The 2025 Major League Baseball season is about to begin. And look who has appeared on San Diego’s Embarcadero along Harbor Drive. Players representing the San Diego Padres!
Before the start of every season, new Padres player banners appear on downtown lamp posts. You can find the banners around Petco Park and elsewhere. Some of the banners inevitably feature new faces.
I took these photographs today.
Last year the Padres were arguably the second best team in baseball. They were a game away from beating mighty Los Angeles and going to the National League Championship Series. How will the team do in 2025?
Jackson Merrill 3Nick Pivetta 27Xander Bogaerts 2Manny Machado 13Yu Darvish 11Fernando Tatis Jr. 23
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The first solo exhibition in the United States by Dutch artist Afra Eisma opened recently in San Diego. The Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego in Balboa Park is overflowing with her imaginative works that promote healing. The title of the exhibition is Hush.
As a sign at the gallery’s entrance explains: Dutch artist afra eisma transforms ICA San Diego into an immersive environment were healing becomes a collective experience. Through vibrantly colored tapestries, soft sculpture, and interactive installation, eisma creates dreamlike sanctuaries for mythological beings, animals, and otherworldly creatures to support and nurture each other…
Afra Eisma has created artwork to help process her own personal trauma. Hush not only encourages pause and thoughtfulness, but focuses specifically on the healing properties of breathing.
Much life, color and creativity permeates the exhibition. When I visited, I felt as if I were wandering through a strange, living fantasy world where all are welcome.
If you enjoy contemporary art, certainly head down to Balboa Park and step into the free Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego. Hush will be on display through June 1, 2025.
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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.
Members of the House of Pakistan in San Diego’s Balboa Park were showcasing their Pakistani heritage, culture and history today. Displays of traditional clothing, baskets, jewelry and crafts could be viewed in the Hall of Nations.
I was amazed by the high level of workmanship required to make these beautiful objects.
I spoke to one of the gracious members. She showed me the very colorful, handcrafted works of art that you see in these photographs. She told me a bit about them, but I failed to write anything down. I did learn the House of Pakistan is hoping to have their own cottage in Balboa Park one day.
If you ever happen to walk through Balboa Park’s International Cottages on a weekend, make sure to peek inside the Hall of Nations. Nation members that don’t have their own cottage yet showcase their culture in this building on a rotating basis.
If you’re interested, the Pakistan American Association Of San Diego website can be visited by clicking here.
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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.
Daylight Savings began last night, causing everyone in San Diego to spring forward one hour. Can you believe it? In less than two weeks Spring will have sprung!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Spring in Balboa Park!
Today was a warm sunny Sunday, with thousands of visitors enjoying the park’s museums, gardens, the weekly organ concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, and picnics on the grass.
I wandered about…
Cherry blossoms have added color to the Lower Garden at the Japanese Friendship Garden. Their big Cherry Blossom Festival is next weekend!The sun has been rising higher and higher, so rented umbrellas are a welcome thing during another free Sunday afternoon concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.You can always find lots of bright color in the House of Mexico cottage.I noticed more and more flowers. These were blooming near the Balboa Park Club building.Kid runs down a bright green hill at Inspiration Point.What’s all this activity in front of Balboa Park’s Activity Center?It’s the epic annual Thursday Club Rummage Sale! That means it must be almost spring!Across Park Boulevard, a banner promotes the 33rd Annual Multi-Cultural Earth Day, coming Sunday, April 20th, at the WorldBeat Cultural Center.A perfect sunny day for car enthusiasts to show off their wheels in the park!It’s even greener than usual between the House of Hospitality and the Casa de Balboa.A fine Spring-like day in San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park.Nature’s beauty in the Zoro Garden.Flowers are growing in the large beds in the Alcazar Garden!Enjoying life on the warm grass on Balboa Park’s West Mesa.
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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.
San Diego is going to be made even more beautiful!
A shady pergola that once stood near Balboa Park’s Botanical Building during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition is to be rebuilt!
The construction of the pergola is part of a larger Botanical Building and Gardens revitalization project. The Botanical Building’s amazing restoration has been completed, so it’s on to Phase 2, which includes bringing back into existence this historic pergola.
I noticed a sign on a patch of grass during my most recent visit to Balboa Park. It indicates the future site of the Botanical Building Historical Pergola.
You can learn more about the project by visiting Forever Balboa Park’s website here.
The pergola site is beside the west fountain in the front of the Botanical Building. The next photo provides an idea. (Behind it you can see the San Diego Museum of Art.)
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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.
