Michaelle’s Walk, Fraternity House, Inc.’s annual fund-raising stroll by the sea, is set to take place on Saturday, May 13, at Magee Park, located at 258 Beech Ave. in Carlsbad.

Registration begins at 10:00 a.m. and is followed by the coastal walk at 11:00 a.m. The complete walk is less than five miles. Serious runners are welcome, as are those looking for a leisurely stroll with a return shuttle. The walk is followed by a celebratory picnic featuring MC Laura Jane, live music from Dropjoy, a barbecue-style lunch and kids’ activities.

This year, Fraternity House has chosen the theme “Mom Says… Step It Up!” because the walk will take place during Mother’s Day weekend, a good time to “step up” commitment to caring for those with HIV/AIDS, organizers said.

Michaelle’s Walk is named after Michaelle Liddell, the first woman in San Diego to speak out about her HIV status and become an AIDS activist, and like many women who struggle with HIV/AIDS, she was a mother.

Fraternity House, Inc. operates San Diego County’s only licensed residential care facilities for people with AIDS – Fraternity House in Escondido and Michaelle House in Vista. The homes provide 24-hour personal care, assistance with activities of daily living, supervision of complex medication regimens, nutritious home-cooked meals, transportation, activities and emotional support. All services are coordinated with care and understanding, in order to meet the goal of providing residents with the highest quality of life possible.

For more information, contact development manager Abby Schwartz at (760) 736-0292 ext. 103 or e-mail alsfraternityhouse@prodigy.net.

Mama’s Kitchen will celebrate Mama’s Day 2006 with more than 65 of San Diego’s top chefs on Friday, May 12. Each year, many of the city’s finest chefs unite to provide guests with an evening of food tasting to help support the mission of Mama’s Kitchen: providing food and nutrition to people affected by HIV/AIDS throughout San Diego County. Presented by Sycuan Resort & Casino, this year marks the 15th anniversary of the annual benefit and will feature live entertainment by DJ Tim Altbaum, a silent auction, an Absolut Martini Bar and more.

Mama’s Day 2006 begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. Tickets are $125, with all proceeds benefiting Mama’s Kitchen. For further information or to purchase tickets, call Jennifer Ames at (619) 233-6262 ext. 104 or visit www.mamaskitchen.org.

San Diego LGBT Pride has announced the results from a community nomination process for the 2006 Spirit of Stonewall Awards. This year’s awards recognize individuals who contributed significantly to the GLBT community through their leadership, activism and fund-raising efforts.

The honorees will be presented their awards at the Spirit of Stonewall Awards Sunset Reception on July 24 at the W Hotel. Award recipients will also be acknowledged by riding in the Pride parade, which begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 29.

The 2006 Champions of Pride are Sandra Usi Ramirez and Chris Shaw. For the past six years, Ramirez has been the lead facilitator for Transgender Group 2000, which meets on Fridays through The Center’s Latino Services Program and provides its members vital information about transgender rights and myriad issues facing transgender Latinos who arrive here from other countries.

As a male-to-female transgender and native of Acapulco, Ramirez worked as an information and referral specialist for the former Binational AIDS Advocacy Project in San Diego, where she assisted transgender individuals from other nations seeking political asylum in the U.S. She was honored last year by the local transgender community with the 2005 Transgender Day of Empowerment Award, and is also a recipient of a community service award from Latino Pride and the Angel Award from Christie’s Place for counseling services she provided to HIV clients.

Known for his unflinching support to GLBT political and social causes, Shaw is the proprietor of Hamburger Mary’s and Baja Betty’s and has given back to the community as much as $75,000 a year to such organizations as The Center, Stepping Stone, Ordinary Miracles and the Human Dignity Fund. He also coordinates the annual Hillcrest Mardi Gras, which raises funds for the Greater San Diego Business Association’s Charitable Foundation for GLBT youth scholarships.

