Tag: entertainment

Cool photo memories from March 2019.

What was going on in San Diego five years ago?

Back in 2019, during the month of March, the City of San Diego was just beginning to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Also in March there was the annual San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event. And there was another fun Seaport Village Busker Fest. And the Comic-Con Museum’s very first exhibition. And another big Mariachi Festival in the South Bay. And Asian culture celebrated at the San Diego Museum of Art. And other exhibitions around town, and cool street art to be found, and, and, and…

I’ve collected 18 links for you to explore. They will take you to blog posts from five years ago this month. You can enjoy hundreds of photographs!

Click the following links for lots of colorful photographs…

Cool photos of San Diego’s 2019 Busker Fest!

Art raises awareness about bird trafficking.

Beaumont’s naval Art of the Sea in San Diego.

See the Comic-Con Museum’s first exhibition!

More cool street art in Normal Heights!

Photos of the colorful 2019 Mariachi Festival!

Fun mosaic sculptures at IB’s Peoples Park!

Asian arts come to life on museum’s front steps!

Banner celebrates San Diego’s 250th Anniversary!

Art exhibition interprets Music in the Key of Blue.

New muralist in San Diego makes her debut!

Murals inspire, motivate students in schools!

Inside the historic Portuguese U.P.S.E.S. Chapel.

A look inside the Portuguese Historical Center.

Baggage, a silvery orb, and contemporary art.

Photos inside the historic Ohr Shalom building.

Quilters look to the stars for inspiration!

Learning one’s letters in Old Town San Diego.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Dragons and lions invade San Diego’s Gaslamp!

Dragons and lions have invaded San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter this weekend!

The colorful “Chinese New Year Faire San Diego” is being held downtown, on 3rd Avenue and J Street near the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. The annual festival is hosted by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. The event seems to grow larger every year!

It’s the Year of the Dragon, and there’s one enormous dragon moving sinuously through the crowd. And lucky, happy lion dancers parading down the street, too!

Up on the stage there are school kids in costume dancing and ladies smiling during a Chinese fashion show. Thao French, whose amazing Year of the Dragon art you’ve seen in Little Saigon recently, is spray painting another dragon mural. There are vendors everywhere, activities for young people, and no shortage of yummy food. Kung Fu Panda is greeting one and all, too!

(I won a beach ball spinning a prize wheel! Can you beat that?)

You can view the program schedule for this weekend by clicking here. The Chinese New Year Faire San Diego continues tomorrow–Sunday, February 25, 2024.

Enjoy these photographs from Saturday morning!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Chinese New Year Festival in Balboa Park!

A big Chinese New Year event is taking place this weekend in San Diego!

The Year of the Dragon, 2024, is being celebrated at the Chinese New Year Festival in Balboa Park. Hosted by the House of China, plenty of fun, cultural entertainment and ethnic food awaits families at the International Cottages!

I visited today and took a bunch of colorful photos that you might like.

The annual Chinese New Year event in Balboa Park always attracts a huge crowd. The list of performers is long–there is music, fan dancing, theater, and a traditional, crowd-pleasing Chinese New Year’s lion dance, of course!

Unique gifts, crafts and Chinese calligraphy lessons can be found among the many booths. There’s enough going on to keep the family occupied for much of the afternoon. Grab a dumpling, a boba tea, a good seat on the lawn, and enjoy!

The event continues tomorrow, Sunday, February 18, from 11 am to 5 pm.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

4th Annual City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love!

These photographs are from today’s 4th Annual City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love. The event, which celebrates community unity and diversity around Valentine’s Day, was held in Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park.

I arrived as the festival began, having followed a small but heart-filled parade down several streets in City Heights. See those fun photographs here!

Neighbors were gathering around 11 am to gaze at cool lowriders along Fairmount Avenue and enjoy multicultural entertainment that would include ballet, lion dances, drummers and the Fern Street Circus.

There was plenty of great food on hand. Community organizations caught the attention of visitors at booths around the grass. (See my photos of several flyers with really great information.) Odi the Coyote from the San Diego Library was greeting young and old. The Rad Hatter was there to help everyone create radical hats from paper bags. And there were other craft activities for families, including making puppet masks!

I lingered for a bit and listened to Mariachi Victoria performing on the outdoor stage.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

A colorful San Diego Lunar New Year Tết Festival!

This weekend, people are heading to City Heights to enjoy the 14th Annual San Diego Lunar New Year Tết Festival!

The big free event celebrates the Year of the Dragon. Food, fun, cultural displays and entertainment fill Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, just south of the City Heights/Weingart Library.

I visited the Tết Festival late this morning and watched several traditional dances, as you can see from my photographs. Various local groups performed on the main stage.

Some of the colorful dances were performed by the UCSD Chinese Dance Association. There were also student ballet dancers who are part of a San Diego Ballet education program in City Heights.

And, if that wasn’t exciting enough, there was a crowd-pleasing magician who levitated a young volunteer from the audience!

Tomorrow–Sunday–a full program of events is scheduled, including Vietnamese opera, the ever-popular lion dances, San Diego’s beloved Fern Street Circus, and much more!

This family-friendly festival will be running 11 am to 8 pm on Sunday, so, if you want to have a lot of fun, head over to City Heights!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Spread kindness and love in Escondido!

