The House of Turkey in Balboa Park is now raising earthquake relief funds. I learned this today as I walked through the International Cottages.
According to a House of Turkey flyer, one hundred percent of the money donated will go toward the earthquake relief effort, which includes providing life saving supplies.
Today the City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love was held in Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. The annual event roughly coincides with Valentine’s Day.
City Heights is one of San Diego’s most culturally diverse neighborhoods, and the heart-filled festival celebrates all the many people who make this community so vibrant!
Not only was there a diversity of entertainment on the main stage, but one could see in the crowd so many unique lives, backgrounds and stories.
During the festival everyone came together, making new friends, enjoying the unity that is found in community.
The parade through City Heights that preceded the festival ended with the Hoover High School marching band taking the stage. Then, at eleven o’clock, the festival officially began with opening comments by those who’ve made this wonderful event possible.
I stayed for a good while, looking at cool cars, exploring the booths of local organizations, and enjoying performances by Majesty in Motion, the Vietnamese Youth Dance Group and the Fern Street Circus.
Drummers Without Borders then invited kids in the crowd up onto the stage to learn how to drum and play tambourine! Then, with the help of the San Diego Guild of Puppetry, many participated in a small parade through the festival!
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An exhibition by Filipino artists who reside in the South Bay is now on display in Chula Vista. Their works can be viewed inside Chula Vista’s two libraries and the City Hall lobby.
Yesterday I enjoyed looking at some of these pieces while visiting the Chula Vista Public Library Civic Center Branch.
I found the artwork on several library walls. Many of the beautiful creations seemed like glimpses of larger stories, emerging from an artist’s memory and heart.
Filipino Artists of South Bay continues through January 2023.
These photos provide an example of what you might see…
Family Dinner, Primo Gallanosa.the luckiest cat, Nadine Tan Saldaña.The Kiddos, Vince Alvendia.Pag-uwi (Returning Home), Clarissa Tong.
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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 Twitter!
A large, bold mural in San Diego’s Golden Hill neighborhood shows a praying nurse and reads: Essential – Bless The Healers. It can be seen on the side of a building on the southwest corner of 30th Street and B Street.
I discovered the mural yesterday. I hadn’t walked this way in quite a long time. Given the message, I suppose the mural was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. But I don’t know exactly when it was painted, or by whom. Leave a comment if you know!
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A memorial to a beloved Ocean Beach man now appears on the small building where he repaired and polished shoes for decades. William L. Washington “Shoeshine Willie” passed away early this year. The memorial contains two short poems written by Aaron Bryant.
Years ago I remember seeing Shoeshine Willie working in his modest shed next a parking lot and Ocean Beach bus stop. At the time I thought it was unusual for a shoeshiner to be active in a day and age when the profession has all but disappeared. I now wish I had spoken to him.
If you’d like to see this touching memorial, head over to the corner of Newport Avenue and Cable Street. I noticed it during my last walk in OB.
Here’s an article concerning William Washington and what he meant to the community.
…He was Ocean Beach’s bright Shining light…He’s still here in spirit…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A big celebration of life is taking place this week in San Diego. People from around the United States have gathered at the San Diego Convention Center for the 2022 Transplant Games!
Organ transplant recipients and living donors are participating in a variety of fun sports competitions. As you can see in the above photograph, cycling 5 km and 20 km road races along Harbor Drive were part of today’s activities!
Through this Wednesday, the public is welcome to visit the Transplant Games Village and Expo, located in Exhibit Halls A and B at the convention center. There you can watch some indoor competitions, such as basketball and table tennis. For a schedule of events, click here.
Many organizations that help those in the transplant community are also present.
I met authors who’ve written books describing the whole transplant process, making it all easier to understand. Other creators have produced videos featuring loved ones who were helped, or who helped to save a life by making an organ donation.
I saw organizations that create online community, gather inspirational stories, or offer practical guidance and mental health services. Medical providers and pharmaceutical companies also had tables. All of these smiling people were there to offer critical help.
Near the entrance to the Transplant Games Village and Expo, several beautiful quilts remembered loved one.
Everywhere I turned, I observed people full of happiness, gratitude and hope, and a strengthened love of life.
I came away feeling inspired.
Smiles from The Mended Hearts. The non-profit works to inspire hope and improve the quality of life of heart patients and their families through ongoing peer-to-peer support, education, and advocacy.
Robert Horsey has written the book Gifted and is producing a video concerning the complex topic of organ donation. According to his website: Even the largest football stadium in the U.S. could not fit the number of people on the national transplant waiting list.
Many transplant stories pinned to a board, courtesy Balboa Nephrology and Evergreen Nephrology.
Author Brenda Cortez is a living kidney donor. She has written a series of Howl the Owl books making transplant and medical procedures less scary for kids.
The Joe 238 documentary celebrates the decision to donate. According to the website: Through multiple stories of grief and recovery, we learn about healthy grieving, what it means to be a donor family and plant the seed for an honest conversation about organ donation every family needs to have.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
A big parade was held for participants this morning along Harbor Drive. (Which I just missed!)
This evening the Opening Ceremony will be held at the San Diego Convention Center.
As their website explains: Every two years the Transplant Games of America gathers together thousands of transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, individuals on the waiting list, caregivers, transplant professionals, supporters and spectators for the world’s largest celebration of life.
Transplant recipients and donors will compete in many different sporting events through this Wednesday. Most of the competition will be at the Convention Center. It will also be the location of the Transplant Games of America Village, and according to the Schedule of Events, the public is welcome!
I think I’ll go tomorrow. I’d like to watch a bicycling competition that will be held Sunday morning at Embarcadero Marina Park South, just behind the Convention Center.
Would you like to become involved–perhaps by becoming an organ donor yourself? Check out the 2022 Transplant Games web page here.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
In San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, near the south end of Fifth Avenue, you’ll find a very special garden. Located in the public plaza often referred to as Gaslamp Square, the tiny garden beautifies the front of the Tin Fish restaurant.
A plaque explains why the garden is special.
It states:
THIS TINY GARDEN IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MICHAEL PATRICK BROWN, WHO LOVED LIFE AND TRIED TO MAKE THIS SPACE BEAUTIFUL. IT IS ALSO DEDICATED TO ALL VICTIMS OF PANCREATIC CANCER.
Those who find joy in the small garden are urged to go to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which is here. One can donate in Mike’s name.
Michael operated the popular Tin Fish Gaslamp for many years. It’s a place where many happy memories have been made.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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