On July 12, the biggest names in baseball will converge in downtown San Diego as the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes the field at Petco Park. Featuring top players from the American League and National League, the game known as the “Midsummer Classic” promises to bring plenty of action both to the ballpark and the city of San Diego.
Whether you’ll be following your favorite player for a sports-fueled getaway or just want to vacation like a pro, San Diego beckons visitors this summer with a major league line-up of events, festivals, athletic pursuits and more.
The following are the top five ways to have an all-star summer in San Diego.
- Experience the Big Game: The MLB All-Star Game action takes place at Petco Park on July 12, but there are countless ways for visitors to celebrate baseball’s big day, both inside and outside of the ballpark. Beginning on July 8, the San Diego Convention Center will transform into an interactive baseball theme park for the MLB All-Star FanFest featuring more than 40 attractions. From batting practice with Major Leaguers to video game zones and memorabilia auctions, the FanFest will offer visitors of all ages the ultimate baseball experience.
Want to eat like a Major Leaguer? San Diego Padres pitcher Trevor Hoffman eats his way through Petco Park with a superfan. Watch it all go down here.
- Visit the New Tony Gwynn Museum (Or Any Other Museum): Just in time for the MLB All-Star Game, AleSmith Brewing Company will be launching a Tony Gwynn Museum. Located within the brewery, the free museum will commemorate the life and career of San Diego’s most beloved Major League player, known locally as “Mr. Padre.” For those looking for a culture break, San Diego County is also home to more than three dozen museums, and 17 of those are located in Balboa Park. The largest urban cultural park in the U.S., Balboa Park comprises the San Diego Museum of Art, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, San Diego Model Railroad Museum and more. At the San Diego Museum of Man, visitors can explore the myths and realities of cannibalism, while San Diego Natural History Museum’s “Whales: Giants of the Deep” is an experience that brings adults and children eye to eye with some of the world’s most elusive creatures.
- Visit a Park After Dark: Home to the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, LEGOLAND California and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego’s attractions are a big draw every summer. During June 19–Sept.5, the San Diego Zoo allows guests to roam the park until 9 p.m. for Nighttime Zoo. Besides having the opportunity to view the zoo animals at night when many of them are more active, visitors can also enjoy special performances, entertainers, acrobats and unique family activities. Guests can experience a Summer Safari at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, June 25–Aug. 14, and on selected dates from May 28–Sept. 5, Summer Nights at SeaWorld features extended park hours, fireworks and special nighttime animal shows and more.
- Free Your Inner Comic Book Nerd: Visitors can be superheroes for a day at Comic-Con International, July 21-24 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 tens of thousands of artists, celebrities and fans of comic books, and features movie and TV memorabilia and all things related to pop culture. A new addition to the San Diego comics landscape, the San Diego Comic Art Gallery, owned and operated by IDW Publishing, opened at Liberty Station last summer and features original art from comics and animation and actual working artists on the premises.
- Celebrate with Pride: Residents and visitors alike celebrate during the Annual San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and Festival, July 16-17. The second largest event of its kind on the West Coast, San Diego’s Pride Festival includes a mile-long parade through Hillcrest and two-day music festival in Balboa Park. The celebration will begin the evening of July 15 with dance stages and a big street party at The Pride of Hillcrest Block Party.
