Mark the calendar for Thursday, March 26 and prepare to show support for San Diego’s only national park by joining friends of the Cabrillo National Monument Foundation (CNMF) at their inaugural fundraiser, Spring Splash. Fajitas and festive fare will be on the menu for the event, which is being held at the new Point Loma Sports Grill & Pub, 2750 Dewey Road, at the east end of Liberty Station from 5 to 7:30 p.m. A cash bar will feature special local brews, sales of which will partially benefit CNMF, according to restaurant manager Joe Sabatino. Tickets for the event are $20 per person, payable at the door. Spring Splash reservations are available by calling (619) 222-4747 or by e-mailing the foundation at [email protected]. The fundraiser will include both a silent auction and an opportunity drawing. Among the highlights to be auctioned and raffled are golf outings for two at both the La Jolla Country Club and Sail Ho, a wine-pairing dinner for four aboard a motoryacht, a feng shui reading and consultation, art-framed photographs and a home-design consultation. In addition, other donated gifts include a Midway Museum admission package for eight that includes simulators and lunch, a “See San Diego First” staycation package of attraction tickets for two, a pair of annual Mexican fishing licenses, plus gift certificates for restaurant meals, canvas services, printing, clothing and physical therapy consultations. Both checks and credit cards will be accepted for payments. This is the first time the foundation has reached out to the community to ask for support through a fundraiser, said CNMF board of trustees chair Pam Rose, a long-time Point Loma resident. “All of the funds we raise support the park’s programs and promote the park’s mission while helping the park enhance the visitor’s experience,” she said. CNMF, founded in 1956 as a nonprofit cooperating association specifically to supplement federal funding for the national park located at the tip of Point Loma, has raised and donated over $1.6 million since its founding to assist the park’s public programming. The foundation also operates the park’s gift shop and bookstore to benefit park activities. Among the programs which CNMF regularly funds are the Junior Ranger program, the Whale Watch Weekend and Intertidal Life Festival and the school education program. The foundation underwrites the cost of educational materials for teachers’ use as well as the cost of buses to bring children to the park for field trips. Recent special projects the foundation funded include the initial designs for reconstruction of the Assistant Lighthouse Keeper’s Quarters, the lighthouse tactile sculptures for the visually impaired, the conservation and preservation of the park’s photographic collection, a bat inventory, tidepool monitoring and a bird-banding project. Like all national parks, Cabrillo has suffered from many years of reduced federal budgets and staffing and maintenance cuts. Its supporting foundation attempts to fill some of those funding shortfalls. “They support a lot of the park public programs. We’d be very hampered with the staff we have without their support,” said park Superintendent Tom Workman. The goals in hosting the fundraiser, according to Rose, include raising the visibility of the foundation’s work and attracting new members to join the foundation. Membership in the foundation — which starts at $35 for an individual, $60 for a couple and $75 for a family — is one of the best bargains in town, she said. Among the benefits are an annual pass to Cabrillo National Monument, special member-only events including a star-watch astronomy night and an annual moonwalk event and discounts in the shop. New-member benefits this year include a series of Sunset Talks featuring prominent local figures discussing timely subjects related to the park and the San Diego environment as well as special off-hours access. For more information about the Spring Splash or the foundation or to become a member, call (619) 222-4747, visit www.cnmf.org or e-mail [email protected].