Happy elves magically appear at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion for Christmas on the Prado.
If you would like to give a special Christmas gift to less fortunate children in San Diego, here’s a wonderful idea!
This coming Saturday and Sunday afternoon–December 1 and 2, 2018–toys will be collected by Toys for Tots during the 5th Annual Christmas on the Prado in Balboa Park.
Bring a new unwrapped toy . . . or two . . . or three!
Here’s an even more wonderful idea! Host a toy drive at your work, church or special event and bring lots of toys!
If you happen to swing by Balboa Park on Saturday, you’ll be able to watch the lighting of the community Christmas tree in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at 6:30 pm, then Sing Along with Santa!
A fun, illuminated snowman in Spanish Village. Festive lights dazzle at December Nights.
Tonight I headed into Balboa Park to enjoy 2017 December Nights.
When its buildings, fountains and gardens are brightly lit after dark, Balboa Park is magically transformed. During the holidays the park seems like a storybook wonderland.
My camera managed to capture a small bit of that magic.
Colorful strings of lights radiate from the center of Plaza de Panama during December Nights.The Bea Evenson fountain in the Plaza de Balboa is brightly lit.One of many shining Christmas trees on the Spanish Village Art Center patio.Dozens of vendors sell gifts throughout Balboa Park during the delightful holiday event.Roasted nuts are among the traditional holiday treats that visitors enjoy.One of many youthful dance groups performs at the Casa del Prado.San Diego’s Portuguese community contributed a Christmas tree and royal robe to the December Nights Festival of Trees inside the Casa del Prado.The Old Globe Theatre created this very stylish Christmas tree.The center of December Nights is the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, where joyful entertainment continues into the night.A choir performs holiday songs for a large December Nights crowd. A scene of amazing beauty.Getting something to eat or drink at the colorful Gingerbread House.Scene of Jesus with children in the Nativity along the rear of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.Graceful dancers perform at the International Cottages.The fun zone in the Palisades area of Balboa Park features brightly lit rides for the kids.Getting more treats ready.The very merry Christmas tree at the Old Globe draws the eyes of old and young alike.In the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Santa Claus brings a child magic and joy.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
December Nights begins this afternoon! The big holiday festival in Balboa Park runs today from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and tomorrow from noon to 11:00 pm.
The past four years, Cool San Diego Sights has featured many fun photos from December Nights. So many smiles! So many heartwarming memories!
Perhaps you’d like to relive those moments in time. Simply click the following links!
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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Energetic elves run about the colonnade of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion during 2017 Christmas on the Prado in Balboa Park!
Look at all these fun photos! I took them today in Balboa Park, where the 2017 Community Christmas Center’s “Christmas on the Prado” is being held, even as I type this.
I caught the very beginning of the annual family-friendly event. Various activities and musical entertainment on the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion emphasize the religious importance and meaning of Christmas. The central feature is an extensive life-size nativity display showing Biblical events leading up to the birth of Christ.
When I walked around Balboa Park during the afternoon, I noticed other holiday decorations are going up all throughout the park. Next weekend the big December Nights event will be held, which is one of the nation’s most popular and spectacular holiday festivals!
Even with that smile, you can’t fool me Mrs. Claus! That’s not a real Santa!A bunch of folk from the North Pole were getting ready among toys as Christmas on the Prado was almost set to open.These outstanding U.S. Marines were collecting Toys for Tots during the annual family-friendly event.I learned kids would be playing pin-the-carrot-on-the-snowman!First up to sing were those elves. They attend Dailard Elementary School. Funny songs included Silly Humans and Elfie Selfie.Lots of parents were in the large crowd waving.This elf probably thought I was a silly human, who asked her to smile for my camera!Christmas on the Prado emphasizes the religious importance of the holiday. Scenes in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion show Biblical events leading up to the birth of Christ.I spy four smiling faces in this photo. Can you count them?As the evening becomes chilly, a line will form at the Gingerbread House for cookies, cocoa and coffee.
Here are some additional photos from around Balboa Park today. The first two I took at the International Cottages…
A beautiful small Christmas tree inside the House of Sweden cottage.Visitors to the House of Norway cottage were making all sorts of holiday crafts.Artists were selling their work on some grass near the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. I spied some truly amazing Christmas artwork created by Katrina Bittar. I learned that the core of each delicate piece is papier-mâché.All sorts of fun holiday stuff can be found in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center. Appears it’s going to be a Meowy Christmas!I bought 3 bags of cookies from this happy elf in front of the Casa del Prado. I believe funds were being raised for the San Diego Junior Theatre.A bunch of elves are running loose in Balboa Park!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Real Santas United to End Childhood Obesity pose for the judges in the Uniform Contest at 2017 OTL. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)
People playing Over The Line on Fiesta Island today had to be blinking their eyes. They didn’t just see Santa Claus striding across the sand–they saw a whole team of jolly Santas!
