria, instead of the built-in planter boxes seen in the Midwest.

The Spanish Revival Style replaced the Arts & Crafts and Prairie Styles in the 1920s; however, the Prairie Style greatly influenced later California styles such as Mid-Century Modern and Ranch.

Attendees at the historic home tour can experience how San Diego architects and builders applied the Prairie Style in San Diego.

Tickets are $20 for Mission Hills Heritage members and $25 for nonmembers.Advance reservations may be mailed in by Sept. 19 to: Mission Hills Heritage, 325 W. Washington Street, Suite 2, Box 221, San Diego, CA 92103, or online by Sept. 25 at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2 156710.

Ticket sales location at United Church of Christ, 4070 Jackdaw St. For more information about Mission Hills Heritage, visit: www.MissionHillsHeritage.org Email: info@MissionHillsHeritage.org.

Phone: (619) 497-1193.

This stately home is an example of one of the residences that have continued to grace the Mission Hills neighborhood for more than a century. (Photo by Hugh Largey)

The Road Ahead: Traveling Exhibition

Artists have played an important role throughout history — in every culture.

This includes the history of persons with developmental disabilities who have stepped into the limelight as their art plays an important role in shaping their identity and in claiming their place in the world of contemporary art.

The Road Ahead is a collaborative show merging the artists and interests of Hozhoni Foundation, Project Onward Studio & Gallery, Sophie’s Gallery and Suzi Cappa Art Center who together celebrate the tremendous talents of persons with developmental disabilities.

Featuring the artwork of 12 individual artists, The Road Ahead will touch many lives across the United States as it travels for a year stopping in Chicago; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Rapid City, S.D.; and San Diego.

Sophie’s Gallery, an art program of St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, premiered The Road Ahead on Sept. 5 at Sophie’s Kensington Gallery. The show will then travel to the Martha Pace Swift Gallery at NTC Liberty Station for October and November.

The Road Ahead A collaboration of four centers that provide art programming for persons with developmental disabilities that will travel nationally for over a year. Oct. 2 through Nov. 30 Reception Oct. 2, 5-9 p.m. and Nov. 6, 5-9 p.m. Martha Pace Swift Gallery, 2820 Roosevelt Road, San Diego.

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | SEPT. - OCT. 2015 | 13

Universal Design in the Arts & Crafts Spirit

BY PATRICIA POORE | ARTS & CRAFTS HOMES AND THE REVIVAL PHOTOS BY TROY THIES

Decorative tile collected in England became the centerpiece of the range backsplash.

A passion for period design plus issues of mobility created this new home in St. Paul.

“Our last one was a 1912 American Foursquare,” says Mary Griffin, who imagined this house along with her husband, Raymond Dietman, and architect Jeremiah Battles. Built on an open lot in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, it immediately fit in. “We wanted the beautiful things about our old house transferred to an accessible house,” Mary explains, “so the new house was designed to feel like the old one. Our architect and contractor understood completely, and included the mouldings, cabinets, and details found a century ago.”

Ray wears a leg brace and sometimes uses crutches for more stability; too many falls made the couple realize they needed a place where he could avoid stairs and with an attached garage—a house that would suit the couple for years to come. (The basement in the new house can be turned into a caregiver apartment, for example.) “We could have moved half a mile north and found a lovely one-level rambler, but we wanted to stay where we know people on every block,” Mary says.

“As a teenager, I lived in England and went to a boarding school that had been remodeled by Lutyens,” she says.

“That became my reference point for the architecture I love—I admit to being an Anglophile. Fortunately, Ray shares my taste.” The couple appreciated the old Foursquare’s Arts & Crafts details, the oak woodwork, beveled glass and built-ins, art-glass doors in the dining-room buffet.

