If you plan to take public transportation in San Diego during Comic-Con 2025, take care! Because you might be joined by assassins on a trolley, or a gorilla on a bus!
A very cool new trolley wrap has appeared in San Diego that promotes Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming espionage series Butterfly. The spy-thriller will debut on August 13, 2025. It looks pretty cool. Here’s the show’s press release.
As far as a rampaging gorilla? His name is Donkey Kong! The bus wraps–I’ve noticed three different designs on the airport route going up and down Broadway–promote Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza game on the new Switch 2.
Comic-Con is really coming to life in downtown San Diego! Stay tuned for much more!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
The Pac-Man Cafe Pop-Up opened in San Diego a couple days ago, in time for this year’s Comic-Con!
The kid-friendly cafe, located in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, features Pac-Man themed food, merch, and lots of arcade games that can be played freely!
What’s on the menu? Everything from Team Ghosts Cake Pops to Waka Waka Rice Krispies to Blinky’s Blast Slushes to Pac-Man 45 Anniversary Shave Ice. Want to eat something more substantial? Why not devour Chomp and Cheese Nachos, Sweet Mazemen Maruchan Noodles, Pac-Ked Chicken Quesadillas…
I saw tons of merchandise for sale for Pac-Man fans, from skateboards to bag clips to Pac-Man nanoblocks. You can get a free fan club button, too, by joining the Pac-Man Discord!
I suspect the lines will be long during Comic-Con, so consider swinging by early. The Pac-Man Cafe Pop-Up is located at 323 Seventh Avenue. Its hours are 11 am to 8 pm. This super fun activation will remain open until August 3, 2025.
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
Can you believe it? The very first building wrap for Comic-Con 2025 is already being applied in the Gaslamp Quarter. Two sides of the Pendry San Diego hotel will be promoting The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, a popular show on AMC!
I spoke to a friendly gentleman putting up one of these huge wraps, and he said his company will be wrapping the Omni Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel as well. Others will be wrapping additional buildings around the San Diego Convention Center, so it appears downtown will be dressed up in epic fashion as usual!
I love how San Diego Comic-Con materializes before one’s eyes in a sudden burst of creativity, as if by magic.
I’ll provide an update in a day or two as the Daryl Dixon wraps on the Pendry near completion!
UPDATE!
On Thursday morning, the wraps were almost wrapped up!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
The latest San Diego trolley wraps to appear for Comic-Con 2025 promote shows on Audible. Two cool designs, four cool shows!
The Audible trolley wraps promote Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi, an Audiobook by Nyasha Hatendi; Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman; Kingsland by Dwayne Alexander Smith; and Oracle by Andrew Pyper.
Comic-Con is less than two weeks away, and I’ve noticed more and more fun stuff popping up around downtown San Diego.
Cool San Diego Sights is now going into Comic-Con mode! Unfortunately, the epic pop culture event will be over far too soon. Then I’ll return to the more usual “cool” sights in San Diego.
Enjoy!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
Walking around downtown San Diego, I’ve noticed more and more signs that Comic-Con 2025 is fast approaching. Less than two weeks to go!
First, a bunch of banners promoting shows on STARZ have been hung at the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station and along Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade. Shows include Spartacus and Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
On July 18, the week before Comic-Con, they will be offering over 70 original and rare animation cels for purchase! Art includes that of Disney, Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros. and Chuck Jones.
The Chuck Jones Gallery in Seaport Village will present The Art Side of Comic-Con 2025. Appearing artists include Fabio Napoleoni and Ben Olson.
American Comedy Co. San Diego will present Comic-Con related shows, including Natasha Leggero w/Moshe Kasher & Dana Gould, and Doctor Z & Friends.
The Music Box will host some Comic-Con related parties, including Mosh Eisley (The Best Party in the Galaxy), and One More Time (A Tribute To Daft Punk) the Comic Tron Comic Con After Party.
The recently installed electronic kiosks around downtown San Diego list Comic-Con as an upcoming event, but sadly provide very little elaboration.
The Pac-Man Cafe Pop-Up appears at 323 Seventh Avenue during Comic-Con! Free arcade games and merch giveaway included!
Excited yet?
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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.
This is super cool, and just in time for San Diego Comic-Con which comes later this month. It’s a genuine comic book rack filled with Comic Bricks!
Matt Armstrong (aka monsterbrick) was exhibiting his LEGO brick creations in Balboa Park today, at the House of Denmark’s cultural lawn program. He had his stuff displayed on a huge table shared by other members of the San Diego LEGO Users Group (SANDLUG).
And look what he has assembled! In addition to superhero and other pop culture creations, he has recreated comic books and ordinary books and placed them in an old comic book rack that he salvaged and repurposed!
Matt Armstrong is a steampunk fan, and many of his LEGO brick creations reflect a fascination with older technology, like antique cameras and old manual typewriters. But in my opinion his brick comic books beat all for sheer coolness!
