I got super lucky today. I was walking near the Rady Shell on downtown San Diego’s waterfront when I heard singing voices. I turned toward the San Diego Symphony’s beautiful outdoor venue and discovered Chicago the Musical in Concert was rehearsing for tomorrow’s evening performance!
I sat for a while–one cool thing about rehearsals at The Shell is the public is free to watch politely up close and listen. All I can tell you, anyone going to Chicago the Musical in Concert on Friday is most likely in for a treat!
All That Jazz… Cell Block Tango… Mr. Cellophane… All of the jazzy voices are amazing. I seriously thought I was at a Broadway production.
When I looked at the vocalists’ bios just now, I see that, indeed, they’ve performed in many world-class productions in the most prestigious venues!
Learn all about Chicago the Musical in Concert, and perhaps purchase tickets, by visiting the Rady Shell’s 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.
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.
Does anybody out there know the history of the Anatole Accompanist Harp? An internet search provides no information whatsoever.
On display inside the La Mesa History Center‘s McKinney House museum is an unusual musical instrument. It is labeled: The ANATOLE ACCOMPANIST HARP – 1915 – Invented by S.B. Shiley – An early resident of La Mesa
I toured the museum yesterday and failed to learn more about this unique harp. Perhaps I should have asked around some more.
Presumably, S.B. Shiley is the artist Sylvester Benjamin Shiley, who passed away in San Diego in 1924.
I know some of my readers are very knowledgeable about local history and culture. If you can add any information about this mysterious Anatole Accompanist Harp or its inventor, please leave a comment below!
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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.
Beginning next Monday, and continuing into September, some of the world’s finest organists will be performing in Balboa Park at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion!
Today, as I walked through Balboa Park, I caught the first outstanding organist, Joshua Stafford, as he rehearsed at the Spreckels Organ. Joshua is the Jacobsen Chair for the Organist of Chautauqua Institution, in New York. You might recall that our own beloved Jared Jacobsen served as San Diego Civic Organist from 1978 to 1984.
Joshua will be playing Bohemian Rhapsody, Carmen Fantasy and other all-time favorites! Yes, on the world’s largest outdoor instrument!
If you’ve never been to one of the free San Diego International Summer Organ Festival concerts, you’re missing out on something special. Not only is the music always first rate, but the late evening atmosphere, particularly when the organ pavilion’s many lights come on, is magical. How can it not be? It’s Balboa Park!
Click here to see the full lineup of performers during the 2025 summer festival. Bring your dinner or a snack if you’d like, then settle on one of the pavilion’s benches (or your lawn chair), and live it up!
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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 an art gallery in Oceanside that you might not know. I stumbled upon it by sheer coincidence the other day.
This surprising art gallery is located inside the historic Sunshine Brooks Theater building, the home of the Oceanside Theatre Company. Very fine works by regional artists hang in the lobby and down a hallway.
The current exhibition of the Brooks Theater Gallery is Black Perspectives 2. The exhibition’s inspiration was the arrival of Juneteenth. This theatre webpage explains that the gallery features previous exhibitors and new POC artists sharing their vision of Black history, culture, family and community.
Incidentally, these fine art pieces are for sale. You can support the artists!
The exhibitions in the gallery change fairly often. Next time you pass by the Sunshine Brooks Theater in downtown Oceanside, why not step through the door as I did and take a peek. You might be surprised!
A few more examples in the gallery…
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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 weekend the 2025 San Diego Ho’olaule’a Hawaiian Cultural Festival was held at Liberty Station in Point Loma.
The free event attracted a good crowd of happy people, who enjoyed Hawaiian traditional hula dance, song and culture, not to mention dozens of vendors, and a tempting variety of island food.
The main stage was a nonstop center of activity. I took photos as the hula dancing began and stayed for a good while. Several dance groups were represented. The dancers wore a variety of colorful costumes depending on the style of hula. There were dancers of all ages.
The event website explains how their goal is to perpetuate Hawaiian culture through music and dance, both kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana (modern), and we welcome hālau (hula dance schools) both near and far.
