SDGLN to participate in Voice of San Diego’s PolitiFest on Saturday | VIDEOS

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The family-friendly event, which includes a number of political activities such as debates, discussions, and an “idea tournament,” will provide those who find these sorts of things entertaining with a full day of fun. But for those who don’t think that spending a Saturday discussing San Diego’s biggest challenges and issues is for them, the event will also be filled with live music, entertainment, a Stone Brewing Co. beer garden, food trucks, and even a kids zone with mini-voter booths and more.

VOSD CEO Scott Lewis explains the genesis for PolitiFest HERE.

The Idea Tournament

One of the most popular feature’s of last year’s first annual PolitiFest, which is being repeated this year, is the Idea Tournament. Presented by SDG&E, the tournament invites community members to “join the best brains in San Diego.”

Over the last several weeks through its website, VOSD invited readers to submit their ideas for solutions to some of San Diego’s greatest challenges.

The ideas that were submitted were voted upon by VOSD staff and members, and were narrowed down to seven finalists.

The seven makers of the ideas that have been advanced will take the stage at PolitiFest to share their ideas, and a judge will nominate two finalists – with the crowd selecting the final winner.

The winner will receive the PolitiFest Idea Tournament 2012 trophy (pictured left), which was created by former San Diego City Councilwoman Donna Frye.

City 101 sessions

Another major feature of this year’s PolitiFest will be the City 101 sessions, sponsored by SDGLN. These short workshops, at just six minutes, each, will be presented by volunteers who will present 20 slides at 20 seconds each on the following topics:

11:30 am – Where Does San Diego’s Water Come From?

11:50 am – So You Want to Join the School Board?

12:10 pm – What’s Happening with San Diego’s Homeless?

12:20 pm – What Are the Best Micro Brews in San Diego?

1:30 pm – What Is the Strong Mayor Form of Government?

1:50 pm – What Crimes are Happening in Your Backyard?

2 pm – What Does a City Council Do?

Full PolitiFest schedule of events

The event will begin at 10 am and be packed with activities and fun until 2:30 pm. The schedule of events includes:

10 am – “One Voice at a Time” with congressional candidate Scott Peters and VOSD CEO Scott Lewis.

10:30-11:30 am – Mayoral debate between the candidates, City Councilman Carl DeMaio and Congressman Bob Filner. Participants may submit questions for the candidates in advance HERE.

11:30 am-12:30 pm – San Diego Unified school board candidates Meet & Greet at UpforEd booth.

11:30 am to 12:30 pm – Live music by The Blonde Brothers

11:30 am to 2pm – City 101 Sessions, presented by SDGLN, where you can learn about important issues in minutes.

12:30-1:30 pm – San Diego Unified School District board debate featuring candidates Bill Ponder, Mark Powell, John Lee Evans and Richard Barrera. VOSD investigative reporter Will Carless will moderate.

1:30-2 pm – A discussion about Proposition Z between san Diego Unified school board member Scott Barnett and San Diego County Taxpayers Association CEO Lani Lutar. Scott Lewis will moderate.

2-2:30 pm – The Idea Tournament presented by SDG&E, where citizens compete to present their solutions to San Diego’s biggest challenges.

Other features throughout the day, include the Kids Zone; Stone Brewing Co. beer garden, presented by Public Policy Strategies and food trucks.

Also, dozens of community booths from innovative local nonprofits will be on hand throughout the festival site, including Education Pavilion Sponsor UpforEd, who will provide participants with the opportunity to meet the candidates running for San Diego Unified school board at their booth.

The full list of community groups that will host information booths is HERE.

SDGLN’s involvement

SDGLN will participate in PolitiFest this year by hosting a community booth and serving as a media sponsor. Hale Media, the parent company of SDGLN, decided to get involved with PolitiFest because it believed that it was important that the LGBT community had a voice at this important civic event.

“We are pleased to participate in and be a sponsor of this year’s PolitiFest,” said Johnathan Hale, publisher of SDGLN. “Of the many groups, issues, causes, and media that will be present at this year’s event, we felt it important to be present to ensure the LGBT community was represented. We are looking forward to meeting with all community members at this Saturday’s festival.”

Visitors to SDGLN’s booth will be able to learn more about the company’s products, speak to staff members, including SDGLN Editor In Chief Ken Williams and Staff Writer Ben Cartwright, and have a chance to win prizes.

If you go

PolitiFest will take place at Ingram Plaza in Liberty Station located along Rosecrans Street. There is ample free parking within Liberty Station.

Admission is free.

Temperatures are expected to rise slightly this weekend so participants are encouraged to take regular sunny day precautions, including wearing sunscreen and a hat, and staying hydrated.

For more information, click HERE.

As a matter of full disclosure, SDGLN Publisher Johnathan Hale has a personal relationship with Carl DeMaio. Their relationship in no way impacts the editorial decisions made by Ken Williams, SDGLN Editor in Chief, and does not influence our political coverage. Williams can be reached at [email protected], @KenSanDiego on Twitter or at (877) 727-5446, x713.