Page 2 - Sherry Ahern News Today

A coalition of San Diego event organizers is focusing on stopping planned increases in city fees, with La Jolla event planner Laurel McFarlane at the helm.

More than 50 fees are slated to rise at least 40 percent; the city says higher fees are needed to recover costs.

This year, as San Diego started to emerge from its COVID-19 cave with the introduction of vaccines and return to in-person events, La Jollans were hard at work behind the scenes to make changes for the community as it transitions to its next (hopefully post-COVID) stage.

The 65th annual La Jolla Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival is gearing up to march into The Village on Sunday, Dec. 5, returning to its usual format after adapting to COVID-19 restrictions last year.

News and events briefs

After a tumultuous few months, the La Jolla Village Merchants Association’s plan for a “Walk on Wall” street fair is no longer being pursued, according to the group's executive director.

For some of the artists participating in this weekend’s La Jolla Art & Wine Festival, the medium is paint, glass, wood or clay. For others, it’s chocolate chips, butter or sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.

At the onset of the pandemic last year, the market had to close entirely for two weeks. As restrictions relaxed, amenities were able to return. First, customers and vendors came back at reduced capacity (35 vendors, down from the pre-pandemic average of 150), and customers were only allowed to grab their items and go. Then, capacity increased; then onsite food preparation was allowed. Most recently, patrons were allowed to buy food and eat it onsite. “That’s been great because the market ha...