Balboa Park news & stories
Their crime: they compose in Yiddish, “from right to left on the page.”
San Diego is so arid, it can leave mushroom hunters foraging for irrigation. Try parks and cemeteries, some suggest. Or go see local species on display at the annual Fungus Fair in Balboa Park on …
Murder for Two, a musical/detective story, would be a lot more fun in an intimate, cabaret setting: clinking glasses, lubricated laughter, face-to-face interaction. But on the Old Globe’s Donald and Darlene Shiley mainstage, the two-hander …
Here’s a quick rundown of some upcoming classical music events of note. The San Diego Museum of Art is holding the first a monthly series of concerts on Thursday, January 15 at 7 p.m. The …
The 100th anniversary of Balboa Park is a pretty cool thing. You know what would make it even cooler? A beer brewed to commemorate that milestone. But not just any beer. How about a San …
Visit Balboa Park during the 100-year celebration of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.
Christmas shopping can be such a hassle. I have the tendency to avoid malls during the entire month of December. Parking is a nightmare and sales people are overworked and grumpy. Luckily for San Diegans …
Rob Greenfield returned to his home in Ocean Beach about three weeks ago. He’d been on a five-month tour of the country, by bicycle, raising awareness of food waste in many grocery stores along the …
“I have always liked hot music. There’s something wrong with an American who doesn’t.”
These shows must close this Sunday, November 2 — aka “Black Sunday,” given their high quality. The Royale, Old Globe Theatre One of the year’s best directed shows is so well done you’d think Marco …
Take away the spectacular theatricality and Marco Ramirez’s The Royale would be a thin-ish script that makes some important points. The characters stand as much for a position in a debate as for themselves. But …
The German Currents Film Festival returns this weekend to Balboa Park for its fourth annual two-day, four-film celebration. This year, the festival doubled its venues by holding its opening-night gala at the Natural History Museum, …
Billy Cane is home from World War II. He wants to follow his “bright star” and write for the prestigious Asheville Southern Journal. The editor, Alice Murphy, works with the Southern Renaissance headliners: Faulkner, Eudora …
For the fourth year in a row, the San Diego Museum Council and Time Warner Cable present “Kids Free in October,” which means kids under 12 have a free pass (more specifically, two kids per …
City auditor Eduardo Luna's report of what went wrong at the fizzling of Balboa Park Celebration, Inc., points few fingers According to a report released today, October 1, the committee got $3.08 million in funding, …
If you didn’t know who wrote it, you’d swear the author of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, currently at the Old Globe, stole every Shakespearean device he could find. Two Gents is “early” Shakespeare. The …
My day always starts with coffee from Cafe Moto (2619 National Avenue), whether it ends up being a dream day or not. It’s usually in my own kitchen, but my fantasy morning would have me …
Might have felt like a good news/bad news situation. Renowned director Mark Lamos gets to do Shakespeare at the Old Globe. The bad news? It’s “Two Gents.” The Two Gentlemen of Verona was a popular …
“It must be dreadful to be famous and applauded and acclaimed and not be able to practice your art.”
It wasn't long ago that I heard the proprietors of Tiger! Tiger! and Blind Lady Ale House had won the contract to open an eatery in the Sculpture Garden Court outside the Museum of Art …
The Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Into the Woods world-premiered at the Old Globe in 1986. The set had three structures, fixed, and a “woods” behind. Along with fairy tale characters — Cinderella, Jack (of beanstalk …
Iago: “Men should be what they seem. Or those that be not, would they might seem none.” Othello: “Certain, men should be what they seem.” I was re-reading Shakespeare’s Othello recently, and the obvious poked …
Rick Elice and Michael Patrick Walker are the multi-talented, mega-award-winning creators of Jersey Boys, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Altar Boyz. Their world premiere musical isn’t a dog. But, even with a top flight cast, …
The first three names come from Anton Chekhov: Vanya and niece Sonia from Uncle Vanya; Masha from Three Sisters. And Spike? From the imagination of Christopher Durang which, he says, tossed the Chekhovian trio “into …
There are a couple of different San Diego spots I head to anytime I am suffering from a particularly awful day — the La Mesa Library, Mission Trails, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, the AmVets off …
“The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it.” Spanish Sojourns: Robert Henri and the Spirit of Spain, on view at the San Diego Museum of Art until September 9.