Your opportunity to spread love and kindness in Escondido is coming in early February!

Love Esco is a community effort kicking off this weekend that offers a range of service projects whereby volunteers beautify and improve Escondido!

Many of the projects require no special skill and provide necessary tools. You can help a food pantry, engage in neighborhood cleanups, donate blood, bake treats for first responders, help create school gardens, provide encouragement… Click here to see all of the volunteering opportunities, then sign up!

The Love Esco Day Kick-Off Party is this Saturday, February 3, 8am-10am at Grape Day Park. You can meet World Cup Champion Shannon MacMillan and radio host Jesse Lozano. There will be giveaways, entertainment and a whole lot of inspiration!

I plan to be there!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

A talent show for San Diego seniors!

Did you know there’s a special talent show for seniors in San Diego?

I learned about the AgeWell Services 48th Annual Talent Show today when I wandered into Balboa Park’s Senior Lounge. The talent show is quite popular, and is held in the War Memorial Building in Balboa Park–just north of the San Diego Zoo. Participants must be age 60 or better.

Here’s a photo of the flyer if you (or someone you know) would like to participate or purchase tickets to the show!

Auditions are coming up very soon–on February 7, 2024. The talent show itself will take place on March 28, 2024. Tickets will go on sale starting February 7.

There are group discounts available for 10 or more. The entertainment is inexpensive and promises to be great fun!

If you’d like to either sign up for the audition or purchase show tickets, you can visit this web page. You can also call (619) 525-8247.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Concert Series kicks off at San Diego Library!

The 2024 Winter/Spring Concert Series kicked off today at the San Diego Central Library. Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra entertained a packed house inside the library’s Neil Morgan Auditorium.

The audience really dug the jazzy selections, including music by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and great pieces written by San Diego’s “Queen of Boogie Woogie” Sue Palmer. A few audience members felt inclined to dance during the upbeat performance!

Sue Palmer is an inductee into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. Her top notch Motel Swing Orchestra includes piano, saxophone, guitar, drums, trombone and bass. Each musician wowed the crowd, receiving spontaneous applause. The strong vocals were provided by Jazz and Blues singer Liz Ajuzie.

More concerts are scheduled in the months ahead. Several make use of the Central Library’s Steinway piano and will feature some of San Diego’s top pianists!

Believe it or not, this marks the 68th season of free concerts at the San Diego Central Library.

To see what’s coming up, check out my next photo, or visit the library’s web page 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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Celebrating the 109th birthday of the Spreckels Organ!

A special concert today in Balboa Park celebrated the 109th birthday of the Spreckels Organ!

San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez performed a crowd pleasing assortment of music, and received another standing ovation. Our city is fortunate to have a charismatic, world-class organist increasing the popularity of the Spreckels Organ, the largest outdoor musical instrument in the world!

During the free concert, audience members were invited to file through the organ building to watch and hear the incredible pipe organ in action. I myself entered as Raul began a medley from The Sound of Music. I wanted to take another look at historical photographs that line the walls of the building’s central hallway.

(You can see behind-the-scenes photos I took of the Spreckels Organ nine years ago by clicking here.)

The Spreckels Organ made its debut on January 1, 1915, at the opening of the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The organ was donated by the Spreckels brothers to the people of San Diego and the people of all the world. They stipulated that all concerts must be free.

Free concerts can be enjoyed 109 years later every Sunday at 2 pm!

Crowd listens to Spreckels Organ 109th birthday concert during the holiday season.

The San Diego Union newspaper, Friday Morning, January 1, 1915. John D. Spreckels Gives to San Diego America’s First Out-Of-Door Organ.

Mr. Edward Crome, Spreckels Organ Installer, 1914.

Mr. Harrison Albright, Architect, Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Dr. Humphrey J. Stewart, City Organist, 1915-1932.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion Under Construction – 1914. The only surviving picture.

A 1915 Concert. Note the hooded console and umbrellas.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Magical marionettes at Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater!

The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park hosted Steve Taylor’s funny “Magical Marionettes Show” this weekend. I enjoyed a fun performance this afternoon!

Balboa Park’s historic Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, which got its start back in 1947, remains a favorite destination for families looking for child-friendly, light-hearted entertainment.

I’m sure Steve Taylor’s puppeteering brought smiles to every face in the audience. Very young kids clapped and danced with the marionettes. Older folks like me were often chuckling at clever bits of gentle humor.

During the 30 minute show, we watched as King Kong’s baby played electric guitar, and as Charlie Chaplin adopted a lovable rescue dog. We watched ventriloquist dummy Rudy O’Reilly engage Steve in humorous dialogue. We saw an elephant take a bubble bath (and squirt the excited audience) and a goofy skeleton dance.

Steve Taylor has been putting on puppet shows for 55 years! He got his start as an apprentice to Marie Hitchcock when he was nine years old!

He’s awesome!

As I exited the theater, I noticed some information on a wall that might interest you. Workshops are offered by the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater where anyone can learn about Hand, Marionette, Shadow and Full Body Puppetry. You can also learn how to write a story, and be wild and crazy!

Read the contact info at the bottom of the next image!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!