Horse rides in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. One of many fun attractions at the Fall Back Festival and Historic Children’s Street Faire.
Late this morning I walked down to the Gaslamp to enjoy the 2016 Fall Back Festival and Historic Children’s Street Faire. A very long name for a very cool event!
Before the Fall Back Festival begins, clocks are set back one hour, as Daylight Saving Time ends. When the festival begins, however, clocks seem magically set back over a hundred years! Several blocks in the Gaslamp Quarter are transformed into a scene from the Old West, complete with cowboys, horses, a working blacksmith and more! The festival provides an idea of what San Diego might have been like in the mid to late 19th century.
Every year, the family-friendly Fall Back Festival appears about the same, but that’s just fine. Each journey back in time is wonderful!
Kids rides horses, as the citizens of San Diego commonly did in the mid 1800s.The Horton Grand Hotel rises behind a crowd of people enjoying the 2016 Fall Back Festival, an annual event that celebrates a fascinating period in San Diego history.Families dressed in Old West attire had a lot of fun as photos were taken at the Fall Back Festival!All sorts of Western hats, cowboy gear and Victorian finery could be donned at this table.Participants in the Fall Back Festival, wearing clothing from San Diego’s past. I felt as if I’d been transported back in time.A friendly hog greets somebody at the Fall Back Festival.Two ladies smile for my camera at the front door of the historic William Heath Davis House in San Diego’s Gaslamp.A row of shiny vintage cars on display during the popular downtown San Diego event.Many organizations had tents along Fourth Avenue, including the Friends of Villa Montezuma, which is a famous Victorian mansion in nearby Sherman Heights.Fourth Avenue runs through San Diego’s Chinatown, which is officially called the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District. A colorful lion dancer turns heads at the Fall Back Festival.San Diego’s relatively brief history is remarkably diverse. An informative poster at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s table includes several photos.I doubt anyone produced bubbles this big over a century ago, but I might be wrong!A working blacksmith attracted a big crowd on Island Avenue in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter.Hammering red hot iron. A very cool demonstration at the 2016 Fall Back Festival!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! 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 unique photos for you to enjoy!
A traditional Sicilian cart on display at 2016 Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy.
Festa is a celebration of Italian culture and history. Every year it’s held along several blocks of India Street, in the heart of San Diego’s historic Little Italy neighborhood. Thousands turn out to enjoy music, food, and all things Italian.
Here are a few photos I snapped yesterday. They provide a taste of what Festa is all about. Read the captions for explanations, and click the images of signs in the cultural pavilion if you’d like to read them. By the way, the food and music were great. I wish this blog could convey the deliciousness of my slice of Filippi’s pizza!
Thousands turned out along several blocks of India Street for the annual celebration of Festa.A cultural pavilion at Festa attracted people who were interested in Little Italy’s rich culture and history.An exhibit in the cultural pavilion included old photos of life in Little Italy, a neighborhood in San Diego once associated with fishing.The Italian neighborhood remained deeply rooted in social tradition revolving around family, work and church.The fishing industry defined the residents’ lives and included labor in boat building, net mending, and tuna and sardine canning.Historical photos of Little Italy fishermen at work off the coast of San Diego.Photo of young man on a boat with a very large catch.Old photos of life in Little Italy include workers at a cannery and fishermen mending nets.A display at Festa includes nets and old commercial fishing gear.A pillar for San Diego’s Italian community, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish has endured for more than 80 years.Photographs and puppets provide a glimpse of San Diego’s past.The Columbus Day Queens are presented on stage during 2016 Festa in Little Italy.The Sicilian Band performs during Festa in San Diego.A crowd admires chalk art, or Gesso Italiano, during Festa. The amazing artwork celebrates Italy’s history and culture.A vendor at Festa sells funny signs and aprons to Italy lovers.Of course, lots of pizza, pasta and other Italian food could be found up and down India Street.Chef Boyardee (Ettore Boiardi) appears on a street lamp banner in Little Italy.People at Festa check out some shiny new Vespas.An exhibition of Italian sports cars included Maseratis and Lamborghinis.A kid and gondoliers at Festa. Anyone can ride elegant gondolas in San Diego at the Coronado Cays.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A beautiful dance on the Spreckels Organ Pavilion stage in Balboa Park during the 2016 Moon Festival.
