Metro Area Real Estate Professionals for Young Adult Housing (MARYAH) is hosting a wine and appetizer cocktail party benefit the newly opened Youth Housing Project serving GLBT youth.

The group’s members seek to assist The Center in raising funds, awareness and community support for the housing program. The suggested donation is $100-$200. The event takes place 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Hamilton Row Homes, located at 4011 Hamilton St. in North Park. RSVP to (619) 206-0591.

To make a donation to the Youth Housing Project, contact Zac Mikles at The Center at (619) 692-2077 ext. 246 or e-mail zmikles@thecentersd.org.

The Center’s Hillcrest Youth Center hosts a special open house event on Friday, Feb. 24, from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. The event is the second in a series designed to further connect to GLBT and questioning youth in San Diego County through outreach to Gay-Straight Alliance groups at local high schools and colleges.

All youth ages 14-20 are welcome to attend the event, which is free.

“Gay-Straight Alliances are a tremendous resource to LGBT youth, so we are especially pleased to host this event as a way to work even more closely with these incredible groups,” said Britton Neubacher, coordinator of the Hillcrest Youth Center. “We believe this open house will be an important opportunity for youth to come and find out more about the full range of support services offered by the Hillcrest Youth Center, as well as a chance to identify upcoming leadership opportunities within our communities.”

The evening will also feature the launch of the Hillcrest Youth Center’s new Web site, as well as a multimedia presentation and music from DJ Memeshift.

For more information, contact Xavier Mejia at (619) 497-4920 ext. 114 or e-mail hyc@thecentersd.org.

A PFLAG meeting will take place on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 4190 Front St. in Hillcrest.

The San Diego meeting, which will begin with support groups followed by a cookie social, will feature a panel discussion comprised of transgender individuals that will focus on the transgender community’s similarities and differences to the gay, lesbian and bisexual communities. Topics will include family, medical and health issues, as well as coming out experiences, rights and future goals. The meeting will be moderated by Evelyn Lindenmuth, a mother of a male-to-female transsexual.

The Hillcrest Youth Center’s Youth Digital Media Project kicked off earlier this month, and sessions take place every Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. to help youth create music, video and digital stories using tools available at the Hillcrest Youth Center.

The Hillcrest Youth Center serves GLBT and questioning youth ages 14-20.

“The Center began its digital storytelling and media projects in 2004, and interest has continued to grow as more and more people discover how compelling it is to utilize this technology to create and share our stories,” said Lindsay Sullivan, manager of information technology for The Center.

There is no cost to participate. For more information on the Youth Digital Media Project, contact Morgan Sully, digital media coordinator, at (619) 497-2920 ext. 106 or e-mail msully@thecentersd.org.

The ARC of San Diego will host their annual fund-raiser at the Old Globe Theatre on Friday, March 3, with the performance of the world premiere musical The Times They Are A-Changin’.

The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception at The Prado in Balboa Park, followed by the performance at 8:00 p.m. at the Old Globe Theatre. Marc Bailey, FOX 6 morning news anchor, will be the master of ceremonies.

Tickets are $150 per person. For more information and reservations, contact Jennifer Navarra or Rhonda Handy at (858) 715-3780.

The Hillcrest Youth Center’s next peer educator training in the “Rubberbanz” program will take place on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Rubberbanz offers a full-day training to peer educators ages 14-20, and is designed to meet the needs of disenfranchised GLBT, questioning and HIV-positive youth.

“This peer-based program provides another vital avenue to help reduce the number of youth in San Diego who become infected with HIV each year,” said Xavier Mejia, health educator at Hillcrest Youth Center. “Nationally, youth continue to represent nearly half of all newly-diagnosed cases each year. We know how important it is to fully train youth educators, and to provide them with opportunities to speak with other youth.”

For more information about the training and other youth leadership opportunities, contact Xavier Mejia at (619) 497-4920 ext. 114 or e-mail xmejia@thecentersd.org.

The ninth annual Heart of San Diego Gala fund-raiser on Saturday, Feb. 25 will benefit the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center at UCSD.

Salah Hassanein and Zandra Rhodes will receive the Heart of San Diego Award.

The event, which begins at 6:00 p.m. and takes place at the Hotel Del Coronado, will feature an auction along with dinner and dancing.

Table prices range from $450 a seat for a general ticket to $50,000 to sponsor a Gold Heart Table. The Hotel Del Coronado is located at 1500 Orange Ave. in Coronado. Call (619) 435-6611 for more information.

San Diego LGBT Pride is accepting requests from a wide range of musicians and performing artists interested in appearing at this year’s Pride festival, scheduled for July 29 and 30 at Marston Point in Balboa Park.

Those groups encouraged to contact Pride include bands, solo musicians, comedians, DJs and performance artists of all genres and cultures.

In addition to a main concert stage, this year’s festival will give way to a number of other performance venue areas featuring gospel, jazz, dance, country and cultural entertainment. Stages will also occupy the beer garden and coffee exchange areas.

“The festival offers unequalled opportunities to artists promoting their talents to the LGBT market in the San Diego region. All styles of entertainment are welcome,” said Ron Ortega deHarte, executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride.

To be considered in the 2006 entertainment lineup, candidates must include the following: stage preference, a CD or cassette, an updated biography of the performer or group, Web site address and full name with contact telephone numbers. DJ applicants should include their performance history, and main stage applicants are asked to state their equipment needs.

Pride is also seeking volunteers to sign up for the beer gardens and to work in the areas of safety, crowd control, monitors, security and ticket sales. Those interested should send their email address and other contact information to info@sdpride.org.

Entertainer requests can be mailed to: San Diego LGBT Pride, P.O. Box 34366, San Diego, CA, 92163. Requests can also be submitted via e-mail to director@sdpride.org.

For more information, call (619) 297-7683.

The Center is seeking nominations of local women who have made significant contributions to the GLBT community. Those selected will be recognized at The Center’s fourth annual Women’s Night, themed “Dance of the Seven Veils,” which takes place on Saturday, May 6, at the new NTC Promenade in Point Loma.

The event will feature authentic Mediterranean cuisine, live entertainment and dancing in a luxurious setting, where local lesbian, bisexual and transgender women will be honored.

“We are so proud to celebrate women with this special event, and to specifically recognize the contributions of women who give their time, talent and resources to make our San Diego LGBT community stronger and healthier,” said Jennifer Jones, director of development for The Center.

Nomination forms are available online at www.thecentersd.org/awnnomination.asp.

The deadline for submissions is March 10. Nominations will be reviewed and decisions in most categories will be announced prior to the event.

Nominations are being accepted in the following categories: business, politics, science/medicine/health, education, social service, philanthropy and woman of the year.

For more information about The Center’s annual Women’s Night, contact Jennifer Jones, director of development, at (619) 692-2077 ext. 204 or e-mail jjones@thecentersd.org.