Tag: convention center

Anime San Diego debuts at convention center!

The popularity of anime has absolutely exploded in recent years. Series like One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer and many others have become pop culture mainstays in America and around the world.

This growing popularity has spawned a variety of events that attract anime fans. One completely new event, debuting in 2026, is Anime San Diego. It’s being held this weekend at the San Diego Convention Center, the famous home of Comic-Con.

I was able to visit Anime San Diego on Saturday morning!

In addition to hundreds of vendors, artists and celebrity guests (many voice actors), the convention features an arcade zone, gaming tournaments, karaoke, live music, industry and fan panels, cosplay meetups, itasha cars, cool merch, giveaways, and just a whole lot of fun!

I was surprised at how many fans showed up and how awesome it all is! Not bad for their first year!

Check out some photos of the action!

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Awesome itasha cars at Anime San Diego!

There’s a brand new pop culture convention in San Diego. It’s called Anime San Diego and it’s taking place at the San Diego Convention Center today and tomorrow!

One very cool part of Anime San Diego is the presentation of awesome itasha cars. Itasha are vehicles transformed with bold artwork inspired by anime, manga, video games, and Japanese pop culture.

The creatively decorated cars are being displayed inside the San Diego Convention Center between the event’s main stage and the giant inflatable zone. The cars, I was told, have come from all over Southern California. Several are from San Diego. Visitors are encouraged to admire the itasha cars and take photos.

That’s what I did!

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Cosplay photos at Anime San Diego!

Anime San Diego is being held this weekend at the San Diego Convention Center. It’s the cool event’s inaugural year!

Anime San Diego has drawn thousands of fans from all over, and, as might be expected, there’s a whole lot of cosplay! Characters made popular in anime series can be seen everywhere. I must confess, during my Saturday morning visit I didn’t recognize some of the characters, but the cosplay is still fantastic!

An Anime San Diego 2026 LEGENDS OF COSPLAY contest would be held Saturday evening on the main stage. Unfortunately, given my hectic schedule, I couldn’t stick around to see it.

I did take these photos of the great cosplay while roaming the convention center floor right as Anime San Diego opened. Enjoy!

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Saturday morning photos outside Comic-Con!

It’s Saturday morning in San Diego. Not your ordinary morning. Comic-Con 2026 has taken over the city!

Here come photographs from my morning walk outside the San Diego Convention Center.

Cosplay, fun sights, a mysterious activation setting up, workers cleaning yesterday’s mess, staff arriving, an endless Hall H line…

(Did you know today is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day?)

Yes, the Hall H line stretches forever. Star Trek and the big Marvel panels today!

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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!

Ready or not, here comes Comic-Con 2026!

A big crowd is streaming toward the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con 2026 Preview Night. Fans are coming in on hotel buses. A huge line has formed in the Gaslamp Quarter for Paramount+ offsite The Lodge. Other offsite activations are putting on their final touches. There’s even a tiny bit of cosplay to be seen.

It must be late Wednesday afternoon!

Photos from a late walk…

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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!

More fun photos walking around before Comic-Con!

Another fun blog post full of photos taken while walking around San Diego before the start of Comic-Con 2026. It’s now Tuesday. Tomorrow is Preview Night.

Shop windows, activations rising, exhibitors arriving, a little cosplay–just random images!

Enjoy!

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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!

Comic-Con 2026 preparation with four days to go!

Workers putting up building wraps and offsite activations have only four more full days to complete their work before the official start of Comic-Con 2026!

Early this (Saturday) evening I walked through downtown San Diego, through the Gaslamp Quarter, behind the San Diego Convention Center, and back to the Gaslamp. I photographed all sorts of Comic-Con preparations.

Enjoy these images. They provide an idea of what goes on before the start of our city’s epic international pop culture convention!

Sorry if I don’t provide much description this time. I’m tired. Gotta work again tomorrow…

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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!

A mystery behind the San Diego Convention Center!

These metal benches line the boardwalk behind the San Diego Convention Center. They face San Diego Bay. They were commissioned in 2008 and created by noted artist Nance O’Banion.

As her website explains: Nance produced 13 original designs, each of which was fabricated, once in its original form and once as a ‘mirror image’, in plasma-cut powder-coated steel. The installation of 26 art benches was titled Reverie.

I took these photos yesterday…

Today, a plaque can be seen embedded in the boardwalk near the benches, very close to the entrance to the Fifth Avenue Landing Superyacht Marina. It resembles the Reverie plaque shown in the gallery on Nance O’Banion’s website. The plaque includes her name and the same 2008 year.

But the title of the current plaque is different!

Why is the title Caesure, and not the original Reverie?

At some point, was the name of the installation changed to Caesure? The Latin word caesūra means “a cutting” or “a separation,” which might apply to the mirrored bench designs, or possibly how these benches were made.

