I received Press access from the Board to the Coronado Island Film Festival staff and venues to facilitate writing this sponsored post. 

The Coronado Island Film Festival: 85 Movies. 6 Spectacular Parties. 5 Live Performances. 4 Panels of Industry Pros.

I've lived in San Diego for a long time and one of my favorite places to go when I want to be a tourist in my own city is Coronado. The island is beautiful and filled with history. I didn't realize how much of a connection to old Hollywood and the film industry the island has. 

Dozens of movies have been filmed on the grounds of the world famous Hotel Del Coronado, Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum lived in a home on Star Park Circle, and there is an IMDb page filled with movies and TV shows filmed on location around the island. 

It makes sense that Coronado would be prime location for a film fest. And now it's here! The first annual Coronado Island Film Festival starts this week on Friday, January 15th and runs through Monday the 18th.

The festival is packed with appearances by industry leaders:

• Leonard Maltin - film critic and author
• Lisa Bruce - Producer of The Theory of Everything
• Emmanuel Lubeski - Cinematographer for recent Golden Globe winning film The Revenant
• Chris Lemmon - Writer and son of actor Jack Lemmon who will be receiving the inaugural Hollywood Legacy Award during the festival
• Jonas Rivera - Producer for the recent Golden Globe winning film Inside Out

To honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Coronado Film Festival is hosting a free tribute event on Monday the 18th from 3:00 - 4:30pm. The reception happens following a special Noon screening of Laurens Grant's documentary Freedom Riders. Grant won a Peabody award and three primetime Emmy's for her 2010 Civil Rights film. 





Grant's other documentaries, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and Jessie Owens are also screening at the Festival. Freedom Riders will screen at Noon at the Village Theatre and the reception, with Grant as the special guest, is at the Glorietta Bay Inn. Light hors d'oeuvres and wine will be served. 

To plan your weekend of Festival activities, read the full Coronado Island Film Festival program online. 

Other film festival reads:

For a listing of other free events during the Festival, read this post by Danielle Simmons of Simm Works Family. 

Suzzette Valle, Coronado resident and author of 101 Movies to See Before You Grow Up, has a full Festival rundown on her site. You can buy a signed copy of her book at the Hospitality Tent. 

Kate Hammernik of Highlights Along the Way shares details on the animation panel and opening night screening of the new Disney movie The Finest Hours.

Rob, AKA Downtown Rob has a list of the parties and special events. 

To stay up-to-date with the Festival news and schedule, Like the CIFF Facebook page, follow the CIFF on Twitter and through the #CIFF and #CoronadoFilmFest hashtags. 

Veterans Day 2015 Deals, Discounts and Free Offers

Sometimes I feel guilty calling myself a military wife because our experience hasn't really been typical. It's different being the spouse of a Reservist rather than Active Duty. There are so many things I've never had to worry about: deployments, packing up a home every few years, enrolling in new schools, finding new doctors and dentists, finding a new job with every move and surviving on military pay.

Military life can be challenging. There are often sacrifices made by the spouses and children as well as the enlisted. It's a lifestyle that most people can't really understand unless they know someone living it. 

Most service members feel they're just like everyone else; they're only doing their jobs. But their jobs are unlike the average persons' for so many reasons. The military has high rates of depression, PTSD, divorce and we're starting to see the longterm impact repeated deployments can have on their physical health.

There are so many organizations that support active duty, retired, spouses and children. As we approach the holidays, charitable giving becomes top of mind for many people. Please consider putting your resources, be it time or money, toward groups, non-profits and businesses that support our military. 

"On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind." ~ Dan Lipinski 

Free or Discounted Food Offers:
Denny's - Free Build Your Own Grand Slam 5am - Noon

Applebee's - Choose one meal from seven available entrees on a select menu

California Pizza Kitchen - Choose either an entree, pizza or salad from select menu

ClaimJumper - Free entree from select menu on Monday, November 9th only

Olive Garden - Free entree from select menu

On the Border - Free Choose 2 or Choose 3 Create Your Own Combo (up to $10.79)

Red Lobster - Free appetizer or dessert from select menu

IHOP - Free Red, White and Blue pancakes

Menchie's - Free 6 ounce frozen yogurt (seen on the Menchies Facebook page)

White Castle - Free Breakfast Slider and coffee

Little Caesars - Free Hot N Ready lunch combo

UNO Chicago Grill - Free B1G1 entree of personal pizza (through November 12th)

Wienerschnitzel - Free Chili Dog and Pepsi

Hooters - Free entree

Other offers:

Great Clips - Free haircut

Knott's Berry Farm - Military Tribute Days; one free admission and up to 6 discounted tickets from 11/1 - 12/20/2015

National Parks Service - Free entrance to parks

Sports Clips - Free haircut

Meineke - Free basic oil change

Offers.com is a great site to check year-round for military specific deals and offers.

Vettix - This company often has free tickets to concerts, sporting events, zoos, museums and a lot more. You have to be in the military to register and some of the high profile items (Disneyland tickets) are done via a lottery. We've scored some great tickets to Anaheim Ducks hockey games.  


When I put together this list of free and discounted offers for Veterans Day, I try to choose restaurants and businesses that have locations nationwide. For each business, I've linked to the most direct source of information I could find (usually the press release). If you see any errors here please let me know.

**Always check with each location to ensure they are participating and to get any conditions of the offer (specific hours, need to be in uniform, need to show ID, dine-in only, beverage not included, gratuity not included, etc). For more offers (especially for restaurants not in California), visit these sites: Military.com, MilitaryBenefits.info, The Military Wallet and the Veterans Day offers page at Freebies.About.com. Referral link used for Vettix.

Photo credit: U.S. Embassy Montevideo in Uruguay on Flickr