Countdown On for the heART of Mount Helix Cultural Festival

As the main fundraising event for the , the popular heART of Mount Helix event takes months of planning and preparation.

Vendors and restaurants must be lined up, musical acts must be booked, art and other items must be donated for the silent auction.

All of that preparation will culminate in what is surely to be a treat to attendees from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27.

Mount Helix Patch has previewed each of the cultural elements of event, so please read more about the , the , and the .

In addition, there will also be more than 120 items available for silent auction, from local art pieces, to San Diego Padres tickets, trips, jewelry, and more. There will also be a raffle for 10-day Holland America cruise to anywhere in the world that they travel. Tickets for this raffle are $25 each, or $100 for five. The drawing will be held that evening.

Clear Channel radio personality Cal Walker, a Mount Helix resident, will be the emcee for the evening.

The event would not be made possible without the  work of its co-chairs Dianne McCann and Kathy White, along with committee members Jill Albani-Flores, David Amack, Jill Arant, Carrie Cardenas, Susan Conklin, Tania Doggett, Teresa Hall, Caroline Harrod, Karen Hernquist, Don & Bernie Janke, Laurie Kmen, Reema Makani, Chuck McPherson, Colleen Olsen, Anice Plikaytis, Mike & Mary Qualls, Nicole Roberts, Larisa Rotsart, Ruth Simpson, Lauren Smeenge, Sharon Smith, Gary & Pam Sobeck, Carol Walsh, Stephanie Wieborg, and of course, Tracey Stotz, executive director of the Park Foundation.

"To the outside, people see East County as a cultural void, and that's not the case," said Stotz. "We know there is a rich tradition of culture and the arts here, and they they are alive and well."

To buy tickets, visit the Mount Helix Park Foundation website.