Art for a C-note: The San Diego Art Institute-Museum of the Living Artist at the Prado in Balboa Park is holding the C-Note Event, now through Dec. 7. Buy original works of art right off the wall for $100, $200 or $300. Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sunday 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. Call (619) 236-0011 for more information.

Santa docks in Seaport Village: The San Diego waterfront ushers Christmas in at 1:00 p.m. when Santa arrives aboard The Seal, a “boat with wheels,” complete with Santa’s helpers and a bag of goodies. Stay for shopping, entertainment and food; face painting, balloon sculptures and the Broadway Flying Horses Carousel add to the excitement. For more information, call (619) 235-4913.

New Martini’s, new menu: There’s new stuff going on at Martini’s, including a new dinner menu with items that include Veal Saltimboccca, T-Bone & Lobster, Mango Balsamic Swordfish, Jerk Spiced Pork, Asian Spring Roll & Smoked Salmon Platter, to name a few. Dinners start at $9.95. The Sunday brunch menu is new, as is the lunch menu — a whole new taste experience. Martini’s is located upstairs at 3940 Fourth Ave. Call (619) 293-0232 for details.

Candye Kane: Blues singer Candye Kane comes to Tio Lio’s tonight. True to the “Big Mama” tradition of blues chanteuses, her sexuality and no-holds-barred live performances are the stuff of local legend. Chosen as one of the “30 Essential Women of Blues” for a House of Blues anthology, Kane and her back-up band, Swingin’ Armadillos, sizzle once more tonight at 9:00 p.m. Tio Lio’s is located at 5302 Napa St in San Diego. Call (619) 542-1462 for more information.

Another opportunity to shop: The first annual San Diego Arts Festival comes to the San Diego Convention Center today from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and tomorrow until 5:00 p.m. Attendees can shop over 200 exhibitors arts and crafts, and watch artists demonstrate their crafts. Tickets are $7.50 for adults, $3 for children.

Jazz, baby: The 23rd annual San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight at the Town and Country Hotel continues the beloved local tradition for jazz-lovers. Dozens of bands from across the country delight audiences with toe-tappin’ tunes from ragtime to swing. There is plenty of room to dance in the 10 separate listening venues. Tickets are $15-80. Call (619) 291-7131 for details.

World AIDS Day: Mama’s Kitchen, a non-profit meal delivery service dedicated to providing nutritious meals 365 days a year to San Diegans affected by AIDS, will host the 12th annual “Tree of Life” tree lighting ceremony on World AIDS Day 2003. Tonight from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. hundreds of San Diegans will join Mama’s Kitchen, KUSI’s Kimberly Hunt, City Councilmember Toni Atkins and State Assemblymember Christine Kehoe at the Village Hillcrest Retail Center to honor those who have lost their battle with AIDS and to highlight the continuing struggle to find a cure. The event is free and open to the public. Anne Garger, executive chef for Mama’s Kitchen, will prepare snacks and holiday treats, and The Abbey Café will provide coffee, hot chocolate, and other refreshments. For further information, call (619) 233-MAMA (6262).

Get on the bus!: Today is your last chance to jump on the Carlsbad Arts Office “Opera Caravan” — an opera and transportation package available by calling (619) 232-7636, ext. 273, today from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday evening performances begin at 7:00 p.m. Buses depart Carlsbad City Library at 5:00 p.m. and leave the San Diego Civic Center a half-hour after final curtain.

Shop in the park: The museum stores in Balboa Park will put on a festive holiday shopping event from 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m. today in the Sculpture Garden at the Copley Auditorium of the San Diego Museum of Art. Selections include books, educational toys, ornaments, textile, jewelry and artwork. For more information, call (619) 239-0512.

Passionate Tango: “Tango and the Political Economy of Passion —An Anxious Quest for Freedom,” a lecture by classical guitarist and musical historian Claudia Tornsaufer, asks: What is tango? Dance, music and lyrics, of course, but also a philosophy, a strategy, a commodity, even a disease. This lecture traces tango’s travels from the brothels of Buenos Aires to the cabarets of Paris, tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. Tickets are $17. Call (858) 454-5872 for more information.

Pulling your strings: The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park presents Theater Dark’s Holiday Puppet Review today at 10:00 a.m. and again at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $3 for adults, $2.00 for children. Call (619) 685-5990 for more information.

Jazz for peanuts: It’s holiday fun for the whole family at 5:30 p.m. at the James S. Copley Auditorium when San Diego Kristin Korb (bass/vocals), Gerald Clayton (piano) and Steve Barnes (drums) present Jazz in the Park: It’s a Swingin’ Holiday, Charlie Brown! Following intermission, local jazz artists join in for a jam session to close the show. Tickets are $12-15. Call (619) 696-1915 for more information.

Teen playwrights: Playwrights Project presents the 19th season of “Plays by Young Writers” this week only. These plays are the winning scripts from the 2003 California Young Playwrights Contest. Today’s performance includes Madeline Learns to Fly, How They See It and Forty Miles from Tel Aviv. Ages of the playwrights range from 10 to 18. Tickets are $15, $12 for students. Today 10:00 a.m. at the Lyceum Theatre in Horton Plaza. Call (619) 239-8222 for more information.

Pom-poms and sculptures: Featuring work from Wendell Gladstone, the December Cerca Series, on display now through Jan. 18 at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s downtown location, explores the interaction between abstract sculpture and figurative painting, in a not-so-formal, intentionally humorous manner. The downtown MCASD is located at 1001 Kettner Blvd. and is open every day (except Wednesday) from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call (619) 234-1001 for more information.