Eight great weekend tips for do-gooders

Our eight great weekend tips are packed with opportunities to have fun and do good. Many of the events listed below benefit a good cause, or encourage participants to become involved in their communities. Your best bet: Fruit of the Soul. Sample food from more than 30 restaurants and enjoy art and fashion displays, while donating to (among the causes) the Monarch School, a school for homeless youth in San Diego.

The San Diego Festival of Beer will feature suds from more than 65 breweries, with a portion of proceeds going to local cancer charities. (File photo by Bonzo McGrue)

San Diego Festival of Beer: More than 65 breweries will invade Little Italy Friday for the 15th annual San Diego Festival of Beer, at Columbia and B streets. The festival sold out for the first time last year, and a portion of its proceeds benefit local cancer charities. More than 6,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival. The $25 cost of admission ($30 day of) gets you 10 four-ounce beer tastings. Food and wine will be available for purchase, and Len Rainey and the Midnight Players, Nightshift, 5 South Band, and the Hong Kong Cavaliers featuring original members of Slightly Stoopid and Dubcat will take the stage. The festival will take place from 6-11 p.m., and is a 21-plus event.

Restaurant Week: Get your fill. There’s one night left to catch the tail end of San Diego Restaurant Week (that is, if you don’t have reservations tonight). The twice-annual culinary event features more than 180 restaurants offering three-course meals for $20, $30 or $40. Some of the city’s finest restaurants participate; during any other month, you’d be hard pressed to find a three-course meal at such affordable prices (particularly somewhere like The Marine Room or Nobu). Check out San Diego News Network’s coverage of Restaurant Week and make your reservations now!

Taste of University Heights: The University Heights Community Development Corporation is combining two of our favorite things Saturday: art and food. The Taste of University Heights, in conjunction with the UH Arts Open, will allow participants to take tours of the 92116 neighborhood and discover some of its incredible restaurants and local artists. Tickets for Taste are $15-20, and participating restaurants include Muzita Abyssinian Bistro, Twiggs, El Zarape, Monica’s at the Park, Pizza Gourmet Express, Eclipse Chocolat, Cream Coffee House, Loving Hut, Mama’s Bakery & Lebanese Deli, and Gulf Coast Grill. The Art Open is free and will feature more than 100 local artists, musicians, performers and playwrights. Check out this quaint, diverse neighborhood. Call (619) 297-3166 to purchase taste tickets. The events run from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, and begin at Old Trolley Barn Park, located at 2000 Adams Ave.

California Coastal Cleanup Day: San Diego’s largest volunteer event will celebrate Saturday 25 years of protecting and restoring our coastal communities and beaches. San Diego set records in 2008, with more than 7,700 volunteers cleaning 150 miles of coastline, and removing more than 160,000 pounds of debris. San Diego Coastkeeper, I Love A Clean San Diego and the California Coastal Commission will partner Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon to kick off the California Coastal Cleanup Day. Do your part in any one of the 70 clean up zones to keep America’s Finest City clean. Check out the list of clean up sites online and sign up today.

Ping Pong Social at The Pearl:

Holiday Matinee will host a poolside Ping Pong Social at The Pearl in Point Loma to benefit Sezio, an local nonprofit arts organization. (Photo courtesy of Holiday Matinee)

Show off your table-tennis skill at The Pearl in Point Loma on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Join creative studio Holiday Matinee, and Sezio, a nonprofit organization that supports the arts, for the Ping-Pong Social at Point Loma’s chic-est boutique hotel. Spectators are welcome free of charge, but there is a $10 entry fee for the tournament. Space is limited, so RSVPs are encouraged. The tournament begins at 1 p.m., and there will be food and drink specials, DJs, board games and prizes. E-mail pingpong@sezio.org to reserve your spot in the tournament. The Pearl is located at 1410 Rosecrans Street.

Fruit of the Soul: Mix and mingle for a cause. Fruit of the Soul is an annual fundraiser that benefits the Monarch School — a school for homeless children — and music, arts and nutrition education programs for kids. More than 30 San Diego restaurants will provide food, and the ever-fabulous Tractor Room will sponsor the cocktail lounge for the Saturday event. There will be live music, and fashion and art exhibits, all on display at Specialty Produce, located at 1929 Hancock St. Tickets range from $25-$75 and can be purchased online. VIP all access begins at 6 p.m., general admission begins at 6:30 p.m. and a late entry ($25 ticket) allows access after 9 p.m.

Fall Home & Garden Show: Hundreds of home improvement exhibitors will gather at the Del Mar Fairgrounds this weekend for the 20th annual Fall Home/Garden Show. Whether you’re looking for the latest home improvement products, new furniture, or decorating and remodeling ideas, the annual home and garden show will have it all.  Attendees will meet experts, designers and master gardeners, and learn how to reduce their water usage and water bills. Adult admission is $8, senior admission is $1, children under the age of 12 are free, and e-tickets (purchased online) are $6. The Del Mar Fairgrounds are located at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.

‘Field of Dreams’ at Petco Park: If you screen it, they will come. San Diego’s Centre City Development Corporation and the San Diego Padres will host a free showing of the popular baseball film, “Field of Dreams,” Saturday at Petco Park. Family-oriented activities begin at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 7 p.m. Moviegoers are invited to bring blankets, food and nonalcoholic beverages and are encouraged to bring canned food donations to support St. Vincent de Paul Village. Concession stands will be selling hot dogs, cotton candy, soda, water and more. Petco Park is located on J Street between 8th and 9th avenues.

Joseph Peña is SDNN lifestyles editor. Email him at Joseph.Peña (at) sdnn.com.

Tags: California Coastal Cleanup Day, California Coastal Commission, Centre City Development Corporation, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Field of Dreams at Petco Park, Fruit of the Soul, Holiday Matinee, I Love a Clean San Diego, Monarch School, Ping Pong Social at The Pearl, San Diego Coastkeeper, San Diego Fall Home & Garden Show, San Diego Festival of Beer, San Diego Padres, San Diego Restaurant Week, SDNN, Sezio, Specialty Produce, Taste of University Heights, University Heights Community Development Corporation

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