Tag: san diego

Photos of San Diego Tết Festival 2025!

San Diego Tết Festival 2025 is being held all this weekend at Liberty Station. The cultural event celebrating Lunar New Year is free and a whole lot of fun! It’s the Year of the Wood Snake!

The big annual festival is a production of the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance. (In past years, this Tết Festival has been held in Mira Mesa. I went in 2017 and posted photos here.)

As the festival began late in the morning today–Saturday–excited families converged on the wide grassy field of NTC Park, drawn by tons of food, vendors, community organizations, kids activities, photo opportunities in the Cultural Village, a petting zoo and carnival rides. The main attraction, however, was the entertainment up on the main stage.

To begin the entertainment, Naruwan Taiko brought out their drums and boomed thundering, joyful energy out into the audience. This was soon followed by the day’s Opening Ceremony. Sea Cadets were introduced in front of the stage, a color guard advanced, and the national anthems of Vietnam and the United States were sung powerfully by a talented young lady.

A traditional Invocation and Prayer Ceremony followed. Elder members of the Vietnamese community made offerings and prayers for peace.

Then came politicians on stage, then firecrackers to one side, then Hoa Nghiêm Lion Dance! Much more would follow after I departed. (Would you believe it, five different lion dancing groups perform during the epic three-day festival!)

If you’d like to go to the big festival, here’s their website with all the information!

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Let Go Lightly at Mission Valley YMCA.

Let Go Lightly is a sculpture that stands near the entrance of Mission Valley YMCA in San Diego. It was created by artist Matthew Welter of Kings Beach, California and donated by Bruce Hazard.

I took photographs of the wood carved sculpture during my last visit.

I noticed a plaque set in concrete that provides a description.

The plaque reads:

The sculpture honors the relationship between parent and child. Based upon the tradition of Native American lore, the YMCA’s Indian Guide, Indian Princess and Indian Maiden programs foster this relationship. Let us remember our surviving local Native Americans that still live in the vicinity of the San Diego River. They are known as the Kumeyaay/Diegueño tribe or in their language Ipai/Tipai (meaning people). This sculpture faces in the direction of the spirit of the ancient Kumeyaay village site of Cosoy.

(Google AI explains: In the late 1980s, Native American lobbyists and individuals asked the YMCA to stop using the “Indian” theme because it was often stereotypical. Those old programs, which encouraged fathers to connect with their children, have evolved into Adventure Clubs.)

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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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Journey among poems, walking in City Heights.

When I visited the Lunar New Year celebration in City Heights last weekend, I was surprised to find hundreds of words affixed to a stretch of 44th Street behind Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. (It’s the alley-like street between the City Heights Library and Recreation Center, and the sports fields of City Heights Park to the east.)

I hadn’t recalled seeing this public art before.

I found a detailed article concerning the unique outdoor installation. The project is titled Memoria Terra and is intended to last for five years. The art debuted last summer.

Artist Shinpei Takeda and five young writers composed poems that tickle passing feet. The poems regard the history of this very diverse community (with its substantial immigrant and refugee population), social issues and gentrification.

As residents make their personal journey, they are also encouraged to gaze down at the abundant words to create their own poem.

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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!

Year of the Snake celebrated in San Diego!

The 15th Annual SD Lunar New Year Festival is being held this weekend in San Diego!

The big festival is taking place in City Heights at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. It’s presented by the Little Saigon SD Foundation.

According to the Vietnamese calendar, the Year of the Snake begins on January 29, 2025.

As always, this annual Tết Festival is full of positivity and happiness. There’s plenty of diverse entertainment provided by community groups. There are karate demonstrations, dancers on the main stage, mariachis and the Fern Street Circus. There are several lion dance performances by both Southern Sea Dragon & Lion Dance (they posed for a group photo) and Lucky Lion Dance.

As Lunar New Year traditions demand, there are loads of backdrops providing photo opportunities, and tons of food!

I walked around the festival around noontime today and snapped these colorful photographs.

Today–Saturday–the free, family-friendly event continues into the night. Then there’s more fun on Sunday. For the hours and entertainment lineup and more, check out the event website 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.

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San Diego Library’s new book bicycles!

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.

This “Access in Motion” project has been supported by the California State Library, and their statewide Stronger Together: Improving Library Access program.

