Tag: costumes

Super fun Lucha Libre exhibit opens in San Diego!

A super fun exhibition opened in San Diego today at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park. It’s all about Mexican lucha libre wrestling!

Sangre, Sudor, y Mito: The Art and Tradition of Mexican Lucha Libre features so much cool stuff, I hardly know how to describe it all!

Young and old, lucha libre fans and those who are merely curious–all will enjoy seeing actual masks and costumes worn by wrestling stars, not to mention artwork, posters, comic books, championship belts, collectibles and more.

Fans of Chula Vista’s own legendary Rey Mysterio, popular favorite and many-time international champion who continues to work for WWE, will love seeing how he is generously represented in the exhibit, too!

I was fortunate to get a sneak preview this morning. The exhibition is substantial, taking up the entire second level of the Comic-Con Museum. It has been assembled with the help of Museo de Lucha Libre Tijuana Mexicana.

Topics explored in the exhibition include lucha libre’s origin in Mexico; its impact on the popular culture through many generations; its mythic qualities; the varieties of male luchador and female luchadora characters; luchadora pioneers and their ongoing struggle for recognition and equality; how lucha libre has become increasingly influencial around the world . . .

Yes, anything and everything concerning lucha libre is celebrated!

In essence, lucha libre performers are living, breathing superheroes (or villains). Certain legendary luchadores are revered by millions of fans throughout Mexico. How formidable are these masked wrestlers? Movie posters have them battling gangsters and even vampires!

Lots of fun! Bring the kids!

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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.

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250th Anniversary of Revolutionary War in San Diego!

April 19, 2025 is the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. A special event celebrating that first victory of patriotic Minutemen over the redcoats of the Kingdom of Great Britain was held today in San Diego!

At Mormon Battalion Historic Site in Old Town, local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution welcomed the public to the colorful and educational event.

DAR and SAR members, who are descended from patriots of the American Revolutionary War, were dressed in colonial garb. Historical information was available at a number of tables.

I was met by many smiles!

Above is the City of San Diego Proclamation concerning the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington Concord.

Whereas, on this day…the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord, igniting a struggle for liberty and self-government that would shape the course of history…

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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.

Feel free to share!

Persian dance and culture in Balboa Park!

The House of Iran had their lawn program today at the International Cottages in Balboa Park. Their cultural program is held every year on the Sunday following the Persian New Year, which is called Nowruz. Nowruz occurs on the day of the vernal equinox, which is the first day of Spring.

Speeches and introductions during the event were largely in Farsi, which made it difficult for an English speaker like myself to understand all that was going on. I did understand that the program celebrated thousands of years of Persian history and culture.

There was the awarding of scholarships to young people and a thank you to the San Diego Police Department. There was Afsoon Johnston, a world champion wrestling medalist whose family fled Iran. There was a tent serving tasty, freshly made kabab, and a big crowd clapping to lots of happy dancing and music!

You can see some of traditional costumes. You can also see how members of the audience took to the stage to dance!

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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.

Feel free to share!

San Diego Square Dance Association’s Fiesta de la Cuadrilla!

Look what I discovered today! The San Diego Square Dance Association is hosting their 75th annual Fiesta de la Cuadrilla in Balboa Park!

The lively “round dancing” was taking place inside the Balboa Park Club building’s huge ballroom. Not only was the energetic dancing fun to watch, and the dance calling with a Western twang fun to hear, but there were exhibits off to one side of the room that concerned the fascinating history and culture of square dance!

As you can see from my photographs, beautiful square dance dresses and a variety of interesting artifacts filled many tables.

Thanks to Wendy for inviting me into the big event for a peek! Everybody participating was definitely having a ton of fun!

If you’d like to learn more about square dancing in San Diego and this popular event in particular (which continues on Sunday, March 23, 2025), click 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.

Feel free to share!

Halloween creeps into San Diego’s Gaslamp!

Should we be frightened? Halloween has crept into San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter!

I took these spooky (and fun) photographs early this morning in dim light, then in the late afternoon as restaurants and bars prepared for a terrifying onslaught of evening partiers.

Trick or treat!

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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.

Halloween fun with San Diego Youth Symphony!

This afternoon, the San Diego Youth Symphony took to the stage at Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion, to perform their traditional Halloween concert. And many of the young musicians were in costume!

I noticed cows, Harry Potter, the Riddler, a Super Mario mushroom . . . and two adult conductors who were quite evil-looking!

Spooky pieces played during the fun concert included Valse Diabolique, The Boogie Man Blues, Themes from Harry Potter, Waltz of the Wicked, and Curse of the Rosin Eating Zombies From Outer Space! Yes, that last one is a thing. I’m not kidding!

I took photos of a few fun costumes before and during the concert…

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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.

Wolves ov Odin reenact lives of Danish Vikings!

A lawn program at Balboa Park’s International Cottages today celebrated Norse history and culture. The House of Norway provided food and entertainment, and a visit from Viking explorer Leif Erikson (an actor)!

What I found most interesting, however, was a living history “encampment” on the International Cottages lawn. Costumed members of Wolves ov Odin were showing what Norse life was like in the 8th century!

Perhaps you’ve seen Wolves ov Odin at the annual Viking Festival in Vista, California. They are a group that portrays Danish Vikings that lived in the Jorvik region of present day York, UK.

As you can see, curious people converged on several tables to see and touch history.

Read the photo captions for a bit of what I learned…

Viking chain mail armor on display. I lifted one end and it was heavy! Those steel helmets in the background were heavy, too! Better a sore neck than a hole in the head!