Real Santas United to End Childhood Obesity is competing this year in the OMBAC World Championship Over The Line Tournament in San Diego! And they’re spreading the important message that kids should eat healthy, nutritious food!
The unique team of Santas is organized by “Sustainable Santa” Richard Eckfield, and its members were observed this morning parading around the island handing out carrots and talking about the dangers of processed, sugary junk food and the rise of childhood obesity. Supported by several sponsors and the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, their mission is simply to promote healthy eating habits for children. “Healthy, Happy and Fit for Life!”
Members of Real Santas United to End Childhood Obesity can also be seen from time to time at farmers markets across San Diego County. They encourage children to eat real, honest-to-goodness wholesome food.
Will they win the OTL Camummy Division this year? I don’t know. I do know these Santas have a winning message!
You might like to follow the Santa & Mrs Claus for Healthy Children Facebook page!
Unlike most presents unwrapped at Christmas, good health is a gift that will last a long, merry, magical lifetime!
Kristin Francy, Miss Emerson in 2015, and a team of sporty Santas at the Over The Line World Championship tournament in San Diego. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)Photo of Baseball Santa Bill Swank and Richard “Sustainable Santa” Eckfield at the Linda Vista Farmers Market last December. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)Front and back of cards that Sustainable Santa hands out at farmers markets throughout San Diego County. (Image courtesy Bill Swank.)Baseball Santa Swank holds up carrots which the Real Santas United hand out to kids instead of sugary candy canes. (Photo courtesy Bill Swank.)
Santa Claus appeared this morning in Little Italy. He bought a yummy pizza at Landini’s Pizzeria. I guess a good pizza is hard to come by at the North Pole.
I didn’t expect to see Santa this morning in Little Italy! What was he doing there?
I walked up and down India Street spying on the exploits of Santa and his merry Christmas pals. Read the photo captions and you’ll learn what I discovered…
Possibly to flag down Santa while he flew by overhead, a Buon Natale banner was hung on a street lamp in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood.Apparently Santa left his sleigh and went into Filippi’s Pizza Grotto to get another pizza.I hope Santa doesn’t neglect to put those presents in his sleigh under the Little Italy Christmas tree.Thank goodness! He hasn’t forgotten. Strange, but now he’s flying a train onto rooftops. When you’re full of Christmas magic, you can do things like that.I wonder if this nutcracker likes pizza. Chances are he prefers walnuts.Rudolph and an elf are also hanging out in Little Italy while Santa pays his visit. It seems all sorts of odd folk love Italian food!I hope and pray Santa brought lots of gifts. He’d better not forget Little Italy’s poinsettia tree in Piazza Basilone.That’s nice. This happy elf brought candy canes. Obviously, Santa with his big jolly belly likes to constantly eat.Candy canes and pasta in a window of an Italian market. Perhaps it’s a tasty combination, perhaps not.Hey Santa! I see you’re still hanging around Little Italy. You must be really hungry!Santa can’t get enough to eat, it seems. He accidentally stepped into a foodless Little Italy shop and has already grown pale from hunger. Time for more pizza!Wait! What is Frosty the Snowman up to in that window?Oh, dear! Frosty grabbed the pizza! What will Santa do?
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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!
Ho, ho, ho! To chuckle at some perfectly silly short stories, check out my blog Foolyman Stories!
This might be Santa and Mrs. Claus walking happily through Balboa Park during 2016 December Nights. At least, there’s a good chance. Right?
I went to December Nights this afternoon hoping to photograph Santa Claus. December Nights is one of the largest festivals in the United States that celebrates the holiday season, so one would suppose Old Saint Nick might drop on by. This year I headed home before dark, before the glittering Christmas lights turned on, and before the really huge crowds!
Because I left before nightfall, I missed seeing jolly Bill “Santa” Swank spreading good cheer at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Check out his book Christmas in San Diego! It’s all about the history of Christmas in our fair city. I feel very honored that Cool San Diego Sights has a bunch of photos in it!
Now, did I have any success locating the real, actual, honest-to-goodness Santa Claus this afternoon at December Nights? You be the judge!
Over 300,000 people are attending December Nights this year. Surely good old Santa Claus is present somewhere in this crowd.Look! Over there! I think I see Santa wearing sunglasses! Oops. Just a vendor selling treats during December Nights.These fun (but sadly inanimate) Santas are made of beads!You guys aren’t Santa. You can’t fool me! You’re elves from the North Pole.With so many Santa ornaments and gifts everywhere, one might conclude that Old Saint Nick is actually a very astute businessman.Oh, goodness gracious! A “fan man” Santa Claus waving his arms like a silly goof! Nothing is sacred anymore.I see the image of Kris Kringle toting a sack of presents just about everywhere. So, logically, the actual guy has to be around here somewhere.I’ve seen this Santa before. He hangs out in Balboa Park every holiday season. But his sled doesn’t actually fly. It’s all a complete fake. Impostor!Tried to fool me again! That isn’t Father Christmas! It’s Snoopy!Now if Santa Claus actually looks like this, I’d really like to meet him. That would be quite an amazing experience!Multiple possible Santas! Oh, wait. They’re all cloggers, waiting to perform at December Nights. Santa only clogs chimneys.I might not spot the actual real Santa, but this December Nights is rather fun. These folks are singing their hearts out in front of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s annual Christmas tree. When the lights come on at night, Balboa Park becomes a magical wonderland!If Santa had a dog, it would probably dress like this. It gets chilly up north.Perhaps this is why I haven’t positively identified the real Santa Claus. He’s probably kicking back at a San Diego beach getting some sun.I’ll just have to make do with Santa Mouse.Wait! I found him! There he is! Santa!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to enjoy!
