Celebrity Staff Night at Acqua Al 2

Acqua Al 2, a fine Italian restaurant in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter, is hosting the 4th Annual Celebrity Staff Night at Acqua Al 2, this Sunday, August 23, 2009 to celebrate Acqua Al 2’s ninth anniversary.

San Diego Padres players will shake up cocktails, prepare Acqua Al 2’s signature dishes and wait tables. Guests will savor a five-course dinner paired with fine wines and bid on live auction items, including exclusive sports memorabilia and discounted rates to premier San Diego restaurants. In addition, raffle tickets will be available for a chance to win a surprise activity with the players and guests can also contribute a donation to have a professional photograph taken on the red carpet with Adrian Gonzalez

Proceeds will benefit The Adrian & Betsy Gonzalez Foundation, which empowers underprivileged youth through athletics, education and health.

Celebrity Staff Night will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at Acqua Al 2, located in the Gaslamp Quarter at 322 5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101. Tickets are $195 per person and can be purchased at http://www.agonzalez23.com/.

Urban Trees 6 Gallery

The Port of San Diego will host a dedication ceremony for its sixth installment of the popular Urban Trees public art exhibit on September 12th in front of the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal at 1140 North Harbor Drive in Downtown San Diego at 11:30 a.m. The event will feature family activities and entertainment, as well as thirty new tree sculptures to be installed.

Urban Trees was established in 2003 in order to showcase artwork along the North Embarcadero on San Diego Bay. Each year, 30 artists are selected to create their interpretation of an urban tree to remain on dispay for one year. After that, they are available for sale by the artists. For more information, please visit www.portofsandiego/public-art.

Promises2Kids Hosts the 8th Annual Backpack & Flash Drive for Kids

Promises2Kids presents the 8th Annual Backpack & Flash Drive for Kids at PETCO Park during the San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs game on August 19, 2009. Promises2Kids will be collecting backpacks and flash drives at every entrance to benefit the thousands of foster children, who were once victims of abuse.

The donations of backpacks and flash drives are essential in providing each child with a system to keep all of their schoolwork and computer assignments organized. On average, a foster child will live in at least seven different homes before they turn 18 years old, and these donated items will be key in helping them return to school this fall with school supplies that will help them succeed in the classroom. For more information please visit www.promises2kids.org or call (858) 278-4400.

Promises 2 Kids, formerly the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation, is a 27-year-old nonprofit organization that has led the fight against child abuse and neglect in the County of San Diego since 1981.

Cruise Travel Magazine Explores Sparkling San Diego

We are very pleased to share with you coverage of Downtown San Diego in Cruise Travel Magazine’s July/August issue, in the article Sparkling San Diego – California dreamin’ comes naturally in this big city with a small-town feel, written by Randy Mink. This was a great feature about the Port of San Diego and highlighted neighboring hotels, destinations and attractions.

"The downtown waterfront showcases San Diego’s ties to the sea, offering so much to do that visitors have little reason to stray far from the cruise-ship terminal on San Diego Bay. The Gaslamp Quarter, loaded with top restaurants and music clubs in well-preserved Victorian buildings, lies minutes away. San Diego, America’s eighth largest city and the fastest growing cruise port on the West Coast, offers a much more vibrant, tourist-friendly downtown than it did just 10 years ago. Much of the action takes place on the Embarcadero, a stretch of San Diego Bay where the cruise vessels anchor. Along this palm-lined promenade, the nautical soul of the city, you can board an excursion boat, roam the decks of historic ships, ride in a pedicab, or watch the marine traffic from a seafood eatery."

Visit http://www.sdGOdowntown.com/ for itineraries, restaurant recommendations, happening happy hours, shopping guides and more! San DieGO Downtown will help you make the best out of your downtown San Diego experience.

Uncork the Cure

The San Diego Wine & Culinary Center is proud to host Uncork the Cure, a fund-raising wine event benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and its mission to find a cure for cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States.

Guests will be treated to an exclusive event featuring food and wine samples from renowned San Diego restaurants, a silent auction, a chance to win a date with ABC’s Bachelorette Finalist Kiptyn Locke and grand prize drawing—all benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Join the San Diego Wine and Culinary Center on August 13, 2009 from 6 to 9 p.m. at 200 Harbor Drive, downtown. General Admission: $50. VIP Ticket: $85 – Includes: early check-in, a private cooking demonstration with Gerrard Meriwether Executive Sous Chef at the Oceanaire Seafood Room, champagne toast and premium wine for the entire evening. For more information please call 858-452-2873 or visit cff.org/chapters/sandiego.

Stingaree Presents Cooks Confab Beer Craft: Grain to Glass, Farm to Table Event

Mix, mingle and enjoy marvelous, hand crafted food and beers on Stingaree’s rooftop!

Join San Diego’s finest chefs and brew masters at the Cooks Confab “Beer Craft: Grain to Glass, Farm to Table” event located at Stingaree this Sunday, August 9, 2009, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. For $90, participants will enjoy this exclusive event featuring exceptional bites and hand crafted brews crafted by local San Diego top chefs and brew masters while enjoying the stunning Downtown San Diego skyline from Stingaree’s rooftop.

Featured Chefs at Sunday’s event include:

• Jeff Jackson and TK Kolanko, A. R. Valentien
• Amy DiBiase, Roseville
• Paul McCabe, Kitchen 1540
• Jack Fisher and Jason Knibb, NINE-TEN
• Nathan Coulon, Quarter Kitchen
• Katie Grebow, Café Chloe
• Olivier Bioteau, Farm House Café
• Andrew Spurgin and Donald Coffman, Waters Fine Catering
• Brian Sinnott, 1500 Ocean
• Antonio Friscia, Stingaree
• Christian Graves, Jsix

Brew masters include:

• Peter Zien, AleSmith Brewing Company
• Colby Chandler, Ballast Point Brewing Company
• Chuck Silva, Green Flash Brewing Co.
• Jim Crute, Lightning Brewery
• Tomme Arthur, The Lost Abbey
• Greg Koch, Stone Brewing Co.

A portion of the ticket sales is donated to Slow Food Urban San Diego. Stingaree is located in the Gaslamp Quarter at 454 6th Avenue. For more information visit Stingaree or Cooks Confab online and for reservations, please call (619) 544-9500.