A flock of wild birds has descended on Garnet Avenue’s trashcans in Pacific Beach!
The colorful artwork, created by professional and student artists, allows those walking down the sidewalk to explore PB’s Wild Side!
My visit to Pacific Beach yesterday happened to involve a leisurely walk down Garnet Avenue. I found eight different birds on trashcans. If there are more of these plaques out there, I didn’t see them.
The birds that are depicted can all be spotted in the wild here in San Diego.
You can learn more about this project of beautifulPB (who’ve also provided a mural map of Pacific Beach) at this website!
Common Loon by Hilary Dufour.Ridgway’s Rail by Makena Seiler.Belding’s Savannah Sparrow by Kyla Yu-Swanson.Brown Pelican by Makena Seiler.Double-crested Cormorant by Makena Seiler.Least Tern by Makena Seiler.Great Blue Heron and Anna’s Hummingbird by Hilary Dufour.
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When I stepped into the Coronado Community Center yesterday, I was pleased to encounter beautiful works of art. The first that I’ll share is titled 92118 – Art by the Numbers.
The community’s five digit zip code is painted on five wood boards in classic postcard fashion, with iconic Coronado sights inside each number, and the words: Somewhere over the Rainbow…Dreams really do come true!
Why over the rainbow? During many winters The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum rented a Coronado house where he wrote several Oz novels. His Emerald City, it is said, was inspired by the architecture of the Hotel del Coronado.
As the artwork’s plaque explains, 92118 – Art by the Numbers was a project involving the Coronado High School Visual Arts Department. The colorful panels were completed by members of the public during Coronado’s big 92118 Day Celebration.
The iconic Hotel del Coronado.Sailboats on the water, and the long, curving Coronado Bridge across San Diego Bay.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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If you ever visit Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park, make sure to step into the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society building. Inside you’ll discover walls lined with displays. Arranged in glass cases are crystals, fossils, jade carvings, handmade jewelry and a whole lot more.
You might not view, however, what goes on behind the scenes.
During this weekend’s December Nights event, the public was invited into several rooms where students were transforming minerals and gems into works of art!
I confess that as a boy I had a rock tumbler. Promising stones found on the beach would be rounded and polished in the simple tumbler until they seemed like bright bits of treasure. I also had an uncle who enjoyed lapidary as a hobby–he gave me a tiny fire opal cabochon as a present one year.
Have you considered working with metals, gems and minerals? I’m sure it would be a lot of fun!
During my behind-the-scenes look yesterday, I spoke to one friendly teacher and watched students grinding and polishing minerals using specialized machines. And I took these photographs in the “cab room” where spheres and cabochons are created!
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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!
It’s easy to 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!
San Diego artist Kris Finch and several of his students were busy painting reindeer in Balboa Park this morning, hours before the beginning of 2022 December Nights.
Kris and his friendly students were kind enough to let me photograph their works in progress.
You often see artists painting the ornate Spanish Colonial Revival buildings of Balboa Park, or the beautiful, reflecting lily pond, or the many gardens and fountains. But this is the first time I’ve seen brushes rendering Santa’s reindeer!
Very cool!
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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!
It’s easy to 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!
An emotionally moving mural was created in Lemon Grove earlier this year between two buildings on Broadway.
The Lemon Grove Incident mural was painted by lead artist Mario Chacón and a team of volunteers, including many local students. It can be viewed at 7963 Broadway, between the Welcome Home Boutique & Art Space and Body by Discipline.
The mural remembers and honors a court order in 1931 that ended school segregation in Lemon Grove. Previously, Mexican American students had been taught in a separate shabby schoolhouse. The groundbreaking ruling set Lemon Grove on the path to being one of the most integrated towns and school districts in San Diego County.
You can read more about the mural’s history and dedication back in March 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!
A group of plein air painters were at work today in and near Balboa Park’s rose garden.
As I wandered through the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, I peered over a couple of shoulders to see how different eyes might interpret the nearby beauty, including Balboa Park’s Desert Garden and Florida Canyon. A couple of the artists kindly let me take photos close up.
I learned these are students enjoying the Plein Air Painting: A Working Method workshop offered by the UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. Perhaps one day I’ll sign up.
Plein air artists have endless material in beautiful Balboa Park. Set up your easel anywhere!
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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!
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During my visit yesterday to the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center, I saw how members of the community, including local students, are preparing for the traditional celebration.
Check out the above skeleton, who is using an oar to cross the river from the afterlife. The designs on the boat were painted by Bonita youth!
For Día de los Muertos, the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center will display many handmade skeletons suspended outdoors near this fellow rowing his boat, plus altars (ofrendas) remembering loved ones who’ve passed on. The beautiful altars will be assembled by local artists, including Maricruz Alvarado and Anna Siqueiros. For more information, see the museum’s event calendar here.
I learned the boat in my photographs will probably be filled with marigolds. The bright color and scent of marigolds is said to attract departed souls to Día de los Muertos altars.
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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!
The San Diego Dance Theater’s 24th Annual Trolley Dances are being held this year near several trolley Blue Line stations, in and around UC San Diego.
Five dances are included in this extremely unique event. Mobile groups gather to watch a dance, then ride the trolley to view performances at other locations!
Several of the dances this year take place next to the UCSD Central Campus Station. I was lucky enough to watch one group of dancers rehearsing before the first spectators would arrive.
The contemporary dance I previewed is called Estudiantes. The choreographer is Minerva Tapia. The dance is dedicated to all students, whose efforts and studies help make the world a better place. The dance moves were hopeful, exuberant, triumphant. My camera captured some smiles, too!
If you want to learn more about the Trolley Dances, here’s their website. The dances can be enjoyed this weekend only. If they’re sold out, make sure to mark this cool event on your calendar for next year!
The extension of the trolley’s Blue Line through UC San Diego, which the mobile audience is riding, opened late last year. I rode this new Mid-Coast Trolley extension on its Opening Day and posted photos here. (As you’ll see, the San Diego Dance Theater performed on that historic day, too!)
By the way, the Estudiantes dance in these photos takes place near the entrance to the new, high tech UCSD Design and Innovation Building, which I toured earlier this year soon after it opened. Check out those photos here.
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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!
Write Out Loud in San Diego offers several great educational programs that encourage students to thoughtfully read, write, speak and listen!
Yesterday, at the Arts in the Park event in Chula Vista, I learned how students can experience the transformative power of poetry!
Let Your Voice Be Heard is a program of Write Out Loud that provides free poetry writing workshops in schools. Students K-12 are inspired to reach within themselves and express their thoughts and emotions with a poem. Selected works are then displayed in libraries and retail businesses!
Poetry Out Loud is a poetry recitation competition for high school students. This educational program encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country…students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
I was told that some teachers, like many students, are bewildered and a bit intimidated by the very idea of poetry. But why? Poetry is simply words flowing from our inner selves. There’s no right or wrong. There’s no need to be exalted or profound. Just be yourself. And, possibly, learn a little more about yourself in the process!
Teachers, please explore all the educational programs offered by Write Out Loud by visiting their website here!
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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!
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