Autumn arrived about a week ago. You can see signs of it throughout Balboa Park.
As I walked around the park today, I aimed my camera here and there taking fun seasonal photographs.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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Yesterday, before heading to Escondido where I enjoyed watching the magical Zoppè Family Circus, I walked in the gray morning mist along the coast. I started in Encinitas and headed north up Coast Highway 101 through Leucadia, where I photographed many murals and other fun stuff. Finally I reached my destination: Ponto State Beach and the entrance to Batiquitos Lagoon.
I walked to the end of the two rock jetties that stretch a short distance into the Pacific Ocean on either side of the lagoon’s channel.
Some surfers were out, and a few people strolled slowly across the beach. Incoming surf splashed up near where I stood. Gulls wheeled in the overcast sky.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Today I was wowed by amazing, dazzling, stupefying performances at the most magical circus in the world!
I know for a fact that I experienced the most powerful magic. I saw it, heard it, smelled it, got goosebumps. I felt magic in my sudden laughter and in my soaring heart. I saw magic in the joyful smiles of each circus performer.
The Zoppé Family Circus is performing this weekend at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. They are a circus whose history goes back to 1842, when, according to their website:
“. . . a young French street performer named Napoline Zoppé wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, looking for work. There, his eyes glanced upon a beautiful equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda, who captured the hearts and minds of the crowd with her grace and showmanship. More important, this talented beauty captured Napoline’s heart.
Unfortunately, Napoline was a clown, and Ermenegilda’s father saw him as beneath her and disapproved of their relationship. The two ran away to Venice, Italy, and founded the circus that still bears their name . . .”
Today, the Zoppé Family Circus is filling our world with the time-tested magic of an Old World traditional circus. As Giovanni Zoppé explained when he welcomed the audience to the show, an authentic circus is all about family, tradition and struggle, and happiness and heartbreak.
I could see that the performers are also motivated by passion and a very deep love for what they do.
I spoke to Giovanni briefly, and he was such a nice person. I mean really nice.
After I got home, I did some reading and learned: “Giovanni Zoppé, the director of the circus and a sixth-generation performer, says the show aims higher than what passes for circuses these days. ‘We try to touch every emotion during the show,’ he says. ‘They’ll laugh, they’ll cry, and they’ll feel for the characters. It’s more of an event than a show.’
His performance as Nino the clown was hilarious, winning and utterly human. It was perfect. It was masterful.
The entire spectacle was fantastic.
Under the big top, in the spotlight at the center of the ring, the magic of the Zoppé Family Circus never ceased. There was magic in the acrobats, trapeze act, jugglers and tightwire act. There was magic in the trick horse riding and the lady who shot an arrow with perfect accuracy using her feet while doing a handstand. There was magic in the mustachioed fellow who flew through the air absurdly with a rope tied to his hair. He spun like a top, circled high above the ring, soared like a bird. There was magic in the glittering costumes, and the smell of sawdust and buttery popcorn, and the excited chatter and laughter of children. There was magic when Nino couldn’t find his hat, then couldn’t reach it when it dangled from the top of a broomstick that he held.
There was magic in every single moment.
My camera failed to take good photos in the subdued light under the big top. But I got some photos in front of the tent during a humorous pre-show performance.
In my photos you can see a little bit of that magic. And much of the humanity.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Look what I discovered today!
While driving down Qualcomm Way, I noticed a couple of new signs by the San Diego River indicating that “The San Diego River Discovery Center at Grant Park” is coming to Mission Valley!
The San Diego River Discovery Center at Grant Park is a project of the San Diego River Park Foundation. The following is an overview taken from their website:
“Imagine a place that provides hands-on science based nature education and experiences to 25,000 kids each year! For many of these kids, it will be their very first experience!
Imagine a place which celebrates the San Diego River as an important ecological resource and inspires the next generation of River and nature stewards.
In May 2009, this vision of a new place where people could enjoy and connect with the San Diego River took a major step forward when the San Diego River Park Foundation signed a donation agreement with a remarkable family, the Grants. This longstanding San Diegan family decided to donate their 17-acre river-fronting property to benefit the community of Mission Valley and San Diego in general.
With this inspiring action, the San Diego River Discovery Center at Grant Park was born.
This 17-acre site is in the heart of Mission Valley. Prominently located at the northeast corner of Qualcomm Way and Camino del Rio North, the site is easily accessible by foot, bicycle, trolley, bus and automobile.
Grant Park is being designed to serve as a nature-based park, learning center and a gateway to exploring our San Diego River.”
All the legal hurdles to begin grading have been cleared–now the San Diego River Park Foundation just needs to raise some additional funds.
After work I walked around the general area where the park and nature center will be built and took photos.
To learn how you can make a donation, click here!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I was walking along the Embarcadero this evening after dark when I heard some music in the “Lighthouse District” of Seaport Village. I headed over to see what was going on.
To my delight, I discovered a serious attempt is being made to revitalize Seaport Village, and the concert I stumbled upon is part of this effort. The weekly event is called Seaport Sessions.
