Tag: kids

Ballet folklórico, joy, and the Gift of Dance!

Enjoy a collection of colorful photographs. I took them today during the Fiestas Patrias event in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

These young ballet folklórico dancers are from Gift of Dance, a school Where Love, Technique, Joy and Tradition brings Communities and Families Together!

I’ve seen this group at other San Diego events. When they perform, I feel that life is indeed good. All the troubles of this world melt away, and one can see how the human race might be. Simply joyful.

After a fun Fiestas Patrias parade around Old Town’s central plaza (in which the costumed dancers participated), two separate dance performances were staged on the grass. Onlookers enjoyed a variety of traditional Mexican baile folklórico folk dances, including La Raspa, Los Machetes, and even a Mexican Waltz. Beginning dancers included a two-year-old!

At the end of each performance, the audience was invited to come up and dance on the grass, too!

I hope these photos convey the joy…

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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.

Student art brightens San Diego bus stops!

Bus stop shelters around the city now feature art created by students from throughout the San Diego Unified School District. I’ve noticed a few of these displays in the past couple weeks, and I discovered another fun example today at the SDSU Transit Center.

The digital doodles in these photographs were created by students from Encanto Elementary and Hardy Elementary. The kids were given two themes: What makes San Diego your home? and How do you connect with San Diego?

According to the shelter poster, over 12 schools and hundreds of students participated in the “I am San Diego” project. The project was launched by Far South Border North, a City of San Diego-led regional collaborative that supports artists and cultural practitioners working in service of the health and well-being of communities in San Diego and Imperial counties.

Next time you find yourself walking down the sidewalk near an MTS public bus shelter, take a closer look!

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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.

Photos of 2024 Sun & Sea Festival in Imperial Beach!

The Sun & Sea Festival returned to Imperial Beach for 2024, attracting a good crowd as usual. And, as always, the annual event beside the Imperial Beach Pier featured sand sculptures!

A monumental sand mega castle was being finished by a group of local artists late this morning when I walked through the festival.

The “Back 2 IB” sculpture celebrates nostalgia. Carved into the sand are fun retro images that bring back fond memories of the 1980s, from Back to the Future, to Ghostbusters, to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, to Cabbage Patch Kids, to Rubik’s Cube, to Pac-Man. (I’ll be sharing more photos of the amazing sand sculpture in my next blog post!)

The festival also featured a Kids-n-Kastles competition, with 15 team entries built on the beach north of the pier. There was no adult competition this year. Sadly, there weren’t enough sponsors.

The COVID pandemic and sewage coming from the Tijuana River polluting the ocean off Imperial Beach have visibly hurt this long-running event, not to mention the Imperial Beach community and local businesses. Nobody was out in the water, apart from several surfers who were seriously risking their health.

I spoke to people at a Surfrider Foundation tent. They said very slow progress is being made to solve the sewage problem. The ocean here has been off limits for about two years now. It’s a problem that seems to have no end.

In spite of this, however, there was plenty of fun to be had at the 2024 Sun & Sea Festival! Lots of food! Live music! A fantastic location and SoCal beach vibe!

Here are my 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 X.

Play more, learn more in Escondido!

I love this street art! It’s painted on an electrical box in front of the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum in Escondido.

Bright, happy colors. PLAY MORE LEARN MORE. Painted Lady butterflies and flowers watered by a rainbow. A bird, a snail, a ladybug. Two kids perched on a mushroom, reading a book.

Mr. Rogers and his quote: Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.

The artwork is by Paige and Brenda Townsend (@BrilliantSpectrumArt).

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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.

Peanuts celebrates 75th anniversary at Comic-Con!

The beloved cartoon Peanuts created by Charles Schulz will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. The San Diego Comic-Con 2024 activation for Peanuts is anticipating that big milestone with lots of free fun for the family!

The Peanuts offsite is located along MLK Promenade and is open during Comic-Con from 10 am to 6 pm. There’s seldom a big line, so don’t expect a big wait.

I dropped by this morning to check out what the Peanuts folks were offering this year!

Here come some photos.

As you can see, there are several backdrops for photo ops, lots of Peanuts merch and collectibles for sale if that’s what you want, information about the history of Charles Schulz and his comic strip and the animated holiday specials, and when you go back outside there’s a Camp Snoopy where you can relax and watch classic Peanuts animated cartoons!

And I noticed lots of smiles!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Wizard of Oz cosplay at San Diego Comic-Con!

A fun Wizard of Oz cosplay photo meet-up was held today in San Diego for Comic-Con 2024. A small group in steampunk Wizard of Oz costumes joined a few other cosplayers near the Marriott Marquis fountain.

The gathering might have been small, but the cosplay was fantastic, as you can see from my photographs taken shortly after noon!

