The Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) is inviting graphic artists countywide to submit both front and back cover designs for its 2007 Directory, which will be published in January.

The deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 6, and the winner will receive $700.

Submissions will be voted on at the GSDBA’s “Cover Mixer,” scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park.

“The winning artist will enjoy widespread exposure on 30,000 copies of the directory that we’ll publish early next year,” said Joyce Marieb, GSDBA executive director. “The directory is distributed widely throughout San Diego County, as well as to other LGBT chambers around the nation that often emulate it.”

Entries must be no larger than 8 1/2 by 11 inches for the front and back cover and spine, and must be displayed on a 24 by 36-inch board. A second copy should be wrapped around a copy of the current 2006 Directory.

Submissions must also include the GSDBA logo on the cover. The overall design should reflect GLBT businesses and supportive members of the community, as well as the GSDBA’s vision statement: “Building community through business.”

For a complete list of contest rules, call the GSDBA office at (619) 296-4543.

6th @ Penn Theatre presents local playwright Michael Thomas Tower and a host of San Diego actors for four nights of one-act plays and readings to help raise funds for the theater.

Three one-act plays explore how ordinary people discover extraordinary secrets about themselves. The plays are The Pull of Paradise, A Certain Unsoundess of Mind and To Hear a Distant Tune, and will be performed on Sunday, Aug. 20, at 7:00 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, and Wednesday, Aug. 23.

On Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 7:30 p.m. there will be a staged reading of The Resident, a new play by Tower that tells a story about those who live within their own restrictions, relying on denial and fantasy for their own skewed reality.

For tickets or more information, call (619) 688-9210 or visit www.6thatpenn.com. 6th @ Penn Theatre is located at 3704 Sixth Ave.

The American Cancer Society-sponsored Road to Recovery program provides transportation for cancer patients to and from their cancer-related appointments. The program needs volunteers from all areas of the county but especially from central areas to drive patients to local treatment centers.

Hours can vary but the average driver volunteers for about four hours a week, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Some mileage reimbursement is available. Dispatchers, who can work from their homes, are also needed to coordinate rides for patients.

Volunteers are asked to fill out an application and submit a copy of their driving record and proof of insurance so they can be covered by an ACS insurance policy secondary to each volunteer’s existing insurance. For more information or to volunteer, call (619) 682-7431 or e-mail sara.woodard@cancer.org.

Writer, director and producer Del Shores will join forces with The Center to combat hate crimes by donating money from his upcoming productions at the North Park Theatre to The Center to educate the larger community about the impact of hate crimes and the GLBT community about available resources for victims.

The productions, Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies, will take place at the North Park Theatre Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 24-26, as the first stop on a national tour.

“As many of you may know, there was a vicious attack four weeks ago against six gay men leaving San Diego’s LGBT Pride,” Shores said. “When I found out about this hate crime, I knew we had to do something. Some of our cast had been at Pride that very day, plugging our shows.

“The catalyst for me writing Southern Baptist Sissies was Matthew Shepard’s murder,” Shores continued. “I had seen a picture of one of the killer’s apartments in a magazine and there was a picture of Jesus prominently displayed on the wall, and I wondered: Did the church teach these young men their hatred against gays? Did their parents? Did society? Sadly, when a community is denied equality and deemed ‘second class citizens,’ they become targets of hate. And even more disturbing about hate crimes is that the victims are not the only ones affected.”

Shores said they recently received a letter from a Southern Baptist minister in San Diego asking them to cancel their shows, but he said that is not going to happen.

One dollar from each ticket sold will benefit The Center and its efforts to stop hate crimes.

While in San Diego, Shores and his cast will speak out against the hate crimes, with Shores talking about the catalyst that compelled him to pen the award-winning play Southern Baptist Sissies.

Delta Burke is scheduled to hold her 50th birthday party at Baja Betty’s, located at 1421 University Ave., after the show on Aug. 24. The party is open to the public and will raffle off caps, T-shirts, DVDs, show tickets, etc. ($5 per ticket), with all proceeds going to The Center.

Southern Baptist Sissies is Del Shores’ fifth installment of Texas-based comedic plays. It opened at the Zephyr Theatre in 2000, and later won the GLAAD Award for Best Theatre Production. Cast members include Burke, Leslie Jordan, Dale Dickey, Newell Alexander, Ted Detwiler, Joe Patrick Ward, Anthony Cherry, Emerson Collins, Rich Delia, T. Ashanti Mozelle and David Ojalvo.

Sordid Lives is a black comedy about three generations of a small Texas family as they prepare for a funeral. The original production opened in 1996 and was sold out for its entire 14-month run. In 2001, it was made into a movie starring Olivia Newton-John, Beau Bridges, Burke, Jordan, Bonnie Bedelia and Beth Grant.

Southern Baptist Sissies will be performed at the North Park Theatre on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25 at 8:00 p.m. Sordid Lives will go on stage Aug. 26 at 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. The North Park Theatre is located at 2891 University Ave.

Call (800) 595-4TIX (4849) for tickets. Prices range from $45 to $100.

Donations will be accepted at each performance, as well as on The Center’s Web site, www.thecentersd.org.

Tickets are now on sale for the San Diego Speaker Series (SDSS) – a series of lectures beginning this fall that will feature prominent, controversial political leaders, commentators and newsmakers

Rudolph Giuliani speaks on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m., James Carville and Ann Coulter take the stage on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m., and Wesley Clark and Bob Dole speak on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m.

SDSS’s three-part series offers an up-close opportunity for attendees to experience a dynamic panel of world-renowned speakers with a spectrum of politically divergent thoughts and views.

Tickets for the three-evening lecture series are priced depending on desirability of seating location. Prices range from $180 to $300, plus a $13.50 facility fee.

Tickets are sold as a series only and are available at all Ticketmaster locations. Call (619) 220-TIXS or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

A limited number of VIP tickets are also available, which include a pre-show reception, VIP parking and a photo opportunity with each speaker. Group and VIP tickets may be purchased through SDSS by calling (619) 232-9000.

The speaker series takes place at Cox Arena, located at 5500 Canyon Crest Dr.

The AIDS Walk San Diego Activation kick-off celebration takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 2, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Stingaree, located at 454 Sixth Ave.

There will be a $20 cover charge, which will go toward registration fees for this year’s AIDS Walk San Diego.

E-mail activation@aidswalksd.org to RSVP for Activation no later than Aug. 18. For more information, call (619) 291-WALK (9255) or visit www.aidswalksd.org.