Baard Kolstad drums like crazy near the Pier Cafe.
This afternoon I checked out the Spring Busker Festival at Seaport Village. A huge crowd turned out to enjoy the sunny day and some amazing street performers! Enjoy a few cool pics!
Aerial silks dancer performs near Seaport Village carousel.Crowd gathers at West Plaza for a Busker Festival magic show.Funny magician wows kids at Seaport Village.Folks head toward busker stage in Embarcadero Marina Park North.The crazy Skip Banks prepares to enter a huge balloon.Skip Banks’ head pops out of big balloon at Busker Festival.
Skip Banks was absolutely hilarious. His hyperactive routine, celebrating silly slices of our pop culture, was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long while! His website has some great videos.
Acrobatic juggler entertains crowd with spectator’s help.Baard Kolstad, of Norway, sets up in East Plaza at Seaport Village.
Baard Kolstad came all the way from Norway to participate in the Seaport Village Busker Festival. With his dazzling skills, he seems destined to be the next big rock drummer!
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South end of long Urban Corps mural on Jefferson Street.
San Diego’s Urban Corp is a nonprofit dedicated to providing a high school education and green job training to young adults. Whenever I ride the trolley to work, I usually see a number of youth in green uniforms disembarking at the Old Town station. They’re heading off to begin another day developing new skills, while working to improve San Diego’s environment.
A long, colorful mural was recently painted along Jefferson Street, right across from the Urban Corps. You can find this public art near Rosecrans at Interstate 5.
Here are some pics I took as I walked north!
Mural depicts youth bettering San Diego’s environment.Urban Corps provides valuable employment training.Eliminating graffiti is one important activity.Youth have a second chance to earn a high school diploma.Urban Corps mural shows conservation efforts.Education is the key to moving forward to success.Young people have an opportunity to earn a paycheck.Segment of Urban Corps mural near Rosecrans and Jefferson.Optimism and opportunity on a long, colorful mural.
Trees ready for planting in new park on Embarcadero.
Major improvements to the North Embarcadero are well underway, and I was able to get some interesting pics yesterday!
Harbor Drive is undergoing a facelift from the Coast Guard Station down to the USS Midway Museum. This area is considered San Diego’s front doorstep, but until this renovation it’s been more parking lot than park.
Many large-scale changes are going to make San Diego even more beautiful! The two ugly parking lots on either side of the County Administration Building are being transformed into grassy waterfront parks; Harbor Drive is being made more pedestrian friendly with pavilions, flower beds and new restrooms; most of the traffic on Harbor Drive will now be diverted onto Pacific Highway.
I’m really looking forward to the project’s completion!
Workers prepare public park near Star of India.County Administration Building will have grass parks on either side.Working on a new pavilion on San Diego’s front doorstep.New pavilion being built behind the Bay Cafe.Sign near Broadway Pier describes Embarcadero improvements.Anchor on Harbor Drive near USS Midway Museum.
Here are two pics I took on 5/24/14…
New waterfront pavilion under construction.Building made of words to be part of new Embarcadero.
And two more pics from 9/20/14…
Pavilion near Broadway will complete part of North Embarcadero Visionary Plan.The word SKY allows light to shine in from the sky!
UPDATE!
I took the following pictures on November 9, 2014. The improvements around the Broadway Pier appear to be nearly finished!
New pavilion near Broadway Pier is almost finished in early November 2014.Colorful glass, shiny surfaces and word-shaped skylights are a delight!Worker putting final touches on a ticket booth to be used by harbor cruise company.Word shining from roof of pavilion spells JOY.Restroom walls are formed of crazy letters spelling various words.A new hotel is rising across Harbor Drive, at site of old Lane Field, north of Broadway.
The scene downtown is constantly fascinating. The kaleidoscope of colors, thousands of people on the move, the crazy, seemingly random whirl of activity…
Over the years, the buildings themselves participate in this dance of life. New structures rise into the shining skyline like spring flowers, and old, crumbling derelicts are torn down to make way.
The time-worn Brake Depot is being torn down. Once the pride of the block, it’s being swept away to make room for new development. Here are some photographs:
The now empty remains of Brake Depot on B Street.Instruments of urban destruction sit idle.Glass skyscraper shines behind a sadly destroyed wreck.A big hole in one wall of the former Brake Depot.
UPDATE!
Brake Depot is long gone. But look what’s rising in late 2015!
A new downtown San Diego project, called Blue Sky, is rising where Brake Depot used to be. Blue Sky will be downtown’s largest apartment building, with 939 units!Blue Sky’s two towers will be located on B Street between Symphony Towers and Vantage Pointe (in the background), which is currently San Diego’s largest apartment complex.
Two workers put up large Padres banner at Petco Park.
