Summertime? A sunny Sunday? San Diego’s always amazing Balboa Park?
Combine these three to discover lots of fun, festive stuff!
Come with me. Let’s walk around Balboa Park this afternoon, taking in various cool sights…
Performers on and off stage in Balboa Park at the 35th Philippine Cultural Arts Festival.A big outdoor audience enjoys Filipino culture in Balboa Park.Kids dance on outdoor stage at the SAMAHAN Filipino American Performing Arts and Education Center’s annual festival in Balboa Park.Filipino food was plentiful at the 35th Philippine Cultural Arts Festival, in San Diego’s Balboa Park.Walking around Balboa Park at the Plaza de Panama.Super cool guys promote the San Diego Loyal soccer team. They’ve got a home game coming up on August 24th versus Oakland. The team is currently in second place!An amazing film about Balboa Park plays in the auditorium at the San Diego History Center.A beautiful summer day near the Japanese Tea Pavilion.Visitors walk toward the Exhibit Hall at the Japanese Friendship Garden. There’s a new exhibition concerning Japanese dolls that I will blog about soon.People sit in the shade of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion colonnade during the Sunday two o’clock concert.Colorful rented umbrellas provide more shade for the pavilion benches.Organist Amanda Mole plays a musical piece on the Spreckels Organ. It’s a preview of her Monday night performance for the 34th San Diego International Organ Festival.A variety of lowriders were parked between the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and the Plaza de Panama.Taking photos near flowers at one end of the Balboa Park Lily Pond.A Spanish speaking church group sings joyfully along El Prado, hoping to attract passersby.Dancers in folk costume perform for the House of Panama lawn program at the International Cottages.Cultural lawn programs can be enjoyed almost every weekend in Balboa Park during summer months!
If you’d like to see more colorful photographs from today’s House of Panama lawn program, click here!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Huge crowds converged today in downtown Chula Vista for the big 25th Annual Lemon Festival!
Families were walking along Third Avenue enjoying the lemony sights and tasty smells.
Musicians performed on the Zesty Stage. Kids played and made crafts in the Lil’ Lemons zone. Vendors had all sorts of lemon-themed goodies on display, and it seemed that fresh lemonade could be found every few steps! Many neighbors were wearing bright yellow!
Why a big Lemon Festival in Chula Vista?
Once upon a time, before asphalt streets crisscrossed the sunny landscape, agriculture in San Diego’s South Bay was famous for its abundant lemon production. Our climate is perfect to grow citrus.
In the early 20th century there were almost two thousand acres of lemon groves around Chula Vista, which called itself the Lemon Capital of the World.
Enjoy the following fun photos! I walked up and down Third Avenue a couple times, taking in the festive scene, before I headed off to another cool Chula Vista location, as you will see in an upcoming blog post!
This super nice lady handed me some literature concerning the Arts in the Park festival, which is coming up in Chula Vista on August 27th from 10-5 in Memorial Park.
Mark it on your calendar!
If you’d like to see a few more photographs these great chalk art murals, click here!
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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!
Around noon today, chalk artists were doing their thing at the 25th Annual Lemon Festival in Chula Vista!
The enormously popular community event is taking place today in Chula Vista’s historic downtown, along Third Avenue.
I paused to admire the half dozen creative works, most of which were in progress.
As you might expect, all this lemony artwork required a fair amount of yellow chalk!
Sweet!
Chalk art by Dorothy Corona.Chalk art by Brenda Mora.Chalk art by Eric Arcala.Chalk art by Colin Moyer.Chalk art by Meg Canilang.Chalk art by Cecilia Linayao.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
History was made on Tuesday in San Diego. The Padres made what some are calling the most important trade in baseball history. But, of course, history is made every single day.
Let’s relive a few cool memories from five years ago!
Back in August 2017, events in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park recreated life in our city a century and a half ago; a fun community festival celebrated Logan Heights; and a couple of big Labor Day festivals–the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and the Festival of Sail–were almost ready to open!
If you’d like to experience a little bit of San Diego history, click the upcoming links!
Click the following links to enjoy many photographs…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
The 34th San Diego International Organ Festival began this evening in Balboa Park.
It was the first festival concert of many to come this summer. They are free to the public on Monday evenings, beginning at 7:30 pm. See the full program here. Some of the world’s top organists will fill thousands of ears with dazzling sound from the incomparable Spreckels Organ.
But tonight, before San Diego Civic Organist Raul Prieto Ramírez began his magic, two people were brought to the pavilion stage for a special Thank You.
Past Spreckels Organ Society President Arlene Way and Civic Organist Emeritus Robert Plimpton spoke a few words–including doing good for the community and bringing happiness to people–then received applause.
