Tag: festivals

Cool memories of past WOW Festivals!

Have you ever experienced the WOW (Without Walls) Festivals, put on every year by the La Jolla Playhouse? If not, you’ve missed out on some super creative art installations and theatrical performances.

The WOW Festivals over the years have been held at different venues in San Diego, including Horton Plaza Park, Liberty Station, and the Rady Shell. This time, like last year, everything is taking place inside the UC San Diego campus. Many of the unique (and sometimes rather weird) performances are free, and it all begins tomorrow!

WOW 2025 will run Thursday April 24 through Sunday April 27. Find everything you need to know, including the event schedule, by clicking this La Jolla Playhouse link.

Curious what sort of stuff goes on at these festivals? You’re in luck! I’ve taken loads of photographs over the years!

Click the following links to past blog posts:

2017:

La Jolla Playhouse enlivens Horton Plaza Park!

2019:

Scenes from Without Walls Festival 2019!

2022:

Myth, wonder and WOW in San Diego!

Giant ants interact with curious kids!

2023:

Huge birds and fun at Without Walls Festival!

2024:

Gravity-defying dancers at UC San Diego!

Sheep attacked by wolf in La Jolla!

Brave people confront danger in La Jolla!

Love’s dance at La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW!

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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.

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Help our environment at San Diego EarthFest!

If you read this in time, you might head down to Balboa Park to enjoy San Diego EarthFest. The big environmental festival is being held on the grass near Park Boulevard and Presidents Way today–Saturday, April 19, 2025–until 5 pm.

Numerous organizations are present, providing education and volunteering opportunities to those who want to help protect our environment.

This the third year of EarthFest, not to be confused with the gigantic EarthFair that filled the entire park years ago. A smaller space, but still numerous participants! Non-profit organizations are joined by food trucks, artists, and vendors. There are several stages offering entertainment and education.

Because it’s mid-afternoon as I type this, I’ll quickly share these photographs. That might give you time to head on down!

These friendly guys with two puppets are Magic Jacket Productions! They’re putting on a fun show this and next weekend at the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park!

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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.

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Sport fishing fun at Day at the Docks!

It seems everybody in San Diego who loves fishing showed up today for Day at the Docks!

The big annual event, which takes place at San Diego’s sportfishing landings in Point Loma, attracts those who have an interest in the world-class saltwater fishing that can be experienced off our coast.

This morning I saw a big crowd at Day at the Docks, including many kids. Every sort of organization and business with a tie to sportfishing was on hand. There were how-to-talks, a kids fishing adventure, a casting tournament, a knot tying competition, harbor boat rides, a sportfishing fleet open house, gear for sale, clubs to join, unique gifts, art, fresh seafood…

I was interested to see many charitable organizations. Please read my photo captions.

It had been years since I’ve headed down to Day at the Docks. I’m glad I went!

Reel Stoke Adaptive Sportfishing is a new program of Oceanside-based non-profit Stoke For Life Foundation. The program’s purpose is to expose novice or seasoned adaptive anglers and people with disabilities to southern California sport fishing up close and personal. Don’t let any obstacle stand in the way of your dreams!
Catalyst Cares does many things. They organize community cleanups, provide assistance to veterans and those who have a criminal record, and disaster relief.
Mission Fish organizes and plans fishing day trips and provides FISH therapy for PTSD and TBI for Veterans, Active duty service members, 1st responders and Gold Star families.
Southern California Deaf Anglers Club (SCDAC) was founded in 1973. Its main purpose is to promote and educate deaf and hard of hearing people in fishing. That’s awesome!
HUBBS-SeaWorld Research Institute was on hand. They are a non-profit scientific research organization committed to conserving and renewing marine life, which includes working to maintain healthy white seabass populations.

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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.

Feel free to share!

Inspiration at the San Diego Writers Festival!

The San Diego Writers Festival was held today in Coronado. Hundreds of writers, podcasters, publishers, aspiring authors and eager readers came together to enjoy inspirational talks, panels and workshops, not to mention book signings, entertainment, tasty food, and a chance to engage with San Diego’s extensive creative community!

The event was held at both the Coronado Public Library and Coronado High School across the street.

