Celebrate Summer in San Diego
Fireworks over San Diego Bay
MARCH 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Joe Timko (619) 557-2812
Kate Buska (619) 557-2889
Stephenie Medina (619) 557-2838 Download for PDF
CELEBRATE SUMMER IN SAN DIEGO
San Diego is the ideal summer travel destination, offering a near-perfect climate,70 miles of sparkling beaches, popular annual events and new attractions at its world-famous family theme parks. Summertime also brings entertaining street festivals, community celebrations and a dazzling array of visual and performing arts to the San Diego region.
Whether planning a weekend getaway or a long leisurely stay, visitors to San Diego have plenty of fun-filled summer activities to choose.
MAJOR EVENTS - The “turf meets the surf” at the Del Mar Racetrack where fans flock each summer to wager on their favorite horses during the popular, annual Del Mar Thoroughbred Club racing season, July 21 – September 8. The races run five days weekly, except Monday and Tuesday; every Friday, guests can catch 4 O’Clock Fridays, a free headliner concert following the day’s last race. On August 28, the Grade 1 Pacific Classic treats guests to a prestigious event with a race between the nation’s top thoroughbreds for a $1 million purse. www.dmtc.com
- Visitors can be Super Man or Wonder Woman for a day at Comic-Con International, July 22 – 25, at the San Diego Convention Center. Comic-Con has become a signature summertime event for San Diego; it is the largest comics and pop culture event in the United States, attracting thousands of artists, celebrities and fans of comic books, movie memorabilia and all things related to pop culture. www.comic-con.org
- Guests can wiggle their toes in the sand and view hundreds of sand sculptors at work during the Annual U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition, August 6 – 8, at Imperial Beach Pier. www.usopensandcastle.com
FESTIVALS AND FAIRS - The San Diego County Fair takes place June 11 – July 5 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego’s North County. This year’s theme, “Taste the Fun,” features foods of all types and highlights locally grown produce, cooking demonstrations, food as entertainment and more. The San Diego County Fair is the largest annual event in the county and features top performing artists and popular attractions like the Craft Brewers Competition & Festival, livestock exhibits, home and hobby displays, woodworking and an award-winning flower show. www.sdfair.com.
- The 24th Annual La Jolla Festival of Arts and Food Fair, June 26 – 27, hosts over 190 award-winning local and national artists displaying paintings, sculptures, fine jewelry, photography and more. Guests can enjoy a variety of cuisines in the festival food area, listen to live entertainment and visit the children's area featuring interactive booths, hands-on games and activities. www.lajollaartfestival.org
- San Diego celebrates Independence Day with a variety of Fourth of July celebrations throughout the county. Coronado's popular Independence Day Celebration on July 4 features a two-hour parade followed by a family concert in Spreckels Park and spectacular fireworks over Glorietta Bay. www.sandiego.org
- Residents and visitors alike show their pride at the 35th Annual San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and Festival, July 17 – 18, one of the most popular events of its kind in the country. Highlights include a mile-long parade through Hillcrest and two-day festival in Balboa Park. http://sandiegopride.org
- The 16th Annual San Diego Festival of Beer takes place September 10 in downtown San Diego. More than 75 breweries provide samples and tastings alongside live musical performances, vendors and food. www.sdbeerfest.org
AT THE ATTRACTIONS - In June 2010, LEGOLAND California® will open the world’s first LEGO®-themed water park. Geared towards families with children ages 2 to 12, the 5.5-acre LEGOLAND Water Park will feature wet-and-wild climbing structures, a six-person raft slide, tube slides, body slides, a lazy river, hands-on toddler areas and an area where kids can customize their own soft LEGO® rafts. Water Park admission will be an additional cost to the LEGOLAND admission. www.legoland.com or www.legolandwaterpark.com
- During May 29 – September 6, guests can visit SeaWorld San Diego for Summer Nights at SeaWorld featuring extended park hours, fireworks, live music and special nighttime animal shows. Also during the evening, specialty acts, percussionists, hip-hop dancers and gymnasts entertain at the front entrance plaza in the award-winning show “Riptide,” Clyde and Seamore entertain with hilarious antics in “Sea Lions Tonite” and Shamu takes guests on a 20-minute musical aquatic voyage around the globe in “Shamu Rocks.” www.seaworld.com/sandiego
- Guests can experience Park at Dark when the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park extends its summer hours to 8:00 p.m., June 19 – September 6. As daylight turns to darkness, guests can watch the park’s nocturnal creatures emerge, take sunset tours on Journey Into Africa and catch two new summer shows. At the Benough Amphitheater, bubblologists entertain visitors with millions of bubble molds and sculptures; at the Discovery Station Amphitheater, animal ambassadors teach guests the fascinating side of poop, including how many volunteers is takes to weigh an elephant’s output per day. www.sandiegozoo.org/wap
- During June 26 – September 6, the San Diego Zoo allows guests to roam the park until 9:00 p.m. for Nighttime Zoo. As the sun sets, the Caras Silvestres celebrations begin honoring the cultures of California and Central and South America with authentic craft making, live music and colorful dance performances. Nighttime Zoo shows include “TALAMASCA – Jungle Myths” featuring stilt walkers, drums and exotic animals and “Dr. Zoolittle’s Amazing Amazon Adventure,” a children’s educational and interactive production. www.sandiegozoo.org
SPORTING GOOD TIME - The San Diego Padres’ season sizzles during the summer months. Baseball fans can watch the pros in action at the Padres’ downtown PETCO Ballpark featuring 46,000 seats, garden terraces, spacious concourses and state-of-the-art amenities for the fans. www.padres.com
