Pechanga will be mixing a trio of favorites at the Beer, BBQ & Country Music Festival on Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 1 - 5pm. A wide range of breweries will offer 2oz. pours of their domestic, premium, and foreign beers. More than 15 local restaurants, including four Pechanga outlets, will serve tastes of their barbeque fare.

To complete the event’s offerings, country band American Made will perform.

The afternoon event will take place inside the Pechanga Ballroom.

American Made has won over forty awards from the California Country Music Association, including Band of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. Their self-produced album, "Forty Miles From Lonely", was voted Album of the Year by the CCMA.

The American Red Cross Riverside County Chapter will host a silent auction to raise funds for local disaster relief efforts. At the two past annual Pechanga Wine Festivals, the local Red Cross chapter raised tens of thousands of dollars to aid emergency efforts in the region. Tickets for the event are available at the Pechanga Box Office in person, by phone at 877-711-2946 and online at www.pechanga.com. Tickets: $50 per person. Guests must be 21 or older to attend and ID is required to enter event.

The “ABBA-solutely fabulous” BJORN AGAIN performs all the greatest ABBA hits at the historical California Theatre of the Performing Arts in San Bernardino, California for one night only: Friday, May 7, 2010 at 8:00pm.

Tickets for BJORN AGAIN are on sale at Ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets, and at the California Theatre of the Performing Arts Box Office, 562 West 4th St. San Bernardino, CA (909) 885- 5152.

Timeout NY called BJORN AGAIN “the most entertaining rock show in the world today.” BJORN AGAIN performs all the greatest ABBA hits as they are meant to be seen and heard–in all their fantastic 70’s glitz complete with all the costumes, dance moves and Swedish banter known and loved by ABBA fans everywhere. This action-packed, fully live interactive show creates the ultimate party atmosphere.

Fans arrive dressed in their 70’s best, dance in the aisles and party along to such famous ABBA hits as “Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen”, “Waterloo”, “Take A Chance On Me”, “Money, Money, Money” and many more.

BJORN AGAIN has now been together longer than ABBA ever was and has toured longer and performed to more people than ABBA did! In fact, BJORN AGAIN has been spreading their glitter- laden Swedish charm for over 19 years, performing more than 5,000 concerts in over 50 countries around the world!

Widely known in the industry as the best ABBA show in the world, BJORN AGAIN sends fans into a frenzy as they sing the beloved anthems of a generation.

BJORN AGAIN is truly a concert experience that is not soon to be forgotten. From their uncanny look-a-like appearances to their Swedish accents and glimmering silk costumes, BJORN AGAIN performs the timeless music of ABBA and is a hit with audiences from 8 to 80. And in true BJORN AGAIN fashion, the band delivers a few surprises along the way.

Whether it’s a re-mixed hiphop verse in “Take A Chance On Me” or a spontaneous break into a contemporary rock anthem, the audience never knows what is around the corner!

As Rolling Stone summed it up, “From the note-perfect vocals to the faux Swedish accents and sequined duds, BJORN AGAIN were fabulously flawless.”

Come to the Riverside International Film Festival (RIFF) next week for a chance to meet and hear from film directors and producers.

RIFF is delighted with the high number of film directors and producers who will be on site during each of the 10 days of Festival. “One of the best features of RIFF is that we get a tremendous response from film makers who attend the festival and engage the moviegoers in question and answer sessions after the films,” said Dr. Harki Dhillon, RIFF President. “This is a unique opportunity for film students, fellow directors, or movie aficionados to speak informally with actual directors and producers.”

Some of the featured film directors that will be in attendance for their film’s showing include Aki Aleong (I am Somebody), Chris Schwab (Neither Day Nor Night), Mauro Giuffrida (In 200 Characters or Less), and Michael P. Noens (Darren & Abbey). For the complete schedule of films, along with film makers expected, visit www.riversidefilmfest.org and click on “show times”.

The 8th annual RIFF launches April 16 and continues through April 25, 2010.The best of international and independent features, documentaries, and shorts will be shown at UltraStar Cinemas in the University Village at 1201 University Avenue, Riverside, CA, 92507.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People National Board of Directors announced that actress Cicely Tyson will be honored with the Association’s Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest honor. Tyson will become the 95th recipient of the award, and will be honored during the NAACP National Convention in Kansas City July 15 at the annual Spingarn Dinner.

The Spingarn Medal, instituted in 1914 by then- NAACP Chairman Joel E. Spingarn, is awarded for outstanding and noble achievement by an American of African descent during the preceding years.

“Cicely Tyson’s contributions to African American arts and culture in both acting and modeling are unprecedented and inspiring. Not only was Ms. Tyson a brilliant and groundbreaking actress but she was a stalwart supporter of human and civil rights for all Americans," said NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock. “Her portrayals in masterpieces such as the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, and King, among others, were simply dynamic, and the role she has played as a human rights leader and trailblazer in the arts is invaluable.”

“The NAACP is proud to present our highest honor to such a deserving actress as Cicely Tyson. It is rare to find someone who uses their celebrity status with such dedication and impact to advance the causes of human and civil rights. Her contributions to the stage and screen and the civil rights movement will never be forgotten.

We are honored to give her the highest award our 101 year old organization can bestow,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous.

Tyson began her career as a fashion model, gracing the cover of both premier African American and general market magazines such asVogue and Harper’s Bazaar in. She later transitioned from her modeling career into acting, and was featured on several television series, most notably East Side/West Side and the long-running soap opera Guiding Light. Tyson went on to star in the popular off- Broadway musicalThe Blacks, which featured James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Browne, Louis Gossett, Jr., Godfrey Cambridge, Maya Angelou and Charles Gordone.

In 1972, Tyson received the nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film Sounder.

She won two Emmys for her role in the 1974 film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Other memorable television roles include the television mini-series Roots, which received 36 Emmy nominations, King, in which she portrayed Coretta Scott King, The Marva Collins Story, When No One Would Listenand Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, for which she garnered her third Emmy.

The Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, a magnet school in East Orange, New Jersey, was renamed in honor of Tyson.

She actively supports the school, located in one of the state’s most underserved communities of color.

“I have had the good fortune of being acknowledged for accomplishments throughout my career, but the fact that I am now being recognized for what has been my life’s goal by the most distinguished organization within our community is moving beyond words,” said Tyson.

“My deepest gratitude goes out to the Award’s Committee, the NAACP Board of Directors and members of the NAACP.”

“The NAACP is honored to present Cicely Tyson with its 95th Spingarn Medal for achievement by an African American,” said NAACP Board Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee, Leon Russell. “Ms. Tyson’s stellar body of work spans several decades, and she has presented aspiring African American actors, actresses, models, and artists with an outstanding example of talent, brilliance and commitment to giving back to her community.”

To date, 94 Spingarn Medals have been awarded, recognizing achievements in a range of fields. Medalists include Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), former U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, media personality Oprah Winfrey, baseball hall of famer Henry "Hank" Aaron, Vernon Jordan, U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), William H. Cosby, Jr., Maya Angelou, Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Percy E. Sutton, Gordon Parks, John Hope Franklin, the late Judge Leon Higginbotham Jr., Carl Rowan, NAACP Chairman Emeriti Julian Bond and Myrlie Evers-Williams, businessman and publisher Earl G. Graves, Sr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., artist Jacob Lawrence, Rosa Parks, opera singer Leontyne Price, Judge Constance Baker Motley, Judge Robert L. Carter, and the late Oliver W. Hill, Sr.