Tag: events

4th Annual City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love!

These photographs are from today’s 4th Annual City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love. The event, which celebrates community unity and diversity around Valentine’s Day, was held in Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park.

I arrived as the festival began, having followed a small but heart-filled parade down several streets in City Heights. See those fun photographs here!

Neighbors were gathering around 11 am to gaze at cool lowriders along Fairmount Avenue and enjoy multicultural entertainment that would include ballet, lion dances, drummers and the Fern Street Circus.

There was plenty of great food on hand. Community organizations caught the attention of visitors at booths around the grass. (See my photos of several flyers with really great information.) Odi the Coyote from the San Diego Library was greeting young and old. The Rad Hatter was there to help everyone create radical hats from paper bags. And there were other craft activities for families, including making puppet masks!

I lingered for a bit and listened to Mariachi Victoria performing on the outdoor stage.

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Parade in City Heights before Festival of Love!

There was a parade through City Heights in San Diego this morning!

The parade started at Joyner Elementary School, wound through several residential streets, and ended up at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park where the 4th Annual City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love would be held! (Photos of that fun event coming up!)

No floats or marching bands? No problem! The parade featured a bunch of cool lowriders and even more awesome smiles! It might not have been the biggest parade in the world, but all the hearts moving down the sidewalk more than made up for it!

The banner leading the community parade read: Diversity, Solidarity and Love in City Heights. That pretty much summed up the positive vibe. Neighbors smiled as we passed! (Or blinked with astonishment.)

I arrived at the staging parking lot before the parade began, then followed along on foot for the 1.3 mile route.

Enjoy some photos!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Black History Month at San Diego History Center.

Black History Month is being celebrated at the San Diego History Center throughout the month of February. Special displays honor African American artists, families, trailblazers and champions in San Diego. And there are fun educational activities for young people, too!

Did you know that Audrey “Mickey” Patterson-Tyler was the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal? And that she in her later years lived in National City? I didn’t know.

Did you know that quilts played an unexpected role in Black History? Harriet Tubman used quilts to display secret codes along the Underground Railroad, guiding slaves to freedom. Kids exploring the exhibit can color or add stickers to their own special paper Story Quilt.

As I read various signs, I was reminded how the San Diego History Center partnered with the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts six years ago, to feature the work of local Black artists. I blogged about that event here.

There’s so much in the exhibition to absorb: historical photographs, biographies, a display about local struggles for civil rights, and a display concerning Martin Luther King Jr. and his visit to San Diego.

Want to check it out? The San Diego History Center is located in the heart of Balboa Park, Admission is free!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Anti Slavery Quilt of the Women’s Museum.

This beautiful Anti Slavery Quilt is in the collection of the Women’s Museum of California. The quilt is now on display at the San Diego History Center, in celebration of Black History Month.

I was surprised to learn yesterday that the Women’s Museum, located for many years at Liberty Station, moved. It now makes the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park its home!

The quilt is by D’Andrea Davis Mitchell. A nearby sign explains how in the 1970s quilting experienced a revival and became considered work of both craft and art. Inspired artists have used quilting to challenge perceptions of gender roles and the African-American experience in US history.

The Anti Slavery Quilt is part of a larger exhibition inside the San Diego History Center that can be viewed all this month.

My next blog post will show a bit more of what you’ll experience should you walk through the History Center’s door in February!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

A colorful San Diego Lunar New Year Tết Festival!

This weekend, people are heading to City Heights to enjoy the 14th Annual San Diego Lunar New Year Tết Festival!

The big free event celebrates the Year of the Dragon. Food, fun, cultural displays and entertainment fill Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, just south of the City Heights/Weingart Library.

I visited the Tết Festival late this morning and watched several traditional dances, as you can see from my photographs. Various local groups performed on the main stage.

Some of the colorful dances were performed by the UCSD Chinese Dance Association. There were also student ballet dancers who are part of a San Diego Ballet education program in City Heights.

And, if that wasn’t exciting enough, there was a crowd-pleasing magician who levitated a young volunteer from the audience!

Tomorrow–Sunday–a full program of events is scheduled, including Vietnamese opera, the ever-popular lion dances, San Diego’s beloved Fern Street Circus, and much more!

This family-friendly festival will be running 11 am to 8 pm on Sunday, so, if you want to have a lot of fun, head over to City Heights!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

The Weather Channel covers flooding in San Diego.

A crew from The Weather Channel was in San Diego this morning, covering flooding in Mission Valley caused by the rain-swollen San Diego River. It rained much of last night.

The Weather Channel had arrived for live storm coverage, aiming their cameras at high water passing treacherously over Fashion Valley Road.

I had twenty minutes to wait for a bus at the nearby transit center, so I walked down toward the river to check things out for myself. I received some smiles!

I then took a photo from the pedestrian bridge across the river to Town and Country Park, and another from the elevated Fashion Valley trolley station platform.

I had a couple more minutes, so I checked out the flooded Fashion Valley parking structure. It was actually designed to flood, believe it or not! Fortunately, no cars were caught in the water on the lowest level.

In the middle of the day, two tornado warnings were sent out to phones around the city. Apparently no tornadoes actually formed, although someone on the radio said they saw a very dark, low, rotating cloud in Spring Valley..

Was there a rainbow warning? There should have been!

Late in the afternoon, I saw how Mission Center Road was really flooded by the San Diego River. It had rained off and on all day. That car was almost completely submerged.

Please stay safe! More rain to come!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Comic book creators gather for Black Comix Day!

This weekend Black Comix Day 2024 was held in San Diego!

Comic book artists and writers of African decent gathered in Balboa Park at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. They greeted fans and sold their work during a very cool Black History Month event!

