A beautiful Christmas tree sparkles in their gift shop, and the elegant passenger deck of historic steam ferry Berkeley appears even more amazing than usual. The handsome wooden benches bathed with the light from art glass windows now look upon green wreaths, red ribbons, and Christmas trees large and small!
And I’m told much more holiday decoration is coming!
I know the museum’s Pilot boat is being strung with lights for the 55th annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, and a small Christmas tree will soon be hoisted to the top of Star of India’s mainmast!
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John Lennon in Pacific Beach has been joined by a new friend!
The cool John Lennon mural decorating the west side of 365 Reloaded Smoke Shop has expanded. A beautiful face has been spray painted next to John. I noticed this for the first time while walking down Garnet Avenue a few days ago.
I’ve tried to verify who painted the new artwork and exactly when, and who in particular the female face might represent. So far, no success. If you know anything, please leave a comment.
I considered the face might belong to a young Yoko Ono, but the resemblance doesn’t seem great, based on historical photos I’ve examined. What do you think?
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My friends in Balboa Park’s Senior Lounge told me the AgeWell Services Holiday Dance was taking place this afternoon, so I had to poke my nose into the Balboa Park Club building to see what might be going on. What did I find? All sorts of fun holiday sights!
Folks were enjoying a break between dances when I arrived, so I just wandered about the big ballroom.
I spied Santa, Frosty, the Grinch, silly elf Minions, very beautiful Christmas trees, and a sparkling variety of colorful holiday decorations! Happy people, too!
Look what I found!
A smiling, dancing Christmas tree!
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Last month a large shipping container was painted by community members in Pacific Beach. The container stands behind the old, long-vacant Pacific Beach Library, on the southeast corner of the Pacific Beach Middle School campus.
Why was this Community Paint Day held? Because the old library is being converted by the organization Beautiful PB into the PB Arts Center!
According to their website, the PB Arts Center will be a multipurpose venue, a vibrant hub connecting Pacific Beach residents, surrounding neighborhoods and visitors to art and to each other… Collaborative funding will allow for affordable art classes, performances, festivals and cultural activities to inspire creativity in an arts-underserved area.
Very cool project!
The lead artist for the shipping container mural was Hilary Dufour. Based in San Diego, she creates beautiful art that is inspired by nature.
A couple days ago I spotted the new public art during a walk through Pacific Beach. I took photos of the colorful shipping container through a fence…
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The Courthouse Gallery in downtown San Diego has a second exhibition. It’s titled: San Diego Pastoral – From the Desert through the Mountains to the Sea.
From the sidewalk, anyone walking down Broadway near Front Street can gaze into the large windows of the Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and view juried artwork by local artists. The pieces celebrate the natural beauty and biodiversity of the Southern District of California, which covers San Diego and Imperial Counties.
The displayed art is primarily beautiful paintings. Beaches to canyons to foothills to mountains to the desert beyond them, the depicted region is immense. These varied landscapes support what is said to be the greatest biodiversity in the United States.
I blogged about the very first exhibition of the new Courthouse Gallery earlier this year here. This second exhibition runs October 6, 2025 to February 2, 2026.
Yesterday I took a few photos at an angle through the windows to avoid reflections from the street…
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There’s a very cool holiday tradition at the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach. Every year, a Christmas tree and wreaths appear at the pier’s end!
This year the festive scene, hovering magically over the blue Pacific Ocean, is just as wonderful as ever. The big Christmas tree lights up at night, and creatively made wreaths hanging along the pier’s white wooden railing celebrate the season, courtesy of Pacific Beach businesses and community organizations.
I walked down Garnet Avenue today and couldn’t resist a stroll out over the water. Starting from the Crystal Pier Bait Shack, this is what I found…
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Above the clouds–above confused mists and storms–life is clear, bright and essentially good.
There’s a place in Escondido where you can rise above confining clouds, and even sit on them!
Dave Eassa: Head Above the Clouds is an immersive exhibition now showing at the California Center for the Arts Museum. Stepping into the gallery full of bright art is to launch yourself into sunny heights where memory, love, hopes and happiness are unbounded.
Colorful paintings brimming with joyful everyday life and wonder fill every horizon. Four sails suspended in the atmosphere soar with dreams created by young hands.
Here’s the exhibition’s webpage. It explains how artist Dave Eassa created a dreamscape shaped by memory, love, and imagination. Drawing from personal and familial archives, Eassa transforms the gallery into a space for reflection and connection, where life-sized portraits become monuments, clouds anchor the ground, and suspended sails carry the dreams of youth and community voices.
Dave Eassa is a San Diego-based visual artist, curator, and cultural organizer. Here’s his website. He is the Director of Philanthropy and Engagement at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla.
I learned that Dave Eassa himself helped children visiting the museum to create the art on the sails. The names of the young artists are even listed on one wall as visitors step into the gallery.
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I walked around Balboa Park this afternoon and into the early evening. There were so many colorful sights to be seen in San Diego’s big holiday festival…
First up, a couple of Santa’s helpers with Save Starlight smiled for my camera. If you’d like to help this worthy organization revive the historic Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park, please check out their website here.
I was completely surprised to find a honest-to-goodness live reindeer! His name is Murphy. He’s visiting San Diego from Wild Things/Conservation Ambassadors.
Checking out Spanish Village Art Center during December Nights…
This beautiful little Christmas tree was created by artist Helen Munroe, who works out of Studio 34B and 25 in Spanish Village.
Okay, what was going on in the Plaza de Panama?
What was going on at the International Cottages?
I swung by the Spreckels Organ Pavilion when the Peninsula Singers were performing on the stage by the big Christmas tree…
Folks were checking out the Community Christmas Center nativity scenes…
I bought a soda at the Gingerbread House.
Entry to the San Diego Natural History Center was free, so I had to check it out. There’s a dinosaur Santa!
And a Homo sapiens Santa (and friends) by the elevator!
View of Plaza de Balboa and Bea Evenson Fountain from the museum rooftop. December Nights is just getting underway…
Now I checked out the Festival of Trees in the Casa del Prado. The theme for 2025 is Rooted in Wonder!
This cool gentleman is with San Diego Civic Dance Arts. Youth would perform on the nearby stage later in the evening.
Inside the Municipal Gymnasium, families were lined up to greet Santa Claus at the North Pole!
Dozens of food vendors filled the Palisades parking lot!
Superheroes greet visitors to the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park during December Nights!
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This holiday season, if you have a chance, head into Balboa Park’s Botanical Building. You’ll discover 675 poinsettias! That’s what I was told by a representative of Forever Balboa Park!
There are poinsettia displays at the center of the Botanical Building, beside the fountains at either end, along windows, and here and there planted in the surrounding lush greenery.
All that holiday color is a sight to behold!
Enjoy these photographs which were taken during the first day of December Nights…
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The pieces in the gallery were all made with lathes by members of the San Diego Woodturners. You might have seen these artisans demonstrating their craft in the Design in Wood exhibit at the San Diego County Fair. (They’re the folks who create all those tops and wooden pens.)
One of the artists, Hal Gorss, was kind enough today to explain how many of these gorgeous artworks were made. A great deal of effort and skill is required.
The objects include bowls, vases, utensils, trays, decorative art and more. They’re on sale, just in time for Christmas gift giving. So why not head into Gallery 21 during December Nights and check it out!
One other thing–these good people support Turn Around for Vets, which teaches wood turning to active duty service members and veterans at the Naval Medical Center (NMC) San Diego, the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Pendleton and the Veterans Affairs Aspire Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program in San Diego.
Awesome!
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