A truly wonderful Chinese Moon Festival is being held this evening in Balboa Park! I took photos before the sun set that provide a sense of how fantastic and entertaining this annual event is.
The Moon Festival is co-sponsored by the House of China in Balboa Park and the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University. Every year, the festival seems to grow and grow!
A very large crowd turned out this year for the Chinese Moon Festival in Balboa Park. The benches in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion were packed.Table provides info about the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University. They co-sponsored the Moon Festival, along with the House of China in Balboa Park.The San Diego Chinese Historical Society and Museum was having a book sale!Huge Chinese Crepes were being prepared near the entertainment.A half moon hangs above the ornate colonnade of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Very appropriate!The Moon Festival would provide lots of colorful entertainment into the evening. I took photos while the sun was still up.Thunder drums!Followed by youthful Chinese acrobats!These energetic acrobats were wonderfully talented. They performed feats that seemed impossible.A fluid, colorful dance that mimics the motions of an exotic fish. Everyone in the audience seemed mesmerized.A truly wonderful Chinese dance in San Diego’s Balboa Park during the 2016 Moon Festival!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Beauty queens and dancers in colorful dresses watch the House of Peru lawn program in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
I took some photos this afternoon in Balboa Park of the House of Peru’s lawn program. In these photographs you’ll see genuine joy. I felt it.
Like many other nations, Peru is a member of the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages, located near the heart of beautiful Balboa Park. The special event today coincided with Peru’s Fiestas Patrias, a holiday that celebrates Peru gaining independence from the Spanish Empire.
I hung around for a bit, absorbing all the life. I then meandered on through the green, sun-filled park. I did a lot of sitting on shady benches. I did my best to conjure up a new short story idea for my fiction blog Short Stories by Richard. I also took a peek at the Orchid Show in the Casa del Prado. I’ll blog about that in a day or two on one of my other photo blogs, Beautiful Balboa Park.
The House of Pacific Relations’ lawn program today among the International Cottages featured the House of Peru. Peru is celebrating its Fiestas Patrias.Many Peruvian products were on display and for sale in tents around the grassy lawn.I was told the sweaters, mittens and other woven goods were made in Peru.There was a lot of favorite Peruvian food, including marcianos (fruit pops) and chicha morada (a sweet Peruvian beverage made from purple corn).A huge crowd assembled for the celebration of Peru’s independence from the Spanish Empire. The lawn program would include speeches, music and dancing.Color guard from Coronado High School’s JROTC program. Photo taken minutes before the event opened with national anthems from both the United States and Peru.Hearty greetings were offered to everyone attending. Many in the audience had roots in Peru. The mural backdrop depicts Machu Picchu.After a few speeches, the lawn program featured stirring Peruvian music.The music was so lively and happy, some people from the audience were soon dancing on the stage!I plainly see that in Peru there’s a deep love of life!Costumed dancers, young and old, practice off-stage during the festive House of Peru lawn program in Balboa Park.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The 2016 International Summer Organ Festival in Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion will feature some of the world’s great organists! If you’ve never been to these concerts, time to go check it out!
It starts tomorrow evening! It’s time again for that annual world-famous cultural event in Balboa Park: the International Summer Organ Festival! I promised to say something about these amazing weekly concerts on my blog, so I better do it today before it’s too late!
Anyone who has attended the International Summer Organ Festival in past years knows that many of the world’s greatest concert organists perform during the 10 week blockbuster event. The free concerts are held on Monday evenings in Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Concerts begin at 7:30 and last about 2 hours, with a brief intermission to eat, drink, talk, visit the gift shop and stretch legs. Thousands of music buffs and ordinary folk (like myself) come out to listen to the Spreckels Organ’s awesome and versatile voice.
As many of you might know, the Spreckels Organ recently regained the title of World’s Largest Outdoor Organ. And when an organist “pulls out all the stops”, you can hear this King of Instruments clear across Balboa Park!
One more thing–I learned that gourmet sandwiches will be available at the concession area this year–they’re large enough to feed two. So why not make an evening of it? Perhaps walk around beautifully lit Balboa Park before the evening concert or afterward!
Oh–and I should mention that on the Fourth of July, a special concert will feature a spectacular tribute to musical Americana, including favorite rags, marches, Gershwin and more. All played by Dave Wickerham, who is a top-notch theatre organist. (I’ve heard him before, and the way he plays is just unbelievable.)
