The 51st installment of the two-day Cabrillo Festival in Point Loma re-enacting Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s landing at Ballast Point in 1542 kicks off Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. with a commemorative ceremony and wreath-laying service honoring the famed adventurer at the Cabrillo National Monument.
The commemorative ceremony will be followed later that day from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with a Cabrillo Discovery Celebration Dinner-Dance at the United Portuguese S.E.S. Hall, 2818 Avenida de Portugal in Point Loma. Sponsored by Cabrillo Civic Club No. 16 of San Diego and Portuguese-American Social and Civic Club, the event costs $50 per person, with tickets available by calling (619) 221-8084.
On Sunday, Sept. 28, festivities continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a free Cabrillo Festival at Ballast Point, Naval Base Point Loma at the south end of Rosecrans Street. The re-enactment of Cabrillo’s landing on Ballast Point begins at 1 p.m.
The many-splendored festival showcases music, dancing and children’s activities as well as featuring the ethnic foods of Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Native Americans.
The Cabrillo Festival is a fun, family-oriented event with educational activities, cultural demonstrations and exciting folkloric performances celebrating Native American, Mexican, Portuguese and Spanish traditions from the Age of Exploration.
The highlight of the festival each year is the re-enactment of Cabrillo’s landing on the shores of San Diego Bay, with actors in period garb representing Cabrillo, his soldiers and priests landing and claiming the land in the name of Spain.
A Portuguese navigator sailing under the flag of Spain, Cabrillo discovered San Diego Bay while searching for the Strait of Anian, a mythical all-water route across North America.
When Cabrillo landed in Point Loma, he originally named the area San Miguel in honor of St. Michael’s Day, which was to be celebrated the next day. Shortly after he left what would later become San Diego, Cabrillo died of an infection on the islands outside Santa Barbara.
In honor of his landing on the West Coast, Sept. 28 is recognized as Cabrillo Day in California.