DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS AND EVENTS MARCH 17 - 29

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We thank the County of San Diego for a Community Enhancement Grant supporting Destination East County.

East County News Service

March 17, 2016 (San Diego's East County) --This week’s Destination East County includes unplugged at Parkway Plaza, open house at Oasis Camel Dairy, the Borrego Garden Tour, Snoopy the musical and an a cappella quartet at the Joan Kroc Theater.

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including the Spring Harpfest, Santee Lakes Eggstravaganza and a Water-wise Garden tour.  So scroll down for all of these events and more!

 

THIS WEEK'S MAJOR EVENTS

 

LAKE JENNINGS SPRING CARNIVAL MARCH 19

You’re invited to bring the kids out to Lake Jennings second annual Spring Carnival.  The festivities on Saturday, March 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include an egg hunt, face painting, paddle boating, and a fully-stocked kids pond plus 2,000 pounds of trout.

To learn more or get directions, visit www.LakeJennings.org

BORREGO GARDEN TOUR MARCH 19

It’s Garden Tour time in the desert and the 18th Annual Borrego Springs Garden Tour invites visitors to experience private gardens and homes at their own pace on Saturday, March 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Attractions include “Happy Days,” the former home of James and Helen Copley, at La Casa del Zorro Resort, and five other gardens, several with open homes, located in beautiful Borrego Springs during the height of the spring bloom. 

For ticket sales and information, visit the Borrego Desert Nature Center (652 Palm Canyon Drive) in Borrego Springs, or online at www.abdnha.org or call 760-767-3098.

 The Borrego Garden Tour is a fundraising event in support of the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association, a 45-year-old nonprofit educational organization. 

PARKWAY UNPLUGGED MARCH 19

The Parkway Plaza Unplugged concert  series will feature live musical performances from local youths aged 10 to 19 as they perform plugged and unplugged for your enjoyment.   This month’s performers are Nick Bautista, Caitlin Ashley, Marissa McGuffie, Hanna Roby in concert on Saturday, March 19,  from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  For more information see www.shoppingparkwayplaza.com/events

SNOOPY! THE MUSICAL MARCH 17-20 IN SPRING VALLEY

Young Adult Theatre will present Snoopy! The Musical featuring all of the Peanuts characters including Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and that mischief-making beagle, Snoopy.  The shows will be performed at the Encore! Theatre in Spring Valley with the senior cast March 17-20.  For tickets and details, you can visit www.YATSanDiego.org.

MACK AND MABEL AT LAMPLIGHTERS THEATRE, LA MEAS  THROUGH APRIL 10

Lamplighters Community Theatre will present the  Tony Award Nominee “Mack and Mabel” at the new Lamplighters Community Theatre in La Mesa through April 10.

Step back into yesteryear in this saga of the silent film era "when movies were movies." Mack and Mabel deals with the complex relationship between legendary film director Mack Sennett, a temperamental workaholic and the adorable Mabel Normand, a waitress who became one of his biggest stars. The story is told in flashback style by Mack, reminiscing about the past, his triumphs, his love affair with Mabel and her rise to stardom before talkies made the silent film industry obsolete.

 For tickets visit http://www.LamplightersLaMesa.com .

BALL IN THE HOUSE MARCH 23

“Ball in the House” is an a cappella quartet singing cutting-edge vocal arrangement of Pop, R&B and Rock favorites presented by the power of the human voice.  They will perform Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Joan Kroc Theater.  Their music covers many decade plus they do it with showmanship, charisma and style.   Songwriter’s Monthly calls the show “Jaw-dropping…”

For more information you can go to: info@liveonstagesandiego.org

CAMEL DAIRY FARM TOUR AND SHOW MARCH 19

The Open Farm Tour and Show features bouncy baby lambs, curious camels you can ride and cuddle --plus the oh-so-fun Camel Dairy Animal Friends Show. You can also pamper yourself and the ones you love with something special from the RARE MILK Camel Milk Skin Care product line and try a bit of decadent camel milk chocolate.

The Oasis Camel Dairy is a true San Diego hidden treasure located just 12 miles west of historic Julian. Meet farm owners Gil and Nancy Riegler as they share their unique, precocious pack of farm friends. This destination is highly rated on Tripadvisor, Google and Yelp.

Oasis Camel Dairy is on Old Julian Hwy in Ramona.  For more information you can go to:

 

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

 

SPRING HARP FEST IN LA MESA MARCH 26

You’re invited to the 16th annual Spring Harp Fest, a musical celebration on March 26th from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Harry Griffin Park in La Mesa.  The festival features top harmonica performers playing blues music and more as well as an unknown artists’ jam session.  The mission is to inspire appreciation for the harmonica in the next generation.  (While admission is free, donations are welcome and are used to provide gifts of harmonicas to local school music programs.) For a full line-up of talent slated to perform, you can check out www.SpringHarpFest.org.

SANTEE LAKES EGGSTRAVAGANZA MARCH 26

Santee Lakes invites you to bring the kids for its annual Eggstravaganza on Saturday, March 26th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This fun-filled event features continuous egg hunts, live entertainment, a petting zoo, craft booths and carnival rides, all hosted by the Padre Dam Municipal Water District and the City of Santee.  (Admission is free, though there are small fees for rides and parking.)  You can learn more at www.SanteeLakes.com.

WATER-WISE GARDEN TOUR MARCH 26

The Water Conservation Garden invites the public to its first annual Water-Wise Home Garden Tour on Saturday, March 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The self-guided tour will highlight a variety of five beautiful gardens, located in El Cajon, La Mesa and Rancho San Diego, utilizing an array of color, variety, and low water usage. Learn about using native, succulents, cacti and Mediterranean plants and how you can design your yard for low water usage plants. The gardens emphasize plants from semi-arid regions of the world.

Succulent cuttings from many of the home tours will be on sale, as well as other garden and home items such as bird houses, pottery and garden jewelry, all handmade by local artisans. The Garden’s Director of Horticulture, will be available to talk about to re-design your landscape using low-water usage plants.  For tickets visit www.TheGarden.org.

PARKWAY PALS - FUN FAMILY EVENT! MARCH 29

The East County YMCA invites kids to join in an interactive hour of games, songs, story time and more at Parkway Plaza.  This event will be held in the JC Penney Court on Tuesday, March 29 from 4 to 5 p.m.

For details you can visit www.shoppingparkwayplaza.com .  

That’s all for this week! You can find details on all of these events and more on our Calendar and in our Festivals and Events section online at eastcountymagazine.org.

If you have an event you’d like added to our calendar, or if you would like to sponsor the Destination East County column on our website, or the Destination East County show on KNSJ radio, you can contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org   Destination East County is the most-read feature on our website.

We’ll be back next week with more festivals, events and attractions in San Diego’s East County.

 

Audio: 

Destination East County 3-18-16

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