Or . . . does Caesure concern another work of public art somewhere nearby? If so, what and where?

It’s a mystery with no solution that I can find!

If you know more about the history of this art bench installation, and why there have been different plaques with two different titles, please leave a comment!

UPDATE!

During a later walk along the boardwalk, I spotted a plaque titled Reverie. So that leaves the question: What was/is the public art titled Caesure?

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Thursday fun begins at Comic-Con 2025!

The fun has officially begun this Thursday morning at Comic-Con 2025!

Fans are streaming into the San Diego Convention Center, long lines have formed at the many offsite activations, and cosplay has appeared everywhere downtown!

That’s Mario and Donkey Kong in the above photograph riding through the Gaslamp Quarter!

There was a Thursday morning line at the Pendry Hotel for the Donut Bar’s special donuts…

A line outside the Hard Rock Hotel for Spider-Man Magic: the Gathering.

People head toward the San Diego Convention Center past the Percy Jackson offsite in Gaslamp Square.

Check out this cool Code Vein II motorcycle!

Hot dogs!

Friendly masked Green Lantern had some cool comic books on a table along MLK Promenade.

A line of Abbott Elementary fans wait for the Block Party to open!

The line ends way over here!

Super Toucan chalk art on the bayside boardwalk!

The center of excitement: the San Diego Convention Center.

A steady stream of fans were arriving from their hotels by bus.

Get your 2025 San Diego Comic-Con shirt near the Interactive Zone at Petco Park.

Yes, there will be lots of trash.

The Thunderbolts ice cream truck would begin serving at 10 am.

A fun Phineas and Ferb photo op tucked away near the Percy Jackson offsite.

On the other side…

The Gray Sisters taxi outside the Percy Jackson offsite…

An example of cool cosplay on Thursday morning, back on MLK Promenade…

San Diego Comic-Con sights everywhere you turn! I love it!

C-3PO occupies the Coca Cola Star Wars box office!

Now that’s scary!

Heading back up Fifth Avenue. Another long offsite line. This is for The Lodge, promoting Paramount+ shows.

Hello there. This must be San Diego Comic-Con!

King of the Hill graphic at BAIT in the Gaslamp Quarter. Drinking in public gets one behind bars…

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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.

Feel free to share!

Afternoon walk before Comic-Con Preview Night!

Comic-Con 2025 is about ready to begin in earnest! Fans are streaming into downtown San Diego for Preview Night!

My walk around the San Diego Convention Center and through the Gaslamp Quarter in the mid-afternoon kept my camera very busy.

Enjoy another collection of photos!

House of Blues has cool programming during Comic-Con 2025.
These guys used lightsabers to remove a Predator’s head.
All sorts of merch on display outside the Doctor Who offsite!
Twisted activity expected here.
Twisted Metal on Peacock graphic.
Red Sonja is wanted by order of Emperor Draygan.
Hot Wheels is back!
Friendly sign spinner directs fans to the Comic-Con Blood Drive at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
Look at the line of buses!
ABC will lift Abbott Elementary fans high into the San Diego sky.
Graphics near entrance of the Voodoo Ranger offsite.
Ramp down to Voodoo Ranger “pirate ship” has these cool graphics.
Ahoy there, matey! Voodoo Ranger returns to Comic-Con.
Looking south down the bayside boardwalk past King of the Hill’s offsite.
Indiana Jones is here! Drinking from the Holy Grail has seemingly preserved his youth.
Must Be This Crazy to Ride at Starr Park!
Is that a cat mermaid at Adult Swim?
Find two Smiling Friends at the Adult Swim activation behind the San Diego Convention Center.
This way to Indigo Ballroom in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
A view of offsites behind the convention center from the Hilton.
Down there is the Superman offsite, a production of DC Comics and Old Spice. Does Superman sweat?
This smiling guy wants you to ask questions!
The Interactive Zone at Petco Park seems a bit sparse this year. At least, so far.
The Labu-Tique Pop Up Shop at Petco Park!
Lots of stuff has shown up near the Omni.
That Thunderbolts graphic kind of looks like a cereal box.
Yes, Stitch has huge ears.
How adorable.
Stitch surfs in San Diego!
Spead ’em Nerds! I didn’t realize Liam Neeson can do the splits.
A Triple Chocolate Feast sounds good right now.
Fifth Avenue is going to be crazy the next four days!
Cool sculpture at entrance to the Predator: Badlands activation.
I’m not sure I’d want to be a friend of Frendo.
Cheetos mascot on a bicycle!
Coca Cola presents Holocreator starring you!
Would you like to become a Sith?
Fantastic Rewards can be grabbed by fans who enjoy the Google Play offsite.
Mitchell, didgeridoo player from Balboa Park, has beamed down!
Yikes! The Joker has arrived!

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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.

Feel free to share!