Comic book creators gather for Black Comix Day!

This weekend Black Comix Day 2024 was held in San Diego!

Comic book artists and writers of African decent gathered in Balboa Park at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. They greeted fans and sold their work during a very cool Black History Month event!

So many creators arrived from Southern California and across the United States that the WorldBeat Center was packed wall to wall, with exhibitor tables spilling outside onto the patio. I was amazed at the size of this event, and excited by the unbounded creativity.

Black Comix Day is organized by local artist Keithan Jones, the writer and artist behind KID Comics. His philosophy is the Kid In you never Dies. He conceived of The Power Knights when he was himself a kid, and has gone on to publish mind-blowing professional art.

Yesterday I walked past the exhibitor tables and spoke to many of the comic book and graphic novel creators. You can see the positive energy and enthusiasm simply from my photos!

Check it out!

Poster for Black Comix Day at front door of the WorldBeat Center in San Diego.

Marcus D. Newsome is a comic book artist, animator, illustrator and creator of Lightning Strike. Check out his website here.

Eugene Randolph Young is an artist, illustrator, graphic designer and educator. He is inspired by indigenous lore, cyberpunk and Afrofuturism. He’s fascinated by artificial intelligence, too! Check out his website here.

Some cool comic artwork by Eugene Randolph Young!

The Surge Series is full of great Afrofuturistic cyberpunk artwork by Mike Haynes-Pitts. Check out his Instagram here.

JSPR BLVK Entertainment’s table at Black Comix Day. Lil Red is a cool coloring book for kids that teaches safety! The website is http://www.jsprblvk.com

Jamaal A. Harley is the writer/creator of Royal Oak Comics. Check out his website here!

Cool artwork displayed at the Royal Oak Comics table.

A look inside the colorful WorldBeat Center during Black Comix Day 2024.

Andre Owens is a creator/writer who produced Force Galaxia–Cosmic Tales of Adventure! See his Hiro Unlimited website here.

Andre Owens told me that creating The Bovine League has been a lot of fun. Super-powered cows from Switzerland, The Bovine League, must go on a global quest to find the stolen Cosmic Udder and the Four Teats of Matter.

KolaNut Productions has produced all sorts of cool content, including animation, that is filled with African magic, ancient folklore, and the NeoAfrican Universe. Check out their website here.

Cool artwork everywhere you turn at Black Comix Day 2024!

These three friends are bursting with smiles and creativity. They represent Thingamajig Studios! I love their groovy artwork. Check out their website here!

UjuBeam displayed by creator Jared Lipscomb. amateur entomologist and founder of Hud Bug Comics. Super-powered insects! Check out his website here!

The awesome smile of an artist creating her first comic book! I learned of her page on Facebook: mind of madness art, but could not find it! I wish I had asked more questions! (If anyone has more info, leave a comment!)

Fun artwork at Black Comix Day 2024.

David Phillips is the creator of Agents of S.O.U.L. As a kid, David was inspired by his Mom! Why don’t you draw some superheroes that look like you? Check out his website here!

In Agents of S.O.U.L, non-super-powered heroes battle super-powered villains! Technology and science provide Black and Brown empowerment.

Jason Reeves of 133art has produced many comic book titles full of Black heroes. There are comics for both kids and adults! Check out the website here!

Keithan Jones works on commissioned artwork during Black Comix Day 2024.

Creativity unites lovers of life and art.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

JOURNEYworm takes form at San Diego High School!

The JOURNEYworm appears to be taking form along Park Boulevard in front of San Diego High School. I saw it today during my walk from Balboa Park to downtown!

This temporary art installation will be one segment of the completed 1.7 mile long Bay to Park Paseo, a special corridor that is being created to celebrate the designation of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024. Here’s a page that describes the Bay to Park Paseo.

The JOURNEYworm is described as an arc-shaped sculpture, assembled from screens and wires, to evoke the shapes of our region–ocean waves, desert canyons, and gabled roofs…At night, JOURNEYworm will come alive…it will change colors and blast pulses of light in response to ambient sounds and music played by passersby…

I noticed many transparent fabrics moving in the wind among the eucalyptus trees. Curling together, with clouds and blue sky behind, they can create some very beautiful effects, as you can see!

I can’t really envision how the JOURNEYworm will finally appear. I intend to take more photos as the worm turns and develops!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

The annual Small Image Show in Balboa Park.

If you love great art, and you’ve never experienced the annual Small Image Show in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center, you’re missing out!

In 2024 this popular event is celebrating its 48th anniversary. Small works of art by about a hundred artists from all around San Diego County fill the walls of Gallery 21. You’ll find juried paintings, sculptures, and works in other media. The pieces are so small that dozens cover almost every wall, competing for your attention. There are many bold colors and beautifully detailed images. A few tiny pieces appeared to have been created using a magnifying glass!

When I visited today, a couple of very friendly artists were greeting everyone who entered the gallery. They are happy to answer any questions.

The exhibition is free, the art is for sale, and Gallery 21 is open 11 am to 4 pm every day. The 48th Annual Small Image Show continues through February 25.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Learning to folk dance in San Diego!

Spirited people were learning how to folk dance this afternoon in San Diego’s historic Balboa Park Club building!

During today’s Dance Festival, which was sponsored by the San Diego Park and Recreation Department and the International Dance Association, folk dancing lessons were provided for beginners. The spacious ballroom was filled with joyful music representing diverse cultures. Several friendly teachers were on hand.

I watched for a bit as participants learned fun new steps in the ballroom.

