Here’s a collection of photographs that might make you smile!
Minutes before noon today, participants in the 43th Annual Pacific Beach Holiday Parade were busy around Garnet Avenue, getting ready for the big Christmas parade.
The event’s theme in 2023? Ugly sweaters! I photographed a few!
Groups from all around Pacific Beach had gathered for the occasion. Many were getting their festive floats, golf carts, lowriders, fire engines, buses, canoes, scooters and bikes (!!!) ready by applying tinsel, ornaments, wreaths and bows. And don’t forget all the cheerful inflatables!
Elves and Santas were milling about everywhere. I spotted the Gingerbread Man, too!
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The 67th Annual Massing of the Colors and Service of Remembrance was held today in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
The patriotic ceremony featured a procession of color guards through the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. In addition to military color guards, participants represented dozens of schools, organizations and agencies from throughout San Diego County.
The event was presented by the San Diego Chapter of Military Order of the World Wars, whose mission includes instilling love of country by honoring our nation’s flag and the liberty it promises. For a writer like myself, freedom is precious.
As I sat in the front row waiting for the event to begin, a gust of wind on the stage blew over our nation’s flag. Several people immediately rushed forward to raise Old Glory again.
The Massing of the Colors this year was co-sponsored by the Spreckels Organ Society. Patriotic music, including an Armed Forces Medley, was provided by San Diego Civic Organist extraordinaire Raúl Prieto Ramírez!
A special mention in the ceremony and program acknowledged Vietnam Veterans and their sacrifices. Fifty years ago, that terrible war ended.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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A patriotic Massing of the Colors event is returning to San Diego this October. The grand procession of flags will feature from 40 to 50 Color Guards from around our region, and will honor Vietnam Veterans, as 2023 marks the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
The 67th Annual Massing of the Colors and Service of Remembrance, presented by the San Diego Chapter of The Military Order of the World Wars, is free and open to the public. The many Color Guards will assemble in Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion on October 14th, and the ceremony will commence at 10:30 am.
This year is also the 125th Anniversary of the famous march Stars and Stripes Forever. John Philip Sousa marches will be played by San Diego Civic Organist Raul Prieto Ramírez during the procession as it enters and exits the pavilion. The event is co-sponsored by the Spreckels Organ Society.
If you know of a Color Guard in San Diego that would like to participate, use the contact email shown in the graphic below.
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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)!
Before the start of today’s City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love, there was a parade!
Smiling faces headed west down University Avenue, starting from The Neighborhood Cafe and Youth Print Shop. They arrived at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park near the City Heights Library just in time for the Festival of Love to begin!
The parade was a celebration of the City Heights community’s rich cultural diversity. And, of course, a celebration of love!
Surprised onlookers, standing on the sidewalk and in front yards, were urged to follow the parade to the fun Valentine’s Day themed Festival of Love!
I first spied the parade as it headed along University Avenue. I saw the Hoover High School marching band, lowriders and classic cars, the Fern Street Circus, and other local organizations from around the neighborhood.
My camera captured the excitement!
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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!
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Look at all the smiles! They could be seen everywhere before the start of San Diego’s big 41st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade!
MLK Day is tomorrow, so today was a fine day to celebrate the legacy of the great civil rights leader. The rain even paused for the parade and a bit of sun peeked through!
But the sun couldn’t outshine the bright smiles I saw on Harbor Drive!
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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!
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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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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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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!
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Visitors to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park might notice a large tin man standing atop stairs in the museum’s atrium. A sign at the bottom of the stairs explains how the nearly 11 feet tall metal sculpture was once a well known landmark in North Park.
Created in 1941, “Tin Man” was originally unpainted and held an oil can instead of a wrench. Representing the Tin Woodsman character from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Tin Man was to be a feature of the North Park Toyland Parade. But the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor five days before the parade cancelled the event.
Tin Man subsequently was acquired by Sabol Service at University Avenue and Bancroft Street and for several decades, now holding a wrench, he towered above the automobile repair business. In 1976 he was moved to 35th Street and University Avenue, where, painted as he appears today, he greeted the customers of Vinal’s Auto Repair on the service station island.
As you can see, I took these photographs during the holiday season. Tin Man silently stood overlooking a large, very beautiful poinsettia Christmas tree–the first such tree to decorate the San Diego History Center.
And so our city’s history continues right along, the past meeting the present.
Perhaps you’re old enough to remember seeing Tin Man in North Park. After moving through the San Diego History Center, you will carry both old and new memories into your future.
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Escondido’s 3rd Annual Veterans Day Parade was held this morning in downtown Escondido!
Marching bands, vintage cars, equestrian groups, dancers, fire engines, and smiling people of all ages, many of whom were Veterans, paraded down Grand Avenue. Then each group turned around and paraded on back! Which created a unique “double” parade, as you’ll see in some of the upcoming photographs!
Honoring Our Hometown Heroes is the theme of Escondido’s VestFest and its big Veterans Day Parade. Those who served many decades ago, or very recently, were thanked equally by flag-waving families lining the sidewalks.
A few preliminary photographs were taken as I walked down Grand Avenue waiting for the parade to begin. Several downtown Escondido buildings and storefronts were decorated with patriotic red, white and blue for Veterans Day.
The above nice lady noticed I was holding up a lamp post. Then she offered me a two-for-one coupon for the Patio Playhouse theater production of Prairie Lights. Go to their website here!
Here comes the parade!
The folks of Esco Alley Art (those many amazing murals in the Escondido alley I’ve blogged about previously) are having their 2022 Season Finale Art Party tomorrow, Saturday, at 3 pm. Go to their website here!
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
This morning a unique ceremony was held in San Diego. The 66th Massing of the Colors and Service of Remembrance honored the flag of our country and those who’ve served to protect it–and the Freedom it represents.
The annual Massing of the Colors is presented by the San Diego Chapter of The Military Order of the World Wars. The organization is made up of officers from the uniformed services, their spouses and descendants.
This year about 25 color guards from all around the city came together for the ceremony at the U.S. Army of the West Mormon Battalion Historic Site, which is located in Old Town. The MCRD Marine Band provided patriotic music.
I watched as the many color guards arrived, streaming in from nearby parking lots and down sidewalks. There were youth belonging to the ROTC and Junior ROTC programs. There were proud Veterans who’d fought for their country. There were descendants of those who’d served.
Before the ceremony began, the color guards paraded single file through the grassy area where the audience would watch, forming a line of flags to one side. Then several color guards brought more flags forward before an Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and singing of the National Anthem. Coming to the podium, Anaeya Baez, from Girl Scout Troop 6116, read My Name is Old Glory.
A guest speaker, the Honorable M. Janet Chin, reminded everyone of the sacrifices many have made. She expressed hope that present and future generations will remember that history, and will continue the tradition of service.
The motto of the Military Order of the World Wars is: It is nobler to serve than to be served.
The ceremony ended with Taps, a Benediction, and the Retiring of the Colors.
As you can see in the following photographs, I arrived and took my seat very early…
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
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