Spring Activities Blossom in San Diego
San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay
Springtime in San Diego makes a colorful entrance every year as warm weather sweeps through the County and brilliant flowers bloom. There are also spring celebrations at the region’s major attractions, popular sporting events, cultural festivals and St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo festivities to keep visitors entertained throughout the season.
FLORAL CELEBRATIONS
- A spectacular display occurs annually between February and April in the 600,000-acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in San Diego’s East County as colorful wildflowers bejewel the sun-scorched desert landscape. Since the phenomenon depends upon the timing and quantity of winter rains, the blossoms are at their peak for just two weeks. Guests are advised to call the Park’s 24-hour "Wildflower Hotline" at 760-767-4684 before planning a tour of the desert flora. www.parks.ca.gov
- At the Flower Fields of Carlsbad California, a vibrant sea of giant ranunculus flowers transforms 50 acres of hills into rows of brilliant color. During March through May, guests can stroll past oceans of flowers and through beautiful gardens, including a miniature rose garden, fragrant sweet pea maze, a garden featuring more than 50 All American Rose Selection winners and a spectacular display of red, white and blue flowers planted in the shape of a giant American flag. www.theflowerfields.com
- Balboa Park's Offshoot Tours provides free, one-hour tours that highlight the park’s lush botanical offerings; the tours begin at 10 a.m. on Saturdays in front of the Balboa Park Visitors Center. Must-sees are the beautiful Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, displaying approximately 2,500 roses of nearly 200 varieties, and the award-winning Alcazar Garden, with a floral design patterned after the gardens of Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain. www.balboapark.org/info/tours.php
- On April 16 – 17, the City of Coronado presents the 86th annual Coronado Flower Show in Spreckels Park. Flower exhibits are displayed under tents surrounding a central gazebo, creating one of the largest flower shows on the U.S. West Coast. Guests also enjoy flower sales, live entertainment, food and an awards ceremony. www.coronadoflowershow.org
- On April 28 – May 1, the San Diego Museum of Art blossoms during Art Alive 2011, an enchanting spring exhibition. Transforming the museum into a colorful display of art and flowers, more than 100 floral designers take inspiration from the museum’s renowned art collection and create floral renditions of famous paintings and sculptures. www.sdmart.org
SPRINGTIME ATTRACTIONS Guests can celebrate spring with Shamu and friends during Spring into Night at SeaWorld San Diego. Every weekend during April 2 – 24, the park stays open until 9 p.m., so visitors can laugh with sea lions Clyde and Seamore at the Sea Lions Tonite! nighttime show and be amazed at the visually stunning evening performance of Shamu Rocks before looking to the sky for a fantastic firework show. www.seaworld.com/sandiego The San Diego Zoo Safari Park presents Butterfly Jungle, April 9 – May 8. During this four-week celebration, guests can walk through the Park’s Hidden Jungle, an African aviary, and surround themselves with thousands of butterflies of every shape, size and color. A variety of butterfly species flutter freely throughout the Hidden Jungle along with more than 100 birds, creating a realistic rainforest environment. www.sdzsafaripark.org Guests celebrate spring at the San Diego Zoo during its Discovery Days: Garden Festival, May 5 – 8. Visitors can learn about the rare plants growing at the Zoo, which is a certified museum based on its rich horticulture, and partake in self-guided walking tours and botanical bus tours while enjoying special performances, scavenger hunts and more. www.sandiegozoo.org
ST. PATRICK’S DAY FESTIVITIES Lads and lassies celebrate all things Irish at the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, held March 12 at the corner of 6th Avenue and Laurel St. near Balboa Park. The day includes an 11 a.m. parade and all-day Irish festival featuring food, beer gardens, musical entertainment and more. www.stpatsparade.org With 30,000 sq. ft. of Astroturf, downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter turns into the rolling hills of Ireland from 4 p.m. to midnight on March 17 at shamROCK 2011. This St. Patrick’s Day party includes Irish rock bands and pints of green beer; guests must be 21 years or older to attend the ticketed event. www.gaslamp.org
CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATIONS During May 6 – 7, the 28th Annual Old Town Fiesta Cinco de Mayo is held in Old Town State Historic Park along the area’s main thoroughfare, San Diego Avenue. The free festival features Mexican dancers, musicians, food and historical reenactments. www.oldtownguide.com In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, the Bazaar del Mundo Shops and Casa Guadalajara Mexican restaurant in Old Town showcase authentic Mexican food, folklore and fun, May 6 – 7. Festivities include mariachi and folkloric dance performances, craft displays and demonstrations, a margarita garden serving "Cincoritas" (a margarita in the colors of the Mexican flag), nonalcoholic fruit concoctions and a carne asada BBQ. www.bazaardelmundo.com Guests can celebrate Mexican Independence at the Oceanside Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, held May 6 at the Oceanside Pier Amphitheatre in San Diego’s North County. In partnership with Univision, the event features live entertainment, vendor booths, food booths, music and more. www.sandiegocoastlife.comThe Third Avenue Village’s Cinco de Mayo & Quinceaňera Extravaganza in downtown Chula Vista in San Diego’s South Bay, includes over 200 vendors, live entertainment, authentic Mexican food and beverages, arts and crafts, a kid’s zone, rides, fashion shows and salsa dancing contests; date is still TBA. www.downtownchulavista.com
FESTIVALS, FAIRS AND EVENTS Celebrating films and videos about the Latino experience, the 18th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival presents over 140 movie screenings, March 10 – 20. Audiences enjoy short and feature-length films, workshops, meet and greets with cast members and more at the UltraStar Cinemas at Hazard Center in Mission Valley. www.sdlatinofilm.com Seaport Village comes alive with a celebration of street performers during the Spring Busker Festival, April 16 – 17. In a battle of entertainment, extraordinary, one-of-a-kind performers including jugglers, sword swallowers, comedic stuntmen and Didjeridoo players take to Seaport Village’s cobblestone streets for a weekend of outdoor family amusement. www.seaportvillage.com The San Diego North County city of Fallbrook celebrates its designation as "the avocado capital of the world" during the Annual Fallbrook Avocado Festival on April 17. Highlights include arts and crafts, games and creative foods featuring the delicious, green fruit. www.fallbrookca.org On April 17, EarthFair in Balboa Park celebrates a range of eco-friendly practices and environmental causes. Offerings include earth-friendly and organic foods, wildlife preservation education, displays of alternative energy vehicles, pet adoption services and more. www.earthdayweb.org Art takes over the streets of downtown San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood during the Mission Federal ArtWalk, April 30 – May 1. The free event showcases fine art in many mediums alongside live musical performances, food and beverage booths and activities for kids and families. www.missionfederalartwalk.org The Carlsbad Spring Village Faire, one of the largest one-day street fairs in California, takes place on May 7 in downtown Carlsbad and features hundreds of exhibitors, international food booths and children’s rides. www.carlsbad.org The Escondido Street Faire features live entertainment and hundreds of booths showcasing arts and crafts, international foods and a farmers market. The Street Faire is held May 16 in downtown Escondido. www.ci.escondido.ca.us The music, dance, culture and cuisine of Sicily come to the streets of downtown San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood during the Sicilian Festival on May 22. Guests enjoy four performance stages, art vendors, a parade of costumed dancers, musicians and more. www.sicilianfesta.com
