Tag: events

Cool photo memories from September 2018.

Here we go! Another month . . . another blog post about cool sights I photographed five years ago! What did I discover during September 2018?

A variety of astonishing things!

Such as eye-popping sand sculptures created by some of the world’s greatest sand sculptors! And the daredevil Swoop Freestyle World Championship on San Diego Bay! And the incredible, realistic Viking Festival in Vista!

Perhaps you’ve noticed how over the years I’ve photographed numerous murals in City Heights along University Avenue, between I-805 and I-15. Five years ago my first blog concerning this outdoor drive-thru art gallery appeared.

Check out the upcoming links!

Click the following links to enjoy many photographs…

Masterpieces by World Master sand sculptors!

Javier Marín and the human search for identity.

San Diego’s outdoor, drive-through art gallery!

A beautiful walk along Batiquitos Lagoon Trail.

Photos of restored rooms inside Casa de Estudillo.

Art, Color and Fiesta in Balboa Park!

Photos of Swoop Freestyle World Championship!

SMILE, you’re in San Diego!

Murals by Hugo Crosthwaite at Liberty Station.

Photos of Vista’s Annual Viking Festival!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Labor Day stickball returns to Little Italy!

Young player on the Sidewalk Slammers team takes a swing during the early innings of a fungo-style stickball game.

Big news! After several years’ absence, the big Labor Day weekend stickball tournament is returning to the streets of Little Italy!

This will be the 25th Annual Labor Day Stickball Tournament, and will run all this long weekend, September 2 – 4. It appears there will be 17 or 18 teams competing, according to the San Diego Stickball Facebook page.

Come on down to Little Italy and look for the action! These tournaments are very entertaining to watch! And the players mean business!

The event has a fundraiser here to pay for the necessary permits, and to help a special family. This year’s theme is called “Fallen Heroes Stickball Tournament.” A few family members of a hero lost in battle will Honor him by participating in this year’s event.

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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 Twitter!

Our amazing Balboa Park forever in transition.

One of the most wonderful aspects of Balboa Park is its dynamism. Every day, with every walk, new discoveries come into view.

This evening, as the sun cast lengthening shadows, I wandered about photographing a park that is always in transition, forever new.

A new exhibition of Korean art is coming to the San Diego Museum of Art.

One end of the Botanical Building’s steel structure has been renovated.

New love, perhaps?

Inflating the huge screen at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion for Silent Movie Night.

What’s coming next at the Casa Del Prado Theater?

Painting patio tiles at Spanish Village Art Center.

Flowers fall away as new flowers appear..

Walking into the light through one wonderful park.

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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 Twitter!

Silent movie star returns to San Diego!

Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Harold Lloyd, star of silent movies a century ago, returned to his home in San Diego this evening!

The famous comic actor appeared on a big screen in Balboa Park’s outdoor Spreckels Organ Pavilion. He was starring in one of his most popular silent movies, The Freshman, accompanied by renowned organist Clark Wilson playing the Spreckels Organ!

Harold Lloyd is considered one the three great comedians from Hollywood’s era of silent movies. He stands with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

Did you know he also lived for a time in San Diego, attending San Diego High School?

So, in a sense, Harold Lloyd returned home this evening!

And thousands in the audience laughed at his all-too-human, silly antics. A century later, he still brings smiles into the world.

This was the second-to-last performance for this year’s free 35th San Diego International Summer Organ Festival. Next Monday–Labor Day–San Diego’s Civic Organist and rock and roll musicians together conclude the festival with a blast!

If you want to watch another silent movie accompanied by organ in San Diego, your opportunity is coming up on Tuesday, September 19 at noon at downtown’s Balboa Theatre. The performance is also free! Buster Keaton stars in the silent film One Week. Click here for more info!

Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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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 Twitter!

Pillars exhibit at the Chicano Park Museum!

Have you ever visited the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center in Barrio Logan? During my recent visit I was surprised to find a fantastic exhibit inside, titled PILLARS: Stories of Resilience and Self-Determination.

Two large rooms are filled with colorfully painted pillars that resemble the towering supports of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge just outside the museum.

While the outdoor pillars are home to the many famous murals of Chicano Park, these miniature indoor pillars pay homage to diverse groups that have worked to preserve the legacy and integrity of the local community, and the park itself. The exhibit also features related works of art, and historical photos of community members and artists (particularly Visionary Elder Artist, Salvador Roberto Torres) and their grassroots fight against the powers-that-be to create Chicano Park.

The Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center contains other great exhibits, too, and its corridors are brimming with work by many different artists. I was interested to observe a community event room, a workspace containing printing equipment for the production of fine art, and a large gift shop that’s also filled wall-to-wall with artwork that you can purchase!

If you never been, make sure to check the museum out! Go soon, however, because PILLARS: Stories of Resilience and Self-Determination will be on display through September 9, 2023.

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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 Twitter!

A colorful Philippine Cultural Festival in San Diego!

San Diego has a very large Filipino community. So it’s no surprise that many in the community came out today for the big, colorful 36th Annual Philippine Cultural Arts Festival!

