Tag: family

Hungarian dance and culture in Balboa Park!

The House of Hungary presented a wonderful lawn program today in Balboa Park.

Those who came by the International Cottages could feast on Hungarian food, including Potato Paprikash and Crepes, and enjoy an introduction to Hungary’s history and culture. At the House of Hungary cottage, used books in Hungarian were for sale. Out on the lawn, dancers and musicians took the stage.

I arrived just before 2 o’clock and watched a performance by two professional ballet dancers: Hungarian born Reka Gyulai (principal dancer, California Ballet) and Lester Gonzalez. Their dance, as you might expect, was extraordinary.

Then came a performance by the Hungarian Children’s School. The symbolic dance was about creating New Bread. It was full of fun, family happiness and joy for life.

Later performances, which I missed, included jazz and folk music by The Hunglish Project, the Karpatok Hungarian Dance Ensemble, and a Rubik’s Cube demonstration and quiz show!

Another great time on another Sunday in sunny San Diego!

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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.

Photos of 2024 Sun & Sea Festival in Imperial Beach!

The Sun & Sea Festival returned to Imperial Beach for 2024, attracting a good crowd as usual. And, as always, the annual event beside the Imperial Beach Pier featured sand sculptures!

A monumental sand mega castle was being finished by a group of local artists late this morning when I walked through the festival.

The “Back 2 IB” sculpture celebrates nostalgia. Carved into the sand are fun retro images that bring back fond memories of the 1980s, from Back to the Future, to Ghostbusters, to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, to Cabbage Patch Kids, to Rubik’s Cube, to Pac-Man. (I’ll be sharing more photos of the amazing sand sculpture in my next blog post!)

The festival also featured a Kids-n-Kastles competition, with 15 team entries built on the beach north of the pier. There was no adult competition this year. Sadly, there weren’t enough sponsors.

The COVID pandemic and sewage coming from the Tijuana River polluting the ocean off Imperial Beach have visibly hurt this long-running event, not to mention the Imperial Beach community and local businesses. Nobody was out in the water, apart from several surfers who were seriously risking their health.

I spoke to people at a Surfrider Foundation tent. They said very slow progress is being made to solve the sewage problem. The ocean here has been off limits for about two years now. It’s a problem that seems to have no end.

In spite of this, however, there was plenty of fun to be had at the 2024 Sun & Sea Festival! Lots of food! Live music! A fantastic location and SoCal beach vibe!

Here are my 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.

Little Italy mural honors Joe Musgrove’s grandmother!

Did you know that San Diego Padres star pitcher Joe Musgrove has a family connection to Little Italy?

His grandmother, Lucy Papitto, resided in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood for 30 years!

I didn’t know this until I saw a relatively new mural and plaque today. The beautiful mural can be found on India Street a little south of Grape Street. I’ve read that it was unveiled several months ago during Mother’s Day weekend.

When I walked by this morning, the San Diego sunshine was shining through nearby tree branches, perfectly framing Lucy Papitto’s smile.

IN HONOR OF PADRES PITCHER JOE MUSGROVE’S GRANDMOTHER LUCY PAPITTO, 1ST GENERATION SAN DIEGO NATIVE OF ITALIAN DESCENT WHO CALLED LITTLE ITALY HOME FROM 1928 TO 1958 RESIDING AT 1936 STATE STREET.

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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.

Comic-Con fun in the Petco Park Interactive Zone!

Every year at San Diego Comic-Con the Petco Park Interactive Zone offers lots of free family fun. In 2024, if you like being creative, playing games, winning prizes, getting free stuff, and chowing down on tasty food, there’s a lot of fun!

On Thursday I entered the zone to see what I might see. And it was hard to miss the 21 foot tall Exploding Kittens statue of Devilcat. From its feline derriere I extracted a super cool Exploding Kittens Good vs Evil party card game!

Then I checked out the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree photo op. Something weird was hatching from an enormous egg…

Then came perhaps my favorite activation. The Sharpie Creation Station! Visitors could check out a new line of Sharpie Creative Markers by making art by the Sharpie bus. Cool!

Then I entered the Attack of the Metallic Menace, which informs people about the dangers of smoking. Check out the creature inside! I believe I remember it from last year…

The ever popular Hello Kitty Café truck is here…

And other food trucks are present, including “We Slaughter Barbecue” with its The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50th Anniversary graphics!

There are plenty of picnic benches to sit at while eating and people/cosplay watching…

Finally, I enjoyed walking by the Game of Thrones Legends activation where there are several cool and spooky sculptures! I heard an announcement that someone playing the game was winning a prize, too!

The Petco Park Interactive Zone is located in the Lexus Premier Parking Lot adjacent to the Padres ballpark. It’s right next to the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.

The fun opens at 10 am each day of San Diego Comic-Con!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Peanuts celebrates 75th anniversary at Comic-Con!

The beloved cartoon Peanuts created by Charles Schulz will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. The San Diego Comic-Con 2024 activation for Peanuts is anticipating that big milestone with lots of free fun for the family!

The Peanuts offsite is located along MLK Promenade and is open during Comic-Con from 10 am to 6 pm. There’s seldom a big line, so don’t expect a big wait.

