I took this picture. Isn't it gorgeous?

Or at least re-touched. 

Star of India, the world’s oldest active sailing ship, spent three weeks in dry dock this summer for its decennial maintenance and came back looking better than ever in time to celebrate her 146^th birthday this Saturday, November 14.  The Maritime Museum of San Diego will give her a proper birthday party that day, complete with cake — and everyone is invited!

Built in 1863, Star of India sailed around the world 21 times before retiring when steam ships began to rule the seas.  After three decades of dilapidation, she was restored to her former glory through the efforts of San Diegans who donated their nickles and dimes as well as shipbuilding skills and man-hours.  Such a history of goodwill makes this landmark all the richer.

This ship is another reason why I love this town.  San Diego has such an impressive pantheon of cultural symbols for a west coast city, as well as a history of saving them from returning to dust.

And now we’re throwing them birthday parties!  Along with birthday cake to celebrate the Star’s 146^th. . .

• It’s Family Days at the Maritime Museum on both Saturday the 14^th and Sunday the 15^th.  Kids 12 and under will be admitted free.
  

  Insider Tip: Cover your ears!

• Making the Star’s birthday celebration even wilder, the Maritime Museum will stage more of its famous cannon battles on Saturday and Sunday.  You’ll get your chance to climb aboard our official state ship the Californian, or the Privateer Lynx and witness realistic cannon fights up close.  (Don’t worry, they forget to load the cannon balls every time!)

• If you prefer to have a bit more involvement in your ship battles, how about getting into one of the museum’s two decommissioned naval submarines for a life-size game of Battleship?  Would I make that up?  Sink or be sunk as you call your shots using radio communication.  And may the best sub commander win!

Star of India lives out her retirement alongside other historic beauties of the sea such as the steam yacht Medea and the steam ferryboat Berkeley, which houses most of the museum’s exhibits and displays, and you can go aboard and explore every one of them.  For an extra $3 you’ll be able to take a historic harbor tour aboard the 95-year-old Pilot.  What a party!

Be sure to hit up the International Visitor Information Center across the street (corner of Broadway & Harbor) for your discounted museum tickets.  For prices and details on the special programs and charters (which happen all year round) contact the Maritime Museum at (619) 234-9153 or visit www.sdmaritime.org.

Tags: downtown, fun, kids, maritime museum, museum, outdoors, san diego bay, things to do, what to do

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Halloween may be on Saturday, but that won’t stop the Gaslamp Quarter from “dressing up” in period costume the next day, Sunday, November 1, during the 9th annual Fall Back Festival.

The street fair includes “wild west” entertainment such as staged shootouts and rope tricks as three stages showing folk dancing, live bluegrass music and more.  Kids can participate in crafts and contests, pan for real gold, and learn about Caliornia history through puppet shows and live demonstrations of lost skills.

And, of course, there will be all the fun stuff you’d expect to find at any good street fair – food, face painting, caricature art, inflatable jumps and carnival games.

Fall Back Festival takes place on Island Avenue — between 4th and 5th Avenues — Sunday, November 1, from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.  (Remember, our clocks fall back one hour that day, too.)  Admission is $5 for ages 3 and older.  For more information, visit www.gaslampquarter.org or call (619) 233-4692.

Tags: downtown, fair, family, festival, Gaslamp Quarter, history, kids

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Of Stephenie’s 5 to Try This Weekend, here’s the one I tried — #1.

When you consider all the public art along downtown San Diego’s waterfront — from the temporary and seasonal to the permanent collections — it’s clear the Port Authority of San Diego is committed to art as a way to keep the waterfront dynamic and its visitors stimulated.

Each year, ArtWalk on the Bay celebrates that spirit by packing as many artists and art pieces into Embarcadero Marina Park North (right where Seaport Village is) as possible, along with art teachers, musicians (on two stages), and even demonstrations from culinary artists.

Here are some scenes from my art walk today — day one of ArtWalk on the Bay 2009.

You won't miss the herd of large, iron creatures in motion greeting you on your way into the festival.

Attention future painters, sculptors, mask shapers and kite makers: Start young! Start here!

Beat it, kid! KidsWalk drum circles are led by Susan Hall of RhythmWorx, and they're a blast.

And look! Real, live artists creating real, live art before your very eyes! This is Michael Summers, painter, painting.

This was just a small taste of day one of ArtWalk on the Bay.  The art festival stretches all along the Embarcadero North, and there’s still one more day to go.  The festival starts again Sunday at 10:00 A.M.

