Game on!
See what live music is coming up in the PB area, Page 7
PACIFIC NISSAN “Highway 5 on Mission Bay Drive” www.PacificNissan.com
(858) 581-3200 • 4433 Mission Bay Drive, Pacific Beach THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013
Vendors will offer Krispy Kreme sloppy Joes and deep-fried, bacon-wrapped pickles.
FAIR GAME The 2013 San Diego County Fair is preparing to open Saturday, June 8 with a ton of food, entertainment and music, touting a theme of “Game On!” DON BALCH
County Fair puts all the fun, music acts you can handle at your fingertips By KEVIN McKAY he annual mix of down-home agricultural exhibits, belly-busting food, eye-catching entertainment and powerhouse musical lineups is set to return to the Del Mar Fairgrounds for a month-long engagement on Saturday, June 8 with the opening of the 2013 San Diego County Fair. The fair runs through July 4. Touting a theme of “Game On!,” this year’s fair is designed to spotlight classic and nostalgic games and show how these have evolved over the years — from board games and pinball to television, videos and computers — and to demonstrate how technology has enhanced the gaming culture beyond dreams. Of course, the fair has plenty of food and drink vendors spread across the fair-
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way and the infield track area. And each year, Fair officials spice things up with some very unusual food offerings that, well, can test one’s willingness to break
the normal gastronomical barriers. This year, among other items, vendors will be selling Krispy Kreme sloppy Joes; deep-fried, bacon-wrapped pickles; chipotle BBQ beef chips; bacon beer; wild boar kabobs; and waffle dogs. Also new this year is a “Star Trek Exhibition,” an interactive, museum-style experience involving one of the largest collections of authentic Star Trek artifacts and information ever put on public display, according to Fair officials. For those who can’t get enough of bacon, foodies will be in hog heaven come Sunday, June 16 during the “Big Bite Bacon Fest,” presented by Farmer John. Fair officials said the festival is a funfilled, walk-around tasting event featuring creative bacon dishes from the best chefs and competitive cooks in the county. Each bacon booth will prepare and serve small plates of savory bacon delights ranging from appetizers to desserts and everything in between. Adult fairgoers can quench
FOOD AND FUN The Del Mar Fairgrounds will come alive during this year’s run of the fair from June 8 to July 4. DON BALCH
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Belmont Park Farmers Market ready to debut June 7 By MARIKO LAMB To add to the color and vibrancy of Belmont Park, Brian Beevers, owner and operator of Brian’s Farmers’ Markets, is debuting a certified farmers market experience at the beachfront amusement park every Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting June 7. Beevers, the successful founder of independent weekly farmers markets in Golden Hill, University MARKET MAN Brian Beevers, Towne Center and Point owner and operator of Brian’s Loma, decided to bring the Farmers’ Markets — already food community together operating in several locations where the boardwalk around San Diego — will open a meets the sea in Mission new venue at Belmont Park on Beach. June 7. COURTESY PHOTO The Point Loma Nazarene University graduate and former Internet technical professional left his job to open his first farmers market in Mission Valley in the spring of 2009. “I did a complete 180 [degrees] with my life when I left my job,” he said. “I respect and appreciate each of my vendors. Each new market confirms that my decision was wise.” The Belmont Park Certified Farmers Market will bring together ranchers, growers, artisans and chefs to the base at the roller coaster each Friday morning, rain or shine, he said. Residents and tourists can enjoy live music and food and drink samples as they weave through 50 local vendors selling locally grown produce, fresh meats and artisan wares directly from the source. “The Mission Beach residents have to travel down the
SEE FAIR >> PG. 3
SEE MARKET >> PG. 5
Local organization built on compassion spreads worldwide Dreams are coming true for one Pacific Beach woman, whose simple idea to inspire daily compassionate actions has become a global movement in just five years. In 2008, founder Sara Schairer said she was going through the hardest time of her life. As she was watching an episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” author Wayne Dyer spoke about compassion being the most important thing to teach FASHIONABLE COMPASSION A close- children. Schairer said the message up of the “Compassion It” bracelet. stuck with her. She said she COURTESY PHOTO thought about it for the rest of the
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day. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and the word compassionate turned into the two words — “Compassion It” — in my head,” Schairer said. “And I was like, ‘Wow, that makes sense, compassion is a verb now. It’s an action.’” She trademarked “Compassion It,” but it wasn’t until 2011 that Schairer took action. She thought about putting the phrase on bumper stickers or T-shirts, but her friend suggested she needed something small and inexpensive if she
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wanted to start a global movement. She settled on a two-sided, reversible bracelet that could be used to spur compassionate action. Each morning, the bracelet starts on the black side. When someone does a compassionate act, they flip it to the white side. The bracelets are sold in pairs, and the first compassionate act is to give a bracelet away. “That’s what is unique about it,” Schairer said. “I like to say we’re a movement that creates movement.”
By ETHAN ORENSTEIN
The first batch of 1,000 bracelets arrived in May and completely sold out in about 40 minutes, she said. The first 1,000 bracelets were used to unite the town of Northbrook, Ill. and raise money for families after two suicides and a fatal car accident occurred within three weeks. A small town in Missouri also used “Compassion It” bracelets to grieve after a 13-year-old girl committed suicide.
SEE BRACELET >> PG. 4
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ENTRY RULES: You choose your favorite! Tell us who the best of the best is and you’ll be entered into our free drawing. Mail or hand deliver your ballot to: Beach & Bay Press, 1621 Grand Ave. Suite C, San Diego CA 92109. You may also submit your vote online at: www.beachandbaypress.com. (look for the banner ad advertising the readers choice awards) • 50% of the ballot must be complete to be counted in the drawing. • One ballot per person. • Limited to 92109 zip codes. • Ballots must be postmarked, submitted online, or hand-delivered, by Thursday, August 1, 2013.