If you love art–glass art in particular–you must absolutely head over to Balboa Park this weekend to check out a spectacular show and sale in Spanish Village Art Center!
The big Art Glass Guild’s Spring Patio Show features numerous skilled glass artists and their amazingly creative and beautiful pieces. Some of the glass is functional, other works are purely decorative. All are for sale!
You can see in my photos how extraordinary this annual show is. Even if you have no plans to purchase art, you’ll pause repeatedly to admire all the glasswork, and wonder how some of the more unusual or exquisite pieces were made!
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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 Twitter!
Looking at the extensive exhibit last weekend, I learned how Donald Takayama at the age of twelve moved from Hawaii to Southern California, having been invited to work at a Venice Beach surf shop, shaping boards. He was paid to wear a company logo on his shirt while surfing. Wikipedia states he may have been the world’s first professional surfer.
Takayama would move to Encinitas and then Oceanside, and continue to gain international fame shaping boards. He also would win many surfing competitions, including three consecutive Masters titles in the US Surfing Championships.
More impressively, he would win the hearts of many in the community. He was beloved by friends and family and surfers all over; he mentored future champions; and he even taught his friend, San Diego Chargers legend Junior Seau–also an Oceanside resident–how to surf.
Surfer Magazine named Donald Takayama one of 25 surfers who changed the sport. He has been inducted into the International Surfboard Builder Hall of Fame.
Visitors to the California Surf Museum will observe how one person changed the world around him in so many positive ways. They will see the enduring achievements of a great man.
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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 Twitter!
Well, back in the mid-19th century, in early San Diego, doing the laundry was a very big pain!
Last weekend I enjoyed listening to a Hidden History talk in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park about the difficulty of cleaning clothes before the advent of handy-dandy push-button washing machines.
Wash day was actually a three day project that began with walking down to the San Diego River multiple times while carrying a bucket. About 50 gallons would be required.
In dusty Old Town, with livestock running around, clothes would get really filthy. The sorting process included the consideration of material–often cotton or wool–and filthiness. After sorting came spot cleaning with lye soap (made by boiling wood ash) and borax (brought in from the desert).
Then clothes and under garments would be generally cleaned with boiling hot water in a big tub using a wooden paddle (for stirring) and washboard (possibly imported to the isolated, undeveloped town by ship) for scrubbing. (My arms are sore just thinking about it!)
Yes, then the hanging out to dry–fortunately San Diego has a warm, dry climate.
And then the ironing.
You had to prep the iron by scraping the bottom, put it on a stove and heat it to just the right temperature so you don’t burn yourself or the clothes, then more arm work. Later irons were more fancy–you could put coals in them. Just don’t get the ash from the coals on the clothes!
In those days, doing the laundry was a job designated for women. The process was so long and involved, they usually wouldn’t cook on wash days. Food for the family would be prepared in advance.
In 1860 San Diego had 4 dedicated laundresses–indigenous and Irish women. In 1870, when San Diego’s population had grown to 2300, there were 32, including Chinese immigrants who were then arriving in California.
That’s a hasty summary of the Hidden History talk, which everyone enjoyed as we sat on a pleasant Saturday in front of the State Park’s historic Colorado House.
On Sunday I threw my dirty clothes into a washing machine, added detergent from a plastic bottle and pressed a button. Transferring my clothes to the drier was oh-so difficult!
I tried to take good notes, but don’t rely on what I’ve written here as 100% accurate. If you’re doing research and came upon this blog post, make sure to read other sources!
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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 Twitter!
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Checking out dozens of museums around San Diego for free? That would be better than good! That would be great!
If you’re presently a member of a museum in San Diego County, there’s a good chance you qualify for The Big Exchange.
What’s that?
During the San Diego Museum Council’s special The Big Exchange event, which is now underway and lasts through May 18, 2022, anyone who is a member of a participating institution qualifies for free reciprocal admission to over 40 museums, historic sites, gardens, and more throughout San Diego County!
Whoa! How cool is that?
I’m already taking advantage of The Big Exchange! You should, too!
What does a Perfect Day look like in Oceanside? To find out, you should visit the Oceanside Museum of Art!
In one museum gallery, the exhibited art of James E. Watts not only includes the above Perfect Day Blocks, but numerous other visual stories!
