On Monday, Dec. 1, The 2003 SanDie Awards will be held at the Prado in Balboa Park. This marks the second year for the modern SanDie Awards, after a hiatus since the mid-1980s. Like other awards ceremonies, the SanDies honor the outstanding people, places and things that make GLBT life in America’s Finest City fabulous, but they also feature a lineup of talent that makes the awards presentation an entertaining evening as well. Attendees will vote on categories ranging from outstanding bar to community on the night of the show, but the nomination period ends this Friday, Nov. 7.

“We’re trying to keep this a more entertainment type of awards show, but there were some categories that we could not ignore because they are important to gay San Diego,” said Charles Ching, better known as Coco LaChine, who will be hosting the event. “If you look at the categories, they have been revamped a little bit. Some were put aside for now and other new categories were added. We are an evolving awards.”

Among the new categories are awards recognizing bars in different areas of the community like Outstanding Hillcrest Bar, North Park Bar, University Heights Bar and Metro Bar. A new category that recognizes staff at bars and restaurants has also been added.

“People have asked us to recognize some other people who work in bars other than bartenders so we put them in a general category for bar and restaurant staff people.”

Local San Diego diva Candye Kane will be the featured performer at the 2003 SanDies. Kane has won the San Diego Music Awards for Best Blues Band for the past five years and is currently on a European tour, which will take her to France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Italy. Perennial favorite pianist Sue Palmer will accompany Kane at The SanDies.

Also scheduled to perform are the girls from Lips, and Emperor XXXI of the Imperial Court, Rafael Holguin, will be reprising his Chicago performance from the Imperial Court coronation for the awards night.

The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. with a cocktail reception and voting period. The Awards ceremony starts at 8:00 p.m. and will feature special performances by the nominees in the SanDie Outstanding Entertainer of the Year category.

A silent auction will be held prior to the show benefiting the Hillcrest Youth Center, the only social service support Center that caters to gay and lesbian youth in southern California.

VIP tickets for the event cost $50 and general admission is $35. Tickets can be purchased in advance through Nov. 29 at Obelisk Bookstore, located at 1029 University Ave. Tickets are also available for credit card purchase by phone at (619) 523-9500, ext. 15. For more information about the SanDies, call (619) 523-9500, ext. 23.