Do you love to create art? The Senior Lounge in Balboa Park should be your destination every other Saturday! You don’t need to be a senior, either. Anyone age 18+ is welcome to take part in a free Intergenerational Artist Workshop!
I poked my nose into the lounge early this afternoon and found a friendly group of people having a lot of fun being creative. I saw a beautifully crafted flower! A greeting card was about to be made!
Some basic art supplies are available, and of course you can bring your own. Not only is the activity free, but the new friendships are free, too!
I was told this artist workshop is now held every other Saturday, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. It and other activities for seniors around San Diego can be found on the City of San Diego’s AgeWell Services quarterly Newsletter (it used to be called The Scroll).
Find all the information you need by clicking here!
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A free holiday event is coming soon to San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood! A big Winter Extravaganza will be held at Teralta Park from 12 noon to 5 pm on Saturday, December 14, 2024!
Teralta Park is the public park above Interstate 15, between El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue.
According to a poster I noticed today, the community event will feature Winter fun, vendors, entertainment, activities & games, snow, and more!
During the Winter Extravaganza, families can also receive free toys for kids, age 0-14, but you must register first by November 8 at the City Heights Recreation Center or the Mid-City Gymnasium.
Wow! This looks pretty cool! I wonder if Santa will be there?
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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.
San Diego’s world-famous Old Globe performed Shakespeare’s play As You Like It today at downtown’s Central Library! It was just one stop during the 2024 Globe for All Tour, which brings fine theatrical performances to various economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities throughout San Diego County, and even south of the border in Tijuana, Mexico.
I went to the free show, not knowing what it might be like, and WOW–what absolute fun!
The crazy, mixed-up play about rivalry, misunderstandings and triumphant love was full of physical comedy and outrageous action! The story included occasional audience participation (including holding up butterflies that we made), surprising and funny pop culture references, and even some spoken lines in Spanish. We in the audience were laughing much of the time. I loved the hilarious WWE-style wrestling match between the brothers Oliver and Orlando!
The experience was even more awesome because the professional acting, taking place in the library’s Shiley Special Events Suite, could be experienced up close and personal–just a few feet from the chairs where we sat. When the actors went “offstage” to corners of the room we could watch them, even as they changed costume.
After the conclusion of As You Like It, the audience was invited to make comments and ask questions of the cast.
Actress Emma Svitil (smiling in my first and final photo) played Phoebe. She explained that Shakespeare is loved to this day because his works tap into universal truths about humanity. He addresses love, friendship, the struggle for power, etc. His plays can be easily adapted to the times we live in. The Bard’s ingenious wordplay is amusing, too!
Everyone should take advantage of the free Globe for All Tour. Young people (and certain adults like myself) might not comprehend every word of Shakespeare’s centuries-old language, but the super expressive acting speaks for itself!
To see if there are upcoming performances of As You Like It in your community, click here.
Photography is prohibited during the performance, so I took these beforehand. The pics are of some actors and props. (As you can see, the Central Library’s ninth floor special events suite has amazing views of downtown San Diego!)
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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.
The Day of Music was held today at the San Diego Symphony’s newly renovated Jacobs Music Center. Artists and musicians from communities in San Diego and Tijuana gathered for the free cultural event!
Out in the Box Office Lobby, live performances would take place throughout the day. I listened for a minute or two, but I was anxious to see the inside of greatly redesigned Copley Symphony Hall–now called Jacobs Music Center. (I frequently walk past Symphony Towers, and have observed construction workers coming and going for years it seems now!)
After craning my head this way and that to take in the renovated stage, seating and other features of the historic venue, I settled down to enjoy a very fine hour-long performance by the 1st Marine Division Band out of Camp Pendleton. San Diego Symphony President and Chief Executive Officer Martha Gilmer, in her introduction, stated that the group is one of the finest military bands in the United States.
The 1st Marine Division Band played a variety of symphonic pieces, including Let Freedom Ring by Ryan Nowlin, Colonial Song by Percy Grainger, and an amazing, very energetic Slava! by Leonard Bernstein.
San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare came on stage to conduct a simply exquisite Concertino for Flute by Cecile Chaminade, with Ana Paola Rincones masterful on flute.
Of course, there had to be Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa. A rousing performance received a standing ovation!
According to the program, many performing groups would follow, including the San Diego Children’s Choir and the Voices of Our City Choir.
As you can see from my photographs, the interior of the Jacobs Music Center is more magical than ever. The completed renovation also included measures taken to greatly improve the listening experience–the very softest of notes can be discerned with crystal clarity.
