Tag: events

House of Syria exhibit at Hall of Nations.

I wandered into Balboa Park’s Hall of Nations today. I was surprised to discover a great small exhibit by one of the newest members of the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages: the House of Syria!

I was given a friendly greeting as I examined various displays. Most prominent was a very beautiful backgammon set. I’ve learned backgammon is derived from games going back to Mesopotamia in ancient times, such as the Royal Game of Ur. I also spotted some tasty Syrian sweet pastries!

Like other International Cottage members, the House of Syria is very welcoming. Their website states: Our members are volunteers passionate about preserving Syrian culture and sharing it through events, exhibitions, traditional music and dance, and authentic Syrian cuisine. Whether you have roots in Syria or simply want to learn more about its culture and history, House of Syria welcomes you as part of our extended family.

Like other nation members who don’t have a cottage yet, that’s a future goal. Get in touch with these good people if you’d like to learn more.

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Beauty created at San Diego Pysanka Festival!

San Diego Pysanka Festival 2026 was held today in Balboa Park. The event was hosted by the House of Ukraine. Participants gathered in the Santa Fe Room at the Balboa Park Club building.

What is Pysanka? It the tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures. You’ve no doubt observed beautifully, intricately decorated eggs in museums or elsewhere. The San Diego Pysanka Festival allowed visitors to view the craft up close, learn its history, purchase finished eggs, and even participate in pysanka creation workshops!

As this Wikipedia article explains: The pysanka (Ukrainian: писанка, писанки (pl.)) itself, a wax-resist type egg, is one of Ukraine’s national symbols, and is known throughout the world.

Why the festival now? It’s spring and almost Easter. These are the original Easter eggs!

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Photos of St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2026!

A big San Diego event today! It’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival 2026!

The parade this morning was as epic as ever, lasting well over an hour as it headed through Bankers Hill. The festival is taking place on the west side of Balboa Park, near Laurel Street.

Everyone was wearing green–parade participants and those lining the sidewalks cheering them on.

Irish organizations were front and center, with Irish clubs and societies and dance school students strutting their stuff. Law enforcement and fire fighters were a huge presence, too. There were Shriner clowns, high school marching bands, Irish setters, Irish wolfhounds, roller skaters doing their routine, cars decorated with shamrocks, dignitaries, beauty queens, ballet folklorico dancers, fierce Vikings in their longship, happy leprechauns . . . you name it!

I took many photos before the parade and during it. These are some of my better shots…

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Rotary Club of Coronado celebrates 100 years.

The Coronado Historical Association museum has a new exhibit. It celebrates the Rotary Club of Coronado’s 100 year anniversary in 2026.

With historical photographs and artifacts, A Century of Service: 100 Years of the Rotary Club of Coronado covers the history of the club, from its founding in 1926 by 21 members to the present day. More importantly, it details how club members have improved the local community, and have worked to help people all around the world.

I was stunned to learn about the sheer amount of charitable work these Rotarians have done!

The Rotary Club of Coronado has worked to train community members in emergency preparedness. During COVID they created a Neighbor to Neighbor program to help keep people informed and connected. They support the Coronado Hospital Foundation. They offer scholarships, mentorship and leadership opportunities to local youth. They support the Rotary Youth Exchange, Model United Nations, Music Scholarship Competitions, Speech Contests, Athlete Awards and more!

Helping people around the world, the Rotary Club of Coronado fundraises to eradicate polio. They support grants for organizations like Tanzania Hospital and Orphanage, Project Mercy Baja, and the Pan American Institute school in Tijuana, Mexico. They support Limbs of Freedom which provide prosthetics in Mexico. They also support Thousand Smiles, providing cleft lip and other care in Mexico, too.

So much good work!

Go check out the exhibit and prepare to be impressed!

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Six decades of Comic-Con celebrated at museum!

Lovers of Comic-Con in San Diego should head over to Balboa Park. The Comic-Con Museum recently opened a new exhibit called Cover Story: Six Decades of Comic-Con.

The lower level of the museum now features tons of artwork representing years of creativity and fun at the world’s biggest and best popular arts convention.

Visitors can look closely at original art used for the covers of Comic-Con souvenir books and other publications, beginning back in 1970 when the event was attended by only 300 fans. There are fine examples of interior art, too. You’ll see the work of legendary artists, from Jack Kirby to Frank Miller to Alex Ross.

Fans of DC and Marvel superheroes will love this exhibition. As will fans of fantasy, and science fiction, and comic strips, and cartoons . . . All things pop culture are celebrated!

