Healthy Meal Kits Feed Local Families

November 1

La Bohème

Catch the final performance of San Diego Opera’s production of La Bohème. When theaters closed, San Diego Opera paved the way in the industry by creating the first drive-in opera experience. Listen to the show over your car’s FM radio and enjoy the live, socially distanced performance from Grammy Award winner Ana María Martínez as Mimì and tenor Joshua Guerrero as Rodolfo.

3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, Midway District

Virtual Komen San Diego Race for the Cure

Virtual Komen San Diego Race for the Cure

For the first time in its history, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is going virtual this year. Rather than meet and run in Balboa Park, the longtime breast cancer organization encourages runners to take to the streets of their own neighborhood to join in this virtual race. Follow along on the SGK Fundraiser app to track your steps, share photos, and explore fun social media filters.

November 7–8

ArtWalk Liberty Station

ArtWalk Liberty Station

The longstanding arts festival returns this November to celebrate its 15th anniversary. With strict social distancing guidelines in place, ArtWalk welcomes art lovers to a fine art exhibition across North Promenade and Legacy Plaza. Check out the art guitar auction raising money for ArtReach San Diego and the work of over 150 local, national, and international artists.

2848 Dewey Road, Liberty Station

November 11

Fleet Week Boat Parade

Join the USS Midway’s Veterans Day celebration with prime seating for the annual Fleet Week Boat Parade. Watch from the ship’s grand flight deck as the lineup makes their way across San Diego Bay. Social distancing protocols will be in place.

910 North Harbor Drive, Embarcadero

November 12

Concerts in Your Car

The Princess Bride

Head to the Del Mar Fairgrounds for this drive-in movie screening of The Princess Bride, hosted by Concerts in Your Car. The live performance and movie venue features four large screens and an in-the-round outdoor stage for prime views of the concerts and movies. Moviegoers are welcome to bring outside food and nonalcoholic sips, as they wish.

2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar

November 13–15

Women’s Film Festival San Diego

Hosted by the Women’s Museum of California, the annual film festival provides a platform for national and international women filmmakers to share their work on the big screen. This year, the festival is operating on a completely virtual platform, showing screenings, discussion panels, and lectures to get a behind-the-scenes look into the process of filmmaking.

November 21–22

San Diego Holiday Market

This annual market made some safety adjustments to keep their tradition alive, now hosted in both an outdoor, socially distanced venue and online. There are plenty of opportunities to shop for goods from over 60 of San Diego’s most talented artists and makers.

5500 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa

November 27–December 6

San Diego Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Canela Photo

San Diego Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Fall into the holiday spirit with San Diego Ballet’s drive-in performance of The Nutcracker. This Balanchine classic will feature all of the enchanting dances you know and love—cue the sugarplum fairies—in a comfortable and safe pop-up theater experience. Audience members are encouraged to bring sweet treats, cozy blankets, and chairs if they wish to sit in front of their vehicle.

San Diego Opera’s production of La Bohème

Karli Cadel

Prom is a rite of passage for high schoolers, but a flashy new dress can cost hundreds of dollars. The Princess Project helps girls cut costs while promoting fashion sustainability. The nonprofit collects new and gently used formal dresses and accessories throughout the year, then when prom season rolls around, launches pop-up boutiques where girls can shop for their dream dress at no cost. The only criteria is they have to be a high school student who’s going to prom. 

The Princess Project started in San Francisco in 2002 with a small dress drive. The movement grew exponentially over the years, and expanded to San Diego in 2008. Today, it’s headquartered at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon and has chapters in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Sonoma. 

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“We really want to celebrate teens, make them feel good about themselves, and save them some money because it costs a lot to go to prom. This is one way that we can help alleviate the cost,” says Karen Martin-Spellerberg, corporate board chairman and head of the San Diego chapter. “There’s no financial requirement to come get a dress with us because we are all about everybody being equal and having the same opportunity.” 

The experience is more than just picking out a dress, says Martin-Spellerberg. The Princess Project works to create a bubble of inclusiveness and confidence, where all shapes and sizes are celebrated, and all comments are positive.

In the months leading up to prom season, teens can book an hour-long appointment at the Parkway Plaza location to try on dresses and accessories, which they get to keep. Volunteers act as personal shoppers, curating an experience unique to each kid. This year, the Princess Projects also brought dresses to eight library branches throughout San Diego County to reach girls who couldn’t make it to the main event. 

Because the Princess Project relies on donations, they often do not receive enough dresses in “fringe sizes” (00-2 and 14 and up), so they hold fundraising events to purchase new dresses in those specific sizes to maintain an inclusive range. Its signature $5 Dress Sale Fundraiser event will take place on May 30-31 at Parkway Plaza, where non-prom dresses (cocktail, casual, business) donated throughout the year are sold for a minimum $5 donation per dress. All proceeds from this fundraiser are used to purchase the understocked sizes. 

May 26, 2026

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“We’ve got dress drop off sites throughout San Diego County and people sometimes will donate dresses that are non-prom—sometimes they’re cocktail, casual, summer, business. So, what happens is when we are done with the season, we flip our dress store and we put out all of the non-prom dresses,” says Martin-Spellerberg. “People can come shop and get as many dresses as they want and 100 percent of the proceeds go toward us purchasing dresses in the sizes we don’t have enough of.” 