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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!

Art workshop for seniors in Balboa Park!

Do you love to create art? The Senior Lounge in Balboa Park should be your destination every other Saturday! You don’t need to be a senior, either. Anyone age 18+ is welcome to take part in a free Intergenerational Artist Workshop!

I poked my nose into the lounge early this afternoon and found a friendly group of people having a lot of fun being creative. I saw a beautifully crafted flower! A greeting card was about to be made!

Some basic art supplies are available, and of course you can bring your own. Not only is the activity free, but the new friendships are free, too!

I was told this artist workshop is now held every other Saturday, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. It and other activities for seniors around San Diego can be found on the City of San Diego’s AgeWell Services quarterly Newsletter (it used to be called The Scroll).

Find all the information you need by clicking 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.

Thank you for sharing!

Statue of San Diego de Alcalá at USD.

A statue depicting San Diego de Alcalá stands in a beautiful garden near the center of the Catholic University of San Diego.

San Diego de Alcalá (also known as Saint Didacus and Diego de San Nicolás) is the patron saint of USD, not to mention the Franciscan missionary and saint after which San Diego was named.

In 1542 explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo named our city’s bay San Miguel.

Sixty years later, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno sailed into our bay on November 10, 1602, he named it San Diego, which was also the name of his flagship. He put San Diego on his map. That name stuck.

I took photographs of the San Diego de Alcalá statue several months ago, when I visited USD’s Arts and Culture Festival. (Yes, I’m finally posting these photos!)

The bronze sculpture stands in Plaza de San Diego next to the Maher fountain. According to this, it was moved there in 2017 from the entrance of Copley Library.

I know nothing more about the statue. When was it created? By whom? If you know anything more about it, your comment would be very welcome!

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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!

Presidents of the United States visit Balboa Park.

What do Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have in common? These eight former, future and sitting presidents visited Balboa Park in San Diego!

A timely exhibit at the San Diego History Center celebrates the fact that our city’s crown jewel, Balboa Park, since its development for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, has acted as a magnet for United States Presidents.

The exhibit recalls how Woodrow Wilson’s speech at Balboa Stadium was the first time a president’s voice had been electronically amplified, and how FDR was the first person to ride in a car across Cabrillo Bridge.

While these different presidents might have disagreed on politics, it seems they agreed that Balboa Park was a special and very beautiful place.

Yesterday the 47th President of the United States was inaugurated. In the 21st century, how many more presidents will enjoy a visit to amazing Balboa Park?

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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!

Photos before San Diego’s big MLK Parade!

The 43rd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade was held today in downtown San Diego. It’s one of the biggest and best MLK Day parades in the nation. Everyone comes together to celebrate unity, equality and the optimistic vision of humanity championed by civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.

Before the parade began, there was a 5K walk and run along Harbor Drive. Meanwhile, participants assembled in front of the County Administration Building for the big parade. I spotted colorful floats with inspiring messages, school bands and drill teams, cool cars, church groups, local sports teams, politicians, law enforcement, firefighters, and diverse businesses and community organizations who believe in the message of MLK.

The annual parade is coordinated by the Zeta Sigma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the oldest African American fraternity in America.

In addition to the parade, the MLK Harmony Health Festival at nearby Waterfront Park attracted a big crowd. Helpful resources were available to all members of the community, and families were enjoying entertainment, games and a bite to eat.

I walked around before the parade began and took these photographs, as I have in past years.

The first photo you see above was taken from the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic ferry Berkeley, which is docked beside Harbor Drive.

The next photo shows 5K walkers…

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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!

Mysterious sculpture at Hollister and Conifer!

Do you know anything about this mysterious sculpture in San Diego’s South Bay, at the intersection of Hollister Street and Conifer Avenue? It’s a few blocks north of the Palm Avenue trolley station.

I haven’t walked this way in a long time, so I don’t know when the sculpture appeared. I took these photos last weekend.

Who created this fun artwork? Why are farewells painted in various languages? Why, on its back, is there a seemingly contradictory message Please No Art?

Two yellow hands on the mysterious sculpture appear to be cleaning while splashing drops of water. Could this have been a sign that once stood at the exit of a carwash? I’m racking my brain for an explanation.

Leave a comment if you happen to know anything!

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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!