The UCSD rowing team along with Komen San Diego will host its fifth annual Row for the Cure at Mission Bay’s North Ski Beach from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29.

Rowers and kayakers of all ages and skill levels will participate in timed races, and prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each category. Participants are encouraged to raise pledge money to benefit the Komen Foundation. All community members are invited to attend the event.

Registration begins at 6:00 a.m. The cost to participate ranges from $25 to $90 depending on the category and includes a Row for the Cure T-shirt.

For more information, call (858) 573-2760.

The Center will host “Red Hot and Rowdy: A Women’s Nightclub,” on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at The Center, located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest.

“Red Hot and Rowdy” will feature dance music and entertainment by Laura Jane, door prizes and a no-host bar. Admission is $5 per person.

“Our ‘Red Hot’ events are truly celebrations of the diversity of our San Diego women’s community,” said Claudia Lucero, coordinator of The Center’s Women’s Resource Center. “We’re excited to offer this opportunity again for all women to connect and enjoy a special and fun-filled evening together.”

Festive red attire is encouraged, and women of all ages are welcome. This event is sponsored by The Center’s Women’s Resource Center and San Diego LGBT Pride.

For more information, contact Claudia Lucero at (619) 692-2077 ext. 206 or via e-mail at clucero@thecentersd.org.

Hotel Solamar is hosting a benefit for Mama’s Kitchen from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3. The holiday-themed event will feature entertainment by drag performers, a do-it-yourself art experience, a silent auction and hors d’oeuvres from Jsix Restaurant.

A $10 donation is suggested at the door. Drinks are available for a fee, which will be donated to Mama’s Kitchen. The event is co-sponsored by Bacardi Limón and Peroni Beer.

Mama’s Kitchen is a nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers food to men, women and children who are affected by AIDS or other critical illnesses.

The Kimpton Red Ribbon Campaign assists HIV service organizations across North America at the local level, through employee volunteerism, HIV educational campaigns, corporate donations and raising funds through special events. The entire year of activities culminates on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, with more than 15 fund-raising parties benefiting affiliated nonprofits held across the U.S.

Hotel Solamar is located downtown at 435 Sixth Ave.

RSVP to dragparty@baileygardiner.com. For more information, contact Lauren or Liz at (619) 295-8232.

The 12th annual San Diego Jewish Book Fair will take place Nov. 2-8 and Nov. 20 at the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus.

The event will feature more than 30 best-selling writers, journalists and commentators speaking on topics ranging from world events to family relations.

Headlining this year’s book fair are Joseph Kanon, best-selling author of Los Alamos, Alibi: A Novel and The Good German, which premieres this fall as a film starring George Clooney; three-term California Senator Barbara Boxer, whose new novel, A Time to Run, exposes behind-the-scenes political maneuvering; and Harold S. Kushner, who is best known for his New York Times best-seller When Bad Things Happen to Good People, has just released a new work, Overcoming Life’s Disappointments. Also appearing will be Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who recently released What Israel Means to Me: By 80 Prominent Writers, Performers, Scholars, Politicians, and Journalists, a new collection of essays by celebrity friends about the meaning of Israel in their lives.

“We are thrilled with the depth and breadth of topics and experience represented by the authors appearing at this year’s Jewish Book Fair,” said Jackie Gmach, book fair program director. “We have speakers covering politics, history, religion, interpersonal relationships, fiction, humor – you name it. Many are best-selling writers, prize-winners or acknowledged authorities in their fields.”

Lectures by featured authors take place each evening at 7:30 p.m. with book signings to follow. Admission is $8.50 for members and $10.50 for non-members, with the exception of the Kanon (Nov. 2) and Boxer (Nov. 4) lectures, which are $18 for members and $22 for non-members.

For a complete schedule of book fair speakers, visit www.lfjcc.org/bookfair.

There is an admission charge for some authors, but the book fair is free and open to the public. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, is located at 4126 Executive Dr. in La Jolla. Call the box office at (858) 362-1348 to purchase tickets.

