As you begin planning your weekend festivities, take note that two great opportunities to have fun and support your community are taking place Saturday evening and Sunday morning in San Diego.

Saturday, Oct. 1, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) invites you to attend their second annual Momentum on the Midway military dance party aboard the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier in the San Diego Bay downtown. All proceeds from this celebrated event benefit SLDN, a national, non-profit legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and related forms of intolerance.

More than 1,000 SLDN supporters are expected to dance the night away with DJ David Knapp, named one of America’s six top and most influential DJs by GQ magazine. A Momentum VIP reception includes keynote speaker and former Air Force staff sergeant David Hall, who is one of 12 plaintiffs in Cook v. Rumsfeld, SLDN’s constitutional challenge to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

The VIP reception kicks off the event, and takes place between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. The military dance follows, from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight. For ticket information, call (202) 328-3244 ext. 105.

As you’re rockin’ the Casbah aboard the USS Midway in support of your gay, lesbian and bisexual service members, don’t forget to grab a few extra winks because AIDS Walk San Diego starts bright and early the following morning. This Sunday, Oct. 2, thousands of San Diegans will lace up their sneakers and take to the streets to raise money for those living with HIV and AIDS. AIDS Walk is San Diego’s single largest HIV/AIDS fund-raiser, raising nearly a half million dollars last year, which went to over a dozen local HIV/AIDS agencies.

Your participation this year is critical. Anytime there is a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, the competition for dollars increases. Remember that our HIV/AIDS organizations here in San Diego rely on AIDS Walk funding each year, and with Ryan White Care Act cuts coming from the top – a potential $13 million over the next few years – every dollar makes a difference.

We call out to our young and old: both of which need greater representation at this year’s AIDS Walk. Those of us who used to walk, back when hundreds of our nearest and dearest were dying daily from this devastating disease, have dwindled in number over the years. As the face of AIDS has changed, so has our activism. Your participation, dollars and renewed activism are needed now more than ever.

HIV is still prevalent in this country, with a daunting 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons infected in the United States, and an additional 24 to 27 percent undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Advances in treatment options have prolonged thousands of lives. However, with more people today living with the disease and with infection rates rising, the need for funding is at an all-time high. Your buck means lifesaving services, relief for high-cost medications, HIV-prevention education and, most importantly, hope that one day there will be a cure.

AIDS Walk has special significance for our youth: Not only does AIDS Walk raise much-needed funds, it also educates our community about HIV/AIDS, safe sex and the thousands living with the disease in San Diego. HIV rates have increased the fastest among our young gay and bi men, African-American women and communities of color; AIDS Walk acts as a reminder that HIV is a real threat affecting thousands right here in our own backyard.

AIDS Walk San Diego and SLDN have done a remarkable job providing two great opportunities for you to get involved in transforming the future of the GLBT community.

Wear both your dancing and walking shoes this weekend and join us in supporting these two great organizations.

AIDS Walk takes place in Balboa Park at the corner of Quince Street and Sixth Avenue. Registration begins at 6:00 a.m. with a pre-walk ceremony at 7:00. The 10K run gets started at 8:00, and the 5K walk follows promptly at 8:05 a.m. For more information, call the AIDS Walk office at (619) 291-WALK.