December Nights begins this afternoon! The big holiday festival in Balboa Park runs today from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and tomorrow from noon to 11:00 pm.
The past four years, Cool San Diego Sights has featured many fun photos from December Nights. So many smiles! So many heartwarming memories!
Perhaps you’d like to relive those moments in time. Simply click the following links!
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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Energetic elves run about the colonnade of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion during 2017 Christmas on the Prado in Balboa Park!
Look at all these fun photos! I took them today in Balboa Park, where the 2017 Community Christmas Center’s “Christmas on the Prado” is being held, even as I type this.
I caught the very beginning of the annual family-friendly event. Various activities and musical entertainment on the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion emphasize the religious importance and meaning of Christmas. The central feature is an extensive life-size nativity display showing Biblical events leading up to the birth of Christ.
When I walked around Balboa Park during the afternoon, I noticed other holiday decorations are going up all throughout the park. Next weekend the big December Nights event will be held, which is one of the nation’s most popular and spectacular holiday festivals!
Even with that smile, you can’t fool me Mrs. Claus! That’s not a real Santa!A bunch of folk from the North Pole were getting ready among toys as Christmas on the Prado was almost set to open.These outstanding U.S. Marines were collecting Toys for Tots during the annual family-friendly event.I learned kids would be playing pin-the-carrot-on-the-snowman!First up to sing were those elves. They attend Dailard Elementary School. Funny songs included Silly Humans and Elfie Selfie.Lots of parents were in the large crowd waving.This elf probably thought I was a silly human, who asked her to smile for my camera!Christmas on the Prado emphasizes the religious importance of the holiday. Scenes in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion show Biblical events leading up to the birth of Christ.I spy four smiling faces in this photo. Can you count them?As the evening becomes chilly, a line will form at the Gingerbread House for cookies, cocoa and coffee.
Here are some additional photos from around Balboa Park today. The first two I took at the International Cottages…
A beautiful small Christmas tree inside the House of Sweden cottage.Visitors to the House of Norway cottage were making all sorts of holiday crafts.Artists were selling their work on some grass near the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. I spied some truly amazing Christmas artwork created by Katrina Bittar. I learned that the core of each delicate piece is papier-mâché.All sorts of fun holiday stuff can be found in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center. Appears it’s going to be a Meowy Christmas!I bought 3 bags of cookies from this happy elf in front of the Casa del Prado. I believe funds were being raised for the San Diego Junior Theatre.A bunch of elves are running loose in Balboa Park!
…
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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Holiday by the Bay in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront opened on Thanksgiving. There is an ice rink, Christmas-themed miniature golf and many colorful lights.
During my walk this evening I noticed that Holiday by the Bay has opened. It’s Thanksgiving Day.
Cheerful lights surround a small ice rink and a fun Christmas-themed miniature golf course in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. While just one person was skating as I walked by, it looks like a wonderful place to spend some time!
Holiday by the Bay is open until New Year’s Day. With every ticket purchased, Hilton will give $1 to USO San Diego. According to the Hilton website, one can eat breakfast outside here with Santa!
Best of all, it’s a place of innocent joy and peace. On beautiful San Diego Bay.
It’s early evening. Someone enjoys the ice rink on San Diego’s beautiful waterfront.It’s almost sunset on Thanksgiving Day. Some cheerful Christmas trees are lit.Lights, fun and good cheer await visitors to Holiday by the Bay!
…
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!
Aseltine School’s 2017 Holiday Food Drive takes place Wednesday, December 6, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, at Uptown Tavern in Hillcrest.
If you’re in San Diego, please consider participating in the Aseltine School’s 4th Annual Holiday Food Drive. It will be taking place on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Uptown Tavern in Hillcrest, which is located at 1236 University Avenue.
Bring non-perishable food items such as peanut butter, canned chicken and tuna, cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, soup and pasta. The food you bring will support students and families in need.
Aseltine School is a supportive, positive place where K-12 students are helped to overcome a variety of difficulties. Their innovative program transforms young lives. Learn more at Aseltine’s website.
Your generosity will be greeted with lots of big smiles!
This afternoon I went on a long, chilly walk along San Diego Bay. The sky was mostly gray. I regretted not wearing a light jacket. But I pressed on.
You never know when the sun might burst through.
