Day of the Dead altar created by the Old Globe Theatre contains photos of departed loved ones, roses, candles, and an image of Shakespeare.
For several hours today, visitors to Balboa Park could enjoy traditional Dia de los Muertos activities in Copley Plaza, at the entrance to the Old Globe’s theater complex. The event’s main attraction was two performances of a powerful new play called La Muerte Descansa en Paz (Death Rests in Peace). The first performance was in Spanish, the second mostly in English.
The brief but emotionally stirring play, directed and co-created by Daniel Jáquez, was presented for the very first time on Saturday during the SAY San Diego’s City Heights Day of the Dead Celebration. The production is the result of a collaboration between the Old Globe’s coLAB and AXIS programs and the San Diego community of City Heights.
Here are some photos of today’s event!
Day of the Dead–Dia de los Muertos–was celebrated today in Copley Plaza, outside the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in Balboa Park.A Dia de los Muertos altar remembers and celebrates those who’ve passed into the next world. Their spirits are enticed to return among the living.A loving tribute to relatives and loved ones, dearly missed.Kids have their faces painted like sugar skulls for Dia de los Muertos.The tools of a face painter.At one table creative kids could color Dia de los Muertos skulls.Shakespeare among Dia de los Muertos skulls. Perhaps that one in the center belonged to Yorick.A performance of La Muerte Descansa en Paz (Death Rests in Peace) begins. The dead enter in front of a living audience.The character Death takes the stage. Death sees both sides of the river. Death sees life’s joy, pain, dreams–and the souls of the departed.The dead dance. On Dia de los Muertos, when the church bells ring, Death permits the dead to return briefly as spirits among the living.A dead poet vaguely remembers the richness and brevity of life–the sharp joys and sorrows. Her voice was cut short, but her living words linger.The dead briefly take the stage. We, the living, experience a glimpse, a whisper, a moment of lost love.
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Kids at Halloween Family Day in Balboa Park color Dia de los Muertos skulls.
Today was Halloween Family Day in Balboa Park!
A lively crowd filled the park, roaming about in fun costumes, trick-or-treating, eating yummy food truck offerings, and enjoying all sorts of entertainment. But the coolest part of the event, in my opinion, was the opportunity to create all sorts of colorful Halloween art!
Many families filled El Prado during Balboa Park’s annual Halloween Family Day.The Timken Museum of Art had a table that helped kids learn how to make some cool Halloween artwork.A scary hand print and nearby smiling pumpkin treat.A panda and his pals were providing music in the Plaza de Panama. Young and old in Halloween costumes look on.Decals were being applied to trick-or-treat bags in Spanish Village Art Center.Anyone at the Japanese Friendship Garden could make a cool spider sucker holder using craftily bent black pipe cleaners.More fun Halloween coloring at the International Cottages table on El Prado.Flesh-eating plants displayed by the San Diego Carnivorous Plant Society appeared even scarier than usual!The San Diego Public Library was at the annual event promoting reading. Something a bit spooky might be perfect today.Even the Balboa Park electriquettes were dressed up for the occasion!Making bats at the San Diego Natural History Museum table.A beautiful glass pumpkin, that was made by the glassblowers of Spanish Village.Kids learn how to sculpt in Spanish Village during Halloween Family Day.Yikes! That’s really creepy!
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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!
Hang On To Your Hats! Art of the Horse, created by artist Daphne Gaylord.
Breeders’ Cup racehorses are running down a street in Del Mar–and through several nearby cities, from La Jolla to Cardiff-by-the-Sea!
These horses–fiberglass sculptures to be precise–are life size versions of the Torrie Horse used for the Breeders’ Cup Trophy. Each one has been painted by a local artist and placed along a stretch of coastal San Diego County for the upcoming event, which will be held on November 3 and 4 at the Del Mar Racetrack. The project is called Art of the Horse. There are a total of 20 statues.
I’ve spotted four more Breeders’ Cup horses racing down Camino del Mar, south of the racetrack!