A tip for those of you not taking advantage of our great public transportation system to get to ArtWalk: Seaport Village offers the closest parking but it’s best to get there before noon for a good shot at that parking lot.  Otherwise, since there is no parking enforcement on Sunday, grab any of the metered parking spots along Harbor Drive and save your change.

Tags: art, downtown, festival, outdoors, public art, seaport village, things to do, what to do

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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New Children's Museum pillow fight room! Yet another reason why I never want to grow up

Labor Day weekend is upon us, which unofficially marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall.  And while the transition of the seasons might go unnoticed in San Diego because our beach days and sunshine will last well into November (I’m not bragging, I’m just saying…), this weekend does mean “LAST CALL!” on some of San Diego’s summertime specialties:

1. This weekend, catch this year’s final celebration of  Summer Nights at SeaWorld with fireworks, live music, special animal shows like Shamu Rocks and Sea Lions Tonite and the award-winning dance show Riptide. The park will be open 9 a.m. – 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Monday. Note: It’s also the VERY LAST weekend to catch the Dolphin Discovery show before SeaWorld begins construction on a brand new dolphin show, Blue Horizons, coming in May 2010.
2. Spend your evenings exploring the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park during Park at Dark where you can see the park’s nocturnal creatures emerge, take a sunset tour on the Journey Into Africa tram and catch special summer shows. The park will be open from 9 a.m. – 8p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
3. Check out the Caras Silvestres celebration during Nighttime Zoo at the San Diego Zoo. Honoring the cultures of California and Central and South America, the Zoo will present live music, colorful dance performances and amazing shows with stilt walkers and exotic animals. The Zoo will be open from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
4. Hurry over and place your bets at the Del Mar Racetrack for the last weekend of horse races. Races will be in full swing Saturday through Monday but I suggest you try your luck on Sunday when the country’s top horses compete in the $1 Million Pacific Classic, Del Mar’s richest and most prestigious race (and if you win big, you owe me). Later that day, following the last race, stop by the Reggae Festival with featured performances from Ziggy Marley and Nikka Costa; entrance to the concert is free with racetrack general admission tickets.
5. This Saturday, Sunday and Monday, The New Children’s Museum in downtown San Diego is celebrating the FINAL weekend of its first exhibition, childsplay, before they close in preperation for their new exhibition Animal Art, opening in October. So come on by for your last chance to jump in the pillow room, navigate through a two story maze and dance around in the Rain House. Note: Ziggy Marley will also make a special appearance at the museum on Saturday while he debuts his new children’s album, “Family Time.”

Tags: 5 to try, animals, del mar, downtown, labor day weekend, mission bay, seaworld, summer, things to do, what to do, wild animal park, zoo

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Chef Jeff Thurston, catch him in October!

Want to channel your inner Julie & Julia?  

Whether you want to master the perfect hand-rolled sushi or unravel the mysteries of wine tasting, this fall the Balboa Park Food & Wine School is offering the chance to dig in and savor the experience with an exciting roster of autumn cooking classes.  

Classes are held at the school’s gorgeous facility in the heart of Balboa Park and fall highlights include a brunch how-to with last season’s Top Chef contender from San Diego, Rich Sweeney, on Sept. 19 and the 9th Annual Harvest Celebrationwith The Prado’s chef Jeff Thurston and local winemakers on Oct. 15.

Of course, Balboa Park isn’t the only place in San Diego to give your culinary muscles a good work out.  Classes are also regularly scheduled at downtown’s San Diego Wine & Culinary Center, at Great News! Cooking School in Pacific Beach and at Macy’s School of Cooking in Mission Valley.   Bon appetit!

Tags: balboa park, cooking classes, downtown, fall, food, mission valley, pacific beach, wine

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Tags: downtown, east village, live music, street scene

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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No, not exactly.  You might see Comic-Con banners back up at the Convention Center as well as what looks like a large Comic-Con crowd on the street today.  Don’t panic!  You didn’t travel through one of Dr. Strange’s spacetime portals to last month’s Comic-Con; it’s just a movie set.

Photo courtesy of the Unified Port of San Diego

The film in production is called Paul.  It’s a comedy about two comic book *ahem* enthusiasts who travel cross-country in an RV and land at Comic-Con, and it stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz . . . hel-lo?).  But most exciting is the appearance of San Diego as itself.  You remember San Diego, don’t you?  Star of such films as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, and Killer Tomatoes Strike Back, among many other films and television shows.  (Okay, more recently, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.)