- On May 22, the 5thAnnual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition takes place at Imperial Beach. Guests can take in the action as fun loving canines ride the waves in three different heats: small dogs, large dogs and tandem. loewssurfdog.blogspot.com
- San Diego’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on June 6 is the most entertaining marathon in the United States, featuring live music and regional bands playing everything from rock to rhythm and blues on 26 different stages, located along the 26.2-mile route. www.rnrmarathon.com
- The 27th Annual San Diego International Triathlon sprints into action on June 27; the event includes a 1,000-meter swim, 30K bike ride and 10K run. The race begins at Spanish Landing and finishes along the Embarcadero in downtown San Diego. www.kozenterprises.com
- The 57th Annual World Championship Over-the-Line Tournament takes place on Mission Bay’s Fiesta Island, July 10 – 11 and July 17 – 18. This boisterous, fast-paced beach softball event is open to the public; games begin at 7:30 a.m. each day and end at dusk. www.ombac.org
- In August, the Annual World Body Surfing Championships showcases international and U.S. body surfers competing to be “the world’s best” at the Oceanside Pier and Beach in San Diego’s North County; dates for this event are TBA. www.worldbodysurfing.org
MUSIC AND CONCERTS - During its 4th Annual Green Flash Concert Series, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla offers a unique summertime experience with live music and spectacular ocean sunsets. The concert series occurs on May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18 and September 15. Set on the aquarium’s stunning outdoor tide-pool plaza, concerts offer food, drinks and a sophisticated mix of national performers. Green Flash Concerts take place 6 – 9 p.m. and are for guests ages 21 years and older. http://aquarium.ucsd.edu
- This June, the Mainly Mozart Festival brings the famous sounds of Beethoven, Mozart and Copland to downtown San Diego’s historic Balboa Theatre under the direction of conductor David Atherton; performance dates are June 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18 and 19. www.mainlymozart.org
- The 30th season of Balboa Park’s Twilight in the Park offers a free concert series Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, June 16 – August 27. Twilight’s live music under the stars features a mix of musical performances, including military bands, Dixieland jazz, big band swing and Latin salsa. Concerts take place 6:15 – 7:15 p.m. on the stage of the majestic Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park. www.balboapark.org
- Guests can visit Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion for its free International Summer Organ Festival, occurring every Monday at 7:30 p.m., June 21 – August 30. San Diego’s warm summer nights allows for guests to enjoy the majestic sound of the world’s largest outdoor pipe organ, while enjoying music played by world-renowned concert and theater organists. www.balboapark.org
- The San Diego Symphony’s Bridgepoint Education Summer Pops features food, fireworks and fantastic orchestral performances under the stars at picturesque Embarcadero Marina Park South in downtown San Diego. This year’s 100th anniversary pop series takes place June through August and includes performances by Gladys Knight, Marvin Hamlisch, ABBA Mania, LeAnn Rimes, Jose Feliciano, Burt Bacharach and more. www.sandiegosymphony.com
- The popular 27th Annual Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay features top name entertainers and takes place June through October at Humphrey’s Half Moon Inn & Suites on Shelter Island, adjacent to a picturesque marina. www.humphreysconcerts.com
- During August 6 - 27, the La Jolla Music Society SummerFest 2010 features over 70 world-class, classical artists and ensembles performing 13 diverse concerts. www.lajollamusicsociety.org
- Visitors can experience a rockin’ good time at North Park Music Thing’s Street Fest, which features a live art show, international food court, street vendors and a number of musicians performing live on three different stages; dates for this event are TBA. www.sandiegomusicfoundation.org/npmt
ARTS & CULTURE - The Tony Award®-winning La Jolla Playhouse presents the World Premier of Surf Report, June – July 2010, a comedic drama that follows a woman named Judith and her turbulent relationships with her nagging husband and distant daughter through her life’s story that examines the sacrifices we make, or avoid, for our families. The Playhouse presents a rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, July – August 2010. This timeless classic of forbidden love will be re-imagined into a gravity-defying production where secret lovers find themselves in a world turned upside-down — literally. www.lajollaplayhouse.com
- The Tony Award®-winning Old Globe theater in Balboa Park presents the World Premiere of Robin Hood and the 7 Hoods, July 14 – August 22, 2010. This Broadway-bound comedic musical takes the Robin Hood legend and gives it an early 1960s spin where Nicky Robino, a suave, fast-rising entrepreneur in Chicago's sophisticated nightclub scene, finds himself wanted by both sides of the law. Later in the summer, The Old Globe presents the West Coast Premiere of The Last Romance, July 30 – September 5, 2010. This heart-warming comedy about the power of love follows a widower name Ralph as he embarks on a path of love to regain a happiness that seemed all but lost.
During the summer, The Old Globe also presents the 75th anniversary season of its Summer Shakespeare Festival, June 12 – September 26. Guests can watch three productions, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew and The Madness of King George, performed in nightly rotation in the Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. www.oldglobe.org
Happy happens in San Diego. For more information on San Diego’s offerings, including exciting vacation packages and valuable coupons for attractions, restaurants and more, visit the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau's Web site at www.sandiego.org or call 619-236-1212. In San Diego, visit the International Visitor Information Center, located at the corner of West Broadway and Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego, or the La Jolla Visitor Center, located at the corner of Herschel Avenue and Prospect Street in La Jolla.
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