I had a great time and learned a whole lot, plus met a variety of interesting people!

A highlight for me was a performance by the Voices of Our City Choir, which is comprised of homeless and formerly homeless singers. Countless unhoused San Diegans have had their lives uplifted by connecting with this group. Their joyful music was possibly the most inspirational part of the whole event!

Here are some of my photographs. Check out the captions and click some of the links and perhaps you’ll be inspired, too!

In the Coronado Library’s Winn Room, an audience listened to a panel of authors and podcasters. They talked about Building a Following: How to Create Meaningful Connections. Some ideas when it comes to social media and marketing: engage with your readers by answering comments, be yourself, be human. Build trust, be persistent, have fun. Participate in book clubs, build email lists, encourage online reviews.
Marni Freeman talks about How to Unblock and Become a Creative Force of Nature. She explained that unleashing your creative genius requires mindfulness, being in the moment, quieting a distracted mind. That’s when inspiration mysteriously arrives. Shut down the daily stress, be quiet, be aware of the world around you, be introspective, be self-confident, don’t fear failure or compare yourself to others. Take slow, rhythmic, deep breaths. Find your flow!
The Voices Of Our City Choir perform at the 2025 San Diego Writers Festival. They just completed their first ever recording session! Perhaps you’ve seen their incredible, inspirational performance on America’s Got Talent. To view it on YouTube, click here!
Lots of tables outside at Coronado High School during the 2025 San Diego Writers Festival!
Two of many authors doing book signings.
Organizations helpful to writers were present at the festival, including the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild.
One of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Mathew Riek, after many difficulties, made his way to San Diego. He has co-written the children’s book At Least I Wasn’t Eaten By A Lion! His book inspires young readers to believe in the power of perseverance and kindness. He was at the Shaping Bright Futures table. They are a charitable organization dedicated to raising awareness of educational disparities found throughout the world. Check out their website here.
Jacob Hubbard wrote Sounds of Yesterday, a novel. It concerns love, loss and empathy in a neurodivergent world. Neurodivergent means having a brain that forms or works differently, which Jacob personally understands. He’s a writing teacher who is not afraid to explore challenging, emotionally driven ideas about the human condition.
Two big smiles! On the left is Esther Avant, author of To Your Health. To the right is Bookish Flights podcaster Kara Infante, who reviews and recommends books. To your continued success!
I listened to this cool guy reading powerful poetry in Balboa Park almost 7 years ago! Chris Vannoy is the US National Beat Poet Laureate! Check out my old blog post concerning that past encounter here.
San Diego Poetry Annual is one of the longest running poetry anthologies in the San Diego region. It features renowned poets and artists alongside emerging local voices. Learn more about it here!
That’s Heather James Pond, yoga teacher, painter and author, smiling on the right! Her debut novel, MOXY, is about unspeakable pain, fortitude and healing. It’s an incredible true story of resilience and transformation! Thank you for sharing your bright smile and making the world a better place!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Cool lowriders at the East Village Block Party!

Very cool lowriders are a big attraction at today’s East Village Block Party in downtown San Diego. As I walked along J Street between Sixth and Tenth Avenues, a few minutes before the event officially began, I took these photos. I was surprised at the number of cars participating this year. Check them out!

The 2025 East Village Block Party is being held one block north of Petco Park and celebrates the opening of the new baseball season. (The San Diego Padres are 2-0 and looking good so far!) The event is today, March 29, 2025, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

When I walked through the outdoor party, several late arriving vendors were still setting up tables and the entertainment hadn’t begun. I’ve thrown in a few miscellaneous photos, as well, so you get the general vibe!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Literature comes to life at the Cervantes Festival!

The annual Cervantes Festival was held today in San Diego!

Families, students and lovers of literature came together at the International Cottages in Balboa Park to enjoy food, culture, art, and most importantly, the public reading of author Miguel de Cervantes’ world classic Don Quijote de La Mancha!

When I arrived around noon, foreign language students from El Capitan High School were reading excerpts from the novel in Mandarin Chinese! I noted that students from San Diego High School were also participating in the event, which lasted from 11 am to 4 pm.