Milliner’s Joy. Art of the Horse, created by artist Robin Raznick.Banner proclaims that The Best Are Coming. The Breeders’ Cup will be held at the Del Mar Racetrack in 2017, November 3-4.La Mare De La Mer. Art of the Horse, created by artist Nancy Fraser.American Flag. Art of the Horse, created by artist Vincent Dalmaso.Hang on for the ride of your life! The Breeders’ Cup is coming to Del Mar in less than two weeks!
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Super fast GC32 catamarans fly through and above San Diego Bay during an Extreme Sailing Series race!
Today I headed over to Harbor Island to check out the Extreme Sailing Series races out on San Diego Bay. The exciting Ultimate Stadium Racing Championship takes place over eight weekends, in eight international cities. Elite teams from countries around the world sail identical, super fast GC32 catamarans, which at their highest speed actually fly above the water!
I was amazed at how close some of the action was. A good crowd of people watched a sequence of relatively short races from the shore of Harbor Island, and from the Race Village, while announcers described exactly what was happening out on the water. When the catamarans flew by, many cheered for their favorite team!
The event continues through Sunday. Except for the VIP section, everything is free and open to the public!
I got a few decent photos!
Boy points toward fleet of high-tech foil-equipped catamarans manned by elite level teams. Another wild race is about to begin.A crowd watches the Ultimate Stadium Racing Championship event from Harbor Island’s temporary Race Village. Viewing is free!Some of the best sailors in the world, many who’ve won Olympic Gold, World Championships, and the America’s Cup, vie for supremacy in San Diego.The Extreme Sailing Series includes stadium racing competition in eight international cities. San Diego is Act 7.The race announcers add spice and sailing knowledge to an already exciting scene.The SAP Extreme Sailing Team out of Denmark seemed ahead of the pack in nearly every race. They’ve already been the winner in 3 cities.Once the catamarans attain sufficient speed, they become airborne, barely maintaining control with foils! Gusts of wind in the sails can really make these racing craft sway!Lots of people were enjoying the VIP section.The Race Village features many vendors and participating organizations. US Sailing has a fun scavenger hunt for kids.Young people compare how different sail arrangements can produce speed.A large diagram provides a guide to the amazing GC32 catamaran. Each team’s vessel is exactly alike. Skill and strategy determine ultimate victory.Legend beneath the diagram explains various key parts of the GC32, including the J-Foils, which create lift. (Click image to enlarge.)Our local Team Extreme San Diego was making a great showing! San Diego has produced many of the world’s top sailors. (Need I mention Dennis Conner?)Beautiful sailboats do battle on San Diego Bay, with the downtown skyline providing a picturesque background.The crew of each vessel includes many highly skilled athletes. The action is wild and fast-paced!A dance upon sparkling water.
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Someone in downtown San Diego’s Horton Plaza Park peers through a spy hole into a tiny Model Home.
The La Jolla Playhouse has invaded Horton Plaza Park! Several red houses have been placed inside the downtown San Diego park, and inside these tiny houses professional actors and actresses perform. A public audience can freely watch through spy holes!
Model Home is the name of this improvisational performance art concept, and anyone can check it out through Sunday. It’s a part of the La Jolla Playhouse’s annual Without Walls Festival which this year takes place in venues around downtown.
The genius behind Model Home is Mimi Lien, and I believe the idea is to inspire thought about what makes a home, and about those things in a home that individuals deem to be important.
A home is like an enclosed stage where humans act out much of their lives. As one nearby sign says, houses aren’t just structures, but contain human identity, memory and experience. Peering through the various spy holes in these Model Homes is like secretly peering into the mind of another person. It’s an inner life that the observer can never truly know.
I spoke to a couple of friendly La Jolla Playhouse folks and learned the actors and actresses inside the houses perform all day long, with periodic breaks. They are aware that eyeballs are staring in at them, but as trained acting professionals they aren’t fazed at all.
I also learned that at certain times the tiny house that is dangling from a crane is swung around through the air in a Crane Ballet! Perhaps I’ll “swing” by again this weekend and “crane” my neck at what must certainly be an unusual sight!
If you’re in downtown this weekend, you really should check it out!