Incorporating architectural salvage in the new building contributed to its always-been-here feeling. During the design process, Mary found vintage lighting fixtures, a Tudor fireplace surround, and even beveled glass for windows and doors. “I started with one big piano window,” she says, referring to an ornamental horizontal window under which their upright piano now sits. “Jeremiah said that if I stuck to

clear beveled glass, avoiding stainedand frosted-glass patterns, the windows would seem to match.” Five interior (room to room) windows are fitted with salvage. The salvaged front door is a simpler version of an elaborate beveled-glass door Mary has admired on Summit Avenue in St. Paul: “At night, it glitters like a ballroom.”

The restoration company Lightworks in Minneapolis made kitchen pendants and sconces to match a 1912 Sheffield fixture that Mary had found for her dining room. And “I have 13 antique glass shades collected over the years, brought over from our old house—they’re very graceful and I like the way they diffuse light.” Mary has also made simple curtains out of vintage linens. With a long list of needs

and wants, Mary Griffin was very involved in the design process. She’d been eyeing the building lot for a decade, dreaming up houses in her head. Needs were obvious. Wants included bedrooms with cross-ventilation, a den for Ray right by the kitchen, and a coffeepot in the master bathroom. She wanted the basement to open to a patio, and “an upstairs hall that had windows and a place to do something instead of just pass through.”(Theirs has bookshelves and a daybed, and leads to an upstairs balcony.)

The couple’s restoration contractor was Ben Quie, who agreed to build the new house. Ben suggested the young, talented architect Jeremiah Battles, just SEE DESIGN, Page 14

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starting his own firm, Acacia Architects. As it turned out, “I never called anyone else,” Mary says; “…once we started talking to him, Jeremiah clearly understood, he was perfect for this job.

“God bless him, he involved me in every decision, which I really enjoyed, but he didn’t let me screw up his beautiful design,” Mary laughs. The architect and contractor liked working together. Mary also called in colorist Susan Moore, who chose the palette and also suggested the recessed sink in the powder room.

The house takes maximum advantage of a southern exposure, staying light and warm in winter, while roof overhangs shield the summer sun.

Ample windows keep warm, rich colors in rooms downstairs from feeling dark. Upstairs, all the wood trim is painted in the same off-white, leaving the choice of wall colors up to Mary The elevator is trimmed out like the rest of With handsome woodwork and marble, the curving (and space-efficient) sink recess in while ensuring a flow through the the stairhall. the powder room has an old-fashioned air. rooms.

The wide chair rail functions as a grab bar.

For the landscape, want and need were the same: low maintenance. “I see no reason to grow grass on a 45degree incline and then have to mow it,” Mary says. Though she’d love a cottage garden filled with blowsy flowers, she did not want to commit the time to it long-term. The yard is primarily a native shortgrass prairie with maple and oak shade trees, all designed to transition from sun to shade-tolerant savanna as the trees mature. Landscape designer Dan Peterson of Habadapt put in as much color as he Guests approaching the house see only the main entry door, the owners’ intencould: red-twig dogwoods that stand tion. Sheltered by the porch above, a basement-level entry to the right of the out in the snow, sugar maples for fall garage door is hidden in a ‘grotto’ with an outdoor storage closet. color, forsythia for spring, plus pink hydrangeas and prairie flowers for An Accessible House summer. Swales in the yard allow What used to be called handicap-accessible or disabilities design is now an aspect of universal design, which seeks to make buildrunoff to zigzag down the yard, makings and products function better for everyone: children and ing it self-watering. A small vegetable grownups, short and tall and vision-impaired. Here the house garden is easily managed from the was set into the hillside for a modest street presence, yet it sunken patio. The recessed patio’s offers access to the garage, the porches, and even a backyard floor and its retaining walls capture patio. If the program called for a “retirement home,” the result the house’s thermal mass for an is much more. Features include: extended growing season.

