Young dancers with the Gift of Dance, a local ballet folklórico school, performed today in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter during the annual Fall Back Festival.
These colorful photographs provide a hint of the dancers’ energy, fluid grace and poise. The dances transmitted pure joy. If you were there, you felt it.
Traditional Mexican dances included La Negra, La Raspa, La Madrugada, Tehuantepec, El Jarabe Tapatio, Los Machettes, and Las Chiapanecas.
Audience members were often clapping along with the music!
I hope you enjoy my photos…
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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.
Shortly before noon, the dancers departed their headquarters at the San Diego Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, crossed Third and Fourth Avenue, and entered the festival with traditional costumes and musical instruments.
Those watching at the Fall Back Festival would be entertained by the performers’ exciting entrance and the following lion dance.
The Lucky Lion Dancers perform at many San Diego events, and I never tire of watching them. The energy, joyfulness and magical good vibes…anyone who watches is indeed lucky!
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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.
Halloween in Balboa Park makes for a really great day!
Look at all the fun pics I captured while randomly wandering around!
Buzz Lightyear emerged on Halloween from the Balboa Park Administration Building. To infinity and beyond!There’s a gremlin inside the Museum of Us! And I thought their Egyptian mummies were disturbing!Looks like the Balboa Park Carousel has been bewitched again.A spooky photo op backdrop in Spanish Village Art Center.Lots of Halloween stuff inside the Senior Lounge.Eek! Who’s this strange character haunting the Senior Lounge?The San Diego Automotive Museum is home to a friendly ghost.A fun Halloween costume exhibit inside the Comic-Con Museum.A spooky jack-o’-scarecrow grins at me in the Comic-Con Museum. I hope a superhero is nearby.Yes, one can find Cheetos inside the Balboa Park Visitors Center.
Not to be overlooked, I also found some fun Día de los Muertos stuff…
Getting ready for a Día de los Muertos event this weekend at the Old Globe.A balloon sugar skull outside the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater!
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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 big group of cleverly costumed dogs and happy humans gathered near the Fleet Science Center and Bea Evenson Fountain, then proceeded down El Prado to the delight of everyone watching!
Some fun photos!
(Yes, there were more than a few hot dog weenie dogs!)
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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.
The big crowd of fans gathered in Gallagher Square for today’s Padres watch party did their best. Closely watching the giant videoboard, they cheered their team, whirled rally towels, and some fans (and the Padres mascot Swinging Friar) excited the crowd as costumed characters. Alas, it wasn’t enough.
The Padres were eliminated this evening from the 2025 MLB Postseason. The Chicago Cubs took the Wild Card series, 2 games to 1. Ouch.
Our team: pitching good enough to win, but sketchy offense. Failure to make clutch hits. Like certain periods during the regular season.
It would’ve been a thousand times more fun if the Padres had won and advanced in the playoffs. The young kids running about and playing catch in Gallagher Square didn’t seem to mind, however. They were simply having a good time.
Of course, Dude Vader was present!
Two Manny Machados are better than one!
This awesome, masked lucha libre Padres fan brought his big swag chain!
I loved this Día de Muertos costumed Catrina!
Well, as they say, there’s always next year.
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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.
Last weekend the annual Harvest Festival at the Balboa Park Club featured folk dance and dancing workshops. Sadly, few people arrived for an event that has greatly faded in popularity over the years. I’m told young people are no longer taught folk dancing in school, as they once were years ago.
Shortly after entering the Balboa Park Club building, I discovered historical art painted on old signs, from the days when folk dancing brought both young and old together for a fun social gathering.
I learned that the wonderful graphics in my first photos were painted to promote the now defunct Kayso Folk Dance Club, which thrived in San Diego back in the 70’s and 80s. A gentleman named Kayso, originally from Armenia, painted the costumed dancing figures himself. The images might have become a bit worn over the years, but they still have great personality!
I also love the following old sign, which I learned is from the 1950s. It promotes the Cabrillo International Folk Dance Club, which is still alive and well!
The International Dance Association of San Diego County has a website here that lists dance clubs currently operating in Balboa Park and elsewhere around the city. You’ll find many opportunities to learn different dances, and to dance at every level of experience!