We’re off to see the Wizard…

Wizard of Oz cosplay at Comic-Con 2024 includes Tin Man, Glinda, Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the West!

The great Wizard of Oz himself has brought along a small Glinda and Wicked Witch! And there’s another Wicked Witch! Yikes!

What fun!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Comic-Con at San Diego public libraries!

Do you live in San Diego, but can’t make it downtown for Comic-Con this week? Why not celebrate Comic-Con 2024 at your local library!

Walking through San Diego’s Central Library yesterday, I saw a display of graphic novels. When I checked out the library’s website, I discovered that all sorts of creative activities can be enjoyed at many San Diego branch libraries that correspond with the phenomenon that is Comic-Con!

Many of these events are coming up in a day or two, so make sure to check out the website right away by clicking here.

At the Point Loma/Hervey Library, there’s Your Life as a Graphic Novel Memoir: Take-Home Art Journaling Kits.

At the College-Rolando Library, there’s Mini Comic-Con (adapted for adults with ASD).

At Oak Park Library, there’s Anime Club for Young Adults.

Sketch Night: Comic Con Edition is a virtual event on Zoom, by the San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with staff from SDPL.

At the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library, there’s Super Hero Workshop with ClicBitz San Diego.

At the Rancho Bernardo Library, there’s Kids Craft: Paper Superheroes.

At the Clairemont Library, there’s Superhero Preschool Storytime at the Library.

And, finally, at Pacific Beach Library, there’s Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever.

Click here to learn all the details!

And by the way, the Central Library will have their 4th floor IDEA Lab open during Comic-Con, where cosplayers can make repairs to their costumes. There will also be comic-theme makes and photo ops according to this sign that I spotted nearby!

There’s more! If you’d like to score a cool collectible, come down to the Central Library to get your 2024 Commemorative Comic-Con Library Card! It was designed by John Jennings, author, graphic novelist, New York Times Bestseller and 2018 Eisner Winner!

During Comic-Con, you can also obtain this year’s commemorative library card at the San Diego Public Library’s booth in the San Diego Convention Center. They’ll be at Booth 5523!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Big carnival rides pop up for Comic-Con!

A pair of big carnival rides have popped up outside Comic-Con in San Diego!

It’s several days now until Comic-Con 2024 commences, and today a big swing ride and a Ferris wheel are being installed for two different outside activities that will be open free to the public!

The YOYO swing ride that you see in the first photographs is part of the family friendly A.V.A. FEST offsite, which will also include a ball pit and water squirt game. The carnival-like activation promotes the ABC series Abbott Elementary.

You can join the fun starting Thursday behind the San Diego Convention Center. It will be hard to miss!

On the other side of the convention center you’ll be able to freely ride the Marvel Contest of Champions big Ferris wheel, also starting on Thursday. (To ride you must play an exclusive Marvel Contest of Champions quest on your phone.)

The Ferris wheel is located on the grassy side of the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter hotel, alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade. It will be hard to miss too!

Learn more about this activity here.

What fun!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

A visit to Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Café!

The Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Café pop-up fast food restaurant has returned to San Diego for Comic-Con 2024. And they’ve opened before the convention begins!

I swung by 910 J Street today shortly after the the Speed Café opened at 11 am. Not many people were about. In a few days, during Comic-Con starting Wednesday, there will probably be a line halfway down the block–like last year!

I took these photos of the fun Sonic the Hedgehog themed interior, then ordered a milkshake and chicken sandwich (that I consumed a moment ago) from the super friendly people behind the counter.

I must admit the mocha shake and spicy fried chicken sandwich were actually really good! Better then some other fast food joints! The chicken was tasty, crispy and moist inside–yum!

When the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Café pop-up officially opens on Wednesday, I’m told Sonic himself will be present for the kids. And, of course, there will be Sonic video games that can be freely played, too!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Eagle Scout project raises ocean safety awareness.

Chet Kinzelberg has embarked on an important Eagle Scout project. He will be creating an Ocean Safety Awareness booth on June 22nd and 23rd at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.

Today he and other Scouts from Troop 766 were offering cookies and tasty treats to raise funds for the project. I got a cookie and these smiling photos as I walked down a sidewalk, just before entering the Switchfoot Bro-Am surf and music event on Moonlight Beach. (Photos from the big event coming up.)

At his Ocean Safety Awareness booth, Chet will be handing out free cards that provide information for beachgoers. You can see one side of the card in my next photo. There will also be a prize wheel and a raffle for AirPods.

It’s great to see young people cheerfully working to make this world a better place! Those chocolate chip cookies were great, too!

If you’d like to learn how to have a safe beach day in Encinitas and the conditions right now, click this link. Then bookmark that page for your next beach trip!

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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.