San Diego stickball team Always on Deck scored 4 big runs in their first inning against New York team Cielo Azul.
This morning I caught the beginning of an early Labor Day stickball game, being played on Columbia Street in front of the San Diego Firehouse Museum in Little Italy.
Ten teams of the initial thirteen were still playing for the tournament championship. I learned Always on Deck was the seven seed.
Fans were lined up on the sidewalk watching and cheering their favorite team on. The action on the asphalt was fast and furious!
Which team would go on to win it all? Sadly, I couldn’t hang around to see the final results.
A few photos of the initial action…
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Stickball is returning to San Diego this coming Labor Day weekend!
The unique San Diego tradition will return to the streets of Little Italy in 2026, on Saturday, September 5 through Labor Day on Monday. Come down to Little Italy any weekend day. You can’t miss the action!
Three different blocks on the streets of Little Italy will become fields of play. Thirteen teams from New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California will be competing for the prestigious Jillie Championship Trophy!
In the world of stickball, this tournament is a big deal!
I remember first taking photos of stickball in Little Italy back in 2013, when my blog was new. Over the years I’ve captured moments from many tournaments. Here are some photographs from the past, just to whet your appetite…
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Well over a thousand volunteers came out this morning to clean up San Diego Bay. Operation Clean Sweep was well underway when I walked down to the water!
I saw families between Grape and Laurel Street on the boardwalk and among the shoreline rocks filling bags with litter. I was told 14 tons of garbage was removed from San Diego Bay during the clean up event last year!
Operation Clean Sweep is made possible by volunteers, local businesses and the Port of San Diego.
Thank you for protecting the environment and keeping San Diego beautiful!
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Check out this collection of photos! My camera was aimed at amazing chalk art at this weekend’s Galbani Bella Vita Fest in Little Italy!
The festival, produced by the ArtWalk San Diego team, is similar to the old Festa events held in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood years ago. In addition to chalk artists decorating several blocks of India Street, there’s plenty of Italian culture, including food, live music and wine tasting.
The public can stroll through the festival for free, which many people were doing this Saturday afternoon!
Dozens of chalk artists have arrived from all over, including from out-of-state. Most are friendly and welcome a few words from admirers.
The event continues Sunday, October 19, 2025 from 11 am to 5 pm. Consequently, many of the artists when I walked by were still at work on their colorful chalk masterpieces!
Here are some of the Italy-themed chalk art creations, most of which are works in progress. I’ve included artist team names in the photo captions…
Artist team Graceful Meadow.Artist team Cecelia Linayao Fine Art.Artist team Madonnara.Artist team The Kim Sisters.Artist team Kimberly Canilang.Artist team Shawdell Smith Art.Artist team Team Arcala.Artist team MDFerrera Fine Art.Artist team Tonie Garza.Artist team Meg Beverly Canilang.Artist team Gutierrez Family.Artist team Steele Canyon High School.Artist team Maddalena & Rogalski.Artist team Kat Brown.
Look who else was present at the festival. Friendly people representing KPBS!
They told me they could use a little extra help now that federal government funding has ended. Check out their website if you’d like to help.
And a few tables down India Street I found ArtReach! They engage youth with art education and paint beautiful murals all over San Diego. You’ve seen many on my blog.
People passing by had created small works of art at their table, too!
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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.
In the darkness long before sunrise, downtown San Diego sleeps.
I often walk the city streets in the very early morning, when practically nobody is about. There are those times when I have to catch the day’s very first trolley. It can be a strange almost eerie experience. The stillness. The silence.
Here are some photographs I’ve taken during recent night walks.
There are sudden visions behind windows, on sidewalks, rising into the black sky.
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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.
San Diego’s downtown Little Italy neighborhood is ready to welcome Santa Claus this evening!
The Christmas tree lighting will take place after dark at 6:30 pm. The holiday festival on India Street begins at 4 pm. Nearly everything is ready!
I walked up India Street in the mid-afternoon and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of a community soon to celebrate Christmas.
Little Italy’s familiar Christmas trees are up. The big nutcrackers are standing. Shop and restaurant window graphics have been painted, attracting the attention of diners and those heading up the sidewalk.
I noticed that a stage was being set up in Piazza della Famiglia near the fountain and outdoor tables. And, of course, a special outdoor “room” for Santa was being prepared!
Santa’s Rules:
You better not pout. You better not cry…
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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.Thank you for sharing!
The parking structure that stands beside the County Center/Little Italy trolley station contains a fascinating exhibit. Just inside the Cedar Street door, a glass display case holds rows of antique bottles. These old bottles were discovered in 2014 during the early stages of the building’s construction.
