Tag: san diego

Halloween magic and puppet show!

Tomorrow, Sunday, October 26th, you and the kids have a cool opportunity to watch a Halloween magic and puppet show!

The Ghouls, Goblins and Giggles Show (a playful party of puppets and prestidigitation) can be enjoyed at the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park!

Showtimes are 11 am and 2 pm. You can buy tickets shortly before the performance at the front window box office.

Steve Taylor is back with his marionettes and magic! He’s truly awesome!

I passed the theater today as a performance concluded and families who were leaving told me the show was great!

Fun fact! That puppet he’s holding with three pumpkin heads was made by Marie Hitchcock herself 60 years ago and given to Steve. Sixty years later, the pumpkin-heads puppet is returning to the stage!

Some stage props I photographed…

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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.

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Monsters welcomed to Balboa Park stage!

Very scary monsters were welcomed to Balboa Park today. The terrifying creatures were kindly helped onto the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Vampire, spiders, skeleton, spooky ghost–all will be entertaining a big crowd this evening.

The fearless humans who take the stage with these monsters will provide a Phantom of the Opera concert at 6:30 pm! (If you read this in time–today is Saturday, October 25th–perhaps you’ll have time to make the concert.)

Just some fun photos that I took during my afternoon walk through Balboa Park.

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!

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.

Feel free to share!

Walking through Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper.

Yesterday I walked through Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper.

What’s that?

Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper is the unusual name of a very cool sculpture that rises in recently opened Progress Park. Progress Park is located in downtown San Diego near the waterfront, at the corner of Broadway and Harbor Drive.

The beautiful new park is part of the Research and Development District (RaDD) complex. The sculpture is part of the RaDD Artwalk. It was commissioned by IQHQ, through the City of San Diego Art in Private Development program.

The creator of this very unique public art is gt2P (Great things to People), a Santiago de Chile based collaborative studio collective.

This unusual sculpture is a geometric structure that utilizes something called Voronoi tessellation. The mathematical concept is nicely described on this webpage.

Until recently, the new park was surrounded by a construction fence. But yesterday I noticed the fence was down. So I had to walk under and through the sculpture with my camera!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Monstrous octopus attacks Seaport Village!

Tourists, shoppers and those wandering through Seaport Village need to keep their head on a swivel! The tentacles of a monster octopus might suddenly grab you!

Why is this gigantic octopus assailing unsuspecting people?

Perhaps because it anticipates Halloween!

Inflatable octopi were recently placed all around Seaport Village. The tentacled terror is a central element of the upcoming Halloween celebration Bayside Boo: Spirited Night by the Bay.

The event website explains: Presented by Seaport Fudge Factory, Bayside Boo will feature spooky beats, sweet treats, and plenty of festive fun. Dance under the moonlight, enjoy the vibes by the bay, and let the ghoul times roll.

Would you like to experience Bayside Boo? Come by Seaport Village on Friday, October 31, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, and watch out for slimy tentacles!

Oh, dear! The overgrown octopus has emerged from San Diego Bay!

Is that flimsy fence enough to hold the rampaging sea monster?

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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.

Feel free to share!

New murals installed in Civic Center Plaza!

A series of new murals was recently installed in San Diego’s downtown Civic Center Plaza! A security guy told me they were put up several days ago.

The cheerful, colorful murals contain images of landmarks in different parts of San Diego. I recognized Balboa Park, Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, Downtown, Marina, Barrio Logan, and San Diego Bay.

The artistic design and illustration is the work of Maximo Escobedo and Alma Vasquez Escobedo, of Maximo Creative Communications. The new artwork refers to Civic Center Plaza as “Plaza Central.”

Bright bubbly images have also been scattered upon the plaza’s walking surface. The once dullish-grayish space now appears more alive. You can see what I mean in the next photograph…

How many San Diego landmarks can you recognize?

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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.

Feel free to share!

The Surreal World of José Sacal in downtown San Diego!

A great exhibition of art in downtown San Diego is scheduled to close this weekend. A UNIVERSAL MEXICAN: The Surreal World of José Sacal, on view at UCSD Park & Market, continues through October 25, 2025.

