Everyone is invited to enjoy a free festival this Saturday in City Heights. Love City Heights Day will take place at Pop-up Winona, at 4951 El Cajon Boulevard.
There will be live music, live painting, food, community vendors and fun for the whole family!
Come by between 2 and 9 pm. Check out the above flyer for all the info.
An awesome festival in advance of the big NASCAR race at North Island was held today at Waterfront Park in San Diego.
The Garage, presented by Toyota Racing, featured race cars and cool vehicles, racing simulators, a Tundra covered with 143,021 rhinestones, music, food trucks, photo ops, merch, art and even a skateboarding half pipe with Team Toyota athlete Jordyn Barratt!
The Padres happy mascot Swinging Friar gave me a high five! I said hello to Phoebe Nelson of (@pandrdesign), a local muralist whose work I’ve photographed around San Diego over the years! I tried out a video game simulator and took 40th place!
Loads of NASCAR fun!
My photos…
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A pirate ship was observed this afternoon sailing through San Diego Bay. What were these pirates up to?
The pirate ship pursued tiny, helpless sailboats competing in a regatta. The rascals!
Fortunately, the shore battery on the barge behind the Maritime Museum of San Diego noticed the mayhem. A gunner quickly prepared several cannons.
(Yes, the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was entering the bay at the time. Did they notice these sneaky pirates?)
Cleaning the cannons and inserting cartridges with a ramrod.
Two swords and an axe were kept within reach. Just in case dangerous pirates must be repelled hand to hand.
Uh, oh. The pirate ship has come about and is steering toward the Maritime Museum’s defensive shore battery!
A shot is fired across the pirate ship’s bow! Will the brazen invaders retreat?
They promptly fire back with a ship’s gun!
The shore battery fires once again. Is there any hope for San Diego?
A miss! The situation now appears hopeless!
We wave the white flag and surrender!
Fortunately, those swords weren’t put to use. The pirate ship, triumphant, would sail away in search of treasure at Skull Island.
OKAY! What happened here?
Maritime Museum of San Diego visitors on the barge got to watch a sailing adventure that takes place on their Spanish galleon replica San Salvador. The fun shipboard event is an interactive experience called Boarded!
Families and kids sail with a crew of pirates out on San Diego Bay. This hilarious interactive pirate show in San Diego puts visitors right in the middle of the action. Participants will be sworn in as part of the ship’s crew, trained how to navigate, sword fight, bail water from a sinking ship, escape from the King’s Jail, swab the deck, and learn other pirate skills.
Whew! I was worried there for a moment!
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The San Diego County Fair is always tons of fun for the entire family. The Fun Zone features so much pure, unadulterated fun, however, that the sanest, most self-controlled visitor might be tempted to go completely berserk!
I headed up to Del Mar today. The free shuttle from the train station dropped us off at the fair’s West Gate, which leads directly into the Fun Zone. My camera got busy right away!
So many cool, colorful sights! I arrived in the late morning shortly after the fair opened, so the crowds hadn’t grown too much yet. What most caught my eye were the flashy graphics splashed on the carnival rides and games.
Walk through the Fun Zone and you’ll encounter superheroes, rock stars, dinosaurs, race cars, pirates, spooky ghosts, circus animals, friendly carnies challenging you to knock over bottles or shoot a basket to win a big prize, not to mention sugary, fatty treats galore!
Is it possible to have too much fun?
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Perhaps you’ve glimpsed this mural while driving east down University Avenue through Rolando, a bit east of College Avenue. The street art is spray painted on the side of Island Spice Jamaican Restaurant. During my last walk in the area I checked it out.
The art is by Lao rapper, muralist and tattoo artist One Hunned (@imonehunned). Central to the mural’s message is a prayer. Splashed among the graphics are the words WHEN LIFE SHOWS UP and Family First.
The prayer for happiness, blessings and protection from evil begins: “LET ME BE HUMBLE & GIVE ME STRENGTH TO OVERCOME ANYTHING…”
I’m glad I got a closer look at the beautiful message.
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A free family screening of the sports comedy movie GOAT will take place this Friday, May 29, 5:30 -7:30 pm, at the Encinitas Community & Senior Center!
The event is hosted by the Encinitas Youth Commission and will include a good time watching the funny animated movie plus activities for youth and teens. There will also be raffle prizes featuring movie merch!
How cool is this?
The movie screening is being done in partnership with the Kevin Love Fund and Sony Pictures Animation. This event is in recognition of Mental Health Awareness month.
You can register for the fun event by clicking here!
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Strawberries here, strawberries there, strawberries everywhere!
At today’s 15th Annual Vista Strawberry Festival in historic downtown Vista, tens of thousands would crowd into multiple city blocks, exploring over 500 vendors, buying strawberry-themed gifts, enjoying live entertainment, having bushels of fun, devouring every sort of strawberry treat imaginable!
Families wore strawberry costumes, strawberry hats, strawberry dresses and shirts. Dogs often resembled berries. The standout color at the festival was red, not surprisingly.
Kids filled with sugar didn’t need the bounce houses to get jumping.
Smiles and funny surprises everywhere!
Almost forgot to mention–there were loads and loads of actual fresh strawberries for sale, too!
Photographs…
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A public Memorial Day ceremony will be held next Monday in National City at La Vista Memorial Park.
The family-friendly event welcomes everybody. It will remember and honor U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
There will be a rifle salute and flyover, and special Civil War honors. Those attending will enjoy live music and a free picnic lunch. Kids will enjoy a petting zoo.
I experienced Memorial Day at La Vista Memorial Park three years ago. You can see how special and emotionally moving it was from this past blog post.
The event will take place at 3191 Orange Street in National City on Monday, May 25th, between 1 and 3 pm.
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Art and creativity were busting out everywhere at today’s big, very colorful Goldenpalooza festival at the Golden Hill Recreation Center! Check it out!
The festival offered families creative opportunities at every turn. There were multiple art-making stations and workshops for every age. You could learn how to make a cyanotype, a monster and a zine!
Friendly artists were painting, printmaking, demonstrating their technique and showcasing fantastic creations. There was even a cool, highly original video game created by San Diego locals that kids (or adults) could play!
All this while listening to live music from the stage!
Literacy also had a big presence at the festival. Kids were encouraged to read. Reading is fun and expands your mind!
Okay, can you tell I really loved Goldenpalooza? It was my first ever visit to the festival, and will likely not be my last.
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By driving east of San Diego to Campo this weekend, you can enjoy free admission to four cool attractions!
Admission will be free at the Campo Railroad Museum, the Motor Transport Museum, the Gaskill Brothers Stone Store, and the Camp Lockett Equestrian and Event Facility!
This weekend, May 2-3, 2026, Campo Days promises unforgettable family-friendly experiences. Pile the kids in the car and have an adventure!
The incredible Campo Railroad Museum, operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, itself is worth the trip. You can explore many old train cars parked on tracks at the museum, and even ride a vintage train should you purchase a ticket! Learn more about the Campo Railroad Museum at their website here.
I learned about Campo Days when I swung by the La Mesa Depot Museum today. This small free museum is also operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association.
Station master Timothy showed me some of the work being done to restore No. 3, the 1923 steam locomotive which you might have seen while driving through downtown La Mesa. I blogged about its history and restoration about a year ago here.
Timothy loves to talk about trains and his personal experience as an engineer. The always free La Mesa Depot Museum also has a cool HO-scale train layout kids love.
If you can’t make it to Campo Days this weekend, head to La Mesa on a Tuesday or Thursday from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, when the La Mesa Depot Museum is open. Admit it–you love trains, too!
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