Here are only a few examples…

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San Diego Wave FC Season Kick-Off Rally!

San Diego Wave FC held their 2026 Season kick-off rally this evening in Balboa Park! A bunch of fans came together at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion to root for the team and make great memories!

Activations around the pavilion included unique giveaways, a merchandise station, kids activity station, and numerous photo ops. The San Diego Sirens independent supporters group was present. So was Forever Balboa Park. Upbeat music gave the event a fun, festival vibe.

When the players filed into the pavilion around 5:30, everyone cheered! The players would then pose for photos with fans at the different stations, and even autograph posters and clothing before photos were taken.

I saw many families. Young ladies were particularly excited to see their sports idols.

San Diego Wave FC is celebrating their fifth year. They’ll have their Home Opener in several days at Snapdragon Stadium.

The club made the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs last year. Hopefully in 2026 they’ll have even more success!

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Unique printmaking art exhibit in Oceanside!

The subject matter for art is infinite, and sometimes it seems like the different paths for creating art are beyond count. That is certainly the case in a current exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Matrix multiplied: hybrid approaches to printmaking demonstrates that amazing art can be produced by utilizing multiple printmaking techniques.

Eighteen artists are featured in the exhibition. Many of their pieces incorporate different techniques, ranging from traditional handmade printing methods to digital technology. They are truly unique!

No particular theme is depicted among the pieces. You’ll see abstracts, portraits, landscapes . . . art books, hangings, sculptures . . . all produced in ways you might not have imagined. The exhibition is a celebration of artistic skill and creativity!

Go check it out through August 2, 2026!

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Exhibit celebrates Irving Gill’s architecture in Oceanside.

The Oceanside Museum of Art occupies a building that was designed by renowned architect Irving J. Gill. They soon will be expanding into an adjacent building also designed by Gill. So it’s appropriate museum visitors can now enjoy an exhibition titled Modern Simplicity: The Architecture of Irving J. Gill in Oceanside.

Irving Gill is a name you might recognize. His architectural work can be found all around San Diego. He’s considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. Twelve of his buildings throughout Southern California are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (In nearly thirteen years of blogging, I’ve photographed much of his work. To find those past blog posts, click here.)

As the exhibition webpage explains: The City of Oceanside is home to several notable examples of Gill’s later work, including two landmark buildings that define the east-west axis of the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) campus: the former 1934 City Hall and the original [1929] Fire Station #1 and police station.

In Oceanside he also designed the Americanization School (1931), the Nevada Street Kindergarten (1931), the Blade Tribune building (1936), and several others. The exhibition documents his buildings with fascinating information and historical drawings and photographs.

The exhibition explains how Irving was inspired by Southern California’s climate and stripped architecture of unnecessary ornament and focused on pure geometric form.

People might not realize it, but many buildings and houses around San Diego were greatly influenced by the vision of one man: Irving J. Gill. In Oceanside–and now at the museum exhibition–that inspired vision comes to life.

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Comic-Con Museum celebrates Will Eisner Day!

Are you a fan of Comic-Con? You should know that Will Eisner Week is March 1-7, 2026. The theme this year is Dream Big: Read a Graphic Novel!

San Diego’s amazing Comic-Con Museum will be celebrating “Will Eisner Day” with a special event. Four panels will be held in the museum’s theater on March 4, from 12 pm to 4 pm. Participation is included with museum admission, and free for museum members.

The panels are: Cats vs. Dogs: Panelists’ Pet Comics; Will Eisner Hall of Fame 2026; Graphic Novel Adaptations from Literature; and Graphic Memoirs by Women.

Administrator of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, Jackie Estrada, will be among the panelists!

If you’re a creator seeking inspiration, a lover of graphic novels, or simply curious about this certain-to-be-awesome, one-of-a-kind event, check out this webpage for more information!

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Support the House of Mexico scholarship program!

The House of Mexico, based in San Diego’s Balboa Park, offers scholarships to deserving local high school students. Why not help with the worthy program?

This webpage accepts donations and describes how students have benefitted in past years. Young scholars have gone on to attend UC San Diego, San Diego State University, UC Davis, Stanford, Boston University…

One way to support the effort is to buy tickets for the San Diego Gulls 4th Annual Mexican Heritage Night on Friday, April 3, 2026 by using the QR code on this webpage! Ticket buyers get to enjoy a great hockey game at Pechanga Arena and receive a cool scarf, too!

It’s extraordinary how the San Diego Gulls strongly support literacy and education in our community.

Thank you!

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