The Tower 23 Hotel in Pacific Beach is up for an award at the Orchids & Onions program.

The Orchids & Onions awards program is back. The San Diego Architectural Foundation will present the program Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. at the North Park Theatre. Back after a three-year hiatus, it will start with a catered street celebration on 29th Street between North Park Way and University Avenue, and continue with an awards ceremony inside the theater.

Entertaining with comedy routines will be Mission Improvi-ble. Award committee members collaborated with troupe members to script the event and the routines. Some of the segments will be taped; others will be live. Master of ceremonies is San Diego architect and professor Teddy Cruz.

Tickets are $45 at the door. Advance tickets are $30 for foundation members and $35 for nonmembers, and can be obtained at sdarchitecture.org. A separate dinner package is available for $120, with limited availability. For more information, call (619) 232-1385.

The foundation received 420 nominations, which were narrowed down to 50 nominations by the award program’s jury. The jury, made up of design professionals, decides who will receive the 20 Orchids & Onions. Of the projects voted on by the general public, those with the highest number of Orchids or Onions votes will receive a special “People’s Choice” award.

So you know who to blame, judges are Pablo Bransburg, Rene Peralta, Betti Sue Hertz, Roman de Salvo, Andrea Skorepa, Bennett Peji, Terry Barker, David Rice and Pamela Thorsch.