The interior is all that the couple • On-grade garage and secondary entry door had hoped for. Woodwork downstairs • Patio accessible from a door with a compliant threshold matches that in the 1912 Foursquare: • Wide hallways, passages, kitchen clearances quarter-sawn oak for the living room, • Full-size elevator dining room, and kitchen, with flat• ADA-compliant bathrooms sawn oak in the pantry, den, and powder room. Mary specified granite The contractor used low-clearance thresholds and wide doorcountertops “for the way Ray cooks— ways for potential wheelchair access. A screened porch is immehe can put a 500-degree cast-iron pan diately outside the kitchen (with a pass-through) and opens to on it.” The absolute-black granite with the grille deck. The dining room door also leads to that deck. a honed finish has the look of soap“Our contractor Ben Quie has enjoyed treats from Ray’s smoker stone, and is the same choice they’d over the past 20 years,” Mary says, “so he was motivated to made in their previous house. North make it easy for Ray to tend the barbecue ribs. On the porch, Prairie Tileworks in Minneapolis we have a shelf level with the kitchen windows so Ray can just made the deep blue field tiles to set set out the gin and tonics.” off a decorative tile Mary had bought in England.

The blue guest bathroom, also accessible for Ray, was designed around a marble sink console that looks like an Edwardian-era dresser— which came, oddly enough, from Pottery Barn. The master bath has dark granite countertops to absorb coffee spills.

“Our architect never gave us one bad word of advice,” Mary says. “Early on, he said that we’d be living with the interior fittings and finishes we chose for a long time, and that we’d be happier with the house if we chose better quality over more square footage. I The travertine Tudor fireplace surround is an antique; it was the perfect shape and size, easily altered to fit modern fire code. couldn’t agree with him more.”

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | SEPT. - OCT. 2015 | 15

‘Ephemeral Objects’ Art, tech and innovation converge in San Diego Art Institute exhibition The San Diego Art Institute “Ephemeral Objects” — a cuttingedge exhibition of creativity at the intersection of art, technology and innovation. Featuring the work of 34 artists active in the Southern California and Baja Norte region, the show opened on Aug. 29 and runs through Sept. 27.

Over the past decade, San Diego has becoming a hotbed of innovation and experimentation for art and technology. “Ephemeral Objects” is San Diego’s first survey exhibit of new and established artists exploring this exciting new frontier of contemporary art.

Sometimes referred to as “postmaterial art,” the exhibit is organized

by SDAI’s Curator-in-Residence Andrew Horwitz as an extension of his blog, “Ephemeral Objects: Art Criticism for the Post-Material World,” for which he was awarded a prestigious Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant in 2014.

The exhibit includes a spectrum of adventurous and thought-provoking work such as an interactive piece for app and video by Sheldon Brown, director of the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at UC San Diego, an immersive sound art installation from renowned sound artist and experimental musician Suzanne Thorpe, algorithmic and data-driven art by Justin Manor, environmental sound sculpture by composer/researcher Dr. Chris Warren, ephemeral sugar sculptures by Andrea Chung, and kinetic-sound art by Margaret Noble. Interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker Tara Knight will present an episode of her Mikumentary, a series of short films about the worldwide Hatsune Miku phenomenon.

Many of the artists in the exhibition work across disciplines, defying

A work by Marinta Skupin.

Work by Andrea Chung.

Kathryn Zazenski, Lana Z. Caplan and Sean Noyce, sound art installations from internationally renowned composer and sound designer Sharokh Yadegarhi, Banrei, Yelena Gluzman, Renae Barnard and Baja Norte artists Xareni Lizarraga and Francisco Eme. In addition, there will be performances from Nick Lesley, Trevor Amery, Whitney Lynn, Larry Caveney, Bonnie Lander, Brendan Nguyen and Adam Tinkle.

Aggrobatics

“Ephemeral Objects”

easy categorization. Composer Celeste Oram has created an interactive piece working with HTML and digitally altered sound files; young up and coming conceptual artist and computational biologist Max Nanis has created interactive video sculpture; Marinta and André Skupin’s work projects visitors onto a large- scale map of the world of music. Cooper Baker’s interactive audio-visual piece turns text messages into melodies.

Vijay Hingorani’s video piece processes live streaming tweets retrieved in real-time from Twitter servers.

