Tag: news

Erecting the Exchange Pavilion in Balboa Park!

A large steel structure is now being erected near the center of San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park! It’s the Exchange Pavilion, another initiative of World Design Capital 2024!

San Diego/Tijuana won the coveted title of World Design Capital for 2024. There have been many activities and activations related to this international honor, and the Exchange Pavilion is the newest of these.

The lightweight skeletal structure evident in my photographs is being built in the Plaza de Panama, in front of the San Diego Museum of Art. The pavilion is designed to bring people together, along with their diverse ideas and experiences. Interconnectedness and collaboration are appropriate themes for the first ever binational World Design Capital designation.

The Exchange Pavilion, when completed, will feature interactive digital displays, special lighting, and a space for lectures, performances, workshops and more. It was designed by HELEO in collaboration with Tijuana, Mexico based visual artist Daniel Ruanova.

This very unique installation will remain in Balboa Park all summer long. It will then be relocated to Tijuana in the fall. I was told it will be completed and will open this Saturday, August 10!

I suppose I’ll have to swing by this weekend to check it out!

UPDATE!

I walked through the Plaza de Panama on Friday afternoon and saw that construction of the pavilion is still underway. The narrow digital displays appear to be functioning.

I was told by someone at the site that the Exchange Pavilion will now open on Wednesday!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

I walked by again on Sunday. I learned the pavilion will now open next Saturday 17, 2024.

…

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.

Taking a San Diego trolley to Destination JOY!

Some trolley riders smiled. Others slept. Some unabashedly sang along. Others stared at the unexpected spectacle with suspicion or disbelief. We all were riding a San Diego trolley to Destination JOY!

A special event was held today in San Diego. Trolley passengers could experience bright smiles and joy at certain stations and, perhaps unexpectedly, while riding the Blue or Orange lines! Destination JOY was the name of this first time event, and I experienced a bit of it myself!

Sustainable transportation, climate change mitigation, health and well-being, and civic engagement were the central themes of the event, which was presented by Way Outside the Lines in partnership with many community organizations and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The mood of the event was happy and optimistic–full of good vibes!

At the Iris Avenue Transit Center, both registered participants and ordinary transit users could listen to poetry readings about human love in a sometimes difficult world, see colorful artwork, listen to live music, and even learn how to beat the summer heat. The theme at this station was the Sound of Joy…

Anyone could walk up and try their hand at painting. This is local artist David Gomez, who also had a small gallery of his artwork on display.

Institute for Public Strategies was at the Iris Avenue Transit Center educating people about how to beat the summer heat.

These musicians weren’t playing when I happened by, but they gave me the thumbs up!

A group that signed up for the full 4 hour Destination JOY experience prepare to board a random Blue Line trolley. They and surprised passengers would be entertained by a musical trolley show!

At the E Street Transit Center in Chula Vista, the roving group would enjoy more outdoor activations. The theme here was Art of Motion. Anyone who happened to come by the trolley station could participate in yoga and other healthy activities.

Smiles from the Yoga Lab!

I then headed off on my own to check out the activations at the 24th Avenue Transit Center in National City. Expression of Color was the theme at this station, and much of what I saw, including more colorful artwork, concerned protecting our natural environment.

I learned that a new project called Mundo Gardens is planned for National City. The Interstate 805 ramps for 43rd Street will be coming down creating an open space for the community.

From the 24th Street Transit Center I rode a Blue Line trolley back into downtown San Diego, missing the final Orange Line activations at the Euclid Avenue Station & Jacobs Center.

I did find friendly folks from the Urban Collaborative Project inside UC San Diego Park & Market near the trolley station of the same name. They aim to make Southeast San Diego a more vibrant, informed, connected, and empowered community!

The following stone was painted by Elie Kennedy, who had a table nearby. Visit my blog post concerning her work spreading love in San Diego by clicking here!

…

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.

Destination JOY and the art of David Gomez!

Destination JOY was a wonderful, very unique event held today in San Diego. San Diego Trolley riders could enjoy diverse entertainment and activations while on the trolley or at select stations!

The event included music, art, poetry readings and more at the Iris Avenue Transit Center. Inside a dark trailer, a makeshift art gallery presented The Goldie Collection by local artist David Gomez (@the_art_of_controversy).

Check out some photographs of his shining mixed media artwork. As a sign explained: The paintings in this collection tell a story of innocence lost, betrayal, hope and a friendship that spans generations… While the story and images might appear a bit exotic, the themes are universally human. Cool art, right?

David was also painting outdoors for the Destination JOY trolley event. I’ll be blogging about this fun San Diego event in my next post!

…

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.

Restoration of Botanical Building in Balboa Park looks amazing!

Look at these photographs that were taken last week!

I was heading through Balboa Park to the Comic-Con Museum (for my Comic-Con coverage) when I noticed that the restoration of the Botanical Building appears to be near completion. Look how amazingly beautiful it’s going to be!

