As a patriotic pooch, I find so much to be grateful for as America celebrates its 234th Independence Day. I’m also thankful that our nation’s birthday gives us all the freedom to enjoy a three-day holiday weekend in Balboa Park. Here are just a few places to catch the Park’s special brand of cultural fireworks:

Earth Exposed at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Center. Just opened last week, this interactive display of 25 hands-on exhibits explores nature’s powerful forces, like tornados, geysers, and volcanoes, that are continuously re-shaping the world we see around us.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Museum of Photographic Arts. This screening of the classic family flick starring Dick van Dyke and Edison the Dog on July 3 at 1pm will be preceded by a most entertaining performance by Scott Paulson’s Teeny Tiny Pit Orchestra.

SUDS: The Rocking 60s Musical at the Starlight Bowl. This bubbly musical, featuring American 60s classics, ends its run with a bang on July 2–3 at 8pm. The uplifting story of a teenage girl who seeks true love with the help of two guardian angels promises good clean, laugh-out-loud fun.

House of U.S.A. Lawn Program. The annual Sunday celebration actually falls on July 4 this year. No need to fight fellow beach goers for a fire ring when you can enjoy a small town-style Fourth of July celebration, complete with live bands playing patriotic tunes, costumed Uncle Sams, and an all-American picnic menu of hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, and apple pie. Dog Bless America!

While the word diverse may not always be associated with organ music, the International Summer Organ Festival’s program for 2010 certainly stretches the versatile instrument’s range into a wide variety of musical categories. And we’re not talking a dog’s breakfast of styles, but rather a carefully selected blend of genres from different eras. Enhancing the experience, each program is performed by an accomplished organist under the stars in the historic Spreckels Organ Pavilion on Monday nights at 7:30pm.

For example, next week the dynamic Julliard-trained Canadian, Isabelle Demers, will sample both classical and modern composers, including Bach, Prokofiev, and Rachel Laurin. The following week on July 5, Walter Strony, one of America’s premier concert organists, shifts gears with a lively selection of works by George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, and my favorite “piano man” Billy Joel.

Later next month, on July 26, the festival welcomes one of Finland’s most prolific recording artists, Kalevi Kiviniemi, who will present pieces dating from the 17th through 20th centuries, encompassing his own compositions. Then on August 23, the always popular Movie Night will treat audiences to a screening of the silent film The Yankee Clipper as Dennis James provides the musical accompaniment.

Last but not least, San Diego’s own Civic Organist Carol Williams closes the festival with a “Jazz Night,” featuring KUSI meteorologist and respected jazz trombonist and composer, Dave Scott, and friends. (I wonder if he’ll be wearing a bow tie.)

For a great preview, check out this news piece on Channel 8 News.

It’s time once again to kick off your work shoes, grab your best four-legged friend and picnic basket, and join hundreds of friendly concert-goers at the Twilight in the Park series in Balboa Park.

While some say Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, and others say June 21 or even July 4, I’ve always maintained opening night of the Twilight in the Park concert series (June 15 this year) truly signals the start of the season. Why? Because there is no other time of year when you can experience a great outdoor music festival three evenings per week with your family, friends, and leashed pets in the beautiful and historic setting of Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Some of my best buds really know how to get into the spirit and have a howling good time, listening to a wide assortment of Latin, country, klezmer, blues, military band, Oompah, jazz, pop, and good ol’ rock n’ roll music

From the classic swing of the Dixie Express Band (June 17) to the cool rhythms of the 50s, 60s, and 70s by Cool Fever (June 30), to the World Beat sounds of Damaru (July 21), I always find something for everyone in my pack.

And how much will a full season of 32 unique concert events set you back? Not a single penny.

While you might not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, an old Balboa Park institution, namely the Old Globe, can certainly teach the public its rich and illustrious history. Marking 75 years as San Diego’s flagship theatrical venue, the Old Globe celebrates its roots during a free open house this Sunday, June 13, from 9:30am to 2pm.

Opening the year of the California Pacific International Exposition in 1935, the Old Globe quickly became one of the fair’s most popular attractions by presenting 50-minute versions of Shakespeare plays and “Dancing on the Green” events in which the Shakespeare troupe performed Elizabethan-era dances on the lawn in front of the theater.

Recalling its grand Shakespearean beginnings, this Sunday’s open house will commence with a Procession of Queen Elizabeth (played by everyone’s favorite TV mom, Marion Ross) and feature Elizabethan dancing and bagpipe performances on “on the green” in Copley Plaza. In addition, the Shakespeare Festival repertory troupe will perform scenes from this summer’s line up in the Lowell Davies Festival Theater.

Also on the program are sword fighting demonstrations, 20-minute backstage tours of the new (and old) facilities, circus performances, crafts and face painting for pups of all ages, giveaways, and free popcorn (so you know I’ll be there!).

Active duty military and their families are being thrown a much-deserved bone this summer as over a dozen museums in San Diego County offer them free admission now through Labor Day (September 6). Part of the Blue Star Museums program, the seven participating museums in Balboa Park are:

-Japanese Friendship Garden
-Mingei International Museum
-Museum of Photographic Arts
-San Diego Hall of Champions
-San Diego History Center
-San Diego Museum of Art
-Timken Museum of Art

The National Endowment for the Arts teamed up with Blue Star Families, a prominent military support organization, and hundreds of cultural institutions across the country to give military families an opportunity to bond during or following deployments while discovering the rich cultural resources available to them.

Of course summertime is always an ideal time to go museum hopping in Balboa Park. In addition to each participating museum’s regular collections, military families can also see for free Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock ‘n’ Roll Photographs Selected by Graham Nash at the Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego Museum of Art’s Heroes: Mortals and Myth in Ancient Greece, and ¡VIVA MÉXICO! — Heroes and Artisans at the Mingei, among other great exhibitions.

This is also a great opportunity for non-military families to show their own support for men and women in uniform by visiting these participating museums throughout the summer.