The show will also include compelling audiovisual installations by Shannnon Willis, Richard Gleaves,

Participating artists: Andrea Chung, Benjamin Gleitzman, Fernando Cwilich Gil, Celeste Oram, Chris Warren, Cooper Baker, Francisco Eme, Banrei, Justin Manor, Kathryn Zazenski, Lana Z. Caplan, Margaret Noble, Marinta and André Skupin, Max Nanis, Patrick Coleman, Renae Barnard, Richard Gleaves, Sean Noyce, Shannon Willis, Sharokh Yadegarhi, Sheldon Brown, Suzanne Thorpe, Tara Knight, Trevor Amery, Vijay Hingorani, Whitney Lynn, Xareni Lizarraga, Yelena Gluzman, Nick Lesley, Larry Caveney, Bonnie Lander, Adam Tinkle, and Brendan Nguyen.

For more information, call SDAI at (619) 236-0011.

FILM

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San Diego Film Festival Returns

‘Youth’ examines the lifelong bond between two friends, played by Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel.

More tham 100 films to be screened The 14th annual San Diego Film Festival — one of the first stops on the Independent Film Circuit for Academy Award contenders — returns on Sept. 30 with award-winning independent films, filmmakers, actors panels and parties. The festival runs through Oct. 4.

The festival will screen more than 100 films at the Reading Theater in Downtown San Diego and ArcLight Cinemas in La Jolla. It is produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation.

“The San Diego Film Festival is the region’s premier event for the best independent and studio films. It’s one of the first stops on the independent film festival circuit — and often hosts the North American or U.S. premiere for major award contenders,” said Chairman and CEO Dale Strack, whose team began running the festival in 2012.

“Wild,” “The Imitation Game,” “Whiplash,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Silver Linings Playbook” are just a few of the recent Academy Award-nominated movies that have played at the San Diego Film Festival before their mainstream debut.

Festival passes ($255) include all five days of screenings, panels and workshops, and access to the Opening Night and after-party presented by Harrah’s Resort Southern California, as well as the Friday night “Almost Famous” party.

VIP ($500) passes include everything in the festival pass on top of exclusive perks, such as firstentry access to all film screenings; VIP lounges with complimentary food and drinks; admission to the red-carpet Celebrity Tribute night (the event honored Eli Roth, Alan Arkin, Beau Bridges, Saginaw Grant, Michelle Monaghan and Alison Pill, with appearances throughout the festival from Josh Duhamel, Tom Berenger and Dennis Haysbert, among others, in 2014); the chance to mix and mingle with filmmakers, industry and actors

at exclusive parties; and valet parking.

Individual tickets start at $15. One-day passes will be $75. The Patron Circle program is also available for guests who are interested in even higher levels of access and experiences.

For more information, passes/tickets or sponsorship opportunities, visit www.sdfilmfest.com.

Two of the films to be screened are “He Named Me Malala” and “Youth.”

“He Named Me Malala” (documentary): An intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 in July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.

“Youth:” Starring Academy Award winner Michael Caine as Fred and Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel as Mick,”Youth” explores the lifelong bond between two friends vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena (Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz), Mick is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda (Academy Award winner Jane Fonda). And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy (Paul Dano), an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance? Set against a sprawling landscape, “Youth” asks if our most important and lifechanging experiences can come at any time – even late – in life.

Inaugural Coronado Island Film Festival Passes are on sale now for the inaugural Coronado Island Film Festival, to be held Jan 15-18, 2016, on Coronado Island.

The festival marks the first celebration of film in the history of the city, where more than 100 movies have been filmed over its 125-year history, including the American Film Institute’s No. 1-rated comedy of all time, “Some Like It Hot,” filmed at the historic Hotel del Coronado in 1958.

The four-day festival, held over the

Martin Luther King holiday weekend, will include juried competitions for narrative film, documentaries, shorts (animated and live action) and student films. A special award, spanning all categories, will be presented for a film that depicts “Service to Country.”

