Tag: holidays

Holiday crafts sale coming to Balboa Park!

Mark your calendars! An epic craft sale will be coming to Balboa Park during the holiday season!

The public is invited to peruse all sorts of beautiful creations, many with a Christmas theme, on the weekend of December 16th and 17th. The annual craft sale will take place on both outdoor patios of the Casa del Prado and inside Room 101.

I learned about the upcoming 2023 AgeWell Services Annual Craft Sale when I poked my head into the Balboa Park Senior Lounge today. (They were busy decorating the lounge for Halloween and Thanksgiving!)

Homemade crafts for sale are all created by skilled crafters age 55 and older. I checked out this big event last year. Shoppers will discover tables and tables full of great, heart-warming gifts! You can view a few photographs that I took here.

Are you a senior in San Diego? If you’d like to learn about additional AgeWell activities, click here!

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Colorful signs of Autumn in Balboa Park!

Trees change color in the lush Lower Garden of the Japanese Friendship Garden.

Autumn officially began in San Diego last Saturday. There are plenty of signs in Balboa Park that Fall, with its rich harvest of colors and traditions, is well underway!

I took a walk through Balboa Park late this afternoon. Clouds were gathering. Rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Enjoy a few photos…

Prado Perk is in Love with the Season!

Holiday productions are coming to the Old Globe, including Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big San Diego Christmas Show. (I didn’t realize Scrooge surfs!)

Spooky Spinners for sale in the Balboa Park Visitors Center.

A leafy Welcome at Studio 3 in Spanish Village.

And a pumpkin, too!

An “Autumn Memories” Ikebana Flower Exhibition is coming in October.

Fallen leaves near the giant Moreton Bay Fig tree.

A fun Balboa Park Spooktacular is coming the weekend before Halloween!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

One more day of Christmas in San Diego!

Christmas carols in early January? Christmas carols are what the audience heard and sang this afternoon at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park!

Accomplished guest organist Alison Luedke, who has performed with the San Diego Symphony, explained today’s concert. The celebration of Epiphany is traditionally the last day for the performance of Christmas carols, especially those concerning the Three Wise Men.

Accompanying her for the two o’clock free organ concert were the voices of three young people, members of the Nativity Children’s Choir.

I was amazed at the poise of the very young people. And by their confident voices.

You will be hearing their voices well into the future.

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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!

123 photos of the 2022 Holiday Bowl Parade!

The Holiday Bowl Parade in San Diego is one of the most fun parades anywhere!

I’ve got 123 photographs that prove it!

It rained downtown during the night, but it never seems to rain on this magical parade! Overcast skies in the morning were perfect for the 5K runners, who got started down Harbor Drive a few minutes before the Holiday Bowl Parade would commence.

And then the parade began!

Giant balloon characters floated by. Marching bands from near and far boomed and trumpeted past. There were dancers, baton twirlers, lowriders, cosplayers, and even a group with a humorous synchronized surfboard routine!

Of course, both the Oregon Ducks and the North Carolina Tar Heels had their large marching bands and enthusiastic cheerleaders waving from atop floats. Many in the crowd cheered when their favorite university competing in this year’s Holiday Bowl passed by.

You’ll see that I walked behind the convention center where the balloons were inflated before the parade, then found a good spot near the beginning of the parade route.

I’m sharing 123 photos–so many it would be a chore to caption them all. Simply enjoy!

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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!

Preparing for Holiday Bowl’s big Bash and Parade!

People were getting ready this morning in downtown San Diego for two upcoming Holiday Bowl events.

This evening’s “Snapdragon Bowl Bash” block party in the Gaslamp Quarter will feature a friendly Battle of the Bands. And tomorrow morning there’s the big Holiday Bowl Parade!

During my leisurely walk down Fifth Avenue and behind the San Diego Convention Center, I saw a few excited fans and people tasked with event preparation. Several floats were nearly ready at Embarcadero Marina Park South.

Two floats represent the Oregon Ducks and the North Carolina Tar Heels. They’re the teams playing in the 2022 Holiday Bowl. Petco Park will again be the unique venue, after last year’s disappointing cancellation of the game.

As I began to walk back toward the Gaslamp, a truck holding gigantic tubes of helium pulled up, presumably to fill the parade’s many character balloons. (I wonder how much the truck must weigh to not float away!) The Holiday Bowl Parade tomorrow morning will proceed down Harbor Drive past the convention center.

I’ll head back to the Gaslamp this evening for the Snapdragon Bowl Bash and the Battle of the Bands. I’ll try to take some fun photos!

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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!

Christmas trees on Carlsbad’s coastal bluffs!

A number of unusual Christmas trees can be found atop the coastal bluffs in Carlsbad!

Today, Monday the 26th, is the official observed holiday for Christmas this year. I decided to jump on the Coaster train and enjoy a walk by the ocean.

I walked north along Carlsbad Boulevard (historic Highway 101) from a point near the Poinsettia train station all the way into Carlsbad Village. Imagine my surprise when I saw several of these trees, decorated profusely with dangling ornaments. Most of the windswept trees were dead, which perhaps made the placement of the colorful ornaments more meaningful.

I don’t visit Carlsbad that often, so I don’t know the story behind these trees. If you do, please leave a comment!

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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 walk on Christmas Day in Balboa Park.

While the rest of the nation was in a deep freeze, our sunny San Diego weather welcomed everyone outdoors on Christmas Day.

Most of the attractions in Balboa Park were closed for the holiday. Museums, cafes, cottages, and historic buildings were locked up tight. But by the afternoon a good crowd filled El Prado, enjoying the beauty of the park, street performers, and sunshine.

I did note the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad was operating, as was the San Diego Zoo.

At two o’clock the free Sunday concert went on as always at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Outstanding local organist Russ Peck played a Christmas medley, highlights from The Sound of Music, and assorted Christmas carol favorites. I heard voices in the audience singing along!

Here come a few photographs…

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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!

Why is there no star on this Christmas tree?

Q: Why is there no star on this Christmas tree?

A: Because this Christmas tree is on top of the star!

On top of the Star of India!

A small laugh and smile for this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!

Richard

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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!

Fun photos from Deck the Cars!

Cars lovers gathered early this morning for Deck the Cars in Balboa Park.

The San Diego Automotive Museum every third Sunday has a Cars and Coffee event in the nearby parking lot, but it’s the Holiday Season, so the event was renamed Deck the Cars this month.

As I wandered about, I found decorated hot rods, classic cars, lowriders . . . and smiles and Christmas garb . . . and Santa going ho-ho-ho, too!

That crazy wonderful car in the second-to-last photo is the Christmas Imaginarium Carriage. I posted photos of it a few minutes ago 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 Twitter!

Christmas Imaginarium Carriage visits Balboa Park!

The wonderful, eye-popping Christmas Imaginarium Carriage visited Balboa Park this morning! It arrived for the Deck the Cars event in the parking lot by the San Diego Automotive Museum.

People around San Diego might see this unmistakable vehicle driving about from time to time. I first saw it over 9 years ago.

During Deck the Cars, a crowd of car enthusiasts converged to admire the Christmas Imaginarium Carriage, which, like a mobile work of art, is decorated with angels, nutcrackers, Santas, small houses and buildings, Christmas trees, lights, ornaments, and painted winter holiday scenes.

Enjoy this look at one man’s fantastic dream made real!

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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!