DESTINATION EAST COUNTY: TOP FESTIVALS & EVENTS AUGUST 28 – SEPT. 19

Listen to Destination East County by clicking the audio link of our podcast, originally aired on KNSJ.

Photo: Percussionist Scott Robinson performs Aug. 29 at Mission Trails Regional Park

August 28, 2015 (San Diego's East County)--This week’s Destination East County features dinner in a mountain meadow, a percussion concert and classic car show .

Plus we’ll have a preview of coming attractions including a Native American Pow-Wow, a Bluegrass Festival in Santee and deep pit BBQ in Descanso.    

So stay tuned for all of these events and much, much more!

THIS WEEK'S MAJOR EVENTS:

PLEIN AIR PAINTINGS OF EAST COUNTY AUG. 28

The Heritage of the Americas Museum at Cuyamaca College is hosting an opening reception for a fine art show and sale, “Plein Air Paintings of East County,” featuring the work of artist Gloria Chadwick, from 5-7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, on the museum’s tropical garden patio.

The event is a museum fundraiser. The framed, original paintings are available with a third of the proceeds being donated to the museum.

The plein air, or “in the air,” paintings were painted  by Chadwick on location at various East County sites, including Alpine, , La Mesa, Lakeside, Flinn Springs, El Cajon, Harbison Canyon, Dehesa, Dulzura, Barrett Junction, Jamul, Japatul, La Posta, Mt. Springs Grade, Desert View Tower, Spring Valley, Santee, Casa de Oro, Rancho San Diego, Mt. Laguna, Descanso, Tecate, Lake Moreno, Campo, Cuyamaca, and Pine Valley.

For further information, call the museum at (619) 670-5194 or visit the museum website at cuyamaca.edu/Museum/

PERCUSSION CONCERT AT MISSION TRAILS REGIONAL PARK AUG. 29

N. Scott Robinson is a percussionist extraordinaire. He earned a PhD in percussion and currently serves as a professor at Mesa College.  This free concert will be Saturday, August 29, 2015 starting at 3:00 p.m. at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center.

 For more Information visit: www.mtrp.org.

Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center is located at One Friar Junipero Serra Trail off Mission Gorge Road in Santee.

DINNER IN THE MEADOW AT PAZZO GRANDE AUG. 29

On Saturday, August 29th the Volcan Mountain Foundation's very popular series of Fab Feast events for 2015 will conclude in grand fashion with Dinner in the Meadow at Pazzo Grande (less than a mile northwest of the historical Julian townsite).

 Hosted by Marti Montbleau, the magnificent Volcan Mountain Range will provide the backdrop to this unique dining experience featuring the finest local farm-to-table fare.  Contact the Volcan Mountain Foundation (VMF) office at info@volcanmt.org or 760-765-2300 to make your reservations right away.

 VMF's Fab Feast events are an annual series of privately hosted culinary occasions with proceeds benefitting the Volcan Mountain Foundation. For over 25 years VMF has engaged people and partners to ensure that the vital watershed sources, wildlands and wildlife of the Volcan Mountain Range remain protected, pristine and wondrous for all generations. Thank you to all who attend, and especially to our generous hosts for opening up their homes and donating their time and talent to support VMF's fundraising efforts in such a fun and delicious way!

 Visit the Volcan Mountain Foundation's website at www.VolcanMt.org for ongoing updates of events and activities on and around the Volcan Mountain Range.

CLASSIC CAR AND BIKE SHOW AUG. 29

Christian Rods & Customs Car Club announces its 16th Annual “Classic Car and Bike Show” to be held on Saturday, August 29, 2015 from 9am until 2pm at Faith Chapel located at 9400 Campo Road in Spring Valley. Pre-registration fee of $20 due by August 22nd or $25 day of show. The first 100 registrants will receive a participants plaque, dash plaque and raffle ticket. No year or model limits!

 There will be trophies, food, music, raffles and vendors. Proceeds primarily to benefit Calvary Ranch and Restoration Ranch, two drug and alcohol recovery programs located in San Diego County.

 The show is open to the public and free to view.  For more car show information or to register a vehicle, you may go to the website http://www.christianrodsandcustomssd.com

LAKESIDE RIVER PARK CONSERVANCY GALA AUG. 29

Lakeside’s River Park Conservancy presents its 9th annual Once in a Blue Moon Gala & Auction at Hazy Meadow Ranch, Saturday, August 29, 2015 from  5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m..