SPORTING EVENTS From March 2 – 6, the high-performance RC 44 San Diego Cup sails into San Diego Bay for the first time ever. A premier sailing event among international sailing fans, the RC44 races feature fourteen, 44-foot boats with eight-person crews racing for the first-place title in a fast-paced competition reminiscent of NASCAR's pit row. Views of the races are available from the downtown North Embarcadero, Harbor Island, Shelter Island and Coronado. www.rc44.comDuring the California Half-Ironman Triathlon on April 2, athletes swim 1.2 miles in Oceanside Harbor, bike 56 miles through scenic Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base and run 13.1 miles along San Diego’s North County coast. The competition starts and finishes at the Oceanside Pier. www.ironmancalifornia.com Collegiate, junior and master rowers from the United States compete in over 100 races during the 38th Annual San Diego Crew Classic, held April 2 – 3 along Crown Point on Mission Bay. Spectators can cheer on participants from the shoreline and enjoy concession stands, a beer garden, sponsor booths and a jumbotron screen showcasing the races. www.crewclassic.org Every April, the San Diego Padres step up to the plate and begin another exciting, six-month season of Major League Baseball. Visitors can catch all the action at the "Pads" home turf, the state-of-the-art downtown PETCO Ballpark. The Padres 2011 home opener on April 5 is against the San Francisco Giants. www.padres.com One of the most prestigious equestrian events in the United States, the 2011 Del Mar National Horse Show, takes place April – May, exact dates TBA. The event offers more than $300,000 in prize money and attracts more than 3,000 of the finest horses in the U.S. to the equestrian complex at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in coastal Del Mar. www.sdfair.com/horseshow Giddy up! During April 15 – 17, the Annual Lakeside Rodeo & Parade features major rodeo events, arts and craft and food at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds in San Diego’s East County. www.lakesiderodeo.com
LIVE MUSIC SeaWorld San Diego presents some of the nation’s hottest Latin entertainment this spring with Viva La Música at SeaWorld, April 30 – May 22. The concert series features live performances from award-winning Latin artists who bring the pulsating sounds of norteño, Latin pop, rock, salsa, reggaeton, flamenco and mariachi music to the park. The cost of Viva La Música is included with park admission. www.seaworld.com/sandiego From March through October, Humphreys Concerts by the Bay presents a spectrum of musical and special performances, including rock, jazz, comedy, blues and folk, while guests relax in a 1,400-seat outdoor theatre under the setting sun on Shelter Island. www.humphreysconcerts.com Beginning in March, Viejas Casino presents springtime Concerts in the Park in its private outdoor arena at the Viejas Outlet Center in Alpine. Performances include a wide range of talent and musical genres; past performances include LeAnn Rimes, Kenny G. and Seal. www.viejasentertainment.com During March 12 – 17, the 7th Annual San Diego Indie Music Fest takes the stage in the uptown neighborhood of North Park. The event celebrates contemporary independent music and features more than 65 musical acts across six stages. www.sdindiemusicfest.com During April 30 – May 1, the Annual San Diego Adams Avenue Roots Festival features vintage blues, folk, Appalachian, country, bluegrass and Celtic music performed by roots artists on seven outdoor stages along Adams Park in University Heights. The free event also includes beer gardens, ethnic cuisine and hundreds of vendor and craft booths. www.adamsaveonline.com Knee-slapping good times abound during May 6 – 8 at the Annual Gator by the Bay, San Diego Zydeco, Blues & Crawfish Festival, held at Spanish Landing on Harbor Island. The event features 25 bands on five stages along with dance lessons, food and Cajun cooking demonstrations. www.sandiegofestival.com
Happy happens in San Diego. For more information on San Diego offerings, including exciting vacation packages and valuable coupons for attractions, restaurants and more, visit the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau's Web site, www.sandiego.org, or call (619) 236-1212. In San Diego, visit the International Visitor Information Center, located along the Embarcadero at the corner of West Broadway and Harbor Drive in downtown; the La Jolla Visitor Center, located at the corner of Herschel Avenue and Prospect Street in La Jolla; or the California Welcome Center, located at the Viejas Outlet Center in Alpine.
Joe Timko (619) 557-2812
Kate Buska (619) 557-2889
Stephenie Medina (619) 557-2838
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