Included in the festival is an Opening Night reception and a Saturday night industry tribute, both held at the Presenting Sponsor property, Hotel del Coronado. An Awards

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel in ‘Youth.’

Malala Yousafzai appears before the media in ‘He Named Me Malala.’

Night tented reception will be held in the center of town and a closing night Bonfire on the Hotel del Coronado’s beach will close out the festival.

Noted movie critic, author and film historian Leonard Maltin will serve as Honorary Head Juror of the festival. Lisa Bruce, producer of the 2015 Academy Award-winning film, “The Theory of Everything,” is head juror, narrative films; Ira Wohl, recipient of the 1979 Academy Award for Best Documentary for his film, “Best Boy,” is head juror for documentaries and Jim Gallagher, head of marketing for Dreamworks, SKG, is head juror for

Malala Yousafzai in ‘He Named Me Malala.’

shorts (animated and live action).

“The caliber of our jurors is unprecedented for a first-year film festival and speaks to the quality of films that can be expected to be screened here,” said CIFF’s Executive Director/Producer Andy Friedenberg.

Friedenberg, founder of the 30year-old Cinema Society of San Diego, and Doug St. Denis, founding executive director of the festival, will also present selected films under the heading of “Directors’ Picks.”

The City of Coronado is a Major Sponsor. One of the screening venues is the historic Winn Room at the

Coronado Public Library and two panel seminars will be held at the City’s “Boathouse” auditorium on Strand Way. All films will show multiple times over the four days at four venues: the historic Village Theatre, the Coronado School of the Arts theatre, the Black Box theater and the Coronado Public Library.

Passes can be purchased online at CIFF’s website, www.coronadoislandfilmfest.org.

TRAVEL

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Entrance to La Casa del Zoro in Borrego Springs.

Babymoon in Borrego Springs

BY CYNTHIA MORGAN-REED

Being eight months pregnant and anticipating the upcoming birth of our first child, my mind was understandably on all things baby. However, I was surprised when my husband came to me and suggested we go on a “babymoon.”

I didn’t even know he knew what that was! We both agreed it was a good idea, but weren’t sure where to go. I couldn’t fly anymore, neither of us wanted to drive for extended hours, and we wanted something easy and affordable. We also wanted to simply disconnect from the world and relax without the constant pull of our smartphones.

I had heard of Borrego Springs, but had never been there. When I researched the peaceful desert community’s La Casa Del Zorro Resort and Spa, I knew it was the perfect spot: remote enough to offer unique opportunities and not feel like a San Diego staycation, but still close enough to get to easily.

I was intrigued by La Casa Del Zorro because of its old world charm and interesting history. It was originally founded in the 1930s out of necessity: folks were traveling through the desert and had no place to stay. But in its heyday, 1960-2007, it was purchased by the Copley family, former owners of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

They modernized and made it a destination resort with all of the bells and whistles. And bells and whistles abound, as we soon realized that everything we needed could be had at the resort and we didn’t need to step off the property to have a wonderful, relaxing experience.

Our room was very comfortable and completely updated with all modern amenities, which included a flat-screen satellite television to my husband’s delight. The rooms are spacious and inviting with balconies or patios. Our suite had a huge sparkling bathroom, cozy seating area, and, best of all, a fireplace. The staff will come and light the fire for you nightly, which lends a charming warmth to the room.

Fireplace in a guest room.

The property has 48 rooms and 19 casitas. The rooms are clustered around small pools, which lend an intimate feel – almost like having a pool all to yourself. If you really want your own, rent one of the casitas, which range from one to four bedrooms and are perfect for families or groups. They each come with their own pool and amenities like kitchenettes and dining rooms.

Right after checking in, I was off to the onsite Spa at La Casa del Zorro. I was in need of a massage to put me in “vacation mode” while shedding the stresses of work.