If you want to see painted masterpieces in San Diego, step into the free Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. If you want to see a chalk art masterpiece, take a look at the ground as you approach the museum!
This chalk art masterpiece was completed today by @sidewalk_chalk_dad. It was inspired by the John Singleton Copley painting titled Mrs. Thomas Gage, dated 1771.
To view an image of the original masterpiece, which hangs inside the Timken Museum of Art, one of the finest small museums in the world, click here.
Then check out this elegant chalk art. Make a comparison!
I had trouble photographing the chalk art straight on because I cast a long shadow across it. So I approached the shot from different angles…
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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.
A group of cool creators, including some of San Diego’s top street artists and muralists, came together today in Balboa Park. They displayed and sold their work at The Overthinkers Art Society Pop-up Group Exhibition!
As you might imagine, the event was chill and awesome!
Room 101 in the Casa del Prado was filled with creativity and color, and visitors could meet artists whose work they’ve no doubt seen around the city.
I followed signs to the exhibition and, surprised, wandered among the artists’ tables. I met a few artists whose names I recognized from photographing street art around San Diego. All were super friendly.
How cool is this?
The first table I came to contained the art of Franky Agostino (@3ojos1). It was a preview of the awesomeness to come…
At the next table I met prolific San Diego artist and muralist Maxx Moses!
If you’ve taken the trolley’s Orange Line east of downtown San Diego, you’ve likely seen his incredible work. In fact, his art is all over the place, from Hillcrest to Chula Vista to Encanto to La Mesa and beyond.
If you’d like to see photos of Maxx Moses artwork I’ve taken over the years, click here!
Here’s a bit of his art at today’s pop-up exhibition…
Next up, I met Dave Persue! No doubt you recognize his popular, instantly recognizable creation Bunny Kitty. He smiled for a photo, then took to the stage with his electric guitar.
He’s had murals all around town, too. See some of them by clicking here!
Then I came to the work of another great San Diego muralist: Sharky!
There’s a special little parking nook in Normal Heights where I’ve seen his recurring work, teamed with artist Hasler. Check out a few of those murals here and here and here.
The next photo shows artist Mathew Curran (@mathewcurran) by graffiti art he created in Spain…
I’ve seen the next artist’s street art on electrical boxes around San Diego. Such as here! His super unique work is unmistakable.
His name is Jorge Gutierrez Garcia (@jggart226).
He often paints figures like the ones in the next photo. His work appears to be full of symbolism. He said some people think the figures are aliens, other people see mythological characters.
People are encouraged to use their imagination!
As I walked around, I discovered a big roomful of even more cool art. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this great event!
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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.
Many historical figures who were instrumental in the founding of the United States of America appeared in San Diego today! They time traveled into the 21st century during a special Independence Day event at Balboa Park’s International Cottages!
Diverse people from around San Diego took to the stage in costume, recalling how our nation’s Founders brought us Liberty by rebelling against the despotic King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Revolutionary War period figures brought to life included Bernardo de Gálvez, the Governor of Spanish Louisiana; Betsy Ross; Martha Washington; Alexander Hamilton; Paul Revere; John Adams; Abigail Adams; African-Americans from the Caribbean who helped fight for American Independence; Crispus Attucks; Joseph Warren; John Dunlap; and various others.
The heroes of the American Revolution came from many backgrounds. Together, they defeated the mighty Great Britain and achieved something of a miracle.
I jotted down a few quick notes. Martha Washington spoke of heart, resilience and hope. Paul Revere explained how heroic deeds can lead to great change. There were many other words of wisdom.
Before and after these inspiring presentations, the House of USA had tasty treats at their table, including good old American hot dogs and hamburgers. Booths at the event included the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution.
Fun fact: Today is the 250th Anniversary of the Olive Branch Petition. What is that?
The Olive Branch Petition was a document adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8, 1775. It was a final, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies. Read more about it here!
Enjoy photos from today’s event…
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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.
Beginning next Monday, and continuing into September, some of the world’s finest organists will be performing in Balboa Park at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion!
Today, as I walked through Balboa Park, I caught the first outstanding organist, Joshua Stafford, as he rehearsed at the Spreckels Organ. Joshua is the Jacobsen Chair for the Organist of Chautauqua Institution, in New York. You might recall that our own beloved Jared Jacobsen served as San Diego Civic Organist from 1978 to 1984.
Joshua will be playing Bohemian Rhapsody, Carmen Fantasy and other all-time favorites! Yes, on the world’s largest outdoor instrument!
If you’ve never been to one of the free San Diego International Summer Organ Festival concerts, you’re missing out on something special. Not only is the music always first rate, but the late evening atmosphere, particularly when the organ pavilion’s many lights come on, is magical. How can it not be? It’s Balboa Park!
Click here to see the full lineup of performers during the 2025 summer festival. Bring your dinner or a snack if you’d like, then settle on one of the pavilion’s benches (or your lawn chair), and live it up!
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 