Halloween in Balboa Park makes for a really great day!
Look at all the fun pics I captured while randomly wandering around!
Buzz Lightyear emerged on Halloween from the Balboa Park Administration Building. To infinity and beyond!There’s a gremlin inside the Museum of Us! And I thought their Egyptian mummies were disturbing!Looks like the Balboa Park Carousel has been bewitched again.A spooky photo op backdrop in Spanish Village Art Center.Lots of Halloween stuff inside the Senior Lounge.Eek! Who’s this strange character haunting the Senior Lounge?The San Diego Automotive Museum is home to a friendly ghost.A fun Halloween costume exhibit inside the Comic-Con Museum.A spooky jack-o’-scarecrow grins at me in the Comic-Con Museum. I hope a superhero is nearby.Yes, one can find Cheetos inside the Balboa Park Visitors Center.
Not to be overlooked, I also found some fun Día de los Muertos stuff…
Getting ready for a Día de los Muertos event this weekend at the Old Globe.A balloon sugar skull outside the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater!
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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.
I was in Mission Valley today, so of course I had to ride the trolley over to Snapdragon Stadium. I wanted to check out the free-to-the-public FanFest before San Diego FC’s first ever playoff game!
Can you believe it? San Diego FC’s debut season, and they finished in first place in the MLS Western Conference! Can they make it all the way to the championship?
Fans were just beginning to arrive when I swung by the outdoor event, which was officially called the Ford FanFest. I was pretty early. I’m sure the crowds were much larger after I departed.
What could fans do? Kick soccer balls around. Listen to live music. Have their hair cut. Make fun crafts. Drink beer and visit food trucks. Buy classy San Diego FC merchandise. Admire a row of cool lowriders. Visit a photo booth. Spin prize wheels and check out various sponsors…
Yes, there was plenty to do!
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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.
A big group of cleverly costumed dogs and happy humans gathered near the Fleet Science Center and Bea Evenson Fountain, then proceeded down El Prado to the delight of everyone watching!
Some fun photos!
(Yes, there were more than a few hot dog weenie dogs!)
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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.
Tomorrow, Sunday, October 26th, you and the kids have a cool opportunity to watch a Halloween magic and puppet show!
The Ghouls, Goblins and Giggles Show (a playful party of puppets and prestidigitation) can be enjoyed at the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park!
Showtimes are 11 am and 2 pm. You can buy tickets shortly before the performance at the front window box office.
Steve Taylor is back with his marionettes and magic! He’s truly awesome!
I passed the theater today as a performance concluded and families who were leaving told me the show was great!
Fun fact! That puppet he’s holding with three pumpkin heads was made by Marie Hitchcock herself 60 years ago and given to Steve. Sixty years later, the pumpkin-heads puppet is returning to the stage!
Some stage props I photographed…
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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.
Very scary monsters were welcomed to Balboa Park today. The terrifying creatures were kindly helped onto the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.
Vampire, spiders, skeleton, spooky ghost–all will be entertaining a big crowd this evening.
The fearless humans who take the stage with these monsters will provide a Phantom of the Opera concert at 6:30 pm! (If you read this in time–today is Saturday, October 25th–perhaps you’ll have time to make the concert.)
Just some fun photos that I took during my afternoon walk through Balboa Park.
Enjoy!
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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.
Tourists, shoppers and those wandering through Seaport Village need to keep their head on a swivel! The tentacles of a monster octopus might suddenly grab you!
Why is this gigantic octopus assailing unsuspecting people?
Perhaps because it anticipates Halloween!
Inflatable octopi were recently placed all around Seaport Village. The tentacled terror is a central element of the upcoming Halloween celebration Bayside Boo: Spirited Night by the Bay.
The event website explains: Presented by Seaport Fudge Factory, Bayside Boo will feature spooky beats, sweet treats, and plenty of festive fun. Dance under the moonlight, enjoy the vibes by the bay, and let the ghoul times roll.
Would you like to experience Bayside Boo? Come by Seaport Village on Friday, October 31, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, and watch out for slimy tentacles!
Oh, dear! The overgrown octopus has emerged from San Diego Bay!
Is that flimsy fence enough to hold the rampaging sea monster?
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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.
Kids visiting Balboa Park are invited to become Junior Rangers! It’s fun and it’s free!
Simply head over to the Balboa Park Visitors Center and ask one of the friendly volunteers at the front counter about the program!
Becoming a Junior Ranger is super cool! You get an Activity Journal which has fun puzzles, helpful information, and a Junior Ranger Certificate inside. You also get an awesome Junior Ranger badge sticker! I was surprised to learn you might get a Junior Friends of Balboa Park patch, too!
The program was created by the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department. It encourages young people to respect and care for our beautiful Balboa Park, San Diego’s crown jewel.
Is your family visiting Balboa Park? Swing by the Visitors Center first thing, learn what special things are going on in the park, perhaps grab a souvenir or snack, and excite the kids with this cool opportunity!
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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.
Halloween is destined to arrive in San Diego in merely two weeks!
Are you ready to encounter spooky ghosts, crafty witches, thirsty vampires and undead zombies? Have you stocked up on candy?
Looking around, it seems the entire city is preparing for Halloween. Ominous signs are everywhere. You see omens of the approaching day in shop windows, front yards, public spaces…
For the past couple weeks I’ve been photographing Halloween stuff that I’ve encountered.
Can you identify a few of the places where I took these photos?
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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.
Halloween displays can be found throughout the museum. Spooky scenes can spotted in certain model train layouts and particularly in the amazing Toy Train Gallery. Witches, ghosts, grinning pumpkins, tiny skeletons and even Dracula await!
Watch out for the creepy life-size animatronic engineer!
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum has always been a favorite destination for families and kids, but during Halloween it’s simply awesome!
Some photographs from my visit yesterday…
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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.
You know Halloween is coming up when lots of fun spooky events are around the corner! Are you and your kids ready to “Return to Spooky Hollow” in Balboa Park?
“Return to Spooky Hollow” is an original Halloween-inspired children’s puppet show written and directed by Heather Whitney. It’s described as: Come along with Gordy, Squash and Calabaza as they try to top last year’s Spooky Hollow party and meet lots of fun folks along the way. This is an all-ages hybrid shadow and live puppet show with music, songs, and audience shout-outs!
Performances will be at the historic Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park. Shows are on Saturday, October 18: 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 3:00 PM; and on Sunday, October 19: 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Each show last about 30 minutes.
Tickets can be purchased here or at the box office shortly before showtime. The box office is located near the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater entrance.
(If you go, make sure to look up and backwards from your seat. You’ll see two of the puppets used by McDonald’s for their classic McDonaldland advertisements!)
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 