Two very unique bicycle-driven libraries debuted in San Diego this weekend!
The San Diego Public Library was demonstrating their new “libraries on wheels” for the first time at the San Diego Lunar New Year Festival in City Heights!
Is ice cream in there? No, something better! Books!
I learned these bikes that transport books will be utilized for increased community engagement. All those cool books will also encourage people to sign up for a free library card.
Stunning works of hand made art can be viewed in five glass display cases on the Second Floor of San Diego’s downtown Central Library. As a sign explains, the Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild is showcasing the variety of technique and materials used by the guild’s talented artists.
The San Diego group weaves baskets and creates gourd art. It appeared to me that most pieces are composed of natural materials. Looking at these amazing works, I noted that materials include pine needles, cedar, bear grass, reed, willow…
The Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild welcomes everyone who might be interested in learning or practicing their craft in a supportive community. Members range from beginners to professionals.
The exhibit will be visible through November, 2024. Check out the exhibit website here.
And if you’d like to read more about the guild, here’s their website.
…
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 world-famous Old Globe performed Shakespeare’s play As You Like It today at downtown’s Central Library! It was just one stop during the 2024 Globe for All Tour, which brings fine theatrical performances to various economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities throughout San Diego County, and even south of the border in Tijuana, Mexico.
I went to the free show, not knowing what it might be like, and WOW–what absolute fun!
The crazy, mixed-up play about rivalry, misunderstandings and triumphant love was full of physical comedy and outrageous action! The story included occasional audience participation (including holding up butterflies that we made), surprising and funny pop culture references, and even some spoken lines in Spanish. We in the audience were laughing much of the time. I loved the hilarious WWE-style wrestling match between the brothers Oliver and Orlando!
The experience was even more awesome because the professional acting, taking place in the library’s Shiley Special Events Suite, could be experienced up close and personal–just a few feet from the chairs where we sat. When the actors went “offstage” to corners of the room we could watch them, even as they changed costume.
After the conclusion of As You Like It, the audience was invited to make comments and ask questions of the cast.
Actress Emma Svitil (smiling in my first and final photo) played Phoebe. She explained that Shakespeare is loved to this day because his works tap into universal truths about humanity. He addresses love, friendship, the struggle for power, etc. His plays can be easily adapted to the times we live in. The Bard’s ingenious wordplay is amusing, too!
Everyone should take advantage of the free Globe for All Tour. Young people (and certain adults like myself) might not comprehend every word of Shakespeare’s centuries-old language, but the super expressive acting speaks for itself!
To see if there are upcoming performances of As You Like It in your community, click here.
Photography is prohibited during the performance, so I took these beforehand. The pics are of some actors and props. (As you can see, the Central Library’s ninth floor special events suite has amazing views of downtown San Diego!)
…
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.
A fascinating exhibit on the 9th Floor of San Diego’s Central Library concerns the history of the old El Hispano Americano newspaper, founded in San Diego by Hernando Limón Hernández, who had been a general in the Mexican Army.
Display cases in the library’s Marilyn & Gene Marx Special Collections Center contain photographs, printed art, old newspapers and documents, detailing the life of General Hernando Limón Hernández and his groundbreaking newspaper in San Diego.
While living in Mexico, the General had been tasked with designing and building lighthouses across Mexico’s main ports. He and his family would settle in San Diego by 1916, where the retired General became a Spanish teacher at the military compound in Coronado.
He soon purchased the new El Hispano Americano newspaper, and began to operate its print shop in downtown San Diego.
El Hispano Americano was the first modern Spanish language newspaper published in California. It would become the first binational newspaper that circulated simultaneously in Southern California and Northern Baja California. At its peak, in 1932, El Hispano American averaged 25,000 daily readers.
…
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.
Can seaweed be beautiful? It definitely is in an exhibit now on display on the first floor of San Diego’s Central Library!
The Curious World of Seaweed explores the science and historical importance of seaweeds, algae and kelp, and does so using fantastic images, such as the ones you see in my photographs.
Indigenous peoples have utilized seaweed for thousands of years. Taking various parts of certain seaweeds, they would create fishing lines, containers for water and funnels for fish traps. Edible seaweeds were commonly used for food–as they are today! Sushi anybody?
In modern times, the thousands of species of algae and seaweeds have been studied and more completely understood. These living organisms sustain ocean biodiversity and are an important part of our planet’s ecology.
The extensive exhibit is based on the research, photography and writings of Josie Iselin. Her latest book is also titled The Curious World of Seaweed.
As explained here, Iselin’s writing and art focusing on seaweed, kelp and sea otter puts her on the forefront of ocean activism, presenting and working with scientists and environmental groups working to preserve the kelp forests of our Pacific Coast.
There’s much to learn when viewing this exhibit, but what struck me most was the exquisite beauty and complexity of the different colored seaweeds. You’ll enjoy viewing the illustrations, photographs and works of art.
…
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.
A library card is more valuable than you might realize! You can use your San Diego Public Library card to check out a free vehicle day-use pass for over 200 California State Parks!
I noticed this valuable information last weekend during my visit to the Rancho Bernardo Library. To receive a free pass, head over to your nearest San Diego Public Library branch and speak to the library staff.
The free pass will admit you into so many amazing State Parks, including beautiful Torrey Pines State Nature Preserve, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Silver Strand State Beach…
You don’t have a library card? Get one at your local library! Then grab a free State Parks pass!
…
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.
If you love art and have a chance to visit the Rancho Bernardo Library, make sure to head up the stairs or elevator. A long hallway on the second floor doubles as an art gallery!
On view in this gallery through the end of September are colorful works by award-winning San Diego artists Terry Anderson and Marlene Levitt. The two artists paint acrylic abstracts on the same canvas at the same time!
According to the artists’ website, their Temáre abstract paintings evoke an emotion of color and contrast...
As my photographs demonstrate, their bold, dynamic art really grabs your attention! Need some home decor? I noticed these pieces at the library are also for sale.
Are you a local or regional artist with work you’d like to exhibit in a branch of the San Diego Public Library? Check out SDPL’s Visual Arts Program and fill out an application 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.
Thirteen-year-old Ukrainian filmmaker Marusya Shuvalova spoke today at the 20th San Diego International Children’s Film Festival. The event was held in the Neil Morgan Auditorium at San Diego’s downtown Central Library.
Shuvalova’s two films, Me. My Eleven Years. War. and What’s Going On With Us? were among the outstanding selections featured in 2024. Both films document her young life in Kyiv, Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
Please watch the short Me. My Eleven Years. War. on YouTube by clicking here. There are English subtitles.
You will see how Marusya’s life as an ordinary eleven-year-old girl was disrupted by the war–how she had to forgo loved activities, learn remotely, listen constantly to loud sirens, take shelter, and live with fear of an unknown future, and a constant fear for her family’s safety. Her ambitions to be a young actress and film director had to be largely put on hold.
But now she has visited Los Angeles and San Diego for their respective International Children’s Film Festivals and hopefully her future is becoming brighter. Even with her limited knowledge of English, and emotions that you and I might hardly understand, she spoke before the audience in San Diego with perfect professionalism and poise. She is truly inspirational.
Learn more about Marusya Shuvalova 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.
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!
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.
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!
…
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 