Little Italy galleries open for the monthly Kettner Nights art event on Friday, Nov. 13. Held from 6 to 9 p.m. in downtown San Diego's Little Italy, the art has as much flavor as the espresso and pasta. Little Italy's art and design district, modeled after New York City's trendy SoHo and Chelsea districts, offers art-lovers and design patrons diverse resources. Come explore this ever-growing distinctive neighborhood with an art walk through the businesses and studios on Kettner Boulevard and beyond. This month's highlights: Gallery Artists: A Group Show at Perry L. Meyer; Sean Brannan and Joshua Krause's New Works at Jett Gallery; Artemio Rodriguez's Life, Women and Politics at Noel-Baza; Group Exhibition at Scott White Contemporary Art

For more information, please call Perry Meyer Fine Art at 619-358-9512.

Seattle and Portland may have the known reputations as centers for craft beers and micro-breweries, but ever so steadily, San Diego is gaining a high reputation as a region for excellent beers.  So for the first time, the San Diego Brewers Guild is staging San Diego Beer Week, Nov. 6 to 15.

San Dieg Beer Week is a 10-day countywide festival that attracts beer tourism, fosters knowledge of our regional brewing heritage, and serves as a showcase for San Diego's breweries, restaurants, pubs, and other businesses with ties to the craft beer community.

There are currently more than 100 events planned for San Diego Beer Week. San Diego Beer Week kicks off with the VIP Session of the San Diego Brewers Guild Festival on Friday, November 6, followed by two general admission sessions on Saturday November 7, 2009, at the World Beat Center in Balboa Park. The Guild Festival is the largest gathering of local craft breweries featuring more than 80 beers brewed in San Diego County. Allied member restaurants will be at the event serving small bites to pair with the beers.

For full details on San Diego Beer Week, including event schedules and ticket prices, visit the official website here.

TNT (Thursday Night Thing) returns to MCASD Downtown. Taking inspiration from Tara Donovan's large-scale installations that are based on the physical properties of accumulated everyday materials, this TNT will celebrate the "Material Wonder" in the everyday. Donovan, a recipient of the 2008 MacArthur "genius" award, is known for using mass accumulations of ordinary objects, such as straight pins, paper plates, toothpicks, drinking straws, and pencils, to mimic the organization of geological or biological forms.

Members: Free  / General: $10; $7 Students

Read more about tonight's TNT event here.

Looking for something affordable to do this weekend with the family? How about making your way to the New Children's Museum downtown for some educational fun with the Target Free Second Sunday, Nov. 8. The New Children's Museum grants free admission on the second Sunday of each month, with extended Museum hours from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sponsored by Target, the free day allows all children and families in the community to enjoy the Museum, and ensure that cost is not a barrier. Every Target Free Second Sunday also includes a variety of special performances and activities for children:

• 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. - Mainly Mozart Performance  Cricket Wireless Level, Improv Studio
• All Day - Mainly Mozart Exhibition  Arts Education Center
• 12, 12:30, 1 and 1:30 p.m. - Bait For Lunch Reading by Karen Okagaki Main Level, Lounge
• 2 p.m. - Rhythm Worx with Susan Hall Cricket Wireless Level, Improv Studio
• 3 p.m. - Poway High School Dance Team Museum Park
• 3 p.m. - Hoop Dance with Valentina  Museum Park

Get details about the Target Free Second Sunday at the New Children's Museum here.

It's a perfect setting (Embarcadero Park North) to indulge in fine wine and culinary specialties. The San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, taking place Nov. 18-22, 2009, is touted as Southern California's largest wine and food fest, featuring over 800 wines, 70 of San Diego's top fine dining restaurants and 30 gourmet food companies participating in this year's event. The five-day festival features wine tasting seminars, cooking classes by award-winning chefs, and an elegant Reserve Tasting. The festival culminates on Saturday at the star-studded Grand Tasting Event complete with the "Chef of the Fest Competition," celebrity cookbook signing tents, a special VIP tent, live entertainment, and more.

Festival Highlights:
• WineRave 2009
• Cooking Demonstrations
• Wine Tasting Classes
• Reserve & New Release Tasting featuring AIWF Silent Auction
• Grand Tasting Event & "Chef of the Fest" Competition
• Celebrity Chef Luncheon & AIWF Big Bottle Auction

Learn more about the 2009 San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival at the official website here.

Autumn is a great time in San Diego for locals to get out and do fun stuff. The summer heat and tourist crowds are all but gone, and the crisp, cooler weather brings a nice feeling, knowing the holidays are around the corner. We may not have a distinctive seasonal change as other parts of the country, but the weather makes for nifty outings and activities. To me, it's the best time to go out and enjoy San Diego.

Read my article on the Top Picks for Autumn Activities in San Diego right here.

Halloween is this Saturday, and along with all the usual ghosts, goblins and princesses, the 2009 edition promises to feature a plethora of costumes with current pop culture references. Oh, perhaps not with the kids, thankfully, but more with the adults. Because, you see, Halloween has become a big adult-oriented holiday. Perhaps we adults like having a day of moving along in anonymity; or perhaps our surpressed selves need to act out our inner fantasies (which could be a bit telling in itself).

Whatever the case, this year should have some soon-to-be standard costumes thanks to the fact that we have had some costume-worthy pop culture events this year.  So, count on seeing lots of Jon and Kate Gosselins, Michael Jacksons, Bernie Madoffs (?), vampires, Octomons, Sarah Palins (again), and balloon boys.

In any case, whatever/whomever you dress up as, you'll need a place to show off your getup. Read my article on things to do on Halloween in San Diego, as well as some Day of the Dead celebrations, too.

Before suburbia took over San Diego, North Park was the place you did shopping if you weren't downtown. And if you squint while at the corner of University and 30th, you can see vestiges of what once was: retail shops and department stores were the norm (there actually used to be a J.C. Penney department store on the block not too long ago). With the re-invigoration of North Park comes a new generation of shops and boutiques to go along with venerable institutions. It makes for a mix of retail and services worth heading to North Park for some serious shopping.

Read more about shopping North Park in my article here.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, El Cajon Boulevard  will be overrun with ghosts and goblins . But don't fear - it isn't a scene from "Zombieland" but the 2009 edition of the Boulevard BOO! Parade, the increasingly popular Halloween parade and carnival that takes place in the College Area and Rolando neighborhoods of San Diego.

Beginning at 11 a.m. at 59th Street in El Cerrito, the BOO! Parade will travel east along El Cajon Boulevard, cross College Avenue, and conclude at Rolando Boulevard in the heart of Rolando Village. Councilwoman Marti Emerald is this year's grandmarshall of the event, which includes a parade along El Cajon Boulevard, a carnival which takes place after the parade at Clay Park, along with entertainment, food, and a beer garden.

11am October 24, 2009
Parade: El Cajon Blvd. & College Ave.
Carnival: Clay Park @ Art Street; Noon - 6pm

For more information, check out the BOO! Parade website here.

South Park is one of San Diego's oldest and coolest neighborhoods, but many San Diegans don't know it by its name, often lumping it in with its neighbors Golden Hill or North Park. But South Park is its own place with its own distinct vibe. South Park is actually east of Balboa Park, but it is south of the neighborhood of North Park, hence its name. Besides the quiet, tree-lined streets, South Park is special for its old San Diego charm.

Read more about South Park in my San Diego neighborhood profile right here.