 Happy hour starts at 5 p.m., followed by dinner, with dessert and dancing concluding at 9 p.m. Special guest speaker will be Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

 What better way to spend a Saturday evening than relaxing in the valley’s beauty beneath the beauty of a full moon? All proceeds benefit restoration of the San Diego River including habitat restoration and creation of new trails.

 For tickets and more Info: http://www.bluemoondinner.org/

NOW FOR A PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

OFF BROADWAY LIVE IN SANTEE PRESENTS "THE 1960'S SINGERS & SONGWRITERS" SEPT. 4-5

 Off Broadway Live in Santee presents "The 1960's Singers & Songwriters" on September 4 & 5 at 6:30 p.m. 

Take a step back in time to the "supper clubs" of Harlem & Manhattan- the food, the drink, the bands & the music . . . and that's what ENCORE Supper Club is all about, but with a modern twist!

Remember the sounds of The Righteous Brothers, Van Morrison, The Beatles, Petula Clark, The Mamas & The Papas, Dusty Springfield,  Dionne Warwick, The Grass Roots, Gary Puckett, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Guess Who and so many more . . . That's what this night is about!    

The event includes a fully catered dinner and beverages.  The live combo plays great dinner music, then Bob & Steve, with musical guests, singing the songs of the best singers and songwriters of all time. 

Off Broadway Live is on Cuyamaca Street in Santee – See more at: OffBroadwayLive.com

BARONA POW-WOW SEPT 4-6

The 45th annual Barona Pow-Wow will be held at the Barona reservation’s sports park in Lakeside from Friday, September 4 through Sunday, September 6.  A grand procession will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday featuring representatives of all tribes participating. There will be competitions all weekend long, as well as craft and vendor booths.  (For more information, visit barona-nsn.gov)

JULIAN GRAPE STOMP FESTA  SEPT 5

Fall is harvest time at East County wineries across East County and on September 5th , the Julian Grape Stomp Fiesta will be held at Menghini Winery from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  There will be tons of grapes to stomp, plus wine-tasting from local wineries, food and craft vendors and more.  For tickets and details, visit www.JulianCA.com.

DESCANSO DEEP PIT BBQ SEPT. 6

The 78th annual deep pit barbecue in Descanso will be held on Sunday, September 6th, hosted by Our Lady of Light Parish church.  The preparation starts the night before, with the slow-cooking of seasoned beef using two cords of oak firewood. The Sunday BBQ and festival takes place starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday, also including crafts, games and vendor booths as well as prize drawings. For all the juicy details, you can visit www.ChurchBarbecue.com.

HAIRSPRAY TAKES STAGE SEPT. 10-19

Visionary Community Theatre and Visionary Youth Theatre of east San Diego present Hairspray at the Performing Arts Center at Point Loma High School (2335 Chatsworth Blvd, San Diego, 92106) on September 10-12 & 17-19 at 7 p.m. Enjoy as the diverse and talented Visionary cast and crew welcome you to the 60’s!

It’s 1962 - the ‘50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore’s Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion - to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, “The Corny Collins Show” and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program’s reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her ‘do?

 Directed by Michael Sokol and Choreographed by Ramon Montes, this production features Matthew Anderson (Physics Professor at San Diego State University) as Wilbur Turnblad and Visionary’s own Artistic Director Spencer John Powell as Edna Turnblad.  For more visit: Visionary Community Theater .com

SANTEE BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL SEPT.12

The twang of banjos and fiddles will again fill the air, while delicious food and beverages fill appetites, at the 6th Annual Santee Bluegrass Festival on Sept. 12 from 5:30 t 9:30 p.m.

The one-night festival is a fundraiser that benefits local teen programs, park improvement projects and the city’s recreation scholarship program that subsidizes fees for less fortunate children, families and seniors. The event takes place at Town Center Community Park East. 

This year’s lineup features two talented bluegrass bands, Box Canyon and High Mountain Road. Admission includes wine and beer sampling plus tastes of food prepared by local restaurants. This event usually sells out quickly, so organizers advise music lovers not to fiddle around! Tickets are available at the City of Santee’s website or at Santee’s City Hall.

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!