NEWS RELEASE

Date: January 3, 2008

                                                                                                Contacts: Derek Danziger

        (619) 533-7103 or

Tiffany Metti

619-533-7136

       www.ccdc.com

TENTH ANNUAL SAN DIEGO MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP ANNOUNCED

SAN DIEGO — The Tenth Annual San Diego Multicultural Festival features an exciting lineup of entertainment and activities reflecting San Diego’s diverse population. The free event on Saturday, January 19, will offer a variety of food, entertainment and fun for the entire family. The festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade on the north side of Harbor Drive between Market Street and Fourth Avenue, across from the San Diego Convention Center. The festival coincides with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade at 10 a.m. near PETCO Park., Created by Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC), the popular festival regularly draws thousands of people, and this year, 25,000 to 30,000 attendees are expected.

2008 festival activities include:

·      Two professional stages showcasing a wide variety of 

      multicultural performances (music, song and dance). A 

      complete listing of performers can be found at the end

      of this release.

·      A children’s area with free hands-on arts and crafts.

·      A “Toy Rescue and Recycle” event hosted by Children's Museum San Diego/Museo de los Niños, where children can give their old toys new life.

     The museum plans to rescue broken or unwanted playthings and recycle them into a hands-on, kid-created art project, with the first project coming together at the Festival.

     For more information visit www.childrensmuseumsd.org

• Global Villages- A unique addition to this year’s festival, Global Villages provides attendees an educational opportunity to gain insight into other countries around the world via collaborative partnerships between students and local cultural groups. Students learn about selected countries and create an authentic representation of the country in the form of a "village" that is erected on the festival site. Students participate in the village activities during the festival event, attired in clothing of that country, answering questions and educating visitors about the traditions, history, cultural aspects geography, climate and more.

• International Storytellers Stage - Talented storytellers engage children and adults in their magical tales.

• A host of vendor booths full of cultural merchandise, ethnic food and information.

• Free prize drawings for attendees will take place throughout the day. Tickets for the drawings are available at three information booths and at the entertainment stages. The prizes will be listed in the event program.

For complete festival details, including booth and vendor applications, visit www.ccdc.com and click on the Multicultural Festival icon at the bottom of the homepage.

CCDC relies on community partnerships through the MultiCultural Festival Steering Committee and corporate financial sponsorship to present the festival each year. To serve on the Committee or to become a sponsor, please call Jacki Taylor (619-533-7145) or e-mail Taylor@ccdc.com.

Entertainment Lineup:

EAST STAGE

• 11:15a.m.     Culture Shock Dance Troupe  – Dance
• 12:00p.m.     Bayou Brothers  – Cajun/Zydeco Music
• 12:45p.m.     Mendiola  – Pacific Island Music and Dance
• 1:30p.m.       HO ASOGLI Ghana, West Africa
• 2:15p.m.       Celtic Spring  – Irish Music & Dance
• 3:00p.m.       Riders of the Purple Sage  – Traditional 

                            Western Music

• 3:45p.m.       Allegato  – Jazz Fusion / Music & Song
• 4:30p.m.       Callahan Institute of Arts  – Hip Hop

WEST STAGE

• 11:30a.m.     Step Teams  – Step Dance
• 12:15p.m.     Monarch School  – Steel Drums
• 1:00p.m.       La Salsa Kids  – Salsa Dance
• 1:45p.m.       Samahan  – Filipino American Performing

                            Arts Music & Dance

• 2:30p.m.       Joel Penner Trio  – Jazz Music
• 3:15p.m.       Moonlight Chinese Dancers  – Dance
• 3:45p.m.       Second Avenue Klezmer Ensemble  –

                            Jewish Folk Music

• 4:30p.m.       Portuguese American Dancers  – Dance

INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLERS STAGE

• 12:00p.m.     Abel Silvas  – Native American
• 1:00p.m.       Alyce Smith Cooper  – The Ancestral

                            Storyteller

• 1:45p.m.       Tales Alive  – Musical Folktales

                             Around the World

• 2:30p.m.       Harlynne Geisler  – A Bit o’ British Isles
• 3:30p.m.       Native Talk  – Native American/ California

                            Luiseno

• 4:30p.m.       Yan Gao  – International Etiquette &

                            Nonverbal Communication

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 Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC) is a public, nonprofit corporation established in 1975 by the City of San Diego to plan and facilitate the redevelopment of downtown’s 1,500 acres. To learn more, visit: www.ccdc.com.