I’m glad I experienced José Sacal‘s bronze sculptures today, before they vanish. You can see from my photos how the artist has interpreted famous people and images from photographs and paintings.

As this UCSD Park & Market webpage explains, the exhibit invites audiences to experience emotionally charged, politically resonant sculptures that reimagine cultural and historical figures—from Einstein and Gandhi to Frida Kahlo and Don Quixote—through Sacal’s distinctive abstract lens. Known for his expressive bronze and ceramic works, Sacal challenged traditional forms to explore themes of identity, justice, and the human condition.

If you want to view these sculptures in person, do it soon. Head upstairs to the second floor of UCSD Park & Market.

The sculptures are arranged along the windows of the art gallery. Reflection and shadow from incoming sunlight gives these unique pieces additional character.

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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.

Feel free to share!

Two special Halloween events in Balboa Park!

Two very special, free events are coming up next weekend in Balboa Park, in time for Halloween!

The San Diego Sculptors Guild in Spanish Village Art Center will be hosting Glowing in the Hollow on Saturday October 25th, 2025 from 5 to 10 pm.

The Sculpture Guild’s courtyard and the tunnel leading to it will be aglow with illuminated art. The newly constructed stage in a corner of their courtyard will be alive with music performed by Auva Xuln. Guild artist Justin is part of the band!

There will be treats, drinks and interactive experiences, and costumes are welcome!

Also next Saturday, between 11 am and 4 pm, the House of Scotland among Balboa Park’s International Cottages will be celebrating Samhain. There will be piping and drumming, and dancing, and plenty of Scottish food!

Samhain is the Celtic festival at the end of the harvest and a basis for Halloween!

Why not enjoy both events next Saturday? Sounds like fun!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Kids can become Junior Rangers in Balboa Park!

Kids visiting Balboa Park are invited to become Junior Rangers! It’s fun and it’s free!

Simply head over to the Balboa Park Visitors Center and ask one of the friendly volunteers at the front counter about the program!

Becoming a Junior Ranger is super cool! You get an Activity Journal which has fun puzzles, helpful information, and a Junior Ranger Certificate inside. You also get an awesome Junior Ranger badge sticker! I was surprised to learn you might get a Junior Friends of Balboa Park patch, too!

The program was created by the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department. It encourages young people to respect and care for our beautiful Balboa Park, San Diego’s crown jewel.

Is your family visiting Balboa Park? Swing by the Visitors Center first thing, learn what special things are going on in the park, perhaps grab a souvenir or snack, and excite the kids with this cool opportunity!

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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.

Feel free to share!

House of Taiwan hosts exhibit in Balboa Park!

Did you know the House of Taiwan is one of the newest members of the International Cottages in Balboa Park? I learned today that they joined the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages in August!

Today they hosted an exhibit in the Hall of Nations for their very first time, and wow, what great displays! The history and culture of Taiwan was celebrated with all sorts of information, traditional crafts and art objects, a film, and even treats! (I sampled an imported pastry-like buttery fènglí sū (鳳梨酥), or pineapple cake, for which Taiwan is famous. Yum!)

I met some super nice people and took a few photographs of the event.

I see the House of Taiwan has a website and they are already very active in the community. Check out their site here!

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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.

Feel free to share!

A free Phantom of the Opera concert in San Diego!

A great free concert will be held in San Diego this coming Saturday, October 25, 2025. Just in time for Halloween, The Phantom of the Opera in Concert will be performed in Balboa Park at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion!

The 75 minute concert will begin 6:30 pm, but you might want to arrive early for the best seats. The concert will feature soprano Laynee Dell and tenor Cole Tornberg and include popular music from Phantom of the Opera and spectacular organ solos with spooky projections on the front of the Pavilion!

Audience members are encouraged to come in costume! You’ll be able to get your photos taken with the artists on stage!

This very special concert is presented by the Spreckels Organ Society.

How awesome!

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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.

Feel free to share!