A free family screening of the sports comedy movie GOAT will take place this Friday, May 29, 5:30 -7:30 pm, at the Encinitas Community & Senior Center!
The event is hosted by the Encinitas Youth Commission and will include a good time watching the funny animated movie plus activities for youth and teens. There will also be raffle prizes featuring movie merch!
How cool is this?
The movie screening is being done in partnership with the Kevin Love Fund and Sony Pictures Animation. This event is in recognition of Mental Health Awareness month.
You can register for the fun event by clicking here!
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Everyone was smiling at Goldenpalooza in Golden Hill today, especially those at tables stocked with free healthy food, courtesy of Feeding San Diego!
The cost of living seems higher than ever in San Diego, so keeping food on the table is a struggle for too many residents. Feeding San Diego is there to fill in the gaps (and hungry stomachs).
At the Goldenpalooza community festival, people could fill a bag with potatoes, melons, tuna, low fat milk, and other nutritious essentials.
On behalf of so many in San Diego, thank you!
If you’d like to help Feeding San Diego fulfill their mission, or receive help putting food on your own table, visit their website here.
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Star Wars Book Night was held this evening at the Ronald McDonald House in San Diego!
An epic group of Star Wars cosplayers gathered for this “May the Fourth” event, and it all was for an extremely good cause. Children at the Ronald McDonald House got to take photos with favorite Star Wars characters, grab a bunch of books, and even enjoy stories read aloud by assorted Mandalorians and friends! Grogu was there, too!
The Ronald McDonald House San Diego operates as a home away from home for families of seriously ill children who are being treated at nearby Rady Children’s Hospital.
This super fun charitable event was brought to life by costumed members of the Legacy Cosplay Society, and by the good people of Char Car.
You might remember I blogged about Char Car back during the Holiday Bowl Parade. Dr. Elizabeth and Ron Valles have dedicated themselves to promoting literacy and spreading happiness by distributing and reading books to kids.
Char Car, to acquire books, engages in special fundraisers–for example with the San Diego Gulls hockey team. Here’s their Instagram page if you’d like to learn more and follow them!
Okay! This is what I saw as I arrived at Ronald McDonald House…
Star Wars cosplayers gathered for a very good cause. They stood behind a long table full of books and toys that kids at Ronald McDonald House could take and enjoy!
Lots of super cool Star Wars cosplay by young and old alike!
Dr. Elizabeth Valles (the Grammylorian) and Ron Valles with Char Car helpers. Thank you for being on the compassionate Light Side of The Force and making the world a better place!
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There’s a special garden in Balboa Park you might not know about. It’s located outside the WorldBeat Cultural Center. Those heading along Park Boulevard can glimpse the greenery just south of the circular WorldBeat Cultural Center building.
Known by several names, including the Healing Peace Garden and Children’s Ethnobotany Garden, this green oasis can be visited by appointment or on special occasions.
Fortunately, the garden was open during the Global Earth Day festival last weekend. Having never stepped inside, I took advantage of the opportunity!
When I entered the Healing Peace Garden, I did feel at peace. The nearby street and urban surroundings seemed to vanish. I had entered what felt like a wholly natural place–a world of deep green, full of life and living.
Several footpaths pass shady nooks–places for mediation and contemplation. There are bits of art among the trees and plants, including a seating ring where people can gather to talk, create music, or simply absorb the surrounding beauty.
I was interested to learn the award-winning garden is considered the first sustainable, edible garden in Balboa Park, as well as a monarch butterfly waystation certified by Monarch Watch, and a wildlife habitat certified by the National Wildlife Federation.
The garden is used as an outdoor classroom, too. This webpage explains: The unique organic herb, fruit, and vegetable garden honors the memory of George Washington Carver, and is dedicated to teaching young people about the role of plants in society. Gardening classes are available to schools, youth programs, individuals and families by booking a workshop or requesting a docent at the WorldBeat Center.
Now let’s enter the garden and walk around…
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Many improvements are currently being made to the Escondido Creek Trail!
An effort is being made to make the trail more inviting to pedestrians, bicyclists, and lovers of the outdoors.
New landscaping is coming, as evidenced by many flags in bare dirt. There are new shade structures and seating, and winding side paths. There is new paving, signage, bridge-spanning art, an exercise area, and even attractive brickwork that is being installed at one intersection!
Here’s a City of Escondido webpage that describes what I saw. It explains: This project aims to encourage safe and healthy lifestyles through an improved sense of security, enhanced street crossings, fitness and play amenities, native and CA-friendly landscaping, and further opportunities for walking and jogging in addition to improvements to the bike path. The goal is to revitalize the Creek Trail Corridor through enhanced activities and partnerships with local businesses, artists, schools, and other organizations.