Here’s how the story of one Perfect Day begins…
…and how that Perfect Day ends.
Here’s the story of Frankenstein and his monster creation…
…and the story of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and two small horses…
…and the story of a female Prometheus…
…and the story of Quasimodo, Esmeralda and a goat.
Do these stories appear familiar? Perhaps you’ve already seen them “written” in James Watts’ little-known downtown San Diego studio: here and here and here.
If that’s the case, you might also recognize a few of these storytelling pieces in the Oceanside Museum of Art’s gift shop…
Art enthusiasts, take note! James Watts is a creative genius and an absolute, 100% original. He’s also a cool guy!
You need to visit the Oceanside Museum of Art to jump into his rich stories firsthand. Do so by July 17, 2022, when JAMES E. WATTS: STORYTELLER turns its last page.
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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 Twitter!
Students from a variety of local schools performed scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. The event, produced by Write Out Loud and the San Diego Shakespeare Society, also included great applause!
I arrived in time to watch most of the performances and was impressed. I have no doubt many of the participants will go on to enjoy distinguished acting careers. Perhaps one day you’ll recognize some of these faces at the Old Globe or La Jolla Playhouse!
The performers represented Carlsbad High School, Mission Bay High School, Theater For Young Professionals, Bernardo Heights Middle School and Sparrow Academy. Selections from Shakespeare included As You Like It, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, and Julius Caesar.
At the conclusion of the event, William Shakespeare himself showed up to offer his congratulations!
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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 Twitter!
Big crowds are coming out this weekend for Fiesta Old Town Cinco de Mayo! The popular festival is taking place on San Diego Avenue, between Conde Street and Twiggs Street.
I took loads of photos today!
Look at all the colorful fun! There’s a Lowrider Lane with cool bicycles, awesome motorcycles and a bunch of modified Volkswagens! There’s tons of yummy food, many smiling vendors, plus entertainment on a main stage.
I saw joyful, twirling Mexican baile folklórico dancing at the Cafe Coyote Stage, then grabbed two buttery, freshly made warm tortillas at Cafe Coyote across the street.
As I wandered about, I discovered representatives from the Mormon Battalion Historic Site in the small park behind the Whaley House. They were teaching people frontier dances, recalling their part of early San Diego history, and engaged in various fun activities.
During much of the day, at the top of each hour, there’s an exciting Lucha Libre match. I watched with dismay as the bad guys defeated the crowd-favorite good guys with a series of wicked body slams and wrestling moves, plus, of course, some villainous cheating. Fortunately, a rematch was promised, and I’m sure the good guys would be victorious later in the day!
Thanks to the STAR 94.1 radio guys for the prize!
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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 Twitter!
Wonder, surprise, and plenty of WOW was experienced by those visiting Liberty Station today. That’s because La Jolla Playhouse was in their final day of the 2022 Without Walls Festival!
Among many outdoor performances free to the public was the colorful, kinetic procession TransMythical.
Strange, never-before-seen spirits, nature gods, high priests and mythological creatures appeared from the arches at the edge of Liberty Station’s North Promenade.
As they emerged, they seemed to step tentatively into an unfamiliar world–our world.
The mysterious creatures looked about with wonder. They wandered, gathered, formed a procession.
Appearing beautifully strange–and strangely familiar–the giant puppets and masked characters interacted with the crowd in a very human way. But then–all elemental myths are composed by us human types–right?
During the performance a baby deer was born.
The mythical creatures and we humans all looked on with wonder. The fawn was greeted with happiness.
The tiny deer looked about our shared world with newly opened eyes.
These strangely wonderful myths were brought to life by the San Diego-based Animal Cracker Conspiracy!
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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 Twitter!
Three enormous ants interacted with excited children today in San Diego.
The strange human-size ants were first spotted carrying large bread crumbs about the green lawn of Liberty Station’s North Promenade.
The onlooking kids quickly understood the silent, methodical ants had a plan. They were carrying the crumbs and dropping them on the grass to form lines!
Lots of kids promptly assisted them!
Ants was the name of this very unique, super fun interactive outdoor performance, a part of La Jolla Playhouse’s 2022 Without Walls Festival at Liberty Station.
The three giant ants came from Polyglot Theatre in Australia!
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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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 