While not a spa snob by any means, I have participated in my share of spa experiences and I was

curious how good this one would be. After all, resort or no resort, we were in the middle of a desert. But I had little to worry about. My massage therapist knew her stuff and gave an excellent pregnancy massage. The table was heated, the sheets were soft, and my therapist made sure I was comfortable and enjoying the experience throughout.

While the spa does “boast” the only elevator in Borrego Springs, it was a little odd to check in on one level and take an outside elevator to my therapy room. Luckily, my therapist led the way, and her cheery disposition made me forget SEE BABYMOON, Page 18

The Butterfield Room.

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about the gloomy, cold elevator. My husband, who judges how good a massage is on whether he can fall asleep or not, thoroughly enjoyed his massage (nap) as well.

While the property has numerous amenities ranging from a yoga studio to an Olympic-size pool, rock climbing wall, and nature paths to keep one busy; my husband and I loved playing chess on their oversized outdoor chess board. We played for hours, having fun and getting a bit of a workout lugging the large pieces around the board. I may or may not have had more of a workout removing my husband’s pieces as I sailed to chess domination (not!).

Another true highlight for us was the food. The Butterfield Room serves delicious, traditional food with a

The spa.

An inviting resort swimming pool.

Oversized chess board.

modern flair. It is a perfect place to have a romantic dinner with its crackling fireplace casting shadows on the adobe walls and beautiful wood beams. The spinach lasagna with béchamel cream sauce was one of our favorites. They also had a solid and large selection of wines by the glass with a wait staff able to offer great recommendations on pairings. The Butterfield Room is open seasonally from October to May, and the Fox Den Cantina offers year-round poolside dining and a great bar. During the summer, they even feature live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

We thought our desert visit would also provide a great opportunity to see stars we couldn’t normally see in San Diego due to sky glow, which is caused by the reflection of city lights.

Since I was pregnant, we wanted to make sure that I would be comfortable if we booked a stargazing experience. When we called to schedule a

Stargazing Tour with Borrego Night Sky Tours, Proprietor Dennis Mammana was friendly and accommodating. He agreed his normal route over bumpy terrain might be a problem so he agreed to find us “smoother” terrain to traverse. Unfortunately, due to a forecast of overcast skies, Mammana called that afternoon and recommended we not do the tour. We appreciated him wanting to ensure we had a good experience and agreed.

This is something we will absolutely do on our next trip, assuming the weather cooperates.

We enjoy golfing, so we decided to see if we could check out the neighboring Rams Hill Golf Club. Since it would have been hard for me to swing a full game, we opted for a tour instead. Michael Setchell, the club’s concierge and activities director, personally gave us a tour. The new, Tom Fazio-designed course is set up higher than Borrego Springs and offers

breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.

With bentgrass greens and Rye with Bermuda base grass on the fairways, the club takes its golf seriously.

In addition, many of the holes, surprisingly, have beautiful water features. Hole 11 has a flowing white water “river” running alongside it, while Hole 18 ends on a lake. Since we are in a desert, in a state with a drought, I had to ask about the water usage. Michael assured me that although they do not use recycled water, they have aquifers on the property that adequately serve their water needs. In addition, the club is looking into installing solar panels and usually closes the golf course down in the summer months to conserve water and wear and tear on the course.

The Rams Hill Clubhouse has a spacious and beautiful dining room with cathedral ceilings and floor-toceiling windows that draw in the

beauty of the mountains and course.

When we were there, landscapers were installing numerous outdoor fire pits surrounded by half a dozen chairs overlooking the golf course. It looked like it would be a perfect place to sip wine and stay warm on a cool desert night. We look forward to returning and playing this beautiful course and trying out their dining.

While our visit was short, La Casa Del Zorro and Rams Hill lived up to and exceeded our expectations for a weekend getaway. We left feeling relaxed and ready for our next adventure: baby.

Cynthia Morgan-Reed delivered a baby girl, Stella Elizabeth, on Feb. 6, 2015. Reed is principal of the San Diego law firm Morgan-Reed Law.

MID CITY NEWSPAPER GROUP | SEPT. - OCT. 2015 | 19