On the Go: November Calendar

By Jane Clifford at November 1, 2011 | 7:49 am | Print

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Talkin’ Trash — If you haven’t seen the current exhibition at The New Children’s Museum, it’s time. TRASH features the work of 12 artists from around the globe. NCM’s mission is to change the way we think about trash. As an invisible but important issue, the new artworks invite families to explore new perspectives and help shape the future. TRASH encompasses the works of art in the exhibition, hands-on art-making projects, school curricula, artist lectures, family workshops, special events, and online discussion. For more information, click here.

Fallback Festival — Each year as we set our clocks back an hour, the Gaslamp Quarter falls back in time to the 1880s, when Bum the Dog and Alonzo Horton roamed the streets of downtown San Diego. You can take a step back in time at the 11th Annual Fall Back Festival, a Children’s Historical and Cultural Street Faire, in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter. This year’s fun-filled festivities take place on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of the Gaslamp Museum at Fourth and Island avenues. Take an old-fashioned hayride tour as you try to picture the dusty dirt roads, bustling vendors and talented blacksmiths. Little ones can “strike it rich” as they pan for gold and try their hand at churning butter. The whole family can watch as San Diego’s own Wyatt Earp defends Fourth Avenue from outlaws in a shootout, or dress in outfits of the time for a group photo and the kids can saddle up for a pony ride. There will be plenty of grub for purchase when you get hungry but entrance to the festival is free. A few of the activities will require a donation or minimal fee. Event proceeds will benefit the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, to assist in the continued effort to preserve the history of the Gaslamp Quarter and San Diego. For more information, call (619) 233–5008.

Veterans Day Activities – Friday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day and, in San Diego, the celebration begins with the 25^th Annual Veterans Day Parade, which is planned, organized and executed by the Veterans Community of San Diego. The parade starts at 11 a.m. and follows a route down Pacific Highway from Cedar to Harbor Drive. This year’s parade honors Desert Storm veterans and will feature more than 3,500 marching participants including active military, veterans organizations and civilian groups. After the parade, you can head over to the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park, which is holding an open house throughout the day. You can tour the museum exhibits that showcase uniforms, military gear, artwork and more from World War I, Pearl Harbor, Korea, Vietnam, and Southwest Asian conflicts, as well as meet veterans and learn history from the eyewitnesses. The museum, at 2115 Park Blvd., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there is no charge for visitors on this special day. For more information, call (619) 239-2300.

Trunk Treasures — This semi-annual children’s and mom’s consignment sale will be held at 851 Showroom Place, near Kid Ventures, in the Design Center at Eastlake in Chula Vista. Hours are 1-6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, which is “discount day” is Monday, when most remaining items will be discounted 30 percent. There will be pre-sale access on Sunday for volunteers (9-10 a.m.); consignors (11 a.m.); and new moms, grandparents and military (12 p.m.). If you hate paying high-fashion prices to have high-fashion kids, then this is the place to shop. In addition to clothing for kids, the sale features furniture, toys and maternity clothes. Consignors are welcome and registration is open. Click here for more information. Or follow Trunk Treasures on Facebook for updates on the sale.

Classics 4 Kids — Founded in 1994, Classics 4 Kids is an educational performing arts organization dedicated to improving academic performance by providing informative and entertaining educational programs that reach out and inspire children to appreciate great orchestral music. Classics 4 Kids began as the result of a single spontaneous effort to give sixth-graders the opportunity to hear a professional piano recital. That single concert for 600 students became three concerts for 2000 students the following year. Since then, Classics 4 Kids has grown through strong artistic and educational leadership and will serve approximately 30,000 children this school year. The next Family Concert – Ellington’s Nutcracker — is Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Balboa Theatre at 868 Fourth Ave., in downtown San Diego. Tchaikovsky’s classical ballet is transformed into a swinging jazz masterpiece by legendary composer and bandleader Duke Ellington and arranger Billy Strayhorn, performed by the Classics Philharmonic. Members of Malashock Dance will infuse the famous tale with rhythm, style, and a whole lot of jazz. After each concert, young audience members can participate in “Kids Chat,” where members of the orchestra and the conductor are available to sign your program book, answer your questions, and smile for your pictures. Tickets are $15 for general admission with discounts available for children 12 and younger. To order, call (619) 231-2311, or order online, click here.