Creating chain mail by interlocking iron rings was a long process undertaken by Viking smiths. Iron was rare and chain mail shirts were relatively rare.

A beautifully engraved but deadly Viking axe. I wish I had learned more about it.

A simple sundial made of wood, which could double as a compass to aid in Viking ocean navigation. An X marks noon–I took this photo a few minutes before the shadow lined up with it!

Making a replica Viking coin, using a length of modern steel tubing for hammering safety.

I got my own, freshly minted pewter Viking Raven Penny of Anlaf Guthfrithson!

Demonstrating a replica Oseberg Sprang Weaving Loom, a loom from the Oseberg ship, a well-preserved Viking ship discovered in 1904 in Norway.

Combing and spinning wool with a hand spindle preceded tablet weaving and making Viking clothing and ship sails!

The spindles were very simple.

It never occurred to me that Viking sails were made by weaving!

Beads were a sign of wealth among Vikings.

A smile and sample of Viking life.

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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.

CleanUp Kitsune leads Balboa Park clean up!

Lila and Corey Cleary-Stoner led a clean up event in Balboa Park yesterday. They and a group of caring volunteers walked around the park, removing litter from San Diego’s beautiful crown jewel, making it shine.

What was unique about this clean up? Lila and Corey combine litter removal with performance art. To attract interest from those nearby, they wear full Japanese costume and call their performance Cleanup Kitsune.

The two got the idea for Cleanup Kitsune from their attending Renaissance Fairs in costume. Both are Japanophiles. In Japan, they explained as I watched them sort collected trash, people are very careful about keeping their world clean and healthy. Why not inject some of that ethos here in San Diego?

According to the All Goods website: Since their launch in June 2023, CleanUp Kitsune has removed and sorted approximately 45,000 pieces/280lbs of litter & through their waste organization stations have diverted over 2000 pounds of waste from landfills. CleanUp Kitsune is also the recipient of the 2024 Enhancing Ecosystems sPARK award by Forever Balboa Park.

I spent much of Saturday morning wandering around Balboa Park, meaning to find Lila and Corey doing their thing in costume. I failed!

But I did find both speaking to the CleanUp Kitsune volunteers at the conclusion of the day’s effort. We all learned what sorts of trash can be recycled. Then the sorting began!

Thank you all for “littering kindness!”

This is what I missed:

I did discover volunteers picking up litter…

Forever Balboa Park and some friendly superheroes joined the effort!

Look at all the trash they collected! That’s Lila and Corey speaking to the assembled volunteers…

UPDATE!

Lila and Corey have told me that with nearly 40 volunteers they collected a total of 110.51 pounds of trash in Balboa Park. They diverted 49.55 pounds of trash from the landfill by separating waste into the following categories:

Landfill: 60.96 lbs
Recycle: 35.58 lbs
Compost: 4.14 lbs
Textile: 8.32 lbs
Hazardous: .60 lbs
E-Waste: .66 lbs
Cigarette Butts: .25 lbs

Awesome!

Here’s a photo of the two in costume!

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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.

Ballet folklórico, joy, and the Gift of Dance!

Enjoy a collection of colorful photographs. I took them today during the Fiestas Patrias event in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

These young ballet folklórico dancers are from Gift of Dance, a school Where Love, Technique, Joy and Tradition brings Communities and Families Together!

I’ve seen this group at other San Diego events. When they perform, I feel that life is indeed good. All the troubles of this world melt away, and one can see how the human race might be. Simply joyful.

After a fun Fiestas Patrias parade around Old Town’s central plaza (in which the costumed dancers participated), two separate dance performances were staged on the grass. Onlookers enjoyed a variety of traditional Mexican baile folklórico folk dances, including La Raspa, Los Machetes, and even a Mexican Waltz. Beginning dancers included a two-year-old!

At the end of each performance, the audience was invited to come up and dance on the grass, too!

I hope these photos convey the joy…

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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.

Fun cosplays seen at Comic-Con in San Diego!

Gimli, Gandalf the White and Legolas cosplay.

Hundreds of super creative cosplays could be seen all around San Diego on Saturday during Comic-Con 2024!

Enjoy another collection of fun cosplay photos taken as I wandered here and there outside Comic-Con in the San Diego summer sunshine.

There’s one more day to go. Hopefully offsite lines are shorter this Sunday–there are still a few activations that I haven’t visited!

Too much fun!

If you want to see even more, click here to view 150 cosplay photos taken during past San Diego Comic-Cons!

Venom and Carnage cosplay.

Miles Morales cosplay.

Helldivers cosplay.

Zebra Batman cosplay! First time I’ve seen this!

Deadpool cosplay. Very popular at SDCC 2024.

Borderlands Psycho cosplay. Also popular in 2024.

Moon Knight cosplay.

Batgirl and Kite Man cosplay.

Powerpuff Girls cosplay.

Black Panther cosplay.

King Mickey cosplay.

The Purge cosplay.

Thor and Jane Foster cosplay.

The Last Airbender cosplay.

Luz Noceda and Jumanji cosplay.

Grand Admiral Thrawn cosplay.

Mario family cosplay.

Cyclops cosplay.

Joker cosplay.

Joker and Harley Quinn cosplay.

Demon Slayer cosplay.

Barf from Spaceballs cosplay!

Super cool Alien cosplay at San Diego Comic-Con!

Average Joe’s from Dodgeball cosplay.

Peely from Fortnite cosplay. Very appealing!

Pee-wee Herman cosplay!

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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!