LGBTQ COMMUNITY EVENTS

DINING OUT FOR LIFE

Make plans with family and friends to dine out for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and cocktails. The concept of this epicurean extravaganza is simple. Restaurants, bars and coffee shops donate a generous percent of their Dining Out for Life sales to DAP Health in Palm Springs or the San Diego LGBT Community Center.

Each year, more than 50 HIV service organizations partner with more than 2,400 restaurants, 4,100 volunteers and 300,000 diners to raise over $4.5 million for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States and Canada. Best part? All money raised through a Dining Out For Life event stays in that city to provide help and hope to people living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS.

So, remember to Dine Out to End HIV on Thursday, April 28. diningoutforlife.com

TASTE OF HILLCREST

This culinary journey is sure to cause the taste buds to go wild! The annual food fest Taste of Hillcrest will return on Saturday, April 9 with more than 35 restaurants participating, giving foodies a chance to sample some of the best dishes San Diego’s gayborhood has to offer.

From quaint cafes and French and Italian style bistros to five-star dining delights, this is one of the most anticipated self-guided culinary walking tours in San Diego. Participants can sample bites such as pad Thai, sashimi, Italian antipasto and classic American comfort food.

Taste of Hillcrest benefits the programs and services of the Hillcrest Business Association (HBA). The HBA was established in 1921, making it the oldest business association in San Diego. The HBA represents over 1,300 Uptown businesses acting as a liaison between the business community and the city while encouraging economic development for the Hillcrest area through events and promotions. fabuloushillcrest.com/taste-of-hillcrest

OUT AT THE PARK

Swing over to Petco Park to join San Diego Pride as they team up with the San Diego Padres for the annual Out at the Park on Friday, May 6. Grab your friends, family and rainbow gear and prepare to enjoy an evening of entertainment and baseball when the Padres host the Miami Marlins.

Arrive early to grab a free hat and enjoy the pregame tailgate party in San Diego Pride’s decked-out space in Gallagher Square, held in conjunction with CocktailFest.

Out at the Park tickets include a seat in the large Out at the Park section (or limited upgraded viewing section), a commemorative Out at the Park Padres hat, a $10 donation to San Diego Pride, and access to the pre-game VIP space in Gallagher Square. sdpride.org

MISS COCO PERU

She’s back! The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center will present the return of the legendary Miss Coco Peru to the Renberg Theatre. The YouTube sensation will appear for three-night run of her new solo show Miss Coco Peru Is Bitter, Bothered & Beyond on Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30, and Sunday, May 1.

After everything that’s been going on in the world, Coco is ready to unleash her thoughts about the past, present and future. Yes, queens, this exhausted dinosaur of drag is not holding back anything in her new show.

Miss Coco Peru (aka Clinton Leupp) has been a household name in the LGBTQ community for more than 25 years. She got her start in the early-1990s as a downtown favorite in the cabaret world of New York after she wrote, produced, directed and starred in her first show Miss Coco Peru in My Goddamn Cabaret. She has since enjoyed an expansive career, ranging from intimate cabaret stages in New York and L.A. to the broad reach of television.

Considered “the hostess with that something extra,” Coco has received acclaim for her award-winning solo shows as well as her remarkable tribute to great performers, Conversations with Coco, in which she conducted live career-retrospective interviews with luminaries such as Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Liza Minnelli and Bea Arthur.

Coco’s long history of passionate activism, unflagging support of the LGBT community and fierce dedication to AIDS-related charities earned her the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Board of Directors Award, presented to her by Zachary Quinto. lalgbtcenter.org