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park was jammed with families as you can see from the following photographs. The community event was an early March preview of the 2025 Conrad Prebys 5th Anniversary Summer Season at this most amazing San Diego bayfront venue. If you’ve never had a chance to attend a concert at the Rady Shell, you are truly missing out.
When I came by, San Diego band Cassie B was up on the stage covering favorite songs from different decades and singing original compositions, too. I heard the music of Queen, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift… Many in the audience were dancing, swaying, singing along!
During the big event other performers would include San Diego Symphony musicians and local band The Farmers. It was the perfect afternoon for an outdoor picnic!
Anyway, I was totally impressed by another San Diego Symphony production, as I always am. I couldn’t believe the massive crowd!
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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.
Have you ever listened to music from Madagascar? I can’t say that I have.
A live performance by BeMaeva, an independent band rooted in the soul-stirring rhythms of Madagascar, is coming to San Diego on March 14th, 2025. This sounds like a great event at a very cool venue that is located a little east of downtown: The Soap Factory!
(I once visited the Soap Factory during an architectural open house event. See that blog post here.)
You can get tickets for BeMaeva LIVE in San Diego and learn more about the concert at this webpage.
The description includes: Led by the dynamic duo of Dina Maeva, a powerhouse Baltimore-born vocalist with Malagasy heritage now based in San Diego, and Rade Bema, a multi-instrumental maestro from New York, BeMaeva brings an unforgettable fusion of world music, storytelling, and cultural celebration.
More than a concert—this is a cultural journey you don’t want to miss!
Awesome!
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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.
The absolutely fantastic 2001 Team Vesco “Turbinator” is now on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park!
This amazing 30-foot-long streamliner set the wheel-driven land speed record of 458.440 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats on October 18, 2001.
Anyone interested in cars, racing, engineering or technology would love to look at this one-of-a-kind speedster. It has a unique four-wheel drive system powered by a 3,750 horsepower engine from a helicopter! Can you imagine sitting in this slender vehicle flying in a blur across the salt flats? It seems a driver would need nerves of steel!
Check out the exhibit at the San Diego Automotive Museum and you can also see owner/driver Don Vesco’s NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award (presented in 2002) and a great video showing his incredible Turbinator in action!
Visit the Team Vesco Racing website by clicking here!
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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 super cool exhibition recently opened in the La Jolla Historical Society‘s free Wisteria Cottage museum. The exhibition is titled La Jolla Surf: Culture, Art, Craft. As the name suggests, surf culture is explored in La Jolla and nearby communities, from the earliest days right up to the present.
There are all sorts of different surfboards on display. Each is cleverly designed and artistically unique. Local designers, shapers and surfers used these boards to conquer the world-famous surf found off La Jolla and other nearby Southern California beaches.
Subjects explored include the iconic Windansea Shack, which dates back to 1947 and has been featured in dozens of movies. Legendary surfboard makers and surfers, like Bob Simmons, are also celebrated. One of the notable board shapers honored is Rusty Preisendorfer, who, at the age of 16, began a factory in a garage a short distance from La Jolla Shores.
I was surprised to learn pop art icon Andy Warhol filmed the movie ‘San Diego Surf’ in 1968 in La Jolla.
As you might expect, the exhibit includes dozens of excellent surfing photographs, and examples of cool artwork, too.
I really enjoyed viewing a short film. It featured a variety of important personalities. Their words about surfing were often poetic or philosophical.
One interviewee called surfing spiritual. Another called it a beautiful dance. Another explained that surfing brings you to close to yourself. It’s peaceful and calming, said another. The experience is deep and powerful, another voice affirmed. Skip Frye, world-famous surfer, surfboard designer, shaper and environmental advocate, likened surfing to being in close touch with God’s creation.
La Jolla Surf: Culture, Art, Craft will be open to the public through May 25, 2025. Learn more about it here!
A small taste of this awesome exhibit…
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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.
The work of award-winning digital artist Clay Harris will be on exhibit for the next two weeks in San Diego.
Clay’s stunning artwork can be viewed beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, February 25, 2025) in Gallery 21, at the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park. The exhibition is titled Images from the mind of a Mind Voyager! It will run through March 10.
I stumbled upon Clay today as he was setting up the exhibition. He’s the coolest guy you could ever hope to meet.
After checking out his fantastic images of birds, turtles and other marine life, I paused to learn about his art. The high quality digital art is printed on aluminum, and the process creates an uncanny sense of depth. The pieces I observed shine as if light is being reflected from water.
Clay Harris over the years has had his art displayed at many festivals and in many galleries. So many people have asked that he create large pieces for their homes.
I encourage everyone to head down to Balboa Park and check out this special exhibition. And meet an award-winning artist who will make you smile!
Some examples:
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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! 