DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS AND EVENTS MARCH 26-APRIL 10

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

 

Listen to Destination East County, also aired on KNSJ radio, by clicking the audio link.

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

East County News Service

March 25, 2016 (San Diego’s East County)--This week’s Destination East County includes an Eggstravaganza at Santee Lakes, Spring Harp Fest – a harmonica festival in La Mesa, a water-wise garden tour, Vietnam remembered in Lemon Grove, and more.

Plus we’ll have previews of coming attractions including the Music of Mozart in Spring Valley, an Old West Art Fest in Shelter Valley, and a Garden Native tour across East County.  So scroll down for all of these events and more!

 THIS WEEK'S MAJOR EVENTS

 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.

VIETNAM REMEMBERED: MARCH 26 IN LEMON GROVE

The Lemon Grove Historical Society will sponsor "Vietnam Remembered" on March 26 at 2 p.m. in the Lemon Grove Library, 3001 School Lane.  The event will fall a few days in advance of national Vietnam Veterans Day and is part of "The Remembrance Project" of LGHS, which kicked off last Nov. 21 with "JFK Remembered."

Vietnam Remembered is open to the general public, especially U.S. and Vietnamese military, nurses and support staff, and families connected to them. Military historian Karl Zingheim of the USS Midway Museum will give an overview of the Vietnam War, followed by a screening of the 1970 documentary "Different Sons." The bulk of the program will center on the memories and viewpoints of the audience. The program will be videotaped for posterity..

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 .  

PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

MUSIC OF MOZART: APRIL 1 IN SPRING VALLEY

Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale continues  will present a special choral/orchestral project in honor of the 260th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  The concert opens with his operatic overture to Don Giovanni and ends with a performance of his Requiem.  The concert will be held Friday, April1st at 7:30 p.m. in the Santa Sophia Church (9800 San Juan Street) in Spring Valley.

OLD WEST ART FEST APRIL 2-3

The community of Shelter Valley near Julian invites you to an Old West Art Fest on Saturday, April 2nd and 3rd. This all day event will take place at the Shelter Valle Community Center (7217 Great Southern Overland State Route of 1849, Julian.)

The show features a plein air art contest in this high desert community, including desert landscapes and local Native American and stagecoach trails history. This art contest will benefit the Shelter Valley Community Center. At this time of year the area abounds in flowers. This area is also known for its Native American village sites, pictographs and morteros. There will also be an arts and crafts sale as well as an antiques and collectable sale on the Shelter Valley Community Center grounds on Sunday afternoon from noon -5pm.

GARDEN NATIVE TOUR APRIL 2-3

The Garden Native Tour on April 2-3 from 9:30 to 4:40 p.m. will feature self-guided tours of 20 native plant gardens in eastern San Diego, the El Cajon Valley, and surrounding foothills.  You can get inspired, learn how to save water and create beauty at a Sustainable Gardening Showcase.  The tour includes gardens in Roland and the College area, La Mesa, El Cajon, Mission Gorge, Santee, Jamul and foothills locations.  You can see edible gardens, wildlife habitat, and learn about sustainable living options such as rain water storage, graywater systems, turf replacement, and animal husbandry as well.

To learn more about the Garden Native Tour or to get tickets ($25 for adults, kids free ) you can visit www.GardenNative.org.

MACK AND MABEL AT LAMPLIGHTERS THEATRE, LA MESA 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 .

 

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 2-20-16

Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.