This weekend, August 16th and 17th, 2025, the Zoro Garden Theater Festival will be held in San Diego. The unique venue is the “sunken stone grotto” Zoro Garden in Balboa Park!
I thought I’d bring attention to this free, family-friendly festival. It’s certain to be a lot of fun!
As the above sign explains, the Zoro Garden Theater Festival will be a celebration of drama, comedy and creativity. The performances will be between 2 and 5 pm, and will include singing, dancing, music and buskers!
If you’d like to be involved, enlarge my photo and find an email address and phone number.
Will I see you there?
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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.
Today, Sunday, when I saw a smiling somebody walking down MLK Promenade with a Killer Tomatoes sign, I quickly found out I had met the movie star herself!
I had seen Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligencefilming in early June by the USS Midway, but Samantha informed me she hasn’t performed her role in San Diego. Her work for the movie was done in Long Beach.
Samantha is the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. For sure she’ll be a superstar!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
What happens when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds beams into San Diego for Comic-Con 2025? A Strange New Spectacle!
Dancers representing characters from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have appeared this Saturday on the streets of San Diego, performing in an unusual but entertaining Broadway-like production!
Who knew the 23rd century would be so much fun!
Captain Christopher Pike, Spock, Uhura, and the happy crew of the starship Enterprise danced before a large crowd in the Gaslamp Quarter, loosely reenacting scenes from the science fiction series. Boldly they went where no one has gone before: a noir murder mystery (complete with trench coats), a sudden zombie situation, a ’60s retro mission, a Vulcan wedding, and plenty of sci-fi mayhem that the crowd loved.
Yes, it was a little bit silly, but everyone loved it. Lots of kids were in the audience. A few even danced along with the futuristic acting troupe!
Wouldn’t dancing in San Diego in the 21st century violate Starfleet’s Prime Directive?
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
San Diego Comic-Con in 2025 is just as fun and amazing as ever. Everywhere you go, unbounded creativity. That’s probably what I love most about it.
Human creativity absolutely blooms at Comic-Con. Cosplayers imagine what they can be and become it. Actors play roles that can be utterly crazy. Visitors easily step into fantastic, imaginary worlds. Artists imagine what might be and make it real, right before our eyes.
Walk around downtown San Diego during Comic-Con and expect the unexpected!
I really get excited when I encounter artists who are striving to make their mark in the world. They put their art out there fearlessly. And the cool thing is, everyone loves it.
Local San Diego anime and digital artist Phil produces Umbridled Ambition!
Check out his cool comic by clicking here! Check out his Instagram here!
Manga and anime artist Thomas Fates is a Sketchin Hero! His goal is to have a career as an artist, to create and tell stories full time to give people something to look forward to!
You can meet Erik Betts, a Hollywood legend, in San Diego this weekend!
Erik, a self-taught gymnast and martial artist, has acted and performed stunts in so many movies and television shows that it would take forever to list them all.
He’ll be hanging out at Black Comix Day in Balboa Park, inside the WorldBeat Cultural Center, signing collectibles, comics, posters, action figures, t-shirts and more on Sunday, February 16, 2025, from 10 am to 6 pm.
You’ve almost certainly seen Erik (without possibly knowing it) all over entertainment. He was the Red Power Ranger! He has acted, been a crew member and performed amazing stunts in countless Hollywood movies, including Avatar, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible III, and Ant-Man. He has worked in dozens of television shows, such as Westworld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, CSI: Miami, even the Young and the Restless, and many, many more! He has also contributed to video games!
Here’s his IMDb page with all of his credits and a full biography. Here’s his Instagram page.
Want to know the coolest thing about Erik? His huge smile and infectious enthusiasm. I was so excited just meeting him, absorbing his incredible energy. At Erik’s table you can watch a video of him creating jaw-dropping action in many of Hollywood’s most popular movies!
Make sure to swing by Black Comix Day on Sunday, February 16, 2025. It’s absolutely overflowing with talented creators–writers, artists, animators, publishers… Here’s the event website!
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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.
This wonderful Air Mail mural inside Oceanside’s historic post office was painted in 1937 during the New Deal. The public art was commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts. It was painted by Elise Seeds.
Many might not realize it, but the artist, Elise Seeds, was also a Hollywood actress!
As the Living New Deal website explains: Elise Seeds, also known as Alyse Cavanna, was a film actress, dancer, comedienne, and vegetarian as well as a painter. She was a well known artist back in the day. Here’s her bio on the askART website.
Elise Cavanna (her acting name) was W.C. Fields’ comic partner in the Ziegfield Follies. She’s mostly remembered for her role as a patient in the 1932 W.C. Fields slapstick comedy The Dentist. This website explains: As Fields attempts to pull her tooth, she recoils in pain and wraps her legs around Fields, getting her feet stuck in his pockets as he pulls her around the room. You can watch the movie on YouTube here. She appears around the 12 minute mark in a hilarious but ultimately suggestive scene that ended up being censored.
Elise Seeds led a full life and pursued many eclectic interests. She was certainly a genius. Simply take a look at her amazing Oceanside mural!