My photographs were taken along a relatively short section of the Escondido Creek Trail, between Juniper Street and Fig Street…
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I met Brian Forristal today. (That’s him on the right.) He is the founder of Veteran Sailing, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering and supporting veterans and service members by hosting no-cost sailing events that facilitate mindfulness and connection to nature, strengthen camaraderie and teamwork, and ignite a lifelong passion for the sea and sailing where adventure awaits.
Where did I meet Brian and his smiling sailing comrades? On the tall ship Bill of Rights during today’s America’s Schooner Cup Race off the coast of San Diego! (Photos of the fantastic race coming up tomorrow!)
The Veteran Sailing website is full of information. They offer a therapeutic Discovery Sail for veterans out on the water. Soon they’ll offer mission-oriented sailing, multi-day excursions, sailing retreats, community events like bonfires and barbecues, and our own sailing school.
Let your veteran friends know this great organization exists! Or perhaps help Veteran Sailing out with a nice donation!
Thank you all for your service!
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April is National Volunteer Month. Have you considered going out into your community and volunteering? Here are 20 past blog posts that are full of ideas!
Hundreds of volunteering opportunities await you all around San Diego. What is your passion? Neighborhood cleanups? Rescuing dogs? Planting flowers? Helping out at a food bank? Creating art? Preserving history? Helping the elderly? Helping kids in hospitals?
Over the years, I’ve blogged about many events and organizations that concern or welcome volunteering.
Because Cool San Diego Sights focuses on my discoveries during walks, I often stumble upon environmental cleanups. But there’s a whole universe of very different volunteering possibilities out there!
I’ve chosen 20 past blog posts that might inspire you to investigate further.
Click on the following links and get some ideas!
(I usually provide a link to the organizations that welcome volunteers. If by chance I didn’t, Google will do the trick!)
A big thank you to the several dozen volunteers representing the San Diego Association for Male Nurses! They picked up litter at Ski Beach in Mission Bay today!
I learned that the cleanup is one of many ways the organization improves our city and the people it touches!
The San Diego Association for Male Nurses invites old and new members (and any volunteers) to help with their many efforts, whether it’s coastal cleanups, providing blood pressure awareness to local communities, medically helping children in Mexico, demonstrating CPR in high schools, or handing out Narcan at Chicano Park Day this coming April 25!
Wow, these people are amazing! Super nice too!
According to their website: Our mission is to champion an inclusive professional nursing environment, provide support for current and future male nurses, and advocate to bring awareness to men’s mental and physical health issues.
Awesome! Why not join them?
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The Coronado Historical Association museum has a new exhibit. It celebrates the Rotary Club of Coronado’s 100 year anniversary in 2026.
With historical photographs and artifacts, A Century of Service: 100 Years of the Rotary Club of Coronado covers the history of the club, from its founding in 1926 by 21 members to the present day. More importantly, it details how club members have improved the local community, and have worked to help people all around the world.
I was stunned to learn about the sheer amount of charitable work these Rotarians have done!
The Rotary Club of Coronado has worked to train community members in emergency preparedness. During COVID they created a Neighbor to Neighbor program to help keep people informed and connected. They support the Coronado Hospital Foundation. They offer scholarships, mentorship and leadership opportunities to local youth. They support the Rotary Youth Exchange, Model United Nations, Music Scholarship Competitions, Speech Contests, Athlete Awards and more!
Helping people around the world, the Rotary Club of Coronado fundraises to eradicate polio. They support grants for organizations like Tanzania Hospital and Orphanage, Project Mercy Baja, and the Pan American Institute school in Tijuana, Mexico. They support Limbs of Freedom which provide prosthetics in Mexico. They also support Thousand Smiles, providing cleft lip and other care in Mexico, too.
So much good work!
Go check out the exhibit and prepare to be impressed!
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You might remember how, years ago, KUSI television consumer advocate Michael Turko sought to develop a neglected plot of land on Olive Street in Bankers Hill into a city park. According to this webpage, in 1909, the Ford, McKee, and Woods families generously donated the 0.6-acre property to the city for the specific purpose of creating a public park for the community to enjoy.
I posted a blog that included the still undeveloped park back in 2015. See that old post here.
Today Olive Street Park welcomes one and all. It is also the site of the San Diego AIDS Memorial, which opened on World AIDS Day, Sunday, December 1, 2024.
With various plaques and signs, the memorial remembers the over 8,000 San Diegans who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS, and honors those who’ve supported them and have worked to defeat the devastating disease. Many compassionate people and organizations throughout San Diego County are recognized.
The neighborhood park is a grassy oasis with flowers and beautiful views, where people can play or relax and reflect.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 