I dropped by this morning to check out what the Peanuts folks were offering this year!

Here come some photos.

As you can see, there are several backdrops for photo ops, lots of Peanuts merch and collectibles for sale if that’s what you want, information about the history of Charles Schulz and his comic strip and the animated holiday specials, and when you go back outside there’s a Camp Snoopy where you can relax and watch classic Peanuts animated cartoons!

And I noticed lots of smiles!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Big carnival rides pop up for Comic-Con!

A pair of big carnival rides have popped up outside Comic-Con in San Diego!

It’s several days now until Comic-Con 2024 commences, and today a big swing ride and a Ferris wheel are being installed for two different outside activities that will be open free to the public!

The YOYO swing ride that you see in the first photographs is part of the family friendly A.V.A. FEST offsite, which will also include a ball pit and water squirt game. The carnival-like activation promotes the ABC series Abbott Elementary.

You can join the fun starting Thursday behind the San Diego Convention Center. It will be hard to miss!

On the other side of the convention center you’ll be able to freely ride the Marvel Contest of Champions big Ferris wheel, also starting on Thursday. (To ride you must play an exclusive Marvel Contest of Champions quest on your phone.)

The Ferris wheel is located on the grassy side of the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter hotel, alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade. It will be hard to miss too!

Learn more about this activity here.

What fun!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Blanket Sounds in the San Diego sunshine!

Music lovers gathered at Waterfront Park on San Diego’s Embarcadero this afternoon for a special event. They had come to listen to the second concert of San Diego’s newest arts and music series, Blanket Sounds!

As concert time neared, blankets, beach chairs and umbrellas multiplied by the stage, and the growing audience anticipated performances by DJ Mr. Hek and San Diego’s World Punk Band QUEL BORDEL!

Everyone was welcome at this multicultural and multigenerational community gathering. Kids ran and played on the grass. Families enjoyed picnics.

I lingered for a bit, enjoyed the mellow Sunday afternoon atmosphere, and took these photos. There are two more free Blanket Sounds concerts to go this summer. Find out more here!

The County Administration Building rises under a blue San Diego sky.

Members of QUEL BORDEL! warm up before the concert begins.

Tall ship Star of India on San Diego Bay makes a scenic background.

Rock-like sculpture is an art installation by artist Trevor Amery.

The other side of Trevor Amery’s fascinating sculpture.

Jake Skolnick of local San Diego band QUEL BORDEL! gives a thumbs up!

Kids could color at an activity table.

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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.

Independence Day in Old Town San Diego.

Independence Day was celebrated today, the Fourth of July, in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!

A festival atmosphere drew families to the central plaza, where the public could freely enjoy live music, crafts, old-fashioned outdoor games like sack races and tug of war, and even a simulated telegraph office! The Boosters of Old Town San Diego, raising funds for the park, raffled off a valuable quilt and offered fun handmade gifts for those passing by.

California State Park employees and volunteers wore 19th century attire. With a little imagination, strolling through the grassy plaza would feel like stepping back in time. Lovers of Americana, nostalgia and San Diego’s early history were all smiles.

Red, white and blue could be seen throughout the State Park. The various museums were open and welcoming. Spinners and quilters were demonstrating their craft at Threads of the Past, while several blacksmiths were hammering red hot iron at the Blacksmith Shop. Curious visitors could listen to explanations as they looked on.

It was a special day in a very special place.

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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.

Beautiful new mural at Lemon Grove Library!

This very beautiful new mural was painted in April near the main entrance to the Lemon Grove Library. It’s titled Today for Tomorrow.

Positive messages conveyed by the mural include a love for family, the natural environment and reading. The extraordinary mural is the product of a partnership between the ArtReach Mural Program and the Lemon Grove Public Library. The lead mural artist was Mexican-American artist and designer Josué Baltézar.

A handout available inside the library explains: The ArtReach Mural Program Team led over 50 community members in design ideation and painting through out design-input workshops and Community Paint Day…This piece highlights the library as an uplifting and beautiful community space, welcoming and accepting of all people. Books are featured predominantly to mark the importance of learning, reading, curiosity, and imagination. The focal point of the lemon tree represents the community of Lemon Grove while also signifying growth and new beginnings. The figures placed in the books show that we all have our own stories to tell and create while also touching on family resilience, hope, kindness, caregiving and neighborhood unity…

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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.

Wooden Boat Festival this Father’s Day weekend!

Looking for something great to do this coming Father’s Day weekend? The 33rd Annual Wooden Boat Festival is taking place next Saturday and Sunday on Shelter Island!

Sons, daughters and fathers will enjoy exploring dozens of beautiful wooden vessels, large and small, docked at the Koehler Kraft boat building company. There will be a wide array of incredible vintage wooden boats that have been beautifully maintained and restored.

It’s the premier event of its kind in Southern California. Visitors will be able to board many of the wooden craft and be awed by the fine craftsmanship.

I enjoyed the festival seven years ago and took these photographs.

Tickets are very affordable and kids are about half price, so you can bring the whole family. There will be artists, live music, food and raffles, and all proceeds from the event go to benefit the Sea Scouts.

Visit the Wooden Boat Festival website here to learn more!

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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.