Click the photo above that contains information about the performances. The image will enlarge and you can mark your calendars. If you’re not in San Diego, I believe the concerts will be streamed on the internet. To learn more about that possibility, and more about the Spreckels Organ Society and their concerts and educational programs, click here!
Ross Porter, Executive Administrator of the Spreckels Organ Society, shows us the newly printed program which visitors will receive at every free summer Monday night performance.I needed some photos for today’s blog post, so I captured a smile in the outdoor gift shop. I missed this afternoon’s free Sunday concert because I was on a secret mission and had to go elsewhere.About an hour to go before the free Sunday afternoon concert at 2 o’clock. Volunteers and curious folk are Just hanging out. The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is home to the world’s largest outdoor organ and brilliant Civic Organist, Dr. Carol Williams!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The San Diego Zoo is 100! And this evening, it is celebrating with a big centennial festival in its beautiful home: Balboa Park!
Late this afternoon, I walked through Balboa Park to check out the beginning of the huge San Diego Zoo Centennial Festival! As you might’ve guessed, our world-famous zoo has turned a hundred years old!
The San Diego Zoo began when the 1915 Panama-California Exposition came to an end in 1916. The exposition’s veterinarian, Harry Milton Wegeforth, heard the caged lions roar. He turned to his brother and said: “Wouldn’t it be splendid if San Diego had a zoo! You know…I think I’ll start one.”
The rest is history. A century of amazing history!
The big festival today featured all sorts of fun and educational stuff, as you’ll see in my photos. I can hardly believe the size of the crowd that turned out!
I went home before dark and missed a world-record attempt in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion–the most hand puppets performing at one time. Regrettably, I also missed the opening of the big mystery boxes–gifts from the zoo to the San Diego community. As of this moment–as I publish this post–they still haven’t been opened! I’ll provide an update when I learn what was inside!
UPDATE!
From what I read the following morning, the three huge gift boxes on stage contained a puppet elephant, a puppet condor, and an 11-foot-high puppet lion that roared at the conclusion of an epic evening performance!
I should’ve stayed to watch! Apparently the Broadway-style show was amazing, and featured Tony and Grammy Award-winning singer Heather Headley, lots of dancing, the performing puppets, and an inspiring light show. If you want to check out some pics, here are a bunch of good ones!
A huge crowd walks down El Prado in Balboa Park, enjoying exhibits and entertainment celebrating the world-famous San Diego Zoo’s centennial.People listen to live music in the Plaza de Panama. Many people wore hats or shirts decorated with animals.Sign lists the various activities at the San Diego Zoo Centennial community celebration.Zoo staff and volunteers help kids create animal-themed art.These mariachis were almost ready to perform!Street magician excites a kid.Musicians were everywhere. It was a big party for San Diego.A botanicals exhibit explained how the San Diego Zoo isn’t merely saving endangered animal species, but saving rare plants, too! I’m going to blog about this shortly!Look who I spotted giving an interview. The celebrated and much-beloved zoo spokesperson Joan Embery!Lots of cool zoo gifts and fun commemorative stuff was for sale, of course!Another exhibit showed how the zoo helps wildlife researchers using modern digital recording technology in the field.Several local high schools were having their proms tonight, and I spotted many fancy dresses throughout Balboa Park. I’m not sure about this photo shoot!It’s still two hours before the main programming begins, but people are already gathering in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. There are the large mystery boxes!This super friendly San Diego Zoo team member answered several of my questions. Every zoo representative I talked to was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and really nice.Some dancing up on the stage. At eight o’clock, the main program would begin.A tiger roams through Balboa Park.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Use cans and old kitchen tools for plant pots! Dryer lint as cotton with nail polish remover to take off polish!
Late this morning, I walked from Cortez Hill to the 2016 EarthFair in Balboa Park. The cool event, corresponding with Earth Day, is the largest annual environmental fair in the world!
Thousands turned out today for the 2016 EarthFair in Balboa Park. San Diego residents celebrated Earth Day and learned how to help protect the environment.
I blogged about EarthFair the last couple of years and showed you a little bit of almost everything–so this time I decided to take a different, more practical approach. As I walked through San Diego’s garden-like Balboa Park, I searched the many exhibits for useful ideas about things we can do in our daily lives to protect the environment.
Here are a few things I found. Please read the captions! And feel free to share!
