Tag: events

Downtown shrine grows for cancelled Comic-Con.

A shrine has appeared in downtown San Diego lamenting the cancellation of Comic-Con in 2020.

This is the week in July when over 100,000 enthusiastic pop culture fans would have converged upon the San Diego Convention Center. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has caused Comic-Con International to call off their world-famous event this year.

I was walking by the Gaslamp trolley station a couple hours ago when I noticed a shrine has been created in the plaza near the Tin Fish Restaurant. Fans know that this area, at the south end of the Gaslamp Quarter’s Fifth Avenue, tends to be center of all the crazy, wonderful outdoor Comic-Con activity. At least, it is during normal years.

The shine includes some posters, swag bags and flowers. But the best part of the shrine is the growing number of hand-written messages by fans.

Do not despair!

Because this year is far from ordinary, Comic-Con has done something extraordinary. Comic-Con for 2020 is now entirely online . . . and free! This week fans can visit the virtual Exhibit Hall, watch live panels, and even participate in the annual cosplay competition!

Learn all the details by visiting the Comic-Con@Home web page here!

There is also an awesome free Souvenir Book that you can download. It features 260 pages of articles and cool artwork, and pays tribute to one of the all-time greatest writers of fantasy and science fiction, Ray Bradbury. In my last blog post I wrote a little about that here.

DSCN3310z

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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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Favorite photos from past Comic-Cons!

Are you ready for Comic-Con@Home? The gigantic international virtual event kicks off this Wednesday, July 22. And it’s entirely free!

There’s going to be a live Exhibit Hall!

There are going to be over 350 separate panels viewable on Comic-Con’s YouTube channel!

There will also be many “at home” activities, including art and cosplay challenges, and a video competition!

Learn everything you need to know, and print your free official badge by clicking here!

Plus, visit Amazon’s Virtual-Con here! Amazon is the official sponsor of Comic-Con@Home and will have lots of cool experiences at their website.

Meanwhile, I’ve gone through hundreds of photographs that I’ve taken during Comic-Con over the past six years, and I’ve selected some of my personal favorites . . . in no particular order!

While the world anticipates Comic-Con’s triumphant return to downtown San Diego and the Convention Center in 2021, enjoy this wonderfully mixed-up collection of photographic memories!

img_0408z-get-your-photo-taken-in-some-gigantic-bony-jaws

img_0416z-the-turner-boat-is-all-dressed-up-and-ready-to-go-when-comic-con-opens-tomorrow

img_0668z-the-syfy-band-was-entertaining-the-crowd-on-fifth-avenue-in-the-gaslamp-for-sdcc-2017

img_7133a-theres-so-much-crazy-fun-going-on-my-head-was-on-a-rapid-swivel

img_0845z-syfy-had-a-handy-cosplay-repair-cart-along-mlk-promenade

img_5957a-super-awesome-suits-of-armor-at-the-fantastic-weta-workshop-exhibit

img_6367a-clive-barker-is-back-at-comic-con-this-year-with-more-of-his-horror-themed-artwork

img_6201a-and-heres-another-cool-hot-wheels-car-modeled-after-a-star-wars-stormtrooper-helmet

img_6658a-a-large-troop-of-colony-soldiers-marches-down-martin-luther-king-jr-promenade-during-comic-con

img_9311a-mace-windu-in-a-movie-clip-shown-above-huge-star-wars-exhibit

img_7077a-a-cool-dragon-ball-z-poster-in-window-of-a-gaslamp-eatery

img_9256a-almost-anything-imaginable-could-be-bought-including-these-star-trek-uniforms

img_9370a-clown-masks-used-in-heist-scene-in-dark-knight

img_9451a-lots-of-video-games-could-be-sampled-including-realistic-racers

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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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Watch a Padres preseason game at Petco Park!

This afternoon I watched a couple innings of a Padres preseason Summer Camp game at Petco Park!

