The 9th annual Hillcrest Mardi Gras Street Party celebration will be held on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 16, on University Avenue between First and Fourth Avenues. The time of the event is 6 to 11 p.m. The festival will take place rain or shine.

Tickets are now on sale and available online or these Hillcrest area locations: Baja Betty’s at 1421 University Avenue; Urban Mo’s, formerly Hamburger Mary’s, at 308 University Avenue; and Obelisk Bookstore at 1029 University Avenue.

Ticket prices remain at last year prices. Advance ticket price is $15 advance (or $20 day of) for General Admission and $50 advance (or $75 day of) for a V.I.P. Pass which includes a private reception area that offers food and beverages along with private bathrooms.

Patrons can also purchase tickets online at www.GSDBAFoundation.org/ events.htm. Ticket purchases are tax-deductible. No refunds are offered on ticket purchases – the festival will take place rain or shine.

For more information about the event and the line-up of fabulous entertainment, visit www.HillcrestMardiGras.com.

“Something for everyone,” an annual variety show, will be presented by the San Diego Choraleers Adult Mixed Chorus on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 4:30 p.m. at Patrick Henry High School auditorium, 6702 Wandermere Dr., in the Del Cerro area of San Diego, followed by dinner catered by Old World Restaurant.

The show will feature solos, duets and trios featuring chorus members, and group performances by the full Choraleers Chorus, “Inflections” vocal jazz group “Women of Note,” “Serra-Naders” women’s chorus, and “Men of Note.” A variety of music and dance for all ages will be accompanied by Datha Rothstein and Jim Lombardi and is choreographed by Sonia Snyder.

Marty Minney, president of the Choraleers, said the event is a fundraiser. A raffle for a beautiful array of novelty baskets will conclude the evening, according to Joan Mabrey and Polly Ryan, event chairs. Raffle ticket purchasers do not need to be present to win.

Tickets for show and dinner are $20 for adults, $10 for children age five to 12 and free for children under five. Show-only tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children age five to 11, and free for children under five. Early reservations are recommended and dinners must be reserved by Wednesday, February 17. For ticket information and reservations, call Joan Mabrey at 619-501-7298 or mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to Choraleers tickets, 4027 Mississippi St., San Diego, CA 92104. Tickets for show only may also be purchased at the venue the night of the concert.

The San Diego Choraleers are sponsored by the San Diego Community College District, Mid-City Continuing Education Center, Navajo Campus.

For additional information, contact S. Esther Segal, Director, 3565 Ediwhar Ave., San Diego, CA 92123.

As part of an ongoing series of seminars that provide guidance to local small businesses, the Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) welcomes globally acclaimed corporate consultant Gary De Rodriguez, who will present, “The Two Secret Pillars to Sustainable Success.” The seminar will be held Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter, 910 Broadway Circle.

De Rodriguez is the founder of Life Design International based in Dallas and Perth, Australia. He has helped numerous Fortune 500 companies increase profits, strengthen employee alliances and enhance their workplace cultures. In his GSDBA presentation, he will focus on powerful strategies used by the most successful organizations in the country that have sustained profitability throughout the ailing economy.

The GSDBA has invited members of the Asian Business Association and the Hispanic Business Association. The cost to them and GSDBA members is $10, which applies also to prospective GSDBA members. Guest admission is $50.

For information about GSDBA membership and other upcoming events, call 619-296-4543, or visit the web site: www.gsdba.org

Tara Brooke is a 25 year-old law student who plays by the rules. She eats right, exercises and doesn’t smoke. But her healthy lifestyle wasn’t enough to protect her from a precancerous growth forming on her cervix. What may very well have saved her life, however, was the fact that Brooke discovered the problem early at her well-woman examination.

When a Planned Parenthood clinician called Brooke to tell her she had an abnormal result on her cervical screening, Brooke immediately scheduled a Colposcopy. Later, she had a LEEP procedure to remove the fast-growing cells. At her follow-up exam, Brooke was relieved to hear the procedure was a success. “The scariest part was not what happened, but what could have happened,” said Brooke. “The actual experience was no big deal, but the fact that this could have become cancer is very frightening.” She encourages all women to get their well-woman annual exam at a reproductive health center like Planned Parenthood.

In addition to cervical health screenings, Planned Parenthood also provides the Gardasil vaccine, which reduces the risk of acquiring the human papilloma virus (HPV) that causes 70 percent of all cervical cancer.

Each year 4,000 women in the United States die from cervical cancer, but the Gardasil vaccine and early detection can save lives. “Cervical health is something I will always be aware of now, but I take comfort in the fact that there’s a way to keep tabs on it,” says Brooke.

When patients are diagnosed with cancer, they sometimes report that they hadn’t had a medical exam in years because of a lack of insurance. Planned Parenthood of San Diego & Riverside Counties reminds you and your loved ones that our services are free for most patients. (Fees are on a sliding scale based on a patient’s ability to pay.) Please schedule a cervical cancer screening at your nearest health center today. It’s a call that just might save your life.

Call us at 888-743-PLAN (7526) or visit us at www.planned.org.

To ensure patient privacy, names have been changed.

Lambda Archives of San Diego is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual Heroes, Pioneers and Trailblazers Award and Fundraising Event at The San Diego LGBT Community Center, on Friday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m.

Each year the Archives selects outstanding individuals that have blazed the path for LGBT rights in the San Diego community and beyond, through dedicated service to activism, humanitarianism and political change. The event will include heavy hors ‘d oeuvres and beverages, entertainment and the opportunity to meet some of San Diego’s most outstanding GLBT citizens.

The Archives is proud to honor this year’s awardees: Toni Atkins, previous San Diego Councilmember and politician; Frank Buttino, the first publicly gay FBI agent whose class action lawsuit changed FBI employment practices for LGBT applicants; Jeri Dilno, political activist and first female Executive Director of The Center; Judy “the Beauty” Forman, owner of The Big Kitchen, civil rights activist and philanthropist; Cheryl Houk, former Executive Director of Stepping Stone and HIV/AIDS activist; Mel Merrill, political activist for gay rights and philanthropist; Big Mike Phillips, bartender, LGBT activist and philanthropist; Sandra Ramirez, latina transgender activist.

Sharon Parker, past President of Lambda Archives will also receive the Presidential Award for her service in helping to collect and preserve San Diego’s LGBT history. Finally, Isaac Gomez will receive the Trailblazing Youth Award, along with his parents as an example of family support provided to a transgender youth.

Tickets for the event are $55 before Feb. 12; $65 after Feb. 12; and $25 for students. Lambda Archives members receive a 10 percent discount on ticket prices.

For more information about the event, the awardees and/or to purchase tickets, please visit Lambda Archives’ website at www.lambdaarchives.org.