The next Get Out the Vote (GOTV) community planning meeting will take place Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at The Center.

A coalition called LGBT San Diego Delivers the Vote is now forming. The same coalition had 35 participating organizations in 2004.

The first GOTV community planning meeting was held on Aug. 7 at The Center. Representatives from five organizations attended the meeting, including Metropolitan Community Church, Lambda Archives, Ebony Pride, Greater San Diego Business Association, San Diego Democratic Club and The Center.

The group discussed the importance of getting involved in this year’s election since voter turnout is lower in a non-presidential election year. The group also compiled a list of its GOTV activities conducted in previous elections, and its commitments for the 2006 election.

For more information, contact Sean Wherley, The Center’s public policy director, at (619) 692-2077 ext. 212.

Join the Family Health Centers of San Diego for a day at the Padres fund-raiser at Petco Park on Sunday, Sept. 3.

The Padres take on the Cincinnati Reds and will contribute $2.50 to the organization for each seat sold for that day’s game. Tickets for the upper deck cost $15 and the field level are $35.

Call (619) 515-2370 or e-mail foundation@fhcsd.org to order tickets.

Pride at Work’s national convention, No Turning Back 2006, comes to San Diego Thursday-Sunday, Sept. 7-10, at the Hilton San Diego Resort in Mission Bay.

The conference will bring together activists and other leaders, and will focus on education, skills-building, networking and unionism.

Pride at Work is affiliated as the newest constituency group of the AFL-CIO labor union. The purpose of Pride at Work is to mobilize mutual support between the organized labor movement and the GLBT community around organizing for social and economic justice.

The Hilton San Diego Resort is located at 1775 East Mission Bay Dr.

For more information about the conference, call (202) 637-5014 or visit www.prideatwork.org.

The Finest City Squares, San Diego’s gay and lesbian square dance group, will be starting a new class on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Classes are free to new students starting the second week in September and throughout the rest of the month. The group meets Wednesdays at the Veterans’ War Memorial Building in Balboa Park located at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Zoo Drive. Class begins at 7:30 p.m. Dancers wear casual clothing and do not need to bring a partner.

For more information, call (619) 501-3934 or visit www.iagsdc.org/finestcity.

The theme for the fourth Salon D’Esprit focuses on the ongoing fight for fair and equal treatment of women in sports. The event takes place on Sunday, Sept. 10, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the home of Peggy Walkush and Jan Tisdale.

Guest speakers include: Acura Tennis Classic founder and former tennis pro Raquel Giscafre, as well as B. Birgit Koebke and Kendall French, plaintiffs in the landmark anti-gay discrimination case involving the Bernardo Heights Country Club.

The panel will be moderated by author and KPBS co-host of “A Way With Words,” Martha Barnette.

Directions to the event will be sent upon registration

For more information, call Jennifer Jones at (619) 692-2077 ext 204. To register, visit http://sportsalon.kintera.org.

AIDS Walk San Diego will award a seven-night RSVP cruise to its top individual fund-raiser.

The trip, donated by Bob Nelson and Murray Olson along with Jerry and David’s Cruises and Tours, is a tour of the Mexican Riviera that includes stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

The 17th annual AIDS Walk San Diego will take place on Sunday, Oct. 1, in Balboa Park. It is the largest one-day HIV/AIDS fund-raising event for San Diego County HIV/AIDS service organizations.

“We are thrilled to receive such a generous gift from Bob Nelson and Murray Olson, and Jerry and David’s Cruises and Tours,” said Jennifer Jones, director of development for The Center, of which AIDS Walk San Diego is a program. “We know that thousands of San Diegans care about people living with HIV/AIDS and are deeply committed to raising critically-needed funds for this event. At the same time, we hope this wonderful trip will serve as an incentive that helps motivate some friendly competition between walk fund-raisers.”

The RSVP cruise departs from the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 28, returning on Saturday, Nov. 4, and the winner will enjoy deluxe accommodations. Port charges, gratuities and U.S. taxes will be the responsibility of the winner.

For more information or to register for AIDS Walk San Diego, call (619) 291-9255 or visit www.aidswalksd.org.

Fraternity House, Inc.’s seventh annual dinner series, Fraternity Feasts, are now available.

Each dinner is designed to raise funds for Fraternity House in Escondido and Michaelle House in Vista, San Diego’s only licensed homes dedicated to caring for men and women with HIV/AIDS

These smaller, private parties offer guests an opportunity to support Fraternity House, Inc. programs. Each feast has its own theme and flavor.

A Caribbean barbecue feast will take place the home of Elaine and Tom Brammell in Carlsbad on Sunday, Sept. 17, at 4:30 p.m. The home features a pool, a gallery of original watercolors and a five-hole putting green, while the dinner will feature Jamaican jerk chicken and barbecued pork. There is room at the feast for 30 people at $75 per person.

The next dinner will take place in Hillcrest on Sunday, Oct. 1, at the home of Doug Bradley and Rikk Valdivia at 6:00 p.m. There is room at the feast for eight people at $100 per person.

Fraternity House, Inc. is San Diego County’s only provider of residential care facilities for the chronically ill (RCF-CI) disabled by HIV/AIDS. At their two houses, Fraternity House and Michaelle House, transitional, long-term and hospice AIDS care is provided. Programs include: housing, 24-hour personal care, assistance adhering to complex medication regimens, nutritious meals, medical care access, clothing, transportation, organized activities and emotional support.

To make reservations for a Fraternity Feast or to request a feast brochure, call (760) 736-0292 ext. 102.

Congressmember Barney Frank, D-Mass., will headline a San Diego Democratic Club event on Sunday, Sept. 10, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in support of 52nd Congressional District candidate John Rinaldi. The event will take place at the Mission Hills home of John Brannelly and Dave Ivanko.

“Barney Frank is a powerhouse in Washington, D.C., being one of the most respected and influential members of the Congress,” said Stephen Whitburn, San Diego Democratic Club president. “Barney Frank believes that the people of San Diego’s East County deserve better representation, and he believes that John Rinaldi will be a better congressman.”

Barney Frank was elected to Congress in 1980 and is the senior Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. In 2004, a survey of Capitol Hill staffers published in Washingtonian magazine gave Frank the title of the most intelligent Democratic member of the House of Representatives.

In 1998, Frank founded the National Stonewall Democrats (NSD) to bring together previously unaffiliated Democratic clubs advocating for GLBT rights throughout the nation. The SDDC is a chapter of NSD.

Frank’s visit is part of a state- and nationwide movement to elect Rinaldi. Last month, Rinaldi received the endorsement of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation.

“John’s background in business, police enforcement and the military will serve his district well in Congress,” Whitburn said. “And as a gay man, he will work to ensure that our nation’s laws are fair to the many diverse groups that make up our great nation.”

Tickets to the fund-raiser range from $60 to $125. For reservations, directions and information, call (619) 957-6434 or e-mail vpdev@sddemoclub.org.

San Diego Feeling Good celebrates 22 years dedicated to enhancing the sobriety of the GLBT community, their families and their friends with their Courage to Change meeting taking place Friday-Sunday, Sept. 1-3, at the Handlery Hotel & Resort in Mission Valley.

The annual meeting will feature speakers from all over the U.S. who are in the recovery community.

Events will kick off on Sept. 1 at 4:30 p.m. with meetings, workshops and entertainment scheduled throughout the weekend.

Entertainers on Sept. 2 include Glen Alan, DWI and a performance from the Royal Court’s Jackie O. More entertainers will be revealed the night of the event.

For more information or to register, visit www.feelinggood.org.