I want to personally thank Robert Plimpton. He’s the one who “introduced” me to the Spreckels Organ. One day, I forget when, as a young man in Balboa Park, I sat down on one of those metal benches and listened. I hadn’t realized an organ could play so movingly, so exquisitely. Like poetry.
His energetic, elegant, precise play of the mighty Spreckels Organ made me a fan of the King of Instruments for life. Sitting on that bench, amazed, it might have been the first time I realized Balboa Park has a living heartbeat.
So, thank you to all who keep that heartbeat going.
And thank you Robert Plimpton.
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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!
Today was the start of something big in La Mesa. This afternoon the inaugural La Mesa Juneteenth celebration kicked off in MacArthur Park!
I arrived shortly after the free public event opened at noon. Lots of people were already walking about, exploring the many canopies dotting the grass. I saw artists with crafts, vendors, community organizations . . . and lots of smiles!
There were families everywhere enjoying the sunshine. Kids were playing in a fun zone and learning about the history of the very first Juneteenth, June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Texas finally heard of their freedom.
I missed some of the later entertainment. I’ll try to catch it next year.
Because I have no doubt next year’s La Mesa Juneteenth celebration will be even bigger and better!
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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!
I took my seat inside the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park and waited for the dance to begin. And what we got was a guy in a gorilla suit playing guitar! Then a clown on a tricycle!
Okay, I thought to myself. It’s the Fringe Festival. Only 10 bucks.
But then the performance changed dramatically.
And some good ballet dancing began. Really good!
I was blown away by the fluidity, sensuousness, and gorgeous moves by two dancers who obviously knew what they were doing!
Philip Amer, the Artistic Director of Induction Dance, danced with Saori Maeda. When each of several dances were completed, the audience applauded loudly. It was deserved.
Philip Amer hails from Escondido. Over the years he has performed with numerous ballet companies across the country. He also teaches dance.
Saori Maeda is 23 years old. She’s from Japan, now studying ballet and training in Southern California. Her moves were graceful and flawless. She is destined to be a star!
The performance today included several humorous skits that worked quite well, including a dance with a cloth dummy, and a mime-like ballerina trying to communicate words with particular movements.
Philip Amer stated his object is to make ballet entertaining and accessible for ordinary folk. I don’t know about the guitar playing gorilla and clown on a tricycle, but the rest of the act was original, witty, magical!
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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 big, wonderful fiesta was held today in San Diego’s Balboa Park!
The House of Mexico held their annual lawn program at the International Cottages, and, as usual, a good crowd came out!
There was much to do and see–and eat! (I must admit those churros were irresistible.)
Smiles shined all around as the festival filled with more and more people. Members from diverse communities around San Diego and Mexico were in attendance, and all were welcome.
Before the entertainment began at two o’clock, I wandered into the House of Mexico’s new cottage. Inside, displays included some very striking folk art, representing the legends and spirituality of the indigenous Huichol or Wixárika. I was told the exhibits in the cottage will be changed every few months.
After wandering away to listen to the Spreckels Organ concert for a while, I returned to the International Cottages to catch some of the House of Mexico’s cultural entertainment.
Enjoy these photos!
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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!
That was probably the strangest event Cool San Diego Sights recorded during the month of June in 2017.
Five years ago there were other fascinating events, too, like the Wooden Boat Festival on Shelter Island, and the Ocean Beach Street Fair, and Flag Day in Old Town, and Family Day at Tecolote Canyon Natural Park.
Plus, I saw indications that another San Diego Comic-Con was fast approaching!
I’ve selected nine very different blog posts from June 2017 that you might enjoy checking out…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Could the Vista Strawberry Festival be the largest, most popular street festival in all of San Diego County? From what I saw today, it might well be! It is the largest strawberry festival in these parts!
All of downtown Vista–nearly every street it seemed–was closed to traffic and packed with excited families and smiling neighbors, all enjoying a sweet Memorial Day weekend Sunday!
Did you know Vista was once considered the Strawberry Capital of the World?
There was so much going on at the festival, so many happy people dressed as strawberries, or eating strawberries, or buying strawberry art, crafts and concoctions, that I thought I had entered strawberry heaven!
To kids the enormous fun zone, complete with a zip line, must’ve felt like heaven.
Those who raced in the morning 5K, having joined the crowd after the run, appeared to be enjoying themselves, too!
I met lots of great people during my visit and, of course, ate a few strawberries myself. (But I didn’t muster the courage to try the strawberry tamales.)
I was pleased to learn Vista’s Soroptimists (those three smiling faces in one of the photos coming up) have raised lots of money to help young women in difficult circumstances get an education! Visit their website here.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 