The Princess Project also relies heavily on volunteers, including teen ambassadors, the latter who meet monthly, help organize the store, work outreach tables, and host a fashion show to help spread the word to their fellow students that the dresses are premium-quality and “ready to wear, beautiful and amazing.” 

“It’s all about kindness and making kids feel good about themselves,” says Martin-Spellerberg.

The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County, serving roughly 400,000 people per month. The nonprofit has a range of programs that help vulnerable San Diegans, including its grocery store–style food pantry and an initiative to provide weekend meals to local students who are at risk for hunger.

The food bank also partners with more than 450 other organizations to expand access to nutritious food. A big part of that effort relies on volunteers. The food bank counts more than 15,000 volunteers among its ranks who sort, pack, and help distribute the millions of pounds that move through its donation centers. Here, volunteer Carol Hunt shares why the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank keeps her coming back. 

What made you want to get involved with the San Diego Food Bank?

I got involved right after things started opening back up after Covid. I stopped working, and I was just looking for something to fill my days and to give back to the community. I heard about food insecurity and the food bank, and thought, “Let me go check it out and see if I like it.” I was hooked from the first time. 

April 23, 2026

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What do your volunteer duties entail? 

I have been really involved with the Food 4 Kids Backpack Program where we pack individual meals that go home with children in their backpacks on Fridays that give them meals that they can prepare themselves for Saturday and Sunday—breakfast and lunch to bridge the gap. There’s an assembly line, and what I do mainly is I keep the assembly line stocked.

So, we might have eight people running the line. Each person is putting a different thing into a bag, and then we’re putting those bags into boxes and onto pallets that will go to individual schools.

We’re packing for individual schools, and also individual students. Everybody gets the exact same thing that’s planned and purchased through the meal program for the kids. I mainly do that during the school year, and then when that’s not running, then I also work in the pantry. People can come and individually shop, or we prepare to-go bags for people, and sort foods and fruits and vegetables and those kinds of things. 

What do you like best about volunteering? 

I love that it’s super busy and we work really hard, and then at the end we’re given a total of how many bags we packed. On one of our busiest days we did, like, 1,200 bags. That means we’ve literally affected 1,200 kids in three hours. It’s so satisfying. I worked in healthcare for 30 years, so I really missed being with people. And here you just meet people from all different walks of life. You’ve got a unique mix of people that you wouldn’t necessarily come in contact with—which, you know, that’s what makes the world go around. 

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What’s the biggest challenge you face?

It’s sad to see how many people have food insecurity. And when we’re sorting food, the food waste—things that have gotten spoiled before you’re able to get them packaged and out to people.

Can you describe your favorite or most memorable experience while volunteering?

I don’t know that I have a singular event, but there are some days I leave thinking that it was just so great. You’ve met somebody that you just really jive with or with some groups of people, the flow is just so great and the energy’s really fun. 

Any advice you would give someone who’s considering volunteering?

I feel like more people should volunteer because you benefit so much when you do something that affects other people. It’s almost selfish to do this—you receive so much out of it. When you’re in a room of other volunteers and you’re able to pack 1,200 meals for someone—you wouldn’t be able to do that if you had to pay somebody. It’s just really inspiring, and it’s very enjoyable. Even if you can do it once a year, or if you can do it twice a week, I would really encourage people to get out there and try it and find the thing that they enjoy. Come and meet some new people and do some good work.

*Responses edited for length and clarity. 

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June 4: St. Germaine Children’s Charity Star Bright Awards Dinner

St. Germaine Children’s Charity will host its annual grant awards dinner at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. The grant funds that will be donated to local agencies that work to end child abuse were raised at various St. Germaine Children’s Charity fundraisers and events throughout the year. 

June 6: Senior Prom: Forever Young

Help San Diego seniors age gracefully at Senior Prom: Forever Young, a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels San Diego County. The retro school dance-themed gala at the Kona Kai San Diego Resort will help the nonprofit continue to deliver daily nutritious meals and friendly visits to local seniors.

June 12-14: Walk Against Human Trafficking

San Diego nonprofit GenerateHope and international charity Freedom Challenge will host a 45-mile, three-day walk from Oceanside to Coronado to help combat human trafficking. Funds raised will go toward Freedom Challenge’s work around the world and GenerateHope’s local programs that serve survivors of sex trafficking. 

June 13: Wildcoast’s Baja Bash 

Roughly 300 guests will gather at a private residence in Solana Beach for bites prepared by San Diego’s top sustainable chefs, along with fine wine, craft beer, and small batch mezcal and tequila to support coastal conservation in the U.S. and Mexico. Funds raised at Wildcoast’s Baja Bash will help expand its programs in 2026 and beyond.

June 20: CYAC Battle of the Badges

Local law enforcement, first responders, and military personnel will face off in a boxing match aboard the USS Midway Museum to raise money for the Community Youth Athletic Center. Now in its 21st year, the Battle of the Badges supports CYAC’s boxing programs for underprivileged youth.

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More than 200 opera aficionados attended the San Diego Opera’s 2026 Opera Ball for All May 2 at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa. The theme of the evening, Noche Sevillana, ¡Olé!, was an ode to two of this season’s operas: The Barber of Seville and Carmen. The event, which featured performances by Stephanie Doche and brothers Felipe and Xavier Prado, raised $700,000 in support of the company’s mission to bring meaningful arts experiences to the San Diego community.

See photos below.