Tag: festivals

Night photos of Oktoberfest in La Mesa!

It’s early October. It must be time for La Mesa Oktoberfest!

In previous years I visited the big festival during the daytime. This year I walked through downtown La Mesa and enjoyed the lights and sights of Oktoberfest after dark!

As usual, big crowds. Endless food with lots of sausage and plenty of beer. Rows of vendors, live music stages, carnival rides including a bright Ferris wheel, kids trying out hula hoops, and, of course, the annual wiener dog racing. I saw people in traditional Oktoberfest attire, diners at tables on the sidewalk, happy families and plain good fun.

Walking through it all, I took these nighttime photographs.

You can enjoy Oktoberfest in La Mesa all weekend long!

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San Diego Scottish Highland Games in Mission Valley!

The 50th San Diego Scottish Highland Games are being held this year in Mission Valley. After making Vista their home for many years, the annual festival has moved to the expansive SDSU Mission Valley river park, conveniently located next to the Stadium trolley station. The games will continue through Sunday. (Check out the above website for all the info.)

A huge crowd came out Saturday to enjoy the traditional games, not to mention the rousing pipe and drum competition, Highland dancing, sheepdog trials and the friendly gathering of several dozen Scottish clans.

During my visit I enjoyed watching amazing men and women compete out on a wide field. They were tossing heavy cabers, throwing hammers, putting braemar stones, and engaged in all sorts of astounding heavy athletics.

I love bagpipe music. So watching and listening to pipe and drum groups from around Southern California as they practiced and competed was quite enjoyable. The sound of bagpipes throughout the grassy park made me wonder if I’d been transported to Scotland!

Adults enjoyed a beer garden, families checked out vendors and watched the colorful Highland dancing, kids loved petting the fluffy heritage cattle. There was tons of fun for everyone!

I took the next photo from atop the elevated Stadium trolley station. You can see how big this event is!

We gather to remember where we came from, celebrate what has been passed down, and welcome those discovering Scottish culture for the first time.

At the Highland Games, heritage is not just something we study. It is something we hear, taste, wear, dance, throw, share, and carry forward.

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Come enjoy free Love City Heights Day!

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.

Toyota Racing’s NASCAR festival in San Diego!

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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Photos of 15th Annual Vista Strawberry Festival!

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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Art and creativity at Goldenpalooza!

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.

Words Alive San Diego encourages children to read. It’s done with art and adult participation.
A lot of activities for Makers!
Sun Art! Golden Hill is the perfect place for this!
The Joey, Jeremy & Camille Trio wave from the Goldenpalooza stage.
INSIDE:ART (@insideart_sd) supports the fostering of identity for adults with developmental disabilities through dignified access to the creative arts community of San Diego.
The Wall of Questions & Colors by Compagnia Creativa (@compagniacreativa) asks festival goers “What makes you smile?”
Made me smile!
Testing out the cool, locally developed Behemoth video game (find it on STEAM). A bit like the classic arcade game Joust.

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Feeding San Diego brings smiles to Goldenpalooza!

Everyone was smiling at Goldenpalooza in Golden Hill today, especially those at tables stocked with free healthy food, courtesy of Feeding San Diego!

The cost of living seems higher than ever in San Diego, so keeping food on the table is a struggle for too many residents. Feeding San Diego is there to fill in the gaps (and hungry stomachs).

At the Goldenpalooza community festival, people could fill a bag with potatoes, melons, tuna, low fat milk, and other nutritious essentials.

On behalf of so many in San Diego, thank you!

If you’d like to help Feeding San Diego fulfill their mission, or receive help putting food on your own table, visit their website here.

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Photos of past Cinco de Mayo festivals!

It looks like I’ll be missing Cinco de Mayo events this year. Too busy with work. So I figured: why not revisit past Cinco de Mayo festivals around San Diego?

Here we go!

Click the upcoming links to enjoy several past blog posts!

Click the following links for many more photographs…

Photographs of Cinco de Mayo in the Gaslamp!

Photos of Escondido’s Cinco de Mayo!

Colorful fun at Old Town’s Cinco de Mayo!

Photos of Cinco de Mayo fiesta in Old Town!

Photos of Cinco de Mayo in Balboa Park!

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WorldBeat Center’s annual Earth Day festival!

Aztec Dance by Danza Colibri at Balboa Park’s WorldBeat Cultural Center during Global Earth Day.

Enjoy this collection of photographs taken as the WorldBeat Cultural Center’s 34th Annual Global Earth Day Festival got underway in Balboa Park!

Organizations and businesses who support the environment were lined up behind the center, while vendor canopies and diverse cultural entertainment took place on the open grass nearby. Inside the WorldBeat Cultural Center there was more life to experience, including the rhythms of San Diego Taiko that I enjoyed. Visitors could also walk through the center’s lush Ethnobotany Sanctuary Garden. (I’ll be blogging about the garden later.)

There was plenty to see and do!

Behind the WorldBeat Cultural Center’s building, several canopies were set up for Earth Day. This is where visitors could enjoy most of the environmental activities and education.
The San Diego Bird Alliance was showing how to mix clay and seeds to make seed balls that melt in the rain.
Local native seed libraries can be found all around San Diego County.
The San Diego Beekeeping Society was present with a contained hive for the purposes of demonstration. They are working to save bees.
People visiting the Global Earth Day Festival could pot a plant!
There were opportunities for swapping seeds, purchasing plants and composting!
Books celebrating diversity could be found here. Sitting at the table is author JohnnieRenee Nelson!
Books promote positive values of African American families.
Lots of smiles at the KNSJ community radio station tent!
Inside the WorldBeat Cultural Center people listen to a performance by San Diego Taiko.
Some of the vendors on the grass near Park Boulevard.
Many people come together in beautiful San Diego. WorldBeat Cultural Center hosts their 34th Annual Global Earth Day Festival!

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Photos of Tartan Day in Balboa Park!

The House of Scotland hosted their annual Tartan Day today. They were celebrating their 77th year in Balboa Park!

A good crowd came out to the International Cottages to enjoy cultural entertainment, Scottish food (meat pies!) and a gathering of various clans.

The House of Scotland Pipe Band and the Helix Highlander Pipes & Drums performed rousing music. Traditional dancers took the stage. The Ashworth Academy of Highland Dance and the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society were represented.

The festival atmosphere was also educational. It seemed every sort of organization that promotes Scottish culture in San Diego appeared on the lawn.

What is meant by Tartan Day, you may ask?

A tartan is the patterned cloth, traditionally made of wool, featuring crisscrossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors, originating from Scotland. Different clans and regions have their own unique tartan. San Diego has a special tartan pattern, too!

One more thing. The epic Scottish Highland Games and Gathering of the Clans is returning after an absence of a couple years. Instead of in Vista, the games will now be held this June 20 and 21, 2026, at the SDSU Mission Valley River Park! Check out the official website here.

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