The unique cultural festival, which I was told is in its eleventh year, was organized by the San Diego/Alcalá Sister Cities Society and Balboa Park’s own House of Spain. (Yes, food representing Cervantes’ native Spain included delicious paella.)

I took some photographs as I wandered about…

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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.

Feel free to share!

New banners and cool events in Balboa Park!

Two new banners have recently appeared in San Diego’s Balboa Park, announcing two super cool events.

The above Da Vinci’s First Flight banner was just hung above the front entrance of the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

I spoke to the Air and Space Museum’s social media photographer today as she captured images of the new banner. She told me the Da Vinci exhibit is awesome. One of her favorite things about it is the mind-blowing 36-foot replica of Da Vinci’s hang glider! Okay, that does sound really incredible!

You can learn all about the special exhibition by clicking here.

I was excited to see the above Cherry Blossom Festival banner today near the entrance of the Japanese Friendship Garden.

The very popular annual festival takes place March 13 – 16, 2025. Read details at the Japanese Friendship Garden event webpage here.

To get an idea of how amazing the Cherry Blossom Festival is, check out photographs I took of it in 2017 and 2018.

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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.

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A colorful Chinese New Year Fair at Balboa Park!

If you love color, culture, food and fun, you should head over to Balboa Park tomorrow, Sunday, February 16, 2025. The second day of the Chinese New Year Fair, hosted by the House of China, will be taking place at the International Cottages!

I walked through the free festival today and photographed a wide variety of cool sights. In addition to the vendors of ethnic food and unique gifts, and the colorful cultural entertainment, the Hall of Nations features artists who are showcasing traditional Chinese art, including calligraphy, brush painting and gourd decoration. I found plenty of references to the Year of the Snake!

There’s something new and exciting to see everywhere visitors turn.

Sunday the entertainment lineup runs from 11 am to 4 pm, with lion and dragon dances and dancing by various groups, plus fashion models, music and more!

These three young journalists were at the event. Write, write, write! Start a blog! Be curious! Be persistent! Be passionate! You never know where your efforts might lead!

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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.

Feel free to share this!

Year of the Snake in San Diego’s Gaslamp!

Chinese New Year is being celebrated this weekend with a festival in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. 2025 is the Year of the Snake!

The 42nd Annual San Diego Chinese New Year Fair is a free cultural event taking place along two city blocks by the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. The food, entertainment, lion dancing and more can be found at the corner of Third Avenue and J Street–the center of San Diego’s Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District.

I’ve been under the weather the last couple days, but I found the energy today to walk down from Cortez Hill to experience a little bit of the fun. I snapped these photos.

The family-friendly 42nd Annual San Diego Chinese New Year Fair is presented by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of San Diego.

The big event is taking place Saturday and Sunday, February 8-9, 2025. Hours both days are from 10 am to 5 pm.

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Photos of San Diego Tết Festival 2025!

San Diego Tết Festival 2025 is being held all this weekend at Liberty Station. The cultural event celebrating Lunar New Year is free and a whole lot of fun! It’s the Year of the Wood Snake!

The big annual festival is a production of the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance. (In past years, this Tết Festival has been held in Mira Mesa. I went in 2017 and posted photos here.)

As the festival began late in the morning today–Saturday–excited families converged on the wide grassy field of NTC Park, drawn by tons of food, vendors, community organizations, kids activities, photo opportunities in the Cultural Village, a petting zoo and carnival rides. The main attraction, however, was the entertainment up on the main stage.

To begin the entertainment, Naruwan Taiko brought out their drums and boomed thundering, joyful energy out into the audience. This was soon followed by the day’s Opening Ceremony. Sea Cadets were introduced in front of the stage, a color guard advanced, and the national anthems of Vietnam and the United States were sung powerfully by a talented young lady.

A traditional Invocation and Prayer Ceremony followed. Elder members of the Vietnamese community made offerings and prayers for peace.

Then came politicians on stage, then firecrackers to one side, then Hoa Nghiêm Lion Dance! Much more would follow after I departed. (Would you believe it, five different lion dancing groups perform during the epic three-day festival!)

If you’d like to go to the big festival, here’s their website with all the information!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!