Inside one tiny house I saw an actor in a small kitchen baking bread!Model Home, in downtown San Diego’s Horton Plaza Park, is part of the La Jolla Playhouse Without Walls WOW festival! (Click image to enlarge.)Several tiny red houses stand in Horton Plaza Park–and one is dangling high in the sky from a crane!People pause to read a sign that describes some very unique and thought-provoking performance art that can be enjoyed freely by anyone passing by.Peering through one of the spy holes…Inside this very bare Model Home an actor seemed to be sleeping in poverty. But every small “stage” and improvised performance invites the viewer’s personal interpretation.Inside another Model Home were the abandoned remnants of a birthday party. I didn’t see an actor. (Perhaps the kids ran outside to play…)And inside this Model Home an actress was studying a feather, holding it up and turning it about in the soft light. She seemed to be quietly thinking.
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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!
People look at potted greenery during the California Native Plant Society’s Fall Plant Sale in Balboa Park.
Yesterday the California Native Plant Society had their Fall Plant Sale in Balboa Park. I stumbled upon the cool event during my random walk through the park.
Lots of people were looking at all sorts of potted plants, perhaps thinking of making a purchase for their yards. Residents of San Diego are encouraged to use native flora for landscaping. San Diego has a cool arid climate, and like the rest of Southern California our growing city has a limited supply of water.
Many plants and flowers native to the San Diego region were for sale in the outdoor courtyard of the Casa del Prado.Balboa Park’s iconic California Tower is seen through an archway at the Casa del Prado.Many packets of seeds were also for sale.Fred Roberts, a local botanist, artist and author had some of his beautiful bird art for sale at one end of the long table.He also created these flower shirts.One very good thing about native plants is they don’t require much water. San Diego has an arid climate!
If you’d like to see some photos of the House of Spain’s lawn program in Balboa Park yesterday, which included lots of colorful dancing, I posted those here!
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A covered wagon in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is decorated with autumn colors.
After walking a bit downtown, I took the trolley up to Old Town to enjoy the colorful Fall Festival!
I never tire of the wonderful events that can be found almost every weekend at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
Kids at the Old Town Fall Festival learn to make art with colored beans!Later in the day folks at this table would demonstrate how to make applesauce.Making environmentally friendly bird feeders using corn cobs, peanut butter and seeds.Folks young and old were trying their hand at making corn husk dolls.Lady with old-fashioned parasol walks through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park’s central Plaza de las Armas.Colorful leaves and a bountiful harvest frame the Welcome in an Old Town shop window.A smiling señorita walks near some pumpkins.An elaborate Día de los Muertos decoration standing beside the Fiesta de Reyes stage is bright with fall colors.A flower-filled wheelbarrow in front of Seeley Stable.Ceramic pumpkins line shelves at an outdoor Old Town marketplace.Ladies work on a quilt inside the Threads of the Past Living History Activity Center.Kid learns how to plant seeds in front of the Wells Fargo History Museum.A Wells Fargo chest full of golden treasure!
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
This member of the San Diego Sabers has personally made many lightsabers. Some examples lie on the group’s table during Maker Faire in Balboa Park.
The last couple of years at Maker Faire San Diego I’ve watched a group of Star Wars enthusiasts entertain audiences with lightsaber duels. They have engaged in their elaborate play on the main stage, swinging their illuminated lightsabers in mock combat, to rousing music from the Star Wars movies.
This year, as I walked around Maker Faire, I happened upon this group’s cool lightsaber exhibit. These local Star Wars fans call themselves the San Diego Sabers. They are one of many similar groups all around the world that make their own lightsabers and engage in mock combat.
I asked all sort of questions and learned more than I expected. Most of the extremely elaborate lightsabers used by the members produce colored light, illuminating a long clear tube that can be attached, thereby appearing much like the Jedi and Sith weapons made famous in the movies. Most of the mock weapons also generate that distinctive lightsaber sound. I learned that it’s also possible to order a variety of lightsabers from several online vendors.
Regional competitions are often held between groups, and the method of scoring is similar to that used in fencing. The sport is lightning fast, highly athletic and incorporates various styles of martial arts. The San Diego Sabers provide demos free to the public, teach all ages including kids (often using foam lightsabers for safety), and encourage acceptance, respect, and a positive attitude.