1. Ideas for creatively repurposing used household items.
One major theme of EarthFair was re-using and repurposing old items that might otherwise be thrown away. I noted some cool ideas and took pics!
Poster shows many creative repurposing ideas! Click photo to enlarge and read some cool, very unusual ideas that you might try!These shiny, colorful handbags were made from recycled Kool-Aid and Capri Sun packets!Take old clothes to make new clothes for homeless and toys for kids.Recycling vintage fabric into baby bibs.Turn old sweaters into beautiful pillows.People check out the world’s largest festival celebrating Earth Day–EarthFair in San Diego’s sunny Balboa Park!
2. Tasty ways to use up excess fruits and vegetables.
One display created by the County of San Diego provided excellent information about how to use leftover or surplus fruits and vegetables, to avoid unnecessary waste. Those pics came out blurry, so here’s what I noted:
Spinach–add to sandwiches, soups, egg dishes, pasta or smoothies.
Bananas–add to cereal, yogurt or smoothies. Blend frozen bananas with milk and vanilla for a healthy dessert.
Citrus–add to green or fruit salads, soups, pasta or sauces. Add peels to vinegar for a simple household cleaner.
Tomatoes–add to salads, egg dishes, sandwiches or pasta. Use to make fresh salsa, tomato sauce or bruschetta.
Onions–add to salads, soups, egg dishes, sandwiches or stir-fry. Pickle red onions. Make onion preserves.
Peppers–add to sandwiches, salads, egg dishes or stir-fry. Steam and puree to make soup or a sauce for meat or pasta.
Avocados–add to smoothies, salads, sandwiches, egg dishes or baked goods. Spread on toast. Use in pasta sauce with lemon, garlic, oil and basil.
Beets–add to salads, soups or stir-fry. Use roasted beets in place of meat on sandwiches.
Broccoli and Cauliflower–add to salads, soups, egg dishes or stir-fry. Add finely chopped or grated cauliflower to rice.
Berries–add to fruit or green salads, hot or cold cereals, smoothies or yogurt. Use in a fruit salsa served with bread or chips.
Potatoes–add to salads, soups or egg dishes. Use russet potatoes to make potato skins. Use leftover baked potatoes to make hashbrowns.
Corn–add to soups or salads. Use to make a fresh corn salsa. Bake into cornbread or potato pancakes.
3. Things you can do to help protect the environment–and save money!
Here are a few displays I photographed that contained some great advice! Click the photos to enlarge them!
Compost can be made with shredded paper, grass clippings, wood chips, garden leftovers, leaves, livestock manure, chopped up yard debris and used coffee grounds.To save energy, use efficient lighting, adjust your thermostat, install solar, reduce driving, and keep your car maintained and tires properly inflated.Check to see if your city offers free utility inspections and efficiency analysis. In San Diego, a free water survey program is available.Ride a bicycle to work! In San Diego, Bike to Work Day in 2016 is Friday, May 20. You might consider walking or taking public transit, too!Many San Diegans saved energy, reduced air pollution and stayed healthy by riding their bicycles to EarthFair!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Do you love Balboa Park? Follow my special new blog which I call Beautiful Balboa Park!
Artwork hung near entrance of the Balboa Park Club depicts Greek folk dancers.
A great event is going on this weekend in Balboa Park! If you happen to be in San Diego, you might like to check it out!
The International Folk Dance Spring Festival is being held in the very beautiful Balboa Park Club building, and everyone is invited. The fun event is put on by the International Dance Association of San Diego County.
Anyone who attended the festival today could learn how to Greek dance! Tomorrow, Sunday, you’ll have the opportunity to learn and observe other styles of folk dancing. It’s easy to participate and lots of fun! And it’s a great social activity that provides healthy exercise!
I learned that the International Dance Association of San Diego County is eager to welcome new members. Do you enjoy folk dancing? Do you wish to learn? Are you merely curious and would like to read some more interesting information? Then click here to check out their website! They have numerous classes and special dances throughout the year!