So many creators arrived from Southern California and across the United States that the WorldBeat Center was packed wall to wall, with exhibitor tables spilling outside onto the patio. I was amazed at the size of this event, and excited by the unbounded creativity.

Black Comix Day is organized by local artist Keithan Jones, the writer and artist behind KID Comics. His philosophy is the Kid In you never Dies. He conceived of The Power Knights when he was himself a kid, and has gone on to publish mind-blowing professional art.

Yesterday I walked past the exhibitor tables and spoke to many of the comic book and graphic novel creators. You can see the positive energy and enthusiasm simply from my photos!

Check it out!

Poster for Black Comix Day at front door of the WorldBeat Center in San Diego.

Marcus D. Newsome is a comic book artist, animator, illustrator and creator of Lightning Strike. Check out his website here.

Eugene Randolph Young is an artist, illustrator, graphic designer and educator. He is inspired by indigenous lore, cyberpunk and Afrofuturism. He’s fascinated by artificial intelligence, too! Check out his website here.

Some cool comic artwork by Eugene Randolph Young!

The Surge Series is full of great Afrofuturistic cyberpunk artwork by Mike Haynes-Pitts. Check out his Instagram here.

JSPR BLVK Entertainment’s table at Black Comix Day. Lil Red is a cool coloring book for kids that teaches safety! The website is http://www.jsprblvk.com

Jamaal A. Harley is the writer/creator of Royal Oak Comics. Check out his website here!

Cool artwork displayed at the Royal Oak Comics table.

A look inside the colorful WorldBeat Center during Black Comix Day 2024.

Andre Owens is a creator/writer who produced Force Galaxia–Cosmic Tales of Adventure! See his Hiro Unlimited website here.

Andre Owens told me that creating The Bovine League has been a lot of fun. Super-powered cows from Switzerland, The Bovine League, must go on a global quest to find the stolen Cosmic Udder and the Four Teats of Matter.

KolaNut Productions has produced all sorts of cool content, including animation, that is filled with African magic, ancient folklore, and the NeoAfrican Universe. Check out their website here.

Cool artwork everywhere you turn at Black Comix Day 2024!

These three friends are bursting with smiles and creativity. They represent Thingamajig Studios! I love their groovy artwork. Check out their website here!

UjuBeam displayed by creator Jared Lipscomb. amateur entomologist and founder of Hud Bug Comics. Super-powered insects! Check out his website here!

The awesome smile of an artist creating her first comic book! I learned of her page on Facebook: mind of madness art, but could not find it! I wish I had asked more questions! (If anyone has more info, leave a comment!)

Fun artwork at Black Comix Day 2024.

David Phillips is the creator of Agents of S.O.U.L. As a kid, David was inspired by his Mom! Why don’t you draw some superheroes that look like you? Check out his website here!

In Agents of S.O.U.L, non-super-powered heroes battle super-powered villains! Technology and science provide Black and Brown empowerment.

Jason Reeves of 133art has produced many comic book titles full of Black heroes. There are comics for both kids and adults! Check out the website here!

Keithan Jones works on commissioned artwork during Black Comix Day 2024.

Creativity unites lovers of life and art.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

JOURNEYworm takes form at San Diego High School!

The JOURNEYworm appears to be taking form along Park Boulevard in front of San Diego High School. I saw it today during my walk from Balboa Park to downtown!

This temporary art installation will be one segment of the completed 1.7 mile long Bay to Park Paseo, a special corridor that is being created to celebrate the designation of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024. Here’s a page that describes the Bay to Park Paseo.

The JOURNEYworm is described as an arc-shaped sculpture, assembled from screens and wires, to evoke the shapes of our region–ocean waves, desert canyons, and gabled roofs…At night, JOURNEYworm will come alive…it will change colors and blast pulses of light in response to ambient sounds and music played by passersby…

I noticed many transparent fabrics moving in the wind among the eucalyptus trees. Curling together, with clouds and blue sky behind, they can create some very beautiful effects, as you can see!

I can’t really envision how the JOURNEYworm will finally appear. I intend to take more photos as the worm turns and develops!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

The annual Small Image Show in Balboa Park.

If you love great art, and you’ve never experienced the annual Small Image Show in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center, you’re missing out!

In 2024 this popular event is celebrating its 48th anniversary. Small works of art by about a hundred artists from all around San Diego County fill the walls of Gallery 21. You’ll find juried paintings, sculptures, and works in other media. The pieces are so small that dozens cover almost every wall, competing for your attention. There are many bold colors and beautifully detailed images. A few tiny pieces appeared to have been created using a magnifying glass!

When I visited today, a couple of very friendly artists were greeting everyone who entered the gallery. They are happy to answer any questions.

The exhibition is free, the art is for sale, and Gallery 21 is open 11 am to 4 pm every day. The 48th Annual Small Image Show continues through February 25.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Learning to folk dance in San Diego!

Spirited people were learning how to folk dance this afternoon in San Diego’s historic Balboa Park Club building!

During today’s Dance Festival, which was sponsored by the San Diego Park and Recreation Department and the International Dance Association, folk dancing lessons were provided for beginners. The spacious ballroom was filled with joyful music representing diverse cultures. Several friendly teachers were on hand.

I watched for a bit as participants learned fun new steps in the ballroom.

As you can see from my photos, the dancing sculpture at the center of the grand foyer of the Balboa Park Club had been decorated for the event. Next door, in the Santa Fe Room, international crafts were for sale by a variety of smiling vendors. Some puppets were also visiting from the nearby Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater!

Would you like to learn how to folk dance? Or ballroom dance? Go to the website of the International Dance Association of San Diego County by clicking here, then check out their information and future events!

“Laughter, song, and dance create emotional and spiritual connection; they remind us of the one thing that truly matters when we are searching for comfort, celebration, inspiration, or healing: We are not alone.”

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!