Important speakers from around San Diego provide presentations about art, culture, history and other fascinating subjects every Thursday evening, followed by drinks and live music at the East Plaza Gazebo. (Next Thursday Adam Smith, Executive Director of the Comic-Con Museum will be the speaker!)
Learn more at the Seaport Sessions page here.
I also observed that Seaport Village now offers a podcast studio for rent, and I stepped inside for a moment and took the following photo.
I asked a few questions of a nice lady, and she informed me that Seaport Village is working to upgrade its image and will be getting new tenants. From what I could gather, the long term plan to redevelop Seaport Village into a completely different, greatly enlarged Seaport San Diego is apparently in flux and any groundbreaking is still many years away.
I have special childhood memories of Seaport Village, so it has pained me to watch its gradual decline in recent years. But now things appear to be on the upswing!
I hope so!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The Balboa Park Activity Center is a popular destination for San Diego residents who enjoy indoor sports. During a walk last weekend I poked my nose inside to see if anything interesting was going on. What I discovered was a whole lot of art!
A variety of beautiful artwork can be observed both inside and outside the Activity Center. Four years ago I posted photographs of the outdoor installation titled The Circle and the Self: A Picture Story, which is located in the south plaza. To see those photos, click here.
The photos I’m posting today are of the artwork inside the building.
Detailed information from the artist is displayed near the Activity Center’s front door:
Joyce Cutler-Shaw
In 1996, I was invited to be part of the design team for the Balboa Park Activity Center with architects Rob Wellington Quigley, Richard Blackman, landscape architect Martin Poirier and artist Raul Guerrero. It was a most rewarding collaboration. In April 1999, I completed five installations of my work, which are integral to the building. There are twenty-five drawings in terrazzo squares (@ 16″ x 16″), titled The Circle and the Self: A Picture Story in the south plaza (1); leaf “paintings” with shadows etched into the double glass panes of the sliding front doors (2); two terrazzo floor “paintings” in the entrance lobby at the reception desk and window wall (3′ x 20′ and 5′ x 11′) of, respectively, 26 colors and 68 color/chip combinations (3); and seventy-two metal plates at the corner connections of the gymnasium – these are another translation, by flame-cut drawing in steel, of The Circle and the Self: A Picture Story (4).
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There’s some very cool public art in Middletown that almost nobody sees. You can find it at the intersection of Kettner Boulevard and West Palm Street, just east of the San Diego Trolley’s Middletown Station. A mosaic welcomes people to the ramp that ascends to the pedestrian bridge that crosses over Interstate 5.
Very few people use this pedestrian bridge. They are the only ones who are likely to see this public art. Drivers coming down Kettner might glimpse something, but it requires a good turn of the head at exactly the right moment. The artwork is on a wall tucked in a corner.
I don’t know who created this colorful mosaic. Some names are written on it. The mosaic is composed of tiles, stones, sculpted clay, beads, bits of glass. There are images of surfers, skateboarders, butterflies, flowers… There are wise sayings. It appears to be a community project. I’ve searched the internet but find nothing.
If you know more about this fantastic but mysterious public artwork, please leave a comment!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
When I walk about the city, I’m confronted by countless mysteries. Clues to untold human stories are scattered everywhere.
The red flower plucked apart on the bench of a trolley station. Is it evidence of heartbreak?
A flow chart depicting a circular life. Despair?
The scribbled words in a hidden place. Hope for the future?
Look at these photographs and wonder.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I’m an amateur photographer. When I see an exhibition of photography by experts who actually know what they’re doing, I’m filled with wonder and a little bit of jealousy.
This evening I was walking through downtown, heading for my home atop Cortez Hill, when I saw a cool collection of photographs inside the front room gallery of Safelight Labs. About every month the exhibition in Safelight Labs changes, giving local photographers who use film a chance to showcase their work and perhaps sell a few pieces.
If you’re into photography, make sure to check out Safelight Labs, which is described as a community darkroom space.
Rob Cowan, the owner, is super knowledgeable and friendly. By offering workshops, classes, and an onsite studio and darkroom, he helps others to pursue their passion for photography!
The current gallery exhibition “One by Three: A Wide View of San Diego” is by photographer Carlos Lopez Medrano. He has taken many fantastic photos all around our beautiful city!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
On Sunday I walked the length of Solana Beach’s Coastal Rail Trail, which runs along the east side of Highway 101.
I was delighted to observe all sorts of colorful public art, beautiful flowers and trees, and even some unexpected poetry!
My walk was from south to north: from Via de la Valle up to a spot just beyond Ocean Street, where the trail through Solana Beach ends.
The pathway is extremely easy and flat. I saw many families riding bikes along it, and walkers and joggers, too.
Come along with me and read the photo captions.
You can see more public art by Betsy Schulz by clicking here and here.
You can learn more about this very cool mural by clicking here.
You can learn more about these eleven benches and see up close images of the sea life tiles by clicking here.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
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