This always popular festival, which takes place in Balboa Park, attracts an enthusiastic crowd, as you can see in my photos. (As I type this, the event is still going on for another hour or so.) There’s every sort of entertainment on the main stage, including music, singing, and a whole lot of folk dancing in costume. Those wandering about the grass can find Filipino food, cultural displays and art at every turn. Smiling authors and artists greet people, too!

The event is presented by the SAMAHAN Filipino American Performing Arts and Education Center, and I joined the audience cheering on many students performing traditional dances.

I learned Filipino Folk Dance Classes are offered for children, teens and adults. Click here for more information!

That smile in my next photo belongs to author Jocelyn Francisco, Ph.D. She wrote the Little Yellow Jeepney series of children’s books!

Perhaps you recall that the film Lumpia With A Vengeance had a very well attended panel this year at San Diego Comic-Con. That cool guy smiling on the left–Patricio Ginelsa–is the Director! The movie will be available on demand and digitally on October 3.

Here’s a young guy with truly fine art. I wonder how soon until his work is included in museum collections. His name is Sean Arce.

I enjoyed perusing a few cultural exhibits…

Another great performance!

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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 Twitter!

Drone Soccer coming soon to San Diego!

Something super cool is coming to San Diego! Drone Soccer will soon be rolled out to some of the City of San Diego’s Recreation Centers!

What is Drone Soccer? Check out the U.S. Drone Soccer explanatory video here. Flying “soccer balls” powered by drones are maneuvered strategically, as players strive to score goals by flying their ball through an elevated hoop. (Sounds a bit of like Harry Potter’s airborne game of quidditch to me!)

Kids playing Drone Soccer in San Diego will learn all sorts of great STEM knowledge, including robotics, engineering and drone piloting–all the while having lots of fun!

Parks and Recreation had a canopy set up in front of the Municipal Gymnasium today letting people know this is in development. It’s still in the early stages, so there’s no dedicated San Diego webpage or social media page that you can follow just yet. I was told that should be finished shortly.

The hope is that next year, during the U.S. Drone Soccer 2024 National Championships at the San Diego Convention Center, some local teams will be ready to compete! How cool is this!!!

Are there any schools in San Diego that already have Drone Soccer teams? Are you a teacher? You need to check this out! Spread the word!

Meanwhile keep your antennae up. If I learn more in the days ahead, I’ll provide an update here!

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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 Twitter!

Training ship Golden Bear departs San Diego.

I was walking along San Diego’s Embarcadero this morning when I noticed a large, very interesting ship departing from Broadway Pier. I like to gaze at unusual ships, while trying to deduce their function. Was this a research vessel of some sort?

When I got home, I learned the TS Golden Bear is a training ship used to train cadets attending the California State University Maritime Academy. The unique school, based in Vallejo, is part of the California State University system and the only maritime academy on the United States West Coast.

TS Golden Bear is actually the third training ship bearing the same name. This particular ship actually began its life in the late 1980s in the United States Navy as USNS Maury (T-AGS-39). At the time, the USNS Maury was the fastest and largest oceanographic ship in the United States fleet. Read more about the TS Golden Bear here.

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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 Twitter!

Symphony brass, a World Premiere, and the Spreckels Organ!

When San Diego Symphony musicians team up with San Diego Civic Organist Raul Prieto Ramírez, you know extraordinary music will follow. When the concert includes a World Premiere by noted composer Texu Kim, it’s an experience you won’t soon forget!

This evening, in San Diego’s always amazing Balboa Park, a Brass and Organ Stereophonic Stravaganza was enjoyed by a huge crowd at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Fine music flowed from the brass instruments of eight San Diego Symphony musicians. Their notes were often accompanied by the mighty Spreckels Organ, world’s largest outdoor musical instrument. A stream of emotions was summoned almost magically, as excellent music will do. It all resulted in a prolonged final standing ovation.

The World Premiere of the piece Mir by Texu Kim was surprising, innovative and a whole lot of fun. I heard audience members gasp when the piece concluded. Learn more about the featured guest composer Texu Kim here.

If you haven’t been to any of this year’s 35th Annual San Diego International Organ Festival free concerts, you should go! There are three more scheduled in Balboa Park. Next Monday the organist is from the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris! The following Monday is Silent Movie Night–a crowd favorite every year!

Interested? Check out the schedule for the remaining concerts here.

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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 Twitter!

House of Ukraine band to rock Ocean Beach!

The band u3zubmusic will be opening for legendary Ukrainian band SKRYABIN tomorrow, August 15, in Ocean Beach at Winstons Beach Club. What is the band u3zubmusic? A rockin’ group of musicians representing the House of Ukraine in Balboa Park!

I was walking near Balboa Park’s International Cottages this evening when I heard the band rehearsing out on the lawn. I listened for a bit and got some smiles for my camera.

If you want to hear music that is filled with Ukrainian spirit, you might check out the concert. Read more about it and purchase tickets here!

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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 Twitter!