Our picks of this week's events

MUSIC

The struggle

Chicana Perk has been through its share of challenges. At one point, the Chicano-centric café and culture spot moved to National City, where rent isn't as off-the-charts, but the crew couldn't cut it in their new surrounds and were forced to close the doors. Maribel Guzman, the sister of the struggling owner, couldn't stand it. She reopened the café a few months later, back in the original location, in an old Victorian in Barrio Logan where she felt it could easily reconnect with the community. Chicana Perk has been serving Sexy-Mexi Mochas and providing a cultural venue quietly but steadily since that October in 2006, and at 8 p.m. Friday, March 28, it won't be so quiet anymore. MYM Entertainment will be rocking and rattling the espresso machines with Women's Herstory Rock Concert, a live music event featuring sets by Irradio, The T.V Liers and Dropjoy. Stop by and show your support for economic perseverance. www.chicanaperk.com or 619-238-1431. $5.

BOOKS

Reject shred fest

Midge Raymond knows the sting of rejection well. Before she got a letter from Eastern Washington University Press accepting her collection of short stories, Forgetting English, Raymond had stacks of rejection letters from publishing houses. She kept every one of them until she found out she had to move across the country. The shred fest that preceded the move was extraordinarily liberating and felt so damn good that she wanted to share the glory of shredding rejection letters with other emerging writers. At 7 p.m. Monday, March 31, join Raymond at San Diego Writers Ink Spot, 710 13th St., Suite 210, Downtown, for Celebrating Rejection, a group reading of rejection letters followed by some high-powered shredding and very likely a bit of laughter in between. Free. www.metrowriting.com or www.sandiegowriters.org.

ART

Getting it

The Gaslamp Quarter hasn't really gained a reputation for being an art center. With a few exceptions, like the Art Academy of San Diego, what little art is going on Downtown is usually culinary. On Saturday, March 29, all of that will change. From noon to 7 p.m., the area on and around Fifth Avenue will be filled with fine contemporary art by San Diego's painters and sculptors in the first-ever Gaslamp Art Showcase. The Gaslamp Quarter Association has put together three pretty major exhibitions-the Reflection Art Show, which will be outside under the iconic Gaslamp archway; the Spyglass Art Exhibit, which features shows in restaurants and galleries, like the solo show by Christina Artigas at Acqua al 2; and the Kaleidoscope Art Tour, which will highlight the Gaslamp's rooftop bars and lounges in shows like the one featuring Jane Riles and Sherry Krulle-Beaton at Stingaree. Free. www.gaslamp.org.

Back in effect: Magpie Gallery & Boutique is no more. The owners gave it a good go, but the place has officially changed hands and names and is now Junc Boutique & Gallery, a shop featuring new and vintage clothes and accessories. The coolest thing about the new place is the fact that the owner, San Diegan Jeffrey Parish, is keeping the gallery aspect going. He's named local artist Jasmine Worth as the curator and promises art shows and openings on a regular basis. Worth will kick things off from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 29, with Hello, I Love You..., a show featuring the work of local female collective Grrrrrl Power. Junc Boutique is at 2205 Fern St. in South Park.

LECTURE

Process

There's a piece of public art on the corner of Park Boulevard and Meade Street in University Heights that goes mostly unnoticed. It's a steel gate in the shape of trolley, a sort of silent shout-out to the Trolley Barn, San Diego's first trolley-line location. A lot of public art in San Diego is similar to the gate-decorative and located in places, like fire stations and the convention center, where locals never see it. Public artist Nina Karavasiles and Dana Springs, manager of the city of San Diego's Public Art Program, will discuss the state of San Diego's public art in a lecture, Art Hits the Streets: Public Art in San Diego, Past and Present, from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, at the San Diego Art Institute's Museum of Living Artists in Balboa Park. Artists interested in getting involved with public art are encouraged to attend. $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. E-mail eduprogram@sandiego-art.org or call 619-236-0011 for details.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Crafty ladies

The Craft Mafia was founded in 2003 in Austin, Texas. FBI officials tried to quickly infiltrate the network, but the do-it-yourselfers were armed with needles, thread and lots and lots of quick-dry tacky glue. Needless to say, Craft Mafia prevailed and managed to spread to cities worldwide. North Park Craft Mafia is one of 42 off-shoot groups of crafty ladies and gents who set up shop in underground locations and sell their surplus of purses, clothing, paintings, photo albums, baby stuff, jewelry, pet accessories and other items. Reliable sources say NPCM will be at the Silver Gate Masonic Hall, 3795 Utah St. in North Park, from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 30. Proceed with caution and be sure to pack your hot-glue gun. www.sandiegonorthparkcraftmafia.com.

Sum-sum-summertime: The first signs of summer aren't the twittering butterflies and longer, hotter days. The telltale indication that summer is on its way is the good-old-fashioned community fair. Rolando-one of San Diego's older, unsung 'hoods-is the first of many to roll out with vendor booths, streetside food courts, kid games, outside musical entertainment and more. The 12th Annual Rolando Street Fair goes down from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 30, along Rolando Boulevard and El Cajon Boulevard. Free. 619-977-5345.

FILM

Amid the music

With all the noise spilling over from the San Diego Indie Music Fest in North Park this week (see our feature story on Page 21), the Indie Film Stage hasn't got much attention. That doesn't mean buzz-worthy stuff won't be flashing across the screen, though. From noon to midnight Saturday, March 29, Sun & Moon Productions, a multimedia production company supporting women filmmakers, presents 12 hours of films directed and produced by women. Don't miss Academy Award winner Freeheld, a short documentary about same-sex and end-of-life rights showing at 5:20 p.m. The Indie Film Stage will screen movies at the Birch North Park Theater, 2891 University Ave. Visit www.sunandmoonvision.org or www.sdindiemusicfest.com for tickets and schedule or call 760-735-8300.