From the minutes of the December 2013 meeting of the Balboa Park Centennial Group, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and a fifth of Glenlivet: Mr. [REDACTED] noted that, during the 1935 Expo, …
He’s so addicted to alienation, he wouldn’t march in his “own parade.”
J.B. Priestley’s 1937 drama is not a great play. But it’s a haunter. The Old Globe’s excellent cast probably won’t have too many standing ovations because the spell doesn’t break until long after the curtain …
Billy Stewart wants to know if I am ready to accept Jesus Christ into my heart. He stands under a cluster of palm trees along the Prado in Balboa Park. A navy-blue ball cap with …
My friend Natalie recently broke up with her boyfriend. In an effort to get her to move on, I attempted to set her up with a good guy friend of mine. They have a lot …
“For me, this concert began about four years ago, when I was wondering to myself if it might be possible to gain access and play artistically with the Giant Dome Theater at Reuben H. Fleet …
“Most of the songs on this album were written while I was recovering from a major injury,” says singer/songwriter Sherri-Anne of Sister Speak’s upcoming debut full-length Rise Up for Love. “I broke my pelvis and …
A plan that would add five permanent cottages for ten countries to Balboa Park's House of Pacific Relations was sent back for revision Thursday, March 6, after a packed meeting that pitted a room full …
This marks the first year that Balboa Park includes “A” for Art in their annual event to highlight the education movement traditionally known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). On March 16, from 11 …
On Wednesday, February 19, what seemed to be an attempted dog-napping at Grape Street Dog Park was thwarted by park regulars, who stopped the would-be perpetrator in the parking lot. More than one eyewitness claimed …
Why does Leontes go stark raving mad in The Winter’s Tale? The King of Sicilia looks to have it all. His beautiful wife, Hermione, is pregnant with their second child. His son, Mamillius, is a …
On February 12, the Golden Hill Planning Committee unanimously voted to deny support of a proposed extension of the Balboa Golf Course clubhouse. All present members of the community advisory group took issue with the …
“You're never too fat for a new purse.” ― Nia Vardalos I gained a couple of pounds over the holiday season. As a result of my refusal to go up a dress size, I have …
Bethany, by Laura Marks Old Globe Theatre, Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch; cast: Carlo Alban, DeAnna Driscoll, Jennifer Ferrin, Amanda Naughton, James Shanklin, Sylvia M’Lafi Thompson; scenic design …
The San Diego District Tennis Association last week began soliciting donations for its third annual National Tennis Camp for Wounded Warriors, to take place in San Diego the week of May 19–25. "This event is …
I try to live my life in accordance with the famous quote attributed to Walt Whitman: "Be curious, not judgmental." On a recent visit to Balboa Park, camera in hand, I came across a plethora …
Walks around town, walks in the mountains, walks next to the freeway that make it easy to pretend you’ve gotten away from it all (if you ignore the sound of traffic).
Over the weekend, I posted this story announcing the new website and name, Balboa Park West End, which was created to alert the public to the fact that the museums and institutions at Balboa Park …
In an effort to shore up attendance at its museums now that the massive retrofit of the Cabrillo Bridge is under way, Balboa Park has unveiled a new website, along with a new moniker: Balboa …
A couple of guys attempting to deliver a package triggered a shutdown of the main gate access to Balboa Naval Hospital on Thursday, January 2. For approximately two hours, San Diego police blocked access to …
Following phenomenal success of BEEROLOGY exhibit, San Diego Museum of Man applies similar format to another cultural craze.
I was researching at the San Diego History Center and Jane Kenealy, she of the encyclopedic memory, asked me if I’d ever seen the Temple collection. I hadn’t. She emerged from the archives with two …
H.P. Newquist talks about the giant replica of a Gibson Flying V on exhibit at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Theater in Balboa Park, part of Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked the World. It’s over 43 feet long!
Balboa Park’s got Women, War, and Industry and Staking Claim: A California Invitational.
FINDING BIGFOOT. “Hi. I’m Matt Moneymaker. We’re here at a Whoville Town Hall meeting. Show of hands: How many’ve seen a big, brown-haired creature? Cindy-Loo Who. “Me! Me! Only his hair wasn’t brown. It was …
Shakespeare loves to build a scene or a state of mind, then flip it, in a heartbeat, to its opposite. In the olden days, this was called a volte face — an about face — …