For more than 40 years, the San Diego community has welcomed in the holiday season by celebrating the annual December Nights at Balboa Park. Due to the current pandemic conditions, we are saddened that our beloved gift to the region cannot occur as we know it. Instead, the City of San Diego is offering a "Taste of December Nights."

The program will have some of your favorite food vendors and food trucks from past December Nights in a drive-thru setting in the Inspiration Point parking lot near Balboa Park.

Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! On the Radio is a wonderful, whimsical musical based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book. The family favorite features the songs "Santa for a Day," "You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," and "Welcome, Christmas (Fah Who Doraze)," the delightful carol from the popular animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Celebrate the holidays with the Whos and The Old Globe.

The audio-only Grinch production is directed by James Vásquez, with book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin. The original production of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was conceived and directed by Jack O’Brien with additional lyrics by Theodor S. Geisel, additional music by Albert Hague, and original choreography by John DeLuca.

Explore one of the country’s best urban cultural parks on a private tour with a local guide. Balboa Park has a bit of everything, including grand architecture, diverse museums, cultural institutions and captivating gardens. You will visit spots that even locals don’t know about. Keep the camera handy for what might be the prettiest tour in town!

Tour Highlights

Discover the inspiring, quirky, and fascinating history of one of the nation’s largest urban cultural parks on a private tour
Uncover historical and architectural treasures hiding in plain sight
Explore a botanical garden’s vibrant collection of more than 2,100 plants
Learn about the early 20th-century expositions that shaped Balboa Park
Find the best spots to photograph Balboa Park’s beautiful Spanish colonial revival architecture

Ringing in the holiday season, San Diego Ballet presents this outdoor matinee of The Nutcracker, enchanting playgoers with sugarplum fairies, leaping cossacks and flurries of snowflakes underneath the San Diego sky. Transforming a corridor of the Liberty Station neighborhood into a pop-up theater, the drive-in format will allow families to revel in this hour long classical production with comfort and safety in mind.