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 live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Super cool! These great comic book paintings at the Comic-Con Museum were created by students from Westview High School!
Students of Westview art teacher Keith Opstad produced these speed paintings during the San Diego Comic-Con Museum’s First Annual Educator’s Night in 2024.
These really are speed paintings? Made while teachers from around San Diego watched? Wow–that’s truly amazing!
Iron Man, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Batman make a splash on a wall inside the museum’s second floor Makerspace.
I noticed that today, in the Makerspace, guests could use beads to create a starry sky and constellation, then tell a story about it! The activity is called Constellations Across the WHOniverse. Why? An epic Doctor Who exhibition is now showing at the Comic-Con Museum!
UPDATE!
During my next visit to the Comic-Con Museum, I noticed Superman had appeared, too!
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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.
Years ago, McDonald’s gave a special treat to San Diego. The fast food restaurant donated two of their McDonaldland television commercial puppets to the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park. The two puppets are now perched up near the ceiling of the puppet theater, in shadow behind the audience seating. I happened to spy them yesterday!
I learned that over ten years ago McDonald’s donated their old McDonaldland puppets to various established puppet theaters around the country. The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater received the famous, lovable Bernice, plus the horned pink creature in my first two photos. The theater affectionately calls the latter their “Pink Monster,” but little seems known about this particular puppet’s history.
Both of these McDonald’s puppets are quite worn after many years, so they now sit quietly, themselves watching puppet performances on the Marie Hitchcock stage.
Okay, here’s the mystery! Do you recognize the big “Pink Monster” puppet with horns? Was it in fact ever used in McDonald’s commercials? What was it called? If you do know anything about it, please leave a comment!
And now, meet Bernice! You quite possibly recognize her!
Bernice (performed by Tim Blaney and Tony Urbano) – A strange creature that was introduced in 1992 and that ate inedible things like the script in the three-part “Ronald McDonald Makin’ Movies” commercial.
You can find a great photograph of Bernice with Ronald McDonald on the RestaurantClicks website by clicking here!
As that website explains: The lovable Bernice appeared in TV commercials with Ronald McDonald for a decade, from 1992 to 2001… The main personality characteristic of Bernice remains her ability to eat anything. In one memorable commercial, Bernice eats the script and throws everyone into chaos.
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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.
Two professional opera singers performing Italian songs outdoors in Balboa Park? That’s what we got today during the House of Italy lawn program at the International Cottages!
We also got meatball sandwiches (which were really, really good) and spumoni!
I was surprised when I recognized one of the smiling singers: Victoria Robertson. She also performs with Opera4Kids! I’ve enjoyed two Opera4Kids productions at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in the past few years. See my photos here and here!
Today I learned something else. Both of today’s amazing opera singers, Victoria Robertson and Rosario Monetti, have opened a new coffee shop and wine bar in Hillcrest. It’s appropriately called Divo Diva! They’ll be singing together in a dinner show concert later this month. Visit their website here!
A few more fun photos from today’s House of Italy lawn program…
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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.
I was walking in front of the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park today when I thought to check the time. A performance would begin in five minutes! Okay, it had been a while, so I bought a ticket!
The show today concerned The Origin of Clowns.
Petrix the Clown took the stage and, with a gaggle of fun puppets, loosely (and humorously) told how clowns have evolved over the years–from the court fools, buffoons, and jesters to the improvisational commedia dell’arte, to European circus acts and mimes, and finally, to the American big top three-ring circus. The performance lasted perhaps twenty minutes.
If you have very young children, and you happen to be in Balboa Park on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, why not enjoy a happy puppet show? As a rule, performances are at 11 am, 1 and 3 pm. The shows change often, so you never know what to expect!
Oh–and more history. The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater will be celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2027. Expect big things!
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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.
A new exhibit opened yesterday at the House of Mexico cottage in San Diego’s Balboa Park. The history and culture of the Mexican state of Hidalgo is celebrated with displays of art, crafts, dolls, fashion, photographs and more!
Hidalgo is a small state in central Mexico, located directly north of Mexico City. It is known for its mining history. Hidalgo has its own unique attractions, including local traditions, picturesque towns and architecture, thermal springs, and beautiful natural landscapes. The objects on display inside the House of Mexico’s cottage help to show why Hidalgo is a popular tourist destination.
Friendly members of the House of Mexico welcomed me to their cottage and happily explained what I was seeing. But you must see all the color yourself! Just head over to Balboa Park’s always fascinating International Cottages.
I was told the House of Mexico welcomes new members. Anyone can join. Even I was invited! You can visit their website here.
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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.
Were you one of the lucky few who experienced the organ concert of a lifetime four years ago? That was the night internationally renowned organist Ahreum Han played the Spreckels Organ with thunder booming and lightning flashing in the sky everywhere!
Well, you have the opportunity to hear Ahream Han again. And I suggest you don’t miss another sure-to-be amazing concert!
The Spreckels Organ Pavilion will experience much better weather, but the thunder and lightning coming from the fingertips of one exceptional organist, native of Seoul, South Korea, will certainly dazzle. Ahream Han promises fireworks, from Johann Sebastian Bach to Scott Joplin.
My energy might be a bit drained from Comic-Con, but I’ll certainly be there.
Lovers of the finest music in the world–don’t miss this!
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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.
Hundreds of Star Wars fans gathered in Balboa Park this evening to light the night with uplifted and dueling lightsabers. It’s an annual tradition during San Diego Comic-Con, organized by the Underground Lightsaber Fighters of San Diego.
The family-friendly event was billed as the Light Saber World Championship, but the competition seemed entirely informal. As far as I could see, it was mostly parents and kids having a blast.
After dark, near the fountain by Park Boulevard, simulated lightsaber battles would begin. First it was kids against a gentle “master” lightsaber fighter. Then the masters faced each other. The roar of the crowd determined the winner!
Two rules were announced. Be safe. Have fun!
I could clearly see there was a ton of fun!
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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.
Few people visit the northeast corner of vast Balboa Park, a quiet area bordering 28th Street in North Park. This is the home of Bird Park with its picnic benches, playgrounds, and expanses of green grass. It is also the home of a lush Monarch Waystation.
West of 28th Street, south of Thorn Street, the beautiful Monarch Waystation includes winding paths through milkweeds and nectar sources that shelter and sustain monarch butterflies as they migrate through San Diego.
When I walked the paths about a week ago, I noticed many monarch butterflies flitting here and there, and I attempted to capture them with my camera–but to no avail. I did take these photographs, however. They show what a fine, tranquil garden this is. No wonder. It has been adopted by the California Native Plant Society.
If you’d like to learn more about the Monarch Waystation Program, or would like information on how you can support butterfly populations, click this link.
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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 is super cool, and just in time for San Diego Comic-Con which comes later this month. It’s a genuine comic book rack filled with Comic Bricks!
Matt Armstrong (aka monsterbrick) was exhibiting his LEGO brick creations in Balboa Park today, at the House of Denmark’s cultural lawn program. He had his stuff displayed on a huge table shared by other members of the San Diego LEGO Users Group (SANDLUG).
And look what he has assembled! In addition to superhero and other pop culture creations, he has recreated comic books and ordinary books and placed them in an old comic book rack that he salvaged and repurposed!
Matt Armstrong is a steampunk fan, and many of his LEGO brick creations reflect a fascination with older technology, like antique cameras and old manual typewriters. But in my opinion his brick comic books beat all for sheer coolness!
Cool San Diego Sights! 