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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.
San Diego’s world-famous Old Globe performed Shakespeare’s play As You Like It today at downtown’s Central Library! It was just one stop during the 2024 Globe for All Tour, which brings fine theatrical performances to various economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities throughout San Diego County, and even south of the border in Tijuana, Mexico.
I went to the free show, not knowing what it might be like, and WOW–what absolute fun!
The crazy, mixed-up play about rivalry, misunderstandings and triumphant love was full of physical comedy and outrageous action! The story included occasional audience participation (including holding up butterflies that we made), surprising and funny pop culture references, and even some spoken lines in Spanish. We in the audience were laughing much of the time. I loved the hilarious WWE-style wrestling match between the brothers Oliver and Orlando!
The experience was even more awesome because the professional acting, taking place in the library’s Shiley Special Events Suite, could be experienced up close and personal–just a few feet from the chairs where we sat. When the actors went “offstage” to corners of the room we could watch them, even as they changed costume.
After the conclusion of As You Like It, the audience was invited to make comments and ask questions of the cast.
Actress Emma Svitil (smiling in my first and final photo) played Phoebe. She explained that Shakespeare is loved to this day because his works tap into universal truths about humanity. He addresses love, friendship, the struggle for power, etc. His plays can be easily adapted to the times we live in. The Bard’s ingenious wordplay is amusing, too!
Everyone should take advantage of the free Globe for All Tour. Young people (and certain adults like myself) might not comprehend every word of Shakespeare’s centuries-old language, but the super expressive acting speaks for itself!
To see if there are upcoming performances of As You Like It in your community, click here.
Photography is prohibited during the performance, so I took these beforehand. The pics are of some actors and props. (As you can see, the Central Library’s ninth floor special events suite has amazing views of downtown San Diego!)
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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.
About a thousand years ago, Viking explorer Leif Erikson was the first European to set foot on continental America. He established a Norse settlement in a place he called Vinland. Today he arrived in San Diego, California!
Leif greeted an enthusiastic crowd in Balboa Park. He extended a greeting and read an ancient Norse poem. Then he adjusted his beard, pocketed his phone and smiled for photographs!
Yes, this particular Leif Erikson was an impersonation. Jordan Jacobo, a personality on KPBS, did the honors!
As you might have guessed, the House of Norway hosted their cultural lawn program today in Balboa Park. In addition to meeting Leif, families could gobble authentic Norwegian waffles and Polse i lompe (hot dog in a lompe–I had mine with shrimp, sour cream, mayo, dill and lemon juice) and wash it down with Saft (blueberry juice).
Kids were running wild, enjoying axe throwing, fish toss and other lively competitions. They posed with a Viking longship and could have their names written in runes. At several tables adults could learn about Norse crafts, including rosemaling (decorative folk painting), smøyg (pattern darning), wood carving, Hardanger embroidery and knitting. There was accordion music, too!
A living history encampment showed how life might have been in Norway during the age of the Vikings. I will be blogging about that coming up!
Enjoy some photographs!
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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.
Thirteen-year-old Ukrainian filmmaker Marusya Shuvalova spoke today at the 20th San Diego International Children’s Film Festival. The event was held in the Neil Morgan Auditorium at San Diego’s downtown Central Library.
Shuvalova’s two films, Me. My Eleven Years. War. and What’s Going On With Us? were among the outstanding selections featured in 2024. Both films document her young life in Kyiv, Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
Please watch the short Me. My Eleven Years. War. on YouTube by clicking here. There are English subtitles.
You will see how Marusya’s life as an ordinary eleven-year-old girl was disrupted by the war–how she had to forgo loved activities, learn remotely, listen constantly to loud sirens, take shelter, and live with fear of an unknown future, and a constant fear for her family’s safety. Her ambitions to be a young actress and film director had to be largely put on hold.
But now she has visited Los Angeles and San Diego for their respective International Children’s Film Festivals and hopefully her future is becoming brighter. Even with her limited knowledge of English, and emotions that you and I might hardly understand, she spoke before the audience in San Diego with perfect professionalism and poise. She is truly inspirational.
Learn more about Marusya Shuvalova by clicking here.
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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.
The annual Fringe Festival returns this week to San Diego!
For a stretch of 11 days, unusual, innovative, sometimes bizarre performances by relative unknowns will be enjoyed at venues in Balboa Park and across San Diego!
Bad Behavior. Messes Solo Circus. I Need a Beer. Puppet Bash. Kid Goblin. Taptastic. Spiked Punch. Pirates of Hamlet. These are some of the numerous theatrical acts that you’ll be able to enjoy with the purchase of affordable tickets. Proceeds go entirely to the artists!
The two main venues for the Fringe Festival in 2024 are the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater and the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. Tickets can be purchased outside each show or online.
I’ve randomly bought tickets to several shows in the past, not knowing what to expect. I noted the actors are all striving hard to achieve success. The performances can be a bit unpolished or crazy or unconventional, but they’re super creative and fun!
To see the full lineup and schedule, and detailed information about this wonderful festival, click here!
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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 San Diego Sights! 