The winter ice rink is being set up in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Anticipating warm holiday cheer.Few people are out walking under the gray clouds. But two can always hold hands.Pigeons swoop in long searching circles, before settling somewhere far away.The sun is up there. Somewhere.This person moving forward refuses to retreat.Time takes a toll. The Marriott Marina is slowly being refurbished. Pushing forward, looking ahead.A worker defies gravity near the Marriott Marquis.Surfing Santa is awaiting a perfect wave–it should arrive in Seaport Village before too long.Who is that lifting his hat? It’s Mitchell, the cool didgeridoo guy! I was reminded by Mitchell that Earth’s sun is a G-type main-sequence star. I had forgotten. Nuclear fusion is pretty warm!A smile like a ray of sunshine.
(And here I must make an apology.
While I sat on a rail speaking to Mitchell about life, the cosmos, and whatever, two smiling ladies came on by pushing a cart full of Noosa yogurt samples. Mitchell earned his sample by summoning deep magic with his didgeridoo. For my sample, I promised to post a photo of the smiling ladies on my blog–right here–where there is no photo.
Sorry. My camera beeped as if a photo were taken. But alas. My battery went dead and it turns out I don’t have that smiling photo.
I will say, however, that my Noosa yogurt was super creamy, yummy, and scrumdiddlyumptious. I really liked the bits of chocolate. I’m a sucker for chocolate.
There. Now will you forgive me?
Thank you ladies for helping to lift my spirits–it fits this theme perfectly!)
A distant kiteboarder, harnessing the wind, rises above San Diego Bay.Who cares about the weather? One can always make bubbles.Even during a gloomy spell, life can be very good! Just smile!
…
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!
The recently restored 1910 Broadway Fountain is lit with red and green light during the Christmas season at Horton Plaza Park in downtown San Diego.
Look at these colorful photos! Horton Plaza Park and the U.S. Grant Hotel are putting on quite a show for Christmas. Bright red and green lights have turned downtown San Diego into a cheerful wonderland this holiday season!
A closer photo of the handsome Broadway Fountain lit up at night with traditional Christmas colors.Light changes from red to green as water splashes in the beautiful 1910 Broadway Fountain designed by noted architect Irving J. Gill.Across Broadway from Horton Plaza Park, the historic U.S. Grant hotel is also lit in Christmas colors for the holiday season.People sit at tables near the outdoor Starbucks at Horton Plaza Park one early mid-December evening.The bright Balboa Theatre sign invites passersby on Fourth Avenue behind the Horton Plaza Park sign.People have gathered for the evening in and around the Horton Plaza Park amphitheater. Downtown San Diego is lit beautifully for Christmas.The Broadway Fountain and U.S. Grant Hotel put on a cheerful show of Christmas lights in San Diego.
…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
A very special Sunday organ concert in Balboa Park. Today ordinary residents of San Diego and random visitors from around the world joined together to sing Christmas carols!
I wish you could have been there. At the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, this afternoon at 2:00. Your heart would’ve been warmed by the most amazing spectacle.
Young and old, residents of San Diego and random tourists visiting Balboa Park from around the world–all came together spontaneously to sing beloved Christmas carols. Right up on the stage, all together, as one.
What a sight. What a wonderful yearly tradition.
There is hope for this old world.
The holiday season at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion includes candy canes, Christmas cookies and gingerbread men.The free organ concert in Balboa Park this afternoon began with classical and unique organ music composed over the years for Christmas.Spreckels Organ Curator Dale Sorenson smiles as he turns pages for San Diego Civic Organist Emeritus Robert Plimpton.The more fancy organ playing is over. Time for the public to come up on stage to sing familiar Christmas carols!A crowd heads up onto the Spreckels Organ Pavilion stage. Anybody could join in the happy singing.A heartwarming San Diego tradition in Balboa Park. Young and old, everyone and anyone–together people sing many beloved Christmas songs.Ross Porter, Executive Director of the Spreckels Organ Society, leads the proceedings with unabashed zest.A small random sample of humanity singing Christmas carols with joy.
…
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!
I wish you all Happy Holidays and best wishes in this coming New Year!
People check out many planters full of vegetables and flowers at the new SMARTS Farm in East Village.
Today I walked to East Village in downtown San Diego to check out a holiday event at SMARTS Farm. I didn’t realize that this cool community garden had recently moved. Their new and improved location is at the corner of 13th Street and Broadway.
At SMARTS Farm, anybody is welcome to become an urban gardener–growing flowers or vegetables in the heart of our sunny city. Downtown residents can relax here, kids can learn about farming, botany and nature, and I believe photography classes are still offered.
If you’re ever downtown, swing on by to see for yourself!