On the sidewalk outside Symphony Towers, performers from Animal Cracker Conspiracy welcome arriving guests.The Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra creates beautiful music inside the Box Office Lobby.A smile greets me at the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra table!The Coronado School of the Arts has a theatrical performance of The Addams Family coming up! I learned Lurch is one of the characters!Joey’s Wings performs, in an effort to fight childhood cancer. (See my previous blog post.)Actors from Project [BLANK] perform in one corner of the San Diego Symphony concessions area. You provide the subject matter and they act it out!Here I am walking into the breathtaking Jacobs Music Center.Gazing to one side. Long ago, the San Diego Symphony’s home was a luxurious FOX Theatre movie palace. The skyscraper Symphony Towers was built above and around it!The 1st Marine Division Band takes the stage.All stand for the Star Spangled Banner.An outstanding musical performance by our local Marines.Looking up toward the balcony seating when the performance ends. The Jacobs Music Center is like a splendid palace.I’m now on the upper level looking down between performances. The general lighting has turned from blue to purple.Another look toward the ceiling. Wow.Our Youth, the next segment of the day’s program, is about to begin. It’s a free community Day of Music inside the spectacular Jacobs Music Center!
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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.
The San Diego Symphony is making history today! Their redesigned, greatly renovated Copley Symphony Hall debuts this evening as the Jacobs Music Center! A big gala Opening Night Celebration will mark the exciting transformation!
If, like me, you are a more ordinary San Diego resident, tomorrow is our day! Beginning at 11 am, the San Diego Symphony will welcome the public to a free event inside the new Jacobs Music Center!
The Day of Music will welcome talented artists and arts organizations from across the vibrant San Diego-Tijuana region as we celebrate the opening of the Jacobs Music Center. If you’d like to see a list of the many artists and musicians that will participate, click here.
Performers include 1st Marine Division Band, Animal Cracker Conspiracy, Ballet Folklórico Jalisciense, Coronado School of the Arts’ Musical Theatre and Drama Conservatory, Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra – Giocoso Quartet, and many more!
Bring the family to this very special community day. There will also be food and other activities!
This is your chance to freely step into the new Jacobs Music Center and see the breathtaking transformation of a historic San Diego venue. I’ll be there tomorrow. I plan to take photographs! I’m excited!
(Seven years ago I enjoyed a behind-the-scenes architectural tour of old Copley Symphony Hall. If you’d like to see those photos, click here.)
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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.
Día de Los Muertos is about a month away, but Old Town San Diego is already preparing for the big event!
For 2024, Día de Los Muertos will be as big as ever, spilling from Old Town San Diego State Historic Park down San Diego Avenue. For three days the public is invited to the free celebration!
On Friday, November 1, there will be a fun family screening of The Book of Life. The movie will be shown in the grassy plaza at the center of Old Town State Park.
That Saturday and Sunday, the Día de Los Muertos Festival will take over Old Town. In addition to entertainment, there will be tours of more than 40 unique Day of the Dead altars, and anyone can join the annual candlelit procession from Immaculate Conception Church down San Diego Avenue to El Campo Santo Cemetery.
During a morning walk today, I saw a beautiful altar set up already at Casa de Freds restaurant, and one being prepared in the park next to the Whaley House Museum. Many fancy Catrinas are already set up at Fiesta de Reyes. Calaveras, marigolds and sugar skulls are appearing all over!
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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.
A library card is more valuable than you might realize! You can use your San Diego Public Library card to check out a free vehicle day-use pass for over 200 California State Parks!
I noticed this valuable information last weekend during my visit to the Rancho Bernardo Library. To receive a free pass, head over to your nearest San Diego Public Library branch and speak to the library staff.
The free pass will admit you into so many amazing State Parks, including beautiful Torrey Pines State Nature Preserve, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Silver Strand State Beach…
You don’t have a library card? Get one at your local library! Then grab a free State Parks pass!
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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.
Extraordinary photographs by preeminent mid-20th century photographer Garry Winogrand are currently on display at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.
Images of people in the act of being very human line the walls of the museum’s free-to-the-public Galleries 14 and 15. The exhibition is titled Garry Winogrand: Man of the Crowd.
Yes, there are photographs of celebrities and social activism, but images of ordinary people on the street are perhaps more interesting. Moments captured spontaneously in different settings show unexpected contrasts, humor, pathos, and quirks of human nature. These often surprising photos reveal truths about life and living.
Nowadays, in our brave new world of social media and smartphones, most photos seem taken to gain self-centered attention. It’s refreshing to view extraordinary photographs that are dedicated to investigating this captivating world that is all around us.
I took my own photos from a video in the exhibition, where Garry Winogrand provides his thoughts on photography. (That explains the subtitles.)
Garry Winogrand: Man of the Crowd will be on view through January 12, 2025. The free exhibition can be accessed through a door next to Panama 66 that leads to museum restrooms. Look for the following sign:
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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.
A group of powerful Marvel superheroes have boarded the cars of a big yellow Ferris wheel in San Diego for Comic-Con 2024!
Beginning this Thursday, the superheroes, participants in the Contest of Champions, will be joining fans wheeling through the sky a short distance from the San Diego Convention Center. The superheroes, however, won’t be doing battle, fortunately–they are merely decorative wraps that have been applied to the Ferris wheel’s dangling cars!
The free ride promotes the Contest of Champions game available on Google Play. I posted a blog yesterday that contains more details about the ride, which you can read here.
Meanwhile, enjoy these photos taken this Monday morning. Workers were busy applying the wraps, and a few were captured by my camera…
Iron Man.Guillotine.Kushala.Spider-Gwen.Shuri.Wolverine.
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 