The San Diego LBGT Community Center will host an event to celebrate the life of artist Frida Kahlo. The celebration will include live bands and traditional dance performances, a Frida Kahlo look-a-like contest, artwork by Latin artists, great food, beer and tequila on Friday, June 28 from 6-10 p.m.

All proceeds from the event, which will be at The Center, will benefit The Center’s Latino Services Program.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. The event is for those 21 years and older only. For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.thecentersd.kintera.org/frida2008.

The Center is located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest.

The San Diego Dyke March Planning Group is organizing the 2008 event. The event will be held July 26-27, a week after San Diego LGBT Pride.

Committee members are currently being sought to help organize all aspects of the day-long event, which includes a march and festival. For more information, to be added to the e-mail list, or to get involved, contact Abby at dykemarchsd@yahoo.com

United for a Hate Free San Diego will hold a summit on hate crimes at the University of San Diego, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 12. Heidi Beirich, deputy director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will be the keynote speaker.

Local elected officials and faith leaders organized the summit to increase awareness of the proliferation of hate groups in San Diego and the increase in hate crimes. For more information or to register for the summit, contact Connie Hernandez at the City of San Diego Human Relations Commission at 619-236-6420.

The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice is located on the campus of the University of San Diego at 5998 Alcala Park.

The Hillcrest Youth Center will hold its annual event for GLBTQ youth ages 14-20, The Other Prom, on June 21 from 6-9 p.m. at The Center. The theme for this year’s event is “Hollywood Nights” and the Hillcrest Youth Center (HYC) has invited community members to purchase a star on the event’s “Walk of Fame.”

Each star will be handmade by a youth on the HYC Prom Committee and put on display at both the HYC and at the event. Four categories of stars will be available for purchase, including the “Rock Hudson Star” for $100; the “Marlene Dietrich Star” for $75; the “Liberace Star” for $20; and the “Dolly Parton” star for $10. Stars can be customized with the name of the donor and message of support.

To purchase a star or for more information, visit www.thecentersd.org/youth.php.

The Center’s Behavioral Health Services provides family, individual, couple and group counseling to GLBT community members. Information, skills and support are provided to assist in coping with trauma, stress, coming out issues, self-esteem, relationship problems, intimacy problems, bereavement, depression, anxiety, sexual concerns and addictions. For more information, contact the on-duty counselor at 619-260-6380.

The South Bay Alliance, organizers of the 2008 South Bay Pride, is looking for inspirational gay and lesbian couples to honor at the event. The group wants to recognize these couples for their commitment to each other and for serving as role models for the GLBT community.

Nominations of these couples should be submitted to the South Bay Alliance by July 30. Submissions should include the names of the couple being nominated, how long they have been together and a brief statement of why they are inspirational. Nominators should include their own contact information in case follow-up is needed.

For more information or to make a nomination, e-mail southbayalliance@cox.net

Registration for individuals and teams has been opened for the 19th annual AIDS Walk San Diego, which will be held Sunday, Sept. 28 in Balboa Park. The event is presented by Nordstrom, and organized by The Center.

AIDS Walk San Diego is the county’s largest one-day HIV/AIDS fund-raising event, and the largest non-governmental provider of funds for San Diego County HIV/AIDS service organizations. The 2007 walk raised more than $480,000, which was distributed to 30 HIV/AIDS service providers in the county.

Individuals and teams can register or get more information online at www.aidswalksd.org.

The San Diego LGBT Pride parade and festival are among the city’s largest annual events.

On July 1, community members will be joined by local elected officials and business leaders at a flag raising ceremony for a rainbow flag which will fly in San Diego for the month of Pride. This will be the official kickoff of a month’s worth of Pride events and celebrations leading up to the parade and festival.

Pride is asking businesses throughout San Diego County to also display a rainbow flag from their storefronts during the month of July to show their support for the events. The rainbow flag has been a symbol of the GLBT community for 30 years and was first popularized as a symbol of GLBT pride by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The colors of the rainbow have become symbolic of both the unity and diversity of the community.

Participating businesses will be recognized by Pride and promoted in the local media as places to shop during Pride.

Businesses that don’t already have a rainbow flag, or that would like a new one, can support San Diego Pride by purchasing a flag from the organization. Contact Ben Cartwright at rainbow@sdpride.org or 619-297-7683, ext. 116 to purchase a flag or to list your business as a participant in the project.

The recently formed LGBT chapter of the San Diego State University Alumni Associated, The Aztec LGBT Alumni, will hold its next mixer on Thursday, June 19 at 6 p.m. at Martinis Above Fourth.

The group’s mission is to promote and support the development of relationships between SDSU’s GLBT alumni community, current students, the administration and community supporters. The Aztec LGBT Alumni fulfills this mission by holding events that allow for social and professional networking. The group also plans to host an annual Rainbow Graduation Ceremony to recognize SDSU’s self-identified GLBT graduates starting in May 2009.

The mixer is open to everyone and participants will have the opportunity to learn about the chapter, meet its officers, and find out how to get involved. For more information or to register for the chapter, visit http://chapters.sdsu.edu/lgbt, or e-mail Rob Rankin at sdsu.lgbt.alumni@gmail.com.

Martinis Above Fourth is located at 3940 Fourth Ave., Ste. 200 in Hillcrest.