SMARTS Farm in San Diego’s East Village is a community garden where hearts can grow and minds thrive.A wreath is hung on the barn inside SMARTS Farm to celebrate the holiday season. They’ve moved to a new location and are open to everyone in the community!Someone makes a wreath the week before Christmas during a special SMARTS Farm holiday event.These guys were rolling out yummy pizzas!Walking around the large colorful garden. Schools and community groups can grow their own plants in an urban environment downtown.Lessons about how to plant urban crops were underway in the late morning.A young gardener sows some seeds at SMARTS Farm.Hands on farming includes a children’s garden and plants grown by nearby school KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy–my neighbor on Cortez Hill.A pleasant day can be had tending a garden and learning about gardening in the middle of downtown San Diego!Nature, Water, Air. At SMARTS Farm, every day is Earth Day!
…
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!
Many people in San Diego County, unfortunately, are hungry. Food collected during this special holiday food drive will be distributed to soup kitchens, pantries, shelters and schools.
If you’re in or around La Jolla, today I learned about a holiday food drive with nearby drop-off locations. The Heart to Hands Food Drive San Diego is run by Candi DeMoura, who has raised 2776 pounds of food in the past 3 years. Wow!
Please visit her San Diego Food Drive website. It lists the types of food that are accepted. There are several places to drop off food, including the La Jolla Farmers Market and Coldwell Banker on Prospect Street.
Together we can work to beat hunger in San Diego!
Heart to Hands Food Drive San Diego supports people in need. You can help! Visit the website to learn how! (Click this image to enlarge the flyer so that you can read it.)
A merry sight along the La Jolla Christmas Parade route!
Today I enjoyed watching the annual La Jolla Christmas Parade! After walking a bit around La Jolla, I settled onto the curb and watched Christmas-themed floats, vintage cars and marching bands celebrate the merry season.
It’s a wonderful parade that I hadn’t seen before. Very glad I did this year!
Here are my best photos. Read the captions to follow along.
The Community Christmas Tree is hung with lights and ornaments at the La Jolla Recreation Center park. A festival would be held here at the Christmas Parade’s conclusion.This Community Christmas Tree is dedicated to the people of La Jolla this day, October 27, 1984, by the La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club.As I walked before the parade down Girard Avenue, I spied some colorful Christmas cookies in a shop window!In the parade staging area, various floats and groups were assembling before the scheduled early afternoon start.A kid checks out the bright red OMBAC Fire Department engine, which is seen in many San Diego area parades.The participants are getting ready for the big Christmas parade in La Jolla!I saw these folks driving a vintage car to the staging area while I walked back to the parade viewing area.In 2016, the theme of the La Jolla Christmas Parade is Christmas in the Future. A special newspaper was printed up for the event by the La Jolla Village News.While people gathered along the parade route, these four guys in Santa hats came strolling along. They were singers!A musical quartet belonging to the Pacific Coast Harmony of La Jolla serenades people along the parade route! Great voices!Pre-parade entertainment included some lion dancers coming down Prospect Street.Residents revel in a time-honored tradition. 2016 is the 59th year of the La Jolla Annual Christmas Parade!Just before the parade started, restored old biplanes flew overhead. They were billed as the Antique Aircraft Flyover.The La Jolla Christmas Parade gets started! It is sponsored by The Dr. Seuss Foundation. The popular children’s author lived in La Jolla.Cool aircraft continue to pass overhead as enthusiastic parade groups march and dance on by.Here come the costumed Sons of the American Revolution parading down Prospect Street!The Stella Maris Academy won Best Overall award. Their float featured an astronaut, a Christmas nativity scene and music lyrics. We believe the children are our future…The La Jolla Presbyterian Church had Joseph, Mary, shepherds, an angel, and two live camels!A young elf hands out Christmas candies to people watching La Jolla’s joyful holiday parade.A horse and carriage and folks dressed in Victorian garb for Christmas.Every parade must have marching bands!Here comes a Girl Scout Troop and a friendly dog.I guess metallic robots will celebrate Christmas in the future! Or wait. It just occurred to me those might be gift-wrapped boxes.Here come the Sweetwater High School Red Devils!The Red Devils band marches by playing Christmas tunes!Just a fun float featuring a surfboard and Dr. Seuss characters. Like many, it was created by a local business. I’ve photographed the guy in the crazy Darth Vader outfit at other cool San Diego events!The La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club was spraying snow onto the onlookers with their Christmas stocking-covered fire truck!There goes The San Diego Golden Retriever Meetup Group with lots of canine pals!Another cool sight at the annual La Jolla Christmas Parade.Merry Christmas!
…
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 