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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 big festival continued today in San Diego’s Balboa Park. All weekend, the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages celebrated their 90th Anniversary!
Plenty of cultural entertainment could be experienced by park visitors at both the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and the International Cottages.
I took photographs on Saturday–the event’s first day. See those photos by clicking here and here.
Today, Sunday, I returned to Balboa Park to enjoy more of the anniversary celebration!
Here comes a selection of photos…
I watched a traditional dance performance at the International Cottages, presented by the House of Peru…
A bit later, I watched these radiant dancers presented by the House of Philippines…
I ventured into the House of Denmark, hoping to find another Danish hot dog like the one I devoured yesterday. I found a scrumptious dream cake (drømmekage in Danish) instead! I love coconut!
Inside the Hall of Nations, the House of Czech and Slovak Republics had an interesting display.
Their cottage, damaged badly by a falling eucalyptus tree months ago, is being repaired by the City of San Diego. Looking good!
Members of the House of China offered to write visitor names in Chinese!
I headed over the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at 2 pm for the Sunday entertainment, which would include the Spreckels Organ.
Umbrellas could be rented at the Spreckels Organ Society membership table. It was a very warm day in San Diego’s early September sunshine!
Super cool (and talented) San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez smiled for a photo!
A very special concert begins with the National Anthem. San Diego celebrates the 90th anniversary of the International Cottages in Balboa Park!
I hear drums and bagpipes behind us…
Here comes the House of Scotland Pipe Band! They file between the benches to the organ pavilion stage…
Scottish music marches by and steps onto the stage…
Booming drums, bagpipes and the mighty Spreckels Organ–world’s largest outdoor instrument. What an incredible combination!
If this doesn’t get your blood moving, nothing will!
After several rousing performances, the band files off the stage…
Next comes the House of Germany Choir. Several songs include the favorite Edelweiss.
Then I enjoyed beautiful selections sung by the Damekor Scandinavian Choir. The musical group includes members of House of Pacific Relations nation Houses representing Scandinavia.
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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.
Balboa Park’s International Cottages are celebrating their 90th anniversary this weekend! They were established in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition.
The festivities kicked off today with the House of Pacific Relations International Cottage Parade of Flags!
Members of all the different Houses paraded through Balboa Park, to finally assemble at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Many participants wore traditional dress, representative of their nation.
Shame on me. I didn’t realize the parade was today. I was fortunate to catch the tail end of the colorful parade, as some of the nations filed proudly into the organ pavilion.
If you’re curious, that’s the House of Scotland Pipe Band with their drums and bagpipes under the huge United States flag. They were joined by young members of the Helix High School Highlanders band!
After the parade, there would be the National Anthem, speeches and cultural entertainment on the organ pavilion stage, then on the lawn at the International Cottages. (I’ll share those photos in my next blog post.)
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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.
There’s no denying that, at this moment, San Diego, California is the center of the entire cosplay universe!
Hundreds of cosplays can be seen everywhere in the city, mostly around the San Diego Convention Center. That’s because it’s the Saturday of Comic-Con 2025!
How does one convey the wild and crazy atmosphere? Take a look at some photos! Most of these were taken in the Gaslamp Quarter on Fifth Avenue. Now multiply it!
Every fandom imaginable is represented by creative cosplayers. There are traditional superheroes and a whole array of anime characters. There are colorful characters from television, movies, video games…
There are often-seen cosplays and esoteric cosplays. Some costumes are simple, others are incredibly elaborate. Young and old participate. There are even cosplaying pets!
I took these photos while navigating through the dense crowd this afternoon. Cosplayers were excited to strike poses for passersby. Much humor! Lots of smiles!
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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.
It’s Saturday in San Diego–but not just any Saturday.
It’s the Saturday of Comic-Con 2025!
The crowds have grown larger and larger. Cosplay is absolutely everywhere. Huge lines have formed outdoors at the various offsite activations. (Wait up to four hours? No thanks! I’ll wait until Sunday.)
The endless weird and wonderful sights around downtown San Diego were more than enough for me!
I should probably think up clever captions for these photos. But it’s lunchtime. And I really need to take a quick nap before heading out again!
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 