Workers were busy painting the non-lath lower part of the immense structure. The area in front of the Botanical Building behind the construction fence, where grassy lawns and a small section of the lily pond have existed, was still mostly bare dirt.

If you’d like to see photos showing different stages of the Botanical Building’s deconstruction and restoration, and read more info concerning it (going back over two years), you can click here and here and here and here and here!

…

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.

The Wild Robot cast appears at Comic-Con!

Lupita Nyong’o and Kit Connor surprised an outdoor crowd today at Comic-Con 2024 when they appeared in public to promote their upcoming animated film The Wild Robot!

Late Saturday morning, a remote controlled robot version of Roz (the movie’s protagonist), created and operated by Catalyst Engineers, was standing near the entrance to the Omni San Diego Hotel, moving its head and body and talking to random fans who’d gathered nearby. Little did anyone know that voice actress Lupita Nyong’o was actually hidden from sight and speaking through the robot.

When the cast members suddenly appeared from around a corner, the crowd went crazy!

The Wild Robot is an upcoming American animated science fiction film that will hit movie theaters on September 27, 2024.

I arrived early and waited for several minutes, having an inkling of what might transpire, and managed somehow to get some fun celebrity photographs!

Oh–that bird on Roz’s shoulder is an orphaned gosling with whom the robot develops a relationship while shipwrecked on an uninhabited island.

…

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 comics Mini Con to be held in San Diego!

A comic art Mini Con will be coming to San Diego on August 24th, 2024. The free event will be held at Southern California Comics at 8280 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., #124, from 11 am to 5 pm.

Featured artists will be Jevin Loop, Kevin Tran, Phillip Quick, Action Figure God and Zander6comix. This morning at San Diego Comic-Con, Zander himself told me about this cool local comic event. We’ve met on a couple of occasions in the past while I’ve blogged about events around San Diego.

Come support great comic talent and have a fun time. Burgers and Fries will be on hand, too!

…

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!

San Diego Comic-Con fans enter toxic spill site!

In San Diego, hundreds of Comic-Con fans walked through a toxic waste site today. A truck hauling biohazardous material overturned overnight, spilling a slime-like blue substance in a downtown parking lot. The toxic waste is thought to have mutagenic properties.

Workers in pink hazmat suits and gas masks proceeded to open the rear of the truck, allowing curious Comic-Con fans to walk through it. Inside the tanker truck fans discovered all sort of cool toys adhering to the gooey walls! With any luck, these happy visitors won’t mutate into some sort of horrible monster or beast!

Yes, you’ve realized by now that I’m kidding. The truck and the blue slime are actually part of a Comic-Con 2024 offsite activation produced by MrBeast Lab. They make all sorts of cool toys.

When I exited the offsite, I got free swag! A monstrous miniature figurine!

I believe the offsite will be open throughout Comic-Con during the day. Look for it north of MLK Promenade and east of First Avenue, on the back side of the Bathroom Battlestation!

…

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!

Inside the library’s Cosplay Repair Station!

Russell from movie Up cosplay in the Central Library’s special Cosplay Repair Station.

Are you attending Comic-Con 2024 in San Diego? Is your cosplay costume sadly torn, falling apart, or in need of repair? Head a few blocks over from the convention center to the San Diego Central Library–you know the building with the big metal lattice dome!

On the fourth floor of the Central Library you’ll find the Cosplay Repair Station. They have everything you could conceivably need. Sewing machines, tools, tape, different glues and adhesives, you name it!

I swung by the library today to take a peek inside…

You can even make your own cosplay repair kit and take it with you!

You can make buttons, too!

Got some swag you don’t like? Swap it for something better!

The Cosplay Repair Station is open during San Diego Comic-Con on Friday and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday from 1 to 4 pm.

And what’s more–down in the Central Library lobby, at the used book store, there are comics to buy for only a buck each!

…

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!

Evolved apes rule San Diego at Comic-Con!

It’s day one of San Diego Comic-Con 2024. This morning I walked into the Forbidden Zone at the free Comic-Con offsite Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes not knowing what I might encounter. I found a very cool activation, and evolved apes that rule!

Waiting in line for this activation, located on MLK Promenade, took perhaps 15 minutes, and was definitely well worth it. If you’re a fan of any of the ten Planet of the Apes films, starting with the classic Charlton Heston movie in 1968 (my favorite–best movie ending ever), you’ll absolutely love what you find!

There are lots of props and models and costumes and photographs from the movies, and then a live falcon for a cool photo op, believe it or not! Then you can learn how to walk like an ape, as actors have done in the making of these films. You use crutch-like arm extensions and it’s not as easy as you’d think. At the end of the activation there’s a photo booth, and you can snag a free poster.

Check out some photos. In the darker areas, my camera doesn’t perform terribly well, so I guess you’ll have to go see everything for yourself! Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is open 10 am to 7 pm during Comic-Con 2024.

…

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!

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!

…

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!