I and a few dozen other fans watched Padres team players get ready for the season in an intrasquad game. We sat on the grassy hill of Gallagher Square, the area beyond the outfield that until December last year was called Park at the Park.

Unless you had binoculars, you couldn’t really tell who was up at bat, because the ballpark video board is unfortunately out of sight. But you could see some sharply hit balls, and some smooth fielding, and one really bad throw to first base by an infielder! The hurriedly thrown ball hit the ground and the hustling runner was safe!

It was fun to sit in the sun for a while with other excited, cheering Padres fans.

Most watching the game in Gallagher Square kept socially distanced and wore a face mask. That’s the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately, nobody will sit in the stands this pandemic-shortened 2020 season. But we can still watch some great baseball action on television, or perhaps from afar!

During Padres Summer Camp and upcoming preseason games, bring a picnic and watch your team in action!

Go Pads!

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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!

Stuff the Bus online to help students in need!

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Stuff the Bus campaign is being held entirely online this year!

You can help San Diego students who are in need–including those who are homeless–by providing them with school supplies. SDCCU has partnered with the San Diego County Office of Education to make your participation easy. Simply go to this GoFundMe page and make a donation!

Funds received will purchase backpacks full of school supplies like pencils, pens, binders and crayons for those kids who might otherwise go without. The backpacks will be distributed to schools all around San Diego County.

Last year, over 6,800 backpacks filled with school supplies were handed out!

The SDCCU Stuff the Bus campaign runs through July 31, 2020.

Visit the donation page here!

Cool photo memories from July 2015.

San Diego had an “ordinary” summer five years ago. There was no coronavirus pandemic to shut public events down. So, you might ask, what was going on in San Diego back in July 2015?

Well, for one thing, Comic-Con. And I took loads of photos!

But there were other unique San Diego events, too. By clicking the following links, you’ll notice I brought my camera to the Sun and Sea Festival in Imperial Beach, the Festival of the Bells at the historic Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and the Supergirl Pro surfing competition at the Oceanside Pier. I also by pure luck met a world-renowned artist while walking along the Embarcadero!

To revisit a few memories from five years ago, click the following links:

Some cool photos from Comic-Con Preview Night.

Cool cosplay and fun outside San Diego Comic-Con.

Super cool awesome cosplay at San Diego Comic-Con!

Insane Comic-Con: crowds, hype, fun and firemen!

Photos of cool sand sculptures at Sun and Sea Festival!

Celebrating San Diego history at Festival of the Bells.

Rivelino’s Our Silences sculptures head to San Francisco.

Fun, sun and extreme sports action at Supergirl Pro!

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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.

Petco Park readies for a strange season!

Images of baseball stars Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado anticipate the 2020 season at Petco Park.
Images of Padres stars Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado anticipate the 2020 baseball season at Petco Park.

Major League Baseball will indeed have a season in 2020. The news was announced yesterday.

There will be 60 games this year, and teams will travel less and observe complicated new safety rules because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no roar of the crowd. No fans will fill the stands.

It’s going to be really strange.

This morning I walked by Petco Park, the home field of the San Diego Padres, to see if there are any preparations underway for the shortened season.

From atop the hill in the Park at the Park, I saw the ball field being groomed. As I passed the main box office and neared the trolley tracks, I looked up at workers on a crane who were applying the second of two huge wraps to Petco Park.

The very unusual 2020 season will begin on July 23rd or 24th.

Go Pads!

Petco Park is newly painted and empty as the grounds crew prepares the field for Padres baseball. No fans will be in attendance this shortened season.
Petco Park is newly painted and appears pristine. The grounds crew is preparing the field for Padres baseball. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, no fans will be in attendance this shortened season.
Large wrap on Petco Park celebrates Jackie Robinson. Diversity. Equality. Unity.
Large new wrap on Petco Park celebrates baseball legend and civil rights hero Jackie Robinson. Diversity. Equality. Unity.
Workers on a crane at Petco Park prepare for the unusual 2020 Major League Baseball season--which begins in July!
Workers at Petco Park prepare for a very strange Major League Baseball season–which will begin in July!