Youthful members of All About Music San Diego prepare to play instrumental music at 2016 Christmas on the Prado in Balboa Park.
Early this afternoon, before the threatened rain might begin, I headed up to Balboa Park to enjoy a bit of the 3rd Annual Christmas on the Prado. This celebration of Christmas is put on by the San Diego Children’s Coalition and the San Diego Community Christmas Committee; it shouldn’t be confused with December Nights, a more diverse holiday event in Balboa Park which used to be called “Christmas on the Prado”. December Nights will take place next week.
When I arrived, the event was just getting underway and many booths were still being erected. I caught a few early performances and some of the Christmas spirit. Here are a few photos!
The San Diego Community Christmas Center’s nativity display at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion is viewed by families during Christmas on the Prado.The nativity display shows scenes from the Bible concerning the birth of Christ.Shepherds are visited by an angel.Children view a scene depicting the birth of Jesus in a humble manger.A shack magically transported from the North Pole provides treats at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion during Christmas on the Prado.Christmas sweets include cookies!A brightly decorated tree and traditional Christmas music inside the House of Ireland at Balboa Park’s International Cottages.A small but cheerful Christmas tree inside the House of England.Inside the House of Norway, children make tiny paper Christmas baskets to hang on a tree among ornaments.Adding color to Christmas cookies inside the House of Norway.A youth ballet company practices before they take the stage at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.A children’s group sings joyful carols and other merry songs during Christmas on the Prado.Getting a Christmas tree ready where Santa will sit in the evening, after nightfall.
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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!
Santa and a happy kid enjoy a special Deck the Halls neighborhood block party in downtown San Diego!
I was walking home from the Fifth Avenue trolley station this evening when I stumbled upon downtown San Diego’s fun Deck the Halls holiday block party! I’d forgotten it was taking place today!
Lots of folks were out among bright Christmas lights, greeting one another, tasting food served up by various local eateries, and listening to holiday music provided by the San Diego Symphony. The special event, I learned, was put together by Clean and Safe, which is a service of the Downtown San Diego Partnership.
It appeared to me that everyone was having a great time!
It’s the Deck the Halls Brass Quintet performing holiday music! Good times were had by local residents and businesses on one block of B Street in San Diego’s financial district.A number of nearby restaurants were serving up yummy treats for all comers. Christmas lights lit up the night!These smiling folks told me the event was put together by Clean and Safe, a service of the Downtown San Diego Partnership. Thank you guys!
Bill “Santa” Swank has written a really great book about the history of Christmas in San Diego!
I was privileged today to meet Bill Swank. Perhaps you’ve met him, too. Since 2002, Bill has been the volunteer Santa Claus at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion during Balboa Park’s popular December Nights. He’s a friendly good guy who effortlessly spreads cheerfulness and joy.
Bill Swank is probably best known for being a leading expert on baseball and the San Diego Padres. He’s written numerous books about baseball history. His knowledge is so deep, the San Diego Historical Society has called him our city’s top baseball historian.
His most recent book, published earlier this year, is titled Christmas in San Diego. If you love both Christmas and San Diego, I know you’ll treasure this book. It’s loaded with history, local traditions and hundreds of fun, very unique photos. (Six photos from Cool San Diego Sights are in the book! How cool is that?)
Bill “Santa” Swank believes the true meaning of Christmas is found in the Golden Rule. His excellent book also proves another important truth: that human hearts are warmed when we are generous and kind. In the book you’ll see community-spirited Santas through the decades bringing joy to many generations, lifting the spirits of all.
From Christmas Eve way back in 1775, to the present day, Christmas in San Diego covers over two hundred years of local history. You’ll find out how both famous and ordinary San Diegans have celebrated the holiday season, and learn a good deal about many historical places and events. Personally, I love the parts concerning unselfish Santa Claus volunteers who’ve participated in a surprising range of charitable activities. Touching young and old alike, with a twinkle-eyed smile and merry Ho, Ho, Ho!
I was privileged to shake the hand of Santa Claus today. Read Christmas in San Diego, and you will be able to peer into Santa’s heart.
Cool San Diego Sights! 