And it’s obvious they have a lot of fun!
Many DIY lightsabers are surprisingly elaborate, generating light and sound, while appearing as authentic as any movie prop.The San Diego Sabers provides full contact lightsaber training based on fencing, HEMA, Kendo and Wu-shu. Kids are welcome and it’s free!Someone picks up one of the cool lightsabers on display.Members of the San Diego Sabers demonstrate mock combat using foam attachments. Together they’ve got enough lightsabers to take on General Grievous!A kid checks out one of the cool lightsabers. As you might have noticed, I took these photos on two different days during Maker Faire San Diego.Kids have a lot of fun with the foam lightsabers.Members of the San Diego Sabers arrive at the Maker Faire main stage in the Plaza de Panama. A combat exhibition is about to begin.As Star Wars music plays, two members of the San Diego Sabers simulate an epic battle between the Jedi and Sith.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
A group called Give Love New York is in San Diego this weekend during 2017 Maker Faire. You can find them near the Old Globe in Balboa Park, passing out carnations and inviting passersby to dance and converse and smile and sing and play games and write messages containing kindness, positivity and wisdom!
This unique Give Love project is the brainchild of Alive Worldwide. Their mission is to use creativity to encourage and spread human compassion.
Very cool! Events such as this could be held in every corner of the world! It’s very easily done. Why not?
Two smiles and free carnations from Give Love San Diego, at 2017 Maker Faire in Balboa Park!With the help of the Old Globe Theatre, spreading kindness worldwide @givelovenewyorkGiving words of wisdom. Share your thoughts on a written note, then come back later and retrieve new wisdom to take home.Try it!Challenge yourself daily.Freedom is found by sacrifice. Question the unknown.Love hard. Love strong. Love always.Be open. Treat others with understanding. Give Love San Diego!
Flames rise from the fingertips of Robot Resurrection at 2017 Maker Faire San Diego in Balboa Park.
Balboa Park has been invaded! Cool robots of every size and description are roving throughout the park during 2017 Maker Faire San Diego!
Maker Faire San Diego seems to grow bigger every year. During this amazing event, eye-popping inventions and marvels of technology take over the heart of Balboa Park and many of its museums.
This morning I walked around feasting my mind on all sorts of creative stuff. Students, inventors, hobbyists and local clubs were proudly showing off their unique ideas and feats of engineering. Examples of 3D printing and robotics were everywhere.
Maker Faire San Diego continues in Balboa Park through Sunday. If you can, check it out for yourself!
Here are a few of the cool robots you might see!
2017 Maker Faire San Diego features lots of very cool robots, including 28 foot tall Robot Resurrection.A human operator emerges from the chest of the gigantic flame-throwing robot! If this thing could walk it would be a formidable battle robot!Human and robot fingers meet.Robot Resurrection has a couple of tiny pals. Here’s one.Here’s the other!The very cool Electric Giraffe has returned to the annual Maker Faire San Diego.The Electric Giraffe can move about while using an array of sensors in its head. When the neck is raised, this crowd-pleasing robot is 17 feet tall!This cute cow robot is named Milky White. It can move its eyeballs, eyelids, ears, tail and jaws!People at San Diego’s annual Maker Faire in Balboa Park check out a very creative robot designed by a friendly young man.Many schools from around San Diego demonstrate robots and other engineering projects during Maker Faire.The Robotics Society of Southern California has a sophisticated humanoid robot that moves realistically.The Glendale Robotics Academy had their Party Rover on display in the Japanese Friendship Garden.Kids check out another robot in the garden.A performance artist becomes a fun robot. People walking down El Prado posed for photos!This robot named Darth Zamboni was created by the Top Hat Technicians of High Tech High North County. It launches balls!Small autonomous cars on a track inside the San Diego History Center. They were being controlled remotely in order to gather navigational data.Autonomous car technology being developed today utilizes deep computer learning.A student participating in the First Robotics Competition demonstrates a small vehicle that their team built. Many robots can be seen up close in the San Diego History Center.This competitive robot corrals balls and then launches them.Cool robots of every size and description are on display throughout Balboa Park during 2017 Maker Faire San Diego!
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 