After watching hula dancing, I walked among the many vendors, visited the Hawaiian Cultural Village, then grabbed something to eat!
Enjoy these photos. Sorry, but I can’t properly identify the dances or groups.
If you go to this event next year, take better notes than me!
Now I’m just wandering around. A sunny summer morning in San Diego…
Here a segment of the long food row to one side of the festival…
Now I’ve arrived at the Hawaiian Cultural Village!
That table on the left by Lei Hulu of California was showcasing the Hawaiian art of feather craft…
A nearby sign explained that the word ipu is Hawaiian for gourd. The ipu is a hula implement that can be played as a drum. It produces two sounds, depending on whether you strike it with the base of your palm or your finger tips.
Kōnane is a two-player strategy board game from Hawaii which was invented by the ancient Hawaiian Polynesians. It’s a game I learned today and rapidly lost.
They came all the way to San Diego to share smiles and information about their museum in Honolulu. Founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop, in honor of his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop—the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty—Bishop Museum houses the largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific cultural artifacts and natural history specimens in the world.
The Bishop Museum has lots of cultural information online! Check out the museum here. Watch educational videos on their YouTube channel here!
The Bishop Museum table had this beautiful Hawaiian Honeycreeper, similar to one created by master woodcarver Haruo Uchiyama, on display!
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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.
Some fine art can be enjoyed by those visiting Liberty Station in Point Loma. Eight artists who work out of studios at Liberty Station are exhibiting canvases that celebrate San Diego and our local fishing industry.
Most of the displayed pieces can be purchased. They’re all quite good, too.
The Summer Solstice Exhibit can be found in the lobby of the Dick Laub NTC Command Center building and runs May to July 2025.
While you’re at Liberty Station, just roam around. There’s so much to see and do!
(While wandering about today, I discovered a little-seen mosaic from Liberty Station’s history as Naval Training Center San Diego. I’ll blog about that next!)
A few more pieces in the Summer Solstice Exhibit…
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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 cool sculpture has appeared in Balboa Park at the center of The Old Globe theatre complex. It celebrates The Old Globe’s 90th Anniversary!
San Diego’s “flagship arts institution” has created countless great memories over nearly a century.
Cherished memories can be shared by anyone over a live feed in The Old Globe’s plaza. Go to this website, type in your Old Globe memory, and share it with other theatre lovers!
The sculpture contains images of theatrical productions over the years. So much history has been made at The Old Globe. A series of banners leading down to El Prado celebrates that history.
As one banner states: From Stephen Sondheim to August Wilson to Arthur Miller, The Old Globe has showcased the visions of the world’s greatest theatre-makers. Premiering new work, honoring the classics, and celebrating the craft of the stage, the Globe defines American theatre at the hightest level.
Another banner recalls: More than 30 Globe-launched productions went on to Broadway success, earning national acclaim...
What are some of your Old Globe memories?
I remember watching a play at the Cassius Carter Centre Stage (now called the The Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre) as a young person. I was struck by how the actors, encircled by the audience, had somehow become integral to my world and my life–at least for a time. It seemed as if these strangers had suddenly become family, bringing out the true potency of “familiar” things.
On that day I discovered the magical power of theatre. Does that make sense?
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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 positive energy was off the charts this afternoon at the Juneteenth Block Party in North Park!
From all around San Diego a big crowd converged on the street in front of North Park restaurant Louisiana Purchase, eager to join in the Juneteenth celebration: a vibrant tribute to Black excellence, music, and food!
Everyone was mingling, smiling, enjoying barbeque, unique vendors, community organizations, live mural painting, fashion, and even a tiny basketball court!
When the dancing began at two o’clock, everyone made their way to the stage to cheer on joyful, high energy performances!
I hope my photographs capture some of the vibes…
It’s time to introduce the youthful dancers!
First up, representing the Lincoln Emeralds…
Next up, Somethin’ Creative Dance Team! (They teach kids who simply love to dance, and perform at special events and compete regionally!)
Some older dance team members come onto the stage…
Cool San Diego Sights! 