The 2006 Stonewall Service Award has been awarded to Diversionary Theatre and the San Diego County Employees Charitable Organization. In its 20-year history, the Diversionary Theatre in University Heights has given San Diego theatergoers a diverse menu of plays with GLBT themes that portray characters in both the historical and contemporary sense. The venue ranks as the third oldest company producing GLBT stage presentations in the country, and has framed a timeline of milestones and setbacks seen within the GLBT community over the years, with productions addressing everything from the AIDS epidemic and GLBT culture to religious conflicts and coming out. To date, it has presented nearly 100 productions in comedy, drama and musical.

The San Diego County Employees Charitable Organization, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in August, has donated $20 million to nonprofit organizations within the county since it was founded. For at least the past 20 years, it has bestowed funds to a number of GLBT organizations such as Mama’s Kitchen, Fluff-n-Fold, The Center and Michaelle’s House in San Marcos, which provides housing for women with HIV/AIDS. The organization’s annual donation fund is culled from nearly 4,200 county employees who take part in a payroll deduction program.

The 2006 Friend of the Year has been awarded to Bobbi Harwood. Harwood has remained a cornerstone activist of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) for the past 26 years, having served as president from 2002 to 2006 as well as corresponding secretary, treasurer and membership chairperson. For the past several years, she has managed PFLAG’s booth at the Pride festival and has appeared at San Diego City Council meetings as a vocal supporter of Scouting for All. She is an active volunteer with Youth Pride, Mama’s Kitchen, Monarch School and the Travelers Aid Airport Ambassador Program.

The 2006 Community Service Awards have been awarded to Shaun Travers and Ken St. Pierre. A frontline representative of the bisexual community and a past board member of Planned Parenthood and The Center, Travers has served as the director of the LGBT Resource Center at the University of California at San Diego since 2001. In addition to serving as an important voice for GLBT and questioning youth, he is also a frequent trainer and participant of university diversity forums.

For two years in a row, St. Pierre co-organized the dance party Momentum on the Midway that raises money for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), which provides assistance to active-duty service members being discharged because of their sexual orientation. St. Pierre has been an active opponent of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and a lobbying proponent of a replacement bill now sitting in the House of Representatives.

For more information about upcoming events or to inquire about volunteer opportunities, call (619) 297-7683 or visit www.sdpride.org.

Open rehearsals and auditions for the San Diego Men’s Chorus will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15, and Monday, May 22, at All Saints Episcopal Church, located at 625 Pennsylvania Ave. in Hillcrest.

Attendees will have the opportunity to sing along with the chorus, ask questions, see what SDMC is really like and sing some scales for Artistic Director Jerry Foust if they’d like. The chorus will be preparing for the San Diego Pride Concert 2006, “No Turnin’ Back,” and beginning preparations for their October RSVP Mexican Riviera cruise performance. SDMC will also be working ahead on their holiday concert repertoire.

For more information about joining the San Diego Men’s Chorus or to volunteer, e-mail info@sdmc.org or visit www.sdmc.org.

The Moores UCSD Cancer Center will sponsor a free open house concerning the newest information about melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, on Thursday, May 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, located at 3855 Health Sciences Drive in La Jolla. Guests also will have the opportunity to use the “Dermascan” skin assessment device to view sun damage to their skin. Refreshments and free parking will be provided. Call (858) 822-5354 to RSVP.

Thousands of animal lovers and their pets will take part in the San Diego Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ 12th annual Walk for Animals, which will take place Saturday, May 13, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Fiesta Island.

The animal-friendly pledge walk will feature prizes for top pledge winners, a free pancake breakfast and a vendor village complete with a number of animal-related information booths, festivities, refreshments, live music and shopping. More than 3,000 local animal lovers and their pets are expected to attend.

The top pledge winner will win a two-night deluxe stay for two at the Ritz Carlton, Marina del Ray. The second and third highest-grossing fund-raisers will also receive bonus prize packages. In total, the Walk for Animals is expected to raise more than $250,000 for animals in need.

Onsite registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 9:00 a.m. Visit www.sdhumane.org to pre-register. Hardcopy pledge forms are also available at all Petco and Ralphs stores in San Diego County. For more information, call Debby Hansen at (619) 243-3408.