A variety of workers were out on Sunday afternoon preparing Petco Park for Padres opening day, which is less than two weeks away. I got a few pics of the action…
Getting the outfield ready for baseball’s Opening Day.Watering lush new grass at the Park At The Park.Still no graphics on the back side of the scoreboard.Brand new street lamp banners announce the 2014 season.
People dance as the Catillacs rock Seaport Village.
Whenever I take a weekend walk through Seaport Village, I always hope the Catillacs are playing their vintage rock and roll at the East Plaza Gazebo. Because nobody can resist dancing to those classic tunes!
There’s just something magical about the sunshiny, laid-back atmosphere. Everyone loses their inhibitions. Young and old alike are moved by the music, and twirl about like delighted maniacs!
People let loose and just enjoy the weekend.Everyone is jamming to vintage rock and roll music.Dancing to a live band near the East Plaza Gazebo.Catillacs guitarist in Seaport Village gazebo.
San Diego’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held this morning. It ran along Fifth and Sixth Avenue, on Bankers Hill just west of Balboa Park.
I captured a whole bunch of fun pics just prior to the parade’s start. There’s no shortage of the color green! All sorts of people and pets were gathering and preparing and positioning themselves for the exciting event!
People head up Sixth Avenue to watch the big annual parade.Bagpipers in kilts assemble for the parade near Balboa Park.A colorful calliope stands by near start of parade route.Mounted participants in San Diego’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Cal Fire stands at the ready for the big event.Girls anticipate marching on a sunny Saturday morning.Junior Achievement kids hold THANK YOU spelled out for a photo.Hanging some Irish green tinsel.Last minute preparations on a School of Irish Dance float.Another Smiling Irishman.Gentlemen in capes and plumed hats hold flags.A band was playing on a float even before the parade started.Kermit the Frog is proud to be green!Big American Flag is ready on Sixth Avenue.Another half hour until things really get rolling.Clown’s tie indicates Irish For a Day.Green-antlered hood ornament.Even dogs are wearing the green.San Diego Elks Lodge No. 168 and lots of shamrocks.A funny little wooden vehicle in line to start the parade.Lincoln High School band members in green.St. Patrick’s Day Parade in San Diego is a wonderful tradition.
This morning around seven I walked over to the grassy park just south of the USS Midway Museum. I wanted to see The Wall That Heals.
A half-scale traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the black wall is inscribed with over 58,000 names. Each name belongs to a serviceman who made the ultimate sacrifice during that war.
I’m sure the weekend crowds will be huge, but early on a Friday morning very few people were about.
The Wall That Heals and several thought-provoking displays that accompany it will remain in San Diego through Sunday.
If all of the names could be in one place…Helmet and boots from Vietnam War era.Friends of the Forgotten, remembering those who sacrificed.The Gold Star Bike on public display.Welcome to The Wall That Heals.Flowers and the names of over 58,000 who gave their lives.
UPDATE…
I took the following photos Sunday afternoon around one o’clock.
Half-size replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial in San Diego.People read names inscribed on The Wall That Heals.
Whenever I walk past the Sixth Avenue playground, located among pine trees in the northwest corner of Balboa Park, I wish I were a child again. To romp, climb and swing through this crazy colorful jumble would be a ton of fun!
The fun, whimsical Sixth Avenue playground.Morning view of what is probably just an ordinary playground, but I still like it!
Ancient Egypt and its symbols inspire much of the vibrant mural.
Folks heading up Park Boulevard beside Balboa Park often turn their heads as they pass the amazing, enormous mural painted on the side of the WorldBeat Cultural Center.
The WorldBeat Cultural Center, based in a former water tower, is a multi-cultural arts organization that promotes and preserves the African and indigenous cultures of the world through music, art, dance, education and technology. The center is also used as a venue for concerts and other special events.
Last Saturday I walked around the structure and took some pics of the huge, colorful mural. It completely spans the outside wall of the cylindrical building.
Front entrance of the WorldBeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park.The WorldBeat Cultural Center is based in an old water tower.A variety of bold faces gaze in every direction from the mural.Fantastic images catch the eye of people passing on Park Boulevard.Egyptian figures painted on the north side of the WorldBeat Cultural Center.The back door looks like a magical entrance to another realm.Exotic falcon with spread wings.Diverse cultures from around the world are celebrated.Image in mural similar to the Mask of Tutankhamun.
UPDATE!
After posting these photographs, I did some research and learned a little more about this amazing mural that celebrates Egyptian, African, and Indigenous cultures.
Nearly all of the artwork was created by Mike Watson, otherwise known as AIR MIKE. He was the original artist at World Beat’s first location on Hancock Street, before moving to the repurposed water tower in Balboa Park under the leadership of Makeda Cheatom.
I also learned the King Tut artwork was contributed by muralist Mario Torero and a group of students.
Here are more pics I took with a different, better camera in early 2021…
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