Curious visitors enter the Balboa Park Club building, to enjoy the 2016 International Folk Dance Spring Festival.Costumes are a fun aspect of authentic folk dancing. But you don’t need one to participate! Come as you are!People get ready to perform a social dance in the amazing 13,000 square feet ballroom inside the Balboa Park Club.Ordinary people at the International Folk Dance Spring Festival in Balboa Park learn Greek dancing!Life is beautiful. Indeed, it is!The stunning, historic grand foyer of the Balboa Park Club is decorated for spring. Buy stuff here during the festival to support the International Dance Association of San Diego County.International Folk Dancing in Balboa Park is celebrating 69 years! Recreational folk dance is taught, demonstrated and performed for free in a stylish, air-conditioned ballroom!The Balboa Park Club is the site of a San Diego folk dance festival, running this weekend. Go check it out! Or, better yet, go and learn how to folk dance! Why not?
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cheerful blooms cover Pink Trumpet Trees in Tweet Street Park. The neighborhood park is site of an upcoming spring festival!
This morning, when I saw a large temporary sign on the street outside my front door, I went to investigate. And look what I discovered! A neighborhood spring festival is going to take place on Cortez Hill!
It’s called Jacaranda Spring Thing! (Yes, there are lots of beautiful Jacaranda trees on Cortez Hill. Many can be found in Tweet Street Park where the festival will take place.)
The free outdoor event will feature food trucks, a special Home Depot workshop (about fixing up your outdoor patio), live music, a book truck, a photo booth . . . all sorts of fun stuff!
Okay, are you interested? It takes place on April 16 at Tweet Street Park, along Date Street between 8th and 9th Avenue, from noon to 4pm. Here’s a link with more info. (By registering at that link, the organizers at the Downtown San Diego Partnership can get an idea of how many people might show up.)
A special neighborhood event is coming to beautiful Cortez Hill. The Jacaranda Spring Thing takes place Saturday, April 16, from 12pm-4pm.I love walking along Date Street through sunny Tweet Street, a park dedicated to city birds.Spring is in the air on Cortez Hill. The gentle season brings new life and great natural beauty.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Padres fans have a ball at today’s big FanFest at Petco Park. An exhibition game was played in the afternoon against the Chicago White Sox.
This morning I walked across downtown to check out Padres FanFest! The big annual event is held at Petco Park just prior to baseball’s Opening Day. It provides fans a taste of the upcoming Padres season. This is the third year in a row I’ve attended, and I really enjoyed it! Here are some pics! Go Pads!
Thousands of fans turn out to get a preview of the Padres’ 2016 baseball season. There were many family activities throughout Petco Park.Young Padres fans test their batting ability at a special KidsFest area.Photo of the busy children’s baseball field, an awesome feature of the public park situated beyond Petco Park’s outfield.Young batter smashes a hit in the tiny ball field at Park at the Park. Baseball is fun for everyone!Kid infielders charge a batted wiffle ball at the miniature baseball field in Park at the Park.A friendly Coast Guard mascot attracts as much attention from kids as the nearby inflatable batting cage.The San Diego Padres pulled out all the stops for this year’s Fan Fest. It appeared that many people were buying tickets for the upcoming season.Phil’s BBQ is a local favorite. Lots of tasty stuff was available at concessions inside and outside the stadium, including old classics like hot dogs.Many popular Major League Baseball players were signing autographs for lined up fans.Sign on back of the huge videoboard highlights the team’s past accomplishments. This year Petco Park will host the 2016 MLB All-Star Game!Some graphics at Petco Park commemorate Padres Hall of Famers.2016 FanFest allowed people to watch batting practice for the afternoon’s exhibition game. Another sunny spring day in San Diego. The Pads will soon Play Ball!Fans watch and hope to catch a ball during White Sox batting practice. The field looks green and ready for the coming season!I hope lots of Padres batters hit this bullseye on the Western Metal Supply building during the 2016 season. Hope springs eternal!A lucky somebody in the stands gets an unexpected autograph from the Padres bullpen!Padres starting pitcher James Shields stretches and warms up in the bullpen.Padres FanFest is an exciting annual sports event at Petco Park!A player smashed a line drive over the wall during batting practice. If someone can catch the ball, they might possibly win a cool prize: tickets to the Homerun Derby before this year’s All-Star Game!A busy vendor walks about with drinks and snacks.Padres fans rest behind the Tony Gwynn statue atop the hill in the grassy Park at the Park.Padres faithful kick back in the stands and absorb the sights and sounds of San Diego baseball.Superstar pitcher James Shields signs autographs for lots of excited fans during 2016 FanFest at Petco Park.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! 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 fun photos for you to enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 