Conversations on Beauty: Does Art Matter? – On Nov. 15, from 5-7:30 p.m., the Mingei International Museum will host a reception and conversation with San Diego artistic and educational legends about the vital role of arts in creating a whole student. The emphasis on science and math-based achievement along with the fiscal uncertainties facing educational institutions have resulted in arts and humanities studies being reduced or eliminated, in many cases. Yet businesses and industries are demanding creative thinkers to work in an increasing complex and fast-paced world. “Our contemporary reliance on technology and knowledge of the physical world, the things we can measure, are training only half the person,” says artist James Hubbell. “This has a profound affect on students’ view of themselves and where we are as a country. Art is not about knowledge; it is about a very real part of being human that we will never completely understand; the intuitive. It can open windows to possibilities that our knowledge told us were closed. Knowledge can tell you where you are but it cannot tell you where you wish to go.” Hubbell will be joined on the panel by Maestro Jung-Ho Pak of Orchestra Nova; Dr. John Eger, Professor of Communications and Public Policy at San Diego State University; and Christine Brady, founder of Colegio La Esperanza. Dirk Sutro will moderate the discussion, the fifth in a series sponsored by the Ilan-Lael Foundation, an arts education foundation begun by James Hubbell in 1984. New to this conversation is a performance component, featuring a young pianist from Orchestra Nova’s “Every Child, Every Life” program. In addition, Colegio La Esperanza, a school which Hubbell has built over the past 20 years along with Brady, will be bringing a young violinist from its Tijuana school performing arts program. Tickets are $10 at the door. The Mingei Museum is located in Balboa Park.

Dr. Seuss Traveling Art Exhibit — Hotel del Coronado welcomes back the Dr. Seuss traveling art exhibit featuring sculptures of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s most beloved characters including the Lorax, the Grinch, Yertle the Turtle and the Cat in the Hat. The collection, which is managed (along with the rest of Seuss’ art) by The Chase Group, will be displayed on The Del’s Windsor Lawn through Dec. 31. The exhibit debuted at The Del in April 2009, before traveling to locations around the country. “We are pleased to have the amazing sculptures back at The Del,” says Todd Shallan, vice president and general manager at the resort. “It’s fun to see faces, both young and old, light up when they see them.” Says Seuss: “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” The hotel says, with this in mind, you are invited to visit, enjoy the sculpture garden and your own memories and connection to Suess’ lasting messages. The hotel is located at 1500 Orange Ave., in Coronado. For more information, call (800) 468-3533.

Photo by Michael Lamont

Speaking of the Grinch . . . It’s that time of year when the Old Globe Theatre brings the green and grouchy character to life in “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” the whimsical musical, based on the classic book, is back for its 14th year. Celebrate the holidays as the Old Globe Theatre is once again transformed into the snow-covered Whoville, right down to the last can of Who-hash. Remy Margaret Corbin, shown in the 2010 production with Jeff Skowron as The Grinch, stars again as Cindy-Lou Who (along with Caitlin McAuliffe). This year, Steve Blanchard is the Grinch in the holiday musical, running Nov. 19 through Dec. 31 in Balboa Park. The sixth annual Old Globe Christmas Tree Lighting will be Nov. 20. Grinch scenic designer John Lee Beatty’s unique tree will be in the center of the Globe Plaza for the run of the show. This family event will feature a special live performance by members of the Grinch and a holiday snowfall on the Globe’s Copley Plaza. Tickets to this free event are available to subscribers and are included with tickets to the Nov. 20 Grinch performance at 4:30 p.m. For more information and tickets, call (619) 234-5623 or click here.

The 65^th Annual Mother Goose Parade — Each year, the parade attracts thousands of spectators to the streets of El Cajon to view the parade for free on the “Sunday before Thanksgiving,” the day the parade is held every year. Parade will begin at 10 a.m., rain or shine. More than 100 colorful parade entries come from a variety of cities throughout the United States to participate in the parade. Each year, a line-up of motorized floats, marching bands and drill units, equestrians, clowns, special characters and guests, performing  artists, celebrities, giant helium balloons, specialty vehicles and, of course, Santa Claus, roll through East County.

If you have events you’d like us to consider for the calendar, please e-mail them to: jclifford@thinkplaycreate.org by the 20th of the month for us to include in the following month’s calendar. Also, please send any artwork that we can use with your listing.

Entertainment, Events, Trash, Whats Happenin' Classics 4 Kids, consignment sales, Dr. Seuss, Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, Grinch, Hotel del Coronado, Ilan-Lael Foundation, James Hubbell, John Eger, kids and the arts, Mingei International Museum, Mother Goose Parade, Old Globe Theatre, Trunk Treasures, Veterans Museum and Memorial Center