Tag: community

A free Day of Music at the San Diego Symphony!

The San Diego Symphony is making history today! Their redesigned, greatly renovated Copley Symphony Hall debuts this evening as the Jacobs Music Center! A big gala Opening Night Celebration will mark the exciting transformation!

If, like me, you are a more ordinary San Diego resident, tomorrow is our day! Beginning at 11 am, the San Diego Symphony will welcome the public to a free event inside the new Jacobs Music Center!

The Day of Music will welcome talented artists and arts organizations from across the vibrant San Diego-Tijuana region as we celebrate the opening of the Jacobs Music Center. If you’d like to see a list of the many artists and musicians that will participate, click here.

Performers include 1st Marine Division Band, Animal Cracker Conspiracy, Ballet Folklórico Jalisciense, Coronado School of the Arts’ Musical Theatre and Drama Conservatory, Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra – Giocoso Quartet, and many more!

Bring the family to this very special community day. There will also be food and other activities!

This is your chance to freely step into the new Jacobs Music Center and see the breathtaking transformation of a historic San Diego venue. I’ll be there tomorrow. I plan to take photographs! I’m excited!

(Seven years ago I enjoyed a behind-the-scenes architectural tour of old Copley Symphony Hall. If you’d like to see those photos, 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.

Food, cars and fun at Lemon Fest in Lemon Grove!

This weekend, after a five year absence, Lemon Fest returned to the city of Lemon Grove!

The community festival, held at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, featured tons of food, a cool car show, live music and entertainment, a baking contest, kids games, vendors, a huge rummage sale, a plant sale, an auction . . . and many people wearing yellow and big smiles!

I was told that St. John of the Cross has had a Fall Festival since 1940, the year its church building was dedicated. The festival was temporarily suspended during COVID, but is now coming back. Next year the plan is that the Lemon Fest is even bigger and better, as it was before the pandemic!

I walked around enjoying the smells of food and the sound of music. Lots of families were at the tables eating great food and enjoying company. What a fun time!

The team Steel Magnolias is Making Strides Against Breast Cancer! They’re walking on October 27th. You can support this team by clicking here!

The Old Memories Sur San Diego car club had some very cool cars on display at Lemon Fest.

Kathy Villalobos of Gift of Dance was selling a piano with an amazing history. She explained how this Miraculous Brewster Piano, once the property of an opera singer, has produced many unexpected blessings. Funds from its sale will go toward repairing flood damage in the church.

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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.

Creative fun at San Diego Museum of Art!

At the San Diego Museum of Art, you can do more than walk through its amazing galleries. You can create amazing art, too!

Yesterday, during my visit to Balboa Park, I stumbled upon two art-making workshops at the museum.

A table was set up on the grass of the museum’s outdoor sculpture garden. Participants in this Community Art Workshop would use geometry and compass to design their own birthdate star marker. The cool markers have an antique appearance, and depict a person’s birthdate and corresponding constellation.

This workshop will be repeated on Saturday, October 19th.

Next, I was kindly permitted to view a Book Binding activity inside the museum library.

According to the SDMA website, participants explore Islamic book binding techniques and the practices of codex creation by engaging in folding, wrapping, decorating, and binding a book.

This Community Art Workshop is inspired by the astrolabes on view in Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World, a special exhibition on view at The San Diego Museum of Art September 7, 2024–January 5, 2025.

If you’d like to create your own art at the museum, keep an eye on their event calendar here. You’ll find future opportunities!

Next month there’s a chance to create a Jasper Johns-inspired work of 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.

Creating a community mural during San Diego Design Week!

The public was invited to paint color into a community mural in San Diego’s Balboa Park today. Just before noon, paintbrushes were busy in the Plaza de Panama at the Exchange Pavilion!

We are now in the middle of San Diego Design Week (September 19th to 25th), and this Community Mural Project is a creative activity inspired by San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital 2024!

The mural intends to bring diverse communities together–to interact and collaborate. Plus adding all those vibrant colors is fun!

As the mural was painted, an art workshop was also held inside the Exchange Pavilion. Brush & Letter, Painting With Words was a World Design Experience.

According to the event website. students could discover the art of typography and mural creation under the guidance of typographer and mural artist, Itzel Islas… During this workshop, you’ll use the iconic San Diego Tijuana Grafiko logotype to create your own 8×10 art piece.

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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.

Photos of 2024 San Diego Heart & Stroke Walk!

The 2024 San Diego Heart & Stroke Walk was held this morning in Balboa Park. Participants raised over one million dollars this year, supporting the American Heart Association and its many important programs!

I visited the event and took these inspiring photographs. Teams walking through the park and past the finish line were being encouraged by students from San Diego State University. There was a fun dog costume contest, a photo booth, roses for participants, a community board showing who walkers walk for, a small farmers market, and more. Heart disease and stroke survivors could ring a bell to celebrate life!