Get ready to see yourself grace the silver screen once again, Diego!

Left to right - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Middle Earth vacationers

Sorry to those hoping for a surprise encore of Comic-Con 2009.  If you want to attend the real Comic-Con, you’ll have to travel through time the regular way with the rest of us and wait until next year — July 22-25, 2010, to be exact.

‘Nuff said.

Tags: comic-con, downtown, film

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Want to check Street Scene set times on the go?  Or need help remembering the name of that Wavves song?

Well, now there’s an app for that. 

Last night, Street Scene launched their exclusive event app for iPhone/iPod Touch users. 

The free download has event info, directions, parking details, a soon-to-be interactive map and detailed links for all the artists on the lineup. 

Best of all, it already includes all the bands’ set times so you can download now and plan your attack. 

After all, the fun starts in just 8 days. 

Still don’t have tickets?  It’s not too late to get them!

And, if you’re coming from out of town, we’ve got special hotel rates too.

Tags: downtown, live music, street scene

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Smash Shack logo

So when you think of relaxing in San Diego, you probably think about soaking up the sun on one of our beaches, getting some spa treatments or enjoying a nice cocktail on a rooftop bar.  All absolutely valid ways to let the stress just melt away.  But last week I experienced an alternative (and more cathartic) way to de-stress in San Diego.  I smashed stuff!

Sarah’s Smash Shack opened in the northern part of Downtown about a year ago and has already received much acclaim from, believe it or not, psychologists!  Written up in the Jan/Feb issue of Psychology Today, the shop is praised for the therapeuticness (is that word?) of smashing stuff!  SSS has also been featured on CNN Money, and in a number of magazines including: Inc, Redbook and Every Day with Rachel Ray. 

The Smash Shack is exactly what it sounds like – a place to smash stuff.  Purchase any number of glass and ceramic items from the Shack’s collection and go to town.  They’ve got 2 rooms with reinforced steel walls where you can smash to your heart’s delight!  For a small fee, they’ll even let you bring your own stuff from home to smash!  It is amazing how much lighter you feel after tossing a couple of plates against a wall!  There’s even an environmental side to this story.  The items in their shop have been purchased from thrift stores that have been unable to resell the items, and the shards of your broken frustrations are sometimes made into jewelery, pottery, or other recycled items.

Suited up for the Smash Shack

“I can smash stuff at home and it won’t cost me any money”, you say.  “Why should I pay to do it someplace else?”  Well for one, you won’t have your family or neighbors calling the cops on you!  But in all seriousness, Sarah’s has really made this a total package.  To make the experience more personalized, they’ll play whatever type of music you want in the smash room (I chose a particularly loud Linkin’ Park song) - or you can even bring your iPod in to play a particular song.  You can also tape a picture of your ex, your boss, or whoever is stressing you out, on the wall so you know where to aim.  Plus, write your frustrations on the items you are smashing and they magically go away when the item is smashed! (* Disclaimer:  The last comment was totally made up!)

They’ll even let you bring your own stuff (with limitations) to smash!  Bad break up?  Smash the things that remind you of your ex.  Finally get a new dish set to replace the old one? Why not bring the old set in for a smash?!  There are SO many possibilities here.

I just went with a basic smashing of shot glasses to get the feel of it this time.  But you can be sure that I’ll be back to smash some more!  Now that “the smash” is in my blood, I will return!

Tags: downtown, fun, in the news, things to do

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Wicked

I am super excited that Broadway San Diego is bringing Wicked back to San Diego this summer!  I missed it when it was here in 2006, and have been waiting patiently (or at least somewhat-patiently) for its return! 

Wicked will be playing at the San Diego Civic Center from July 29 – August 30.  For those who aren’t familiar with the story (what rock have you been hiding under?!), here’s the official blurb:

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz.  One – born with emerald-green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood.  The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.  WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

I am particularly excited for this show, as I just recently saw the Lamb’s Player Theatre’s production of Godspell down the street at the Horton Grand Theater.  The lyrics and music for Godspell were written by Stephen Schwartz, who also did the music and lyrics for Wicked!

If only Wicked drew as dedicated an audience as Comic Con!  Wouldn’t it be awesome to have the theater filled with audience members with green faces and tall, pointy black hats?!

Tags: downtown, theater

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