As you can see from my photos, the dancing sculpture at the center of the grand foyer of the Balboa Park Club had been decorated for the event. Next door, in the Santa Fe Room, international crafts were for sale by a variety of smiling vendors. Some puppets were also visiting from the nearby Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater!

Would you like to learn how to folk dance? Or ballroom dance? Go to the website of the International Dance Association of San Diego County by clicking here, then check out their information and future events!

“Laughter, song, and dance create emotional and spiritual connection; they remind us of the one thing that truly matters when we are searching for comfort, celebration, inspiration, or healing: We are not alone.”

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

A visit to the Oceanside Historical Society.

Walk along the north side of the Oceanside Civic Center and you might spy the door of the Oceanside Historical Society. The unobtrusive glass door is a portal to Oceanside’s past!

Inside Oceanside’s small history center you’ll find dozens of old photographs on several walls. A glass display case contains historical artifacts. One corner of the room is occupied by a model of Oceanside’s famous Top Gun House. Just inside the front door, stairs wind upward and end mysteriously at a wall.

The space occupied by the history center was originally the home of Oceanside’s police department. Those stairs that end in a wall once climbed to a jail on the second floor. Where the jail was located is now part of Fire Station 1, which occupies the same building. The building was designed by famed architect Irving Gill, who apparently didn’t take into account that drunks and belligerents headed for jail would be ascending those steep, winding stairs! And there was a skylight in the jail, too, very convenient for escape!

During my visit earlier this week, I learned the nearby Oceanside Museum of Art will be expanding into both the fire station and history center, and the latter two will be relocated to Civic Center Drive.

Kristi Hawthorne, Director of the Oceanside Historical Society, also told me a little about the police and firefighter artifacts in the display case, including material confiscated from bootleggers during Prohibition. She maintains a great blog called Histories and Mysteries, where you’ll discover all sort of fascinating photos and little known stories from Oceanside’s history.

She explained that the society maintains a huge archive of historical photographs, and is presently digitizing tens of thousands of documents.

I also learned the Oceanside Historical Society leads downtown history walks!

The free walks are held the second Saturday of each month, April through September. If you’d like to participate, check out this web page. (You can also download a guide for a self-guided tour.)

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Cool photo memories from February 2019.

A new month! Time to revisit a few blog posts from five years ago!

Back in February 2019–which feels like yesterday–I posted hundreds of fun photos on Cool San Diego Sights.

For one, there was that unusual truck you see above. And there was much more unique art, from Del Mar to Pacific Beach, Hillcrest to downtown. And beautiful vistas from atop Mount Soledad. Not to mention cool events in Balboa Park, and at what would become the future Comic-Con Museum!

For your enjoyment, I’ve selected a few of my blog posts from five years ago.

Click the following links for lots of colorful photos…

An amazing Sunset Seat on the cliffs of Del Mar.

Photos of elevated trolley line construction.

Utopian and dystopian Futures Past and Present.

Festivals, fun and blossoms in Balboa Park!

Fun art outside The New Children’s Museum!

Donald Duck comes to life at Comic-Con Museum!

Ceramic faces express humanity and heart.

A vibrant Color Story at San Diego History Center.

Amazing vistas atop Mount Soledad.

That big bronze pelican in Pacific Beach!

Star Wars at future Comic-Con Museum!

Three cool murals in Hillcrest by Fizix!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Sunrise paints the sky above downtown.

This morning, as the sun broke above the horizon somewhere east of downtown San Diego, sunrise colors painted the sky and reflected from building windows along Broadway. It was stunning.

I stood in the median of Broadway at Kettner Boulevard and aimed my camera at the risen beauty. A few minutes later, the fiery colors would fade.

Late tonight another big storm rolls into San Diego. More flooding is expected. Hopefully everyone stays safe!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

More positive murals by students in Escondido!

When I returned to Washington Park in Escondido yesterday, I noticed that four more positive murals have been painted by local students on two of the community center buildings. Click here to see the murals I found during my walk through Washington Park last spring.

Here’s a great article that concerns these four new murals. They were painted later in 2023 by Del Lago Academy students in teacher Sudi Memarzadeh’s class.

I like how, in the first two photos, young human figures are together covering over hurtful words. Goodbye loner, poor, hate and ugly. Hello bright, positive colors!

The next mural honors Mahsa Amini and the women’s freedom movement in Iran…

Women, Life, Freedom.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Spread kindness and love in Escondido!

Your opportunity to spread love and kindness in Escondido is coming in early February!

Love Esco is a community effort kicking off this weekend that offers a range of service projects whereby volunteers beautify and improve Escondido!

Many of the projects require no special skill and provide necessary tools. You can help a food pantry, engage in neighborhood cleanups, donate blood, bake treats for first responders, help create school gardens, provide encouragement… Click here to see all of the volunteering opportunities, then sign up!

The Love Esco Day Kick-Off Party is this Saturday, February 3, 8am-10am at Grape Day Park. You can meet World Cup Champion Shannon MacMillan and radio host Jesse Lozano. There will be giveaways, entertainment and a whole lot of inspiration!

I plan to be there!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Newly painted panel in Oceanside’s Artist Alley!

A long panel was painted for Oceanside’s outdoor Artist Alley last year. Check it out!

A variety of artists applied their creativity, filling the panel with life and color. There must have been a special 2023 event during which this panel was painted. You can see some artist signatures. Not all of the works have been completed. Leave a comment if you know more about this.

I happened to see this new artwork today during a long, meandering Oceanside walk.

After I’ve strolled through Artist Alley the past few years, I’ve posted photographs here (where you can read more about the alley) and here and here. Some of the art has changed over time.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!