Students win statewide contest for Lemon Grove video!

During my recent visit to the Lemon Grove Historical Society’s newly renovated headquarters–the Parsonage Museum–I learned something extraordinary. Last year two high school students who attend Canyon Crest Academy, Sarah and William Gao, won a statewide contest for their outstanding video concerning the Lemon Grove Incident.

The contest had the theme Turning Points in History.

Their extremely well done documentary concerns the fight that led up to the landmark court order in 1931 that ended school segregation in Lemon Grove. View their excellent video on YouTube by clicking here.

This is such a great achievement that I thought it deserved additional recognition. Their video concerns history that everyone should know. Let’s run up the views, comments and likes on YouTube and give their video more traction!

The Lemon Grove Incident was the United States’ first successful school desegregation case. It was a pivotal event in our nation’s history. For the longest time I myself hadn’t known that.

Back in 2022 I took photographs of a mural in Lemon Grove that celebrates the Lemon Grove Incident and those who courageously fought for the victory against segregation. My first photograph above shows part of the mural. See the other photos here!

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San Diego gets ready for TwitchCon 2024!

Thousands of video live streamers and fans will soon be converging on the San Diego Convention Center. San Diego is getting ready for TwitchCon 2024!

This year, TwitchCon will be bigger than ever, and evidence of its popularity has begun to pop up around downtown–in particular the Gaslamp Quarter.

TwitchCon 2024 will run this weekend from September 20 to September 22. The San Diego Convention Center is already decorated for the event, as you can see from these photos taken Tuesday afternoon.

The TwitchCon Block Party will be held in the Gaslamp Quarter near the convention center on Fifth Avenue this Saturday, September 21, beginning at 7:00 pm. Head on down for three hours of food vendors, live music options, themed photo ops, plenty of spots to chill with friends, and more.

A bunch of advertisements concerning TwitchCon have appeared up and down Fifth Avenue. Here are two “glitchy” ones…

And check this one out. Find five marbleverse marbles and get free loot!

Gamers! This is really cool.

Bards & Cards at 936 Fifth Avenue will be hosting a free event. On Saturday, September 21, from 11 am to 4 pm, you can meet Briana White, the voice of Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Remake! Get her autograph and photos!

Briana White is also a Twitch streamer. She’s known as TheStrangeRebel.

Finally, if you’re a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, go check out the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Café at 910 J Street, just north of Petco Park. They debuted before Comic-Con and will remain open to the public until early November.

Inside they’ve got fun graphics for photo-ops, all sorts of Sonic merch, and really great fast food. Tonight I took home one of their Knuckles chicken sandwiches and it was tasty good!

UPDATE!

Next day, street lamp banners were appearing in the Gaslamp…

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.

Batman and more on a Comic-Con trolley!

Batman and more characters have appeared on the latest San Diego Comic-Con trolley!

The awesome trolley wrap, which I believe is the sixth design so far for Comic-Con 2024, promotes six shows on Amazon Prime. Those shows are Batman: Caped Crusader, The Legend of Vox Machina, Sausage Party: Foodtopia, Hazbin Hotel, The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, and Invincible.

I got some pretty good pics this afternoon. Check it out!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Giant videoboard in Gaslamp activated!

A gigantic videoboard, installed in Gaslamp Square, has been activated! Two huge LED walls are mounted high in the air, attracting the attention of people near the San Diego Convention Center, Petco Park and the Gaslamp Quarter!

When I walked past the videoboard this morning, at least one worker was still up a ladder finishing the installation.

Bright videos that were running included promos for the Padres, MTS, and our beautiful City of San Diego. Mixed in were several advertisements, including one for a popular baseball video game.

Gaslamp Square, located directly next to the Gaslamp trolley station, has become a hub for many downtown activities such as Comic-Con. Now this outdoor space will be even more lively!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Crossover Cosplaying on a Comic-Con trolley!

A new trolley wrap has appeared for 2022 Comic-Con! This one celebrates crossover cosplaying!

Over the years, I’ve seen all sorts of cool cosplay mash-ups, utilizing some of the most unexpected character combinations. I suppose that during Comic-Con this year, some of that crossover cosplay magic might be found while riding the San Diego Trolley!

This is another wrap promoting Amazon Prime Video. It appears they will have a major footprint at Comic-Con. Of course, their epic series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is highly anticipated by many, particularly lovers of Middle Earth and Tolkien’s class novels!

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!

Video recreates historic Voyages of the San Salvador!

Behind come America, Cloudia and galleon San Salvador.

A fantastic video produced by the National Park Service and Aperture Films, with a very big assist from the Maritime Museum of San Diego, recreates the historic Voyages of the San Salvador!

If you’ve ever visited the Maritime Museum of San Diego, you’ve certainly boarded the amazing working replica of a Spanish galleon. The San Salvador was built to recreate, as closely as possible, explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo’s flagship of the same name, which he sailed during his voyage of discovery up the California coast. It was Cabrillo who discovered San Diego Bay for Spain in 1542.

A few years ago a film was made about Cabrillo’s historic Pacific Ocean voyage, using the Maritime Museum’s galleon during a trip to the Channel Islands. The film, titled Voyages of the San Salvador, was meant to be seen in the theater at Cabrillo National Monument, but I learned today from its leading actor, Al Sorkin, that you can view it online!

Voyages of the San Salvador, as described by the National Park Service: “…follows the 1542 expedition led by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo on a journey to find a route to China to trade for valuable spices. The film explores the motivation behind this incredible risk and the lasting effects European exploration has had on the native Kumeyaay people. This expedition marked the first European landing on what is now the west coast of the United States.”

As you watch the video, you might recognize that the segment concerning Cabrillo’s departure from his home was filmed in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, at La Casa de Machado y Stewart. And the beach scene beneath towering cliffs was filmed at Torrey Pines State Beach.

Watch the incredible and very educational Voyages of the San Salvador–in English or in Spanish–by clicking here!

Al Sorkin, who played Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in the National Park Service film Voyages of the San Salvador, poses for a photo at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

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 video about Old Town’s Favorite Horse.

Painting of Dick Miller riding Codi in front of the Casa de Estudillo in Old Town San Diego, by artist Miguel Chavez. Photo courtesy Richard Miller.

I’ve been informed there’s a Ken Kramer “About San Diego” video on YouTube that concerns Codi, Old Town’s Favorite Horse!

You can watch the short video here.

To see several old photographs of Codi, and learn more about a horse that many in San Diego loved, click here!

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!