The American Heart Association supports medical research and educational programs. Projects, according to their website, include:

Up-to-the-minute research into doctors’ hands so they can better prevent and treat heart disease among patients. Groundbreaking pediatric heart and stroke research that is key to saving babies’ lives. Providing life-saving information that can save a life – like how to eat better, how to recognize the warning signs of heart attack, and how to talk to a doctor about critical health choices.

If you’d like to support the American Heart Association with a donation, or if you’d like to participate in a future walk, 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.

Rancho Bernardo gathers for RB Alive!

A very cool street festival was held today in Rancho Bernardo. Several blocks of Bernardo Center Drive filled with vendors, artists, food, entertainment and fun for the North San Diego Business Chamber’s 36th Annual RB Alive!

I walked through the festival around noontime as it got underway. A good crowd appeared quickly, attesting to the popularity of this community gathering. (Unfortunately, RB Alive! was put on hold the past few years due to COVID.)

It was interesting to learn about many of the organizations on hand. Civic groups, politicians, churches, clubs, schools, you name it–everyone was smiling and ready to greet passersby.

This was my first time experiencing the event. I took some photographs as I walked about.

The RB Karate Center was providing martial arts demonstrations on one stage.

RB Alive! is organized by the North San Diego Business Chamber. They have numerous educational programs and events that support local business.

The Ed Brown Center for Active Adults is working to convert an old lawn bowling area in Rancho Bernardo Community Park into 16 pickleball courts.

The Rancho Bernardo Historical Society has a museum at the Bernardo Winery. The museum’s exhibits include a replica mud wagon stagecoach.

The Historical Society’s table had a detailed timeline of Rancho Bernardo’s history. Thank you for all the informative brochures. I need to visit their museum some day!

If history is your thing, why not join their efforts as a volunteer?

The Rancho Bernardo Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol acts as eyes and ears for the San Diego Police Department.

Are you 50 years or older? They’re always looking for volunteers!

More smiles!

I learned the Rancho Bernardo Public Library is just down the street. So after the festival I went there. Blog posts are coming up concerning my visit!

Creative vendors had all sorts of cool crafts and art out on display…

There would be entertainment throughout the day, including live music.

Loads of food everywhere you look!

I learned the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary is engaged in many charitable projects in Mexico and developing countries. They’re fighting childhood disease, providing clean water, building houses and hospitals…

The Rancho Bernardo Community Council is Your Voice in the Community. They are an all-volunteer organization acting as an advisory board to the City of San Diego on a range of public issues.

They also organize many fun community events! They’re glad to welcome volunteers!

Even the dogs were having a great time at RB Alive!

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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.

Survivors of Suicide Loss provides comfort, hope.

An important event was held today in Balboa Park. The Survivors of Suicide Loss San Diego held a Walk in Remembrance With Hope.

As I entered Balboa Park for a late Sunday morning stroll, I noticed tents and a stage coming down on the grass near Sixth Avenue. I then spoke to smiling people who had worked to organize the event.

When I was told about the Walk in Remembrance With Hope, I wanted to help in a small way with my blog.

The walk was a memorable way to celebrate the lives of loved ones lost to suicide
& to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Funds raised stay in San Diego County for suicide outreach & prevention and survivor support services.

If you’d like to read more about the organization, find comfort, or help spread human compassion, please visit the Survivors of Suicide Loss San Diego website 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.

Beautiful art outside La Jolla Community Center!

Very beautiful artwork can be seen just outside the entrance of the La Jolla Community Center. Tile panels on either side of the front door and tile work on a nearby bench depict La Jolla’s stunning coastal scenery.

I took these photographs during a walk a couple weekends ago when the center happened to be closed. I’m very curious who the artist might be.

I believe the work was done back in 2012–part of a larger building renovation. If you know more about this wonderful art outside the community center’s entrance, please leave a comment below!

Enjoy these photos, which I edited slightly using increased contrast and sharpness to bring out the colors and details.

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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.

Five new murals to be painted in La Mesa!

Five colorful new murals will soon be painted in downtown La Mesa. Old murals along The Walkway of the Stars, a pocket park that celebrates local volunteers, have been painted over, and a sign indicates new artwork will be created on the same walls this summer.

I was a bit shocked today when I saw how the beautiful old murals had disappeared. But the new mural designs appear pretty awesome. You can see the five new mural designs on the City of La Mesa’s Instagram page by clicking here.

If you’d like to see the vanished murals, I took photographs back in 2017 and posted them 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.

Student art brightens San Diego bus stops!

Bus stop shelters around the city now feature art created by students from throughout the San Diego Unified School District. I’ve noticed a few of these displays in the past couple weeks, and I discovered another fun example today at the SDSU Transit Center.

The digital doodles in these photographs were created by students from Encanto Elementary and Hardy Elementary. The kids were given two themes: What makes San Diego your home? and How do you connect with San Diego?

According to the shelter poster, over 12 schools and hundreds of students participated in the “I am San Diego” project. The project was launched by Far South Border North, a City of San Diego-led regional collaborative that supports artists and cultural practitioners working in service of the health and well-being of communities in San Diego and Imperial counties.

Next time you find yourself walking down the sidewalk near an MTS public bus shelter, take a closer look!

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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.