UPDATE!

I snapped this photo several days later…

Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Johnny Ritchey and current Padres stars. Together As One.
Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Johnny Ritchey and current Padres stars. We Are San Diego. Together As One.

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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!

Six years of colorful Comic-Con trolleys!

It’s mid-June. If this were an ordinary year, brand new trolley wraps would be rolling out right now for San Diego Comic-Con. But, alas, like most events, Comic-Con has been cancelled in 2020 due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

I’ve photographed just about every Comic-Con trolley wrap that has appeared in the past six years. As mobile billboards, they’re used to promote popular entertainment–primarily new or ongoing television series. They’re designed to catch the attention of Comic-Con fans and create a sense of anticipation and excitement.

This year I’ll miss watching the weeks of preparations that lead up to the world’s greatest pop culture convention. Seeing streets, buildings and trolleys massively transformed for the epic event is one more thing that makes living in downtown San Diego so much fun!

If you, like me, are saddened by the cancellation of Comic-Con in 2020, I figured we could revisit these very colorful trolley wraps from the past six years. How many do you remember or recognize?

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

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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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

A most beautiful garden reopens!

The Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park is reopening!

Today was the first day that members could enjoy the garden. Starting on Monday, June 22, this most beautiful garden will be open to the public!

Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, face coverings and social distancing will be required.

I got off from work early today, so I headed into Balboa Park and found myself at the entrance to the Japanese Friendship Garden renewing my annual membership. Then I stepped into the garden. And I immediately lost myself in the tranquil beauty.

Sunlight touched green leaves. Water sparkled and splashed. Birds took flight as I moved from shadow to light. My mind calmed. I again understood the true beauty of life and this world.

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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!

Commonplace Abstractions displayed at America Plaza.

Untitled (Yardstick), Eric Snell, 1990.
Untitled (Yardstick), Eric Snell, 1990.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is now displaying some very unique abstract artwork inside the America Plaza office building. One America Plaza, the tallest building in San Diego, stands across Kettner Boulevard from the museum’s downtown location.

This small exhibition of art is titled Commonplace Abstractions. The pieces, on view behind glass, were selected from MCASD’s collection. Each work of art incorporates one or more ordinary objects from everyday human life.

Step into the front entrance of America Plaza, head down the corridor to the left that leads to the nearby trolley station, and you’ll see how contemporary artists can use creativity and ingenuity to rearrange elements in our familiar world, and make it even more mysterious, thought-provoking, and strangely wonderful!

My photos provide a few examples of what you’ll see.

Painting with Coat Hanger, John Armleder, 1984.
Painting with Coat Hanger, John Armleder, 1984.
Office Depot, Mónica Arreola, 2003.
Office Depot, Mónica Arreola, 2003.
Day by day is good day, Peter Dreher, 1990, 2007.
Day by day is good day, Peter Dreher, 1990, 2007.

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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 photo memories from June 2015.

To say the least, the year 2020 has been eventful. The coronavirus pandemic, economic disruption, an election year, widespread protests and even riots. During such times, it’s easy to understand we are all living inside history.

The events of five years ago are also part of human history, even if those days in retrospect seem less troubled, less chaotic.

Well, the world continues to turn and it’s time once again to revisit a few Cool San Diego Sights memories. These are from June 2015.

The big centennial of Balboa Park was underway, of course, and Comic-Con was fast approaching . . . plus there were many other happy celebrations of life in San Diego.

To revisit memories from five years ago, click the following links:

Philippine American Celebration in Balboa Park!

Young and old dream at Centennial Railway Garden.

Photos of San Diego library’s Art of Comic-Con exhibit!

Artists paint live Flamenco dancing in Spanish Village!

Painting the 1915 Centennial Mural in Balboa Park.

Fun photos of Make Music Day San Diego!

Cool photos of fun, funky Ocean Beach Street Fair!

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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.