A nearby sign explains why these bottles are on public display…
Artifact Display Project
The display to your right contains a sample of artifacts recovered during the summer of 2014 as construction began on the Cedar/Kettner Parking Structure. These bottles date from the late 1880s to early 1900s and contained various kinds of milk, carbonated and alcoholic beverages, oils, inks, perfumes and pharmaceuticals.
The area where this building now stands was a densely populated multiethnic neighborhood of predominantly Italian and Portuguese immigrants working in the fishing industry. Residents’ homes were in close proximity to stables, dockyards, boarding houses and second hand shops. In the early 1900s, the area began to develop as a commercial and industrial center supporting the nearby waterfront and railroad.
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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.
Over the weekend, as I walked through the Bella Vita Fest in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, I noticed a large display of fascinating old photographs.
Convivio, a cultural organization that works to preserve the Italian community’s history in San Diego, was showing images from our city’s past!
There were photographs of tuna fishermen and boats and cannery workers, old restaurants and businesses on India Street, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Washington Elementary School, families, neighbors playing bocce…
It was pointed out to me that many of the houses and buildings that were photographed generations ago can still be recognized on the present-day streets of Little Italy!
Checking out the Convivio website, I see they are undertaking an important history preservation project. Their Italian Digital History Initiative hopes that residents of San Diego will contribute to a growing archives full of memories. The current cornerstone of Convivio’s preservation focus is the Italian Digital History Initiative, established in 2006, which preserves the local Italian community’s heritage through photographs, documents, oral histories, and other new-media resources.
If you have interesting material that helps tell the story of Italian immigrants in San Diego, you can bring it down to the AMICIBAR (the historical Amici House) next to the Little Italy Dog Park on Sundays, between 10 am and 2 pm. They’ll digitize photos, documents (marriage, birth certificates), awards/certificates of recognition, personal letters, permits and licenses (fishing or retail industries, for example), and whatever tells THE STORY OF YOUR FAMILY HERITAGE!
Learn more about this important project by clicking here.
Enjoy this collection of photographs. I took them late this afternoon in Little Italy at the inaugural Bella Vita Fest event, along India Street.
The Italian-themed event is produced by ArtWalk San Diego. Appropriately, it’s taking place during a sunny weekend in October, which is Italian American Heritage Month.
In addition to the work of some 30 chalk artists, visitors to the festival can enjoy live entertainment, wine tastings, great Italian food and lots of unique vendor booths. Bella Vita Fest continues tomorrow, Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. Learn more here!
These photographs include many of the chalk art works. Ones that were just begun or badly disrupted by shadows I might have skipped. Most chalk artists will continue their work during Bella Vita Fest on Sunday!
Chalk art by Tonya Neilson.Chalk art by Cecelia Linayao.Chalk art by Pappricci.Chalk art by Dawn Wagner.Chalk art by Meg Beverly Canilang.Chalk art by NIKIMEG.Chalk art by Joyce Hatzidakis.Chalk art by Gutierrez Family.Chalk art by Team Zamora.Chalk art by Isaiah Hernandez.Chalk art by Raziah Roushan.Kids create fun chalk art at Bella Vita Fest in San Diego’s Little Italy.Chalk art by Steele Canyon High School.Chalk art by Shawndell Smith Art.Chalk art by Kim sisters.Chalk art by Maddalena and Rogalski.Chalk art by Michelle Lubin.Chalk art by Jen Swain.Chalk art by Monika Petroczy.Chalk art by Canyon Crest Academy.Chalk art by Jose Noe Hernandez.Chalk art by Fia Soisson.Chalk art by Gloria Ing.Chalk art by Sarah Conley.
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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.
Did you know that San Diego Padres star pitcher Joe Musgrove has a family connection to Little Italy?
His grandmother, Lucy Papitto, resided in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood for 30 years!
I didn’t know this until I saw a relatively new mural and plaque today. The beautiful mural can be found on India Street a little south of Grape Street. I’ve read that it was unveiled several months ago during Mother’s Day weekend.
When I walked by this morning, the San Diego sunshine was shining through nearby tree branches, perfectly framing Lucy Papitto’s smile.
IN HONOR OF PADRES PITCHER JOE MUSGROVE’S GRANDMOTHER LUCY PAPITTO, 1ST GENERATION SAN DIEGO NATIVE OF ITALIAN DESCENT WHO CALLED LITTLE ITALY HOME FROM 1928 TO 1958 RESIDING AT 1936 STATE STREET.
UPDATE!
I took a better photo without shadows at a later time…
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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.