Alluvial Filmworks encourages filmmakers to submit their gay and lesbian-themed short films for possible inclusion in upcoming DVD compilations it distributes. This is an opportunity to promote and work on an international scale.

FirstOUT, the first volume of the gay-themed short film DVD series, will be available in stores on Jan. 2. Due to the strong market response to this first gay-themed collection, a second volume, FirstOUT 2, is targeted for release within the first quarter of 2007. The first volume of a lesbian-themed collection, tentatively entitled Girls’ View, is also targeted for release within the first quarter of 2007. Submissions are still sought to complete this first lesbian-themed collection.

Major retailers and distributors including Blockbuster, Amazon, 10percent.com, Baker & Taylor and InsightOut Books have already committed to carry the first volume of FirstOUT.

January’s premiere release of FirstOUT includes five shorts and more than an hour of footage, containing two comedies, a drama, a documentary and a comic horror film.

These first films won Grand Prize for Best Student Film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, Jury Prize for Best Short at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, finalist in the Best Breakout Film/Video category at Outfest and Best Lead acting nominations at Shockerfest International Film Festival.

The films include popular actors, including Ben Hogestyn, who starred as the first openly gay character on ABC’s “General Hospital” and currently stars in “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Robbie Laughlin from Another Gay Movie also stars in one of the shorts.

Submissions for FirstOUT 2 and Girls’ View may not exceed 30 minutes in length and must be in English or have English subtitles. Only VHS or DVD format will be accepted. Originals/masters should not be sent because submissions will not be returned. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 15. Artists should send their film, a short synopsis and contact information to: Alluvial Filmworks, Attn: Submissions, P.O. Box 38010, Los Angeles, CA 90038. Chosen selections will either be licensed or purchased. All questions regarding the submission process should be e-mailed to filmmakers@villagelighthouse.com.

For more information about Alluvial Filmworks and its parent company, Village Lighthouse, Inc., visit www.villagelighthouse.com.

Every year at Thanksgiving, Jewish Family Service reaches out to members of the community who are living on a limited income, in need and/or experiencing hardships by providing Thanksgiving baskets.

JFS relies on community funding and donations to provide more than 350 baskets to families who would otherwise be unable to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Community members can donate nonperishable food such as gravy, canned vegetables, yams, pie shells, pie mix, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, muffin mix and more. Cash donations and grocery gift cards enable JFS to purchase additional items needed to provide Thanksgiving food for families.

The grocery gift cards will be placed in the baskets so that families may purchase turkeys.

Send or deliver donations by Friday, Nov. 3, to one of the two following locations: Jewish Family Service North County Coastal Office, 285 North El Camino Real, Ste. 218, Encinitas, CA 92024; or Jewish Family Service Mission Valley Office, 2565 Camino del Rio South, Ste. 101, San Diego, CA 92108.

Volunteers are also needed to participate in this project. Distribution of Thanksgiving baskets will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12.

For more information, call Melinda Bell, coordinator of volunteer services at (619) 594-2597 or e-mail melindab@jfssd.org.

The Center presents an evening with author and historian Lillian Faderman on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. The free event will take place at The Center, located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest

Faderman will discuss her latest book, Gay LA: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians, which she co-authored with Stuart Timmons. She will also sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase through a partnership with Obelisk Bookstore. A portion of the proceeds from the book’s sale will benefit The Center’s Bruce M. Abrams Lending Library.

“Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons have compiled an impressive documentation of the unique LGBT history of Los Angeles,” said Patrick Loose, director of programs and operations at The Center. “We are pleased to welcome Lillian Faderman back to The Center, and invite our entire community to come and hear more from this noted historian and story teller.”

Faderman has long been an advocate for preserving GLBT history and has authored several works, including some that document her own life. Her works include Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, To Believe in Women: What Lesbians Have Done for America – A History and Naked in the Promised Land: A Memoir, which received the 2004 Lambda Literary Award for best GLBT memoir/autobiography.

For more information, contact Lindsay Sullivan at (619) 692-2077 ext. 107 or e-mail lsullivan@thecentersd.org.