Special Events in San Diego

     In addition to its many cultural and historic landmarks, this destination hosts a number of outstanding festivals and events that may coincide with your visit.
     Balboa Park with its lush landscaping and ornate Spanish Colonial-style buildings serves as a beautiful, not to mention appropriate, setting for EarthFair in mid-April. The more than 200 exhibitors promoting one aspect of environmentalism or another include wildlife preservation groups, organic farmers and advocates of alternative energy vehicles. Children's activities, music and earth-friendly food also are on EarthFair's program.
     In early May, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park hosts Fiesta Cinco de Mayo, a celebration of Mexican history and culture among Old Town's restored adobes. The week-long event showcases Mexican cuisine along with mariachis and activities for children. Live music and entertainment on seven stages round out the fiesta's schedule.
     Head out to the Del Mar Fairgrounds in June or early July, and you'll find the traditional county fair is alive and well. The San Diego County Fair is one of the largest in the United States and even if a delicate constitution keeps you from climbing aboard the Skycoaster or the Tilt-a-Whirl, you can still sample an assortment of carnival food, win a stuffed animal by demonstrating your ring-toss prowess or sway to the music at one of the performance venues. And of course, what county fair would be complete without livestock exhibits?
     Originally a one-stage, 5-hour music celebration in the Gaslamp Quarter spotlighting rock and alternative bands, Street Scene has expanded into a multi-stage, 2-day festival in early August featuring so many bands that it had to be moved to Qualcomm Stadium's parking lot in Mission Valley. You won't go hungry as you join the crowds around the various stages either; typical street fair cuisine--hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza--along with somewhat more upscale sampler fare from local restaurants are a major part of the event.
     In mid-September the roar of finely tuned engines heralds the start of the aptly named Thunderboat Regatta in Mission Bay. Called "World Series of Powerboat Racing," the 2-day regatta showcases the world's fastest hydroplanes, drag boats and tunnel hulls, among other classes of powerboats, and draws more than 100,000 racing fans each year.
     If you can't get enough of screaming engines and blurring speed, you'll only need to wait a month: the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Air Show takes to the skies for 3 days in mid-October. Civilian pilots perform precision takeoffs and landings along with heart-stopping aerial stunts, but it's the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels that steal the show as they guide their signature blue-and-gold painted F/A-18 Hornets through a series of breathtaking choreographed formations. Groundside you'll get an up-close look at all sorts of aircraft ranging from the massive Lockheed-Georgia C-5A Galaxy to propeller driven ultralights.
     Late November finds music lovers grooving to the sounds of nearly two dozen jazz, Dixieland and swing bands during the San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival. Held at the convention center of the Town and Country Resort Hotel , the festival's venues include both large concert rooms and more intimate spaces.
     San Diego's snow-free climate might make it difficult to get into the holiday spirit, especially for transplants used to winter wonderlands, which is probably why Balboa Park December Nights is so popular. Held the first weekend in December, this family-oriented event draws around 100,000 people to Balboa Park with festive decorations, ethnic food from around the world, hands-on crafts lessons, bands and choral groups as well as free admission to many of the park's museums.
     A few days later, Old Town is the scene of Las Posadas and Luminarias, a traditional reenactment of Mary and Joseph's search for shelter for the Christ child. The procession--with wise men, shepherds and even a donkey--begins in nearby Heritage Park.