{"id":237244,"date":"2014-11-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/exploring-balboa-park-november-2014\/"},"modified":"2014-11-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-07T08:00:00","slug":"exploring-balboa-park-november-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/exploring-balboa-park-november-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Balboa Park November 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holidays just around the corner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Johnny McDonald<\/p>\n

Yuletide frolickers will fill Balboa Park\u2019s streets again for December Nights\u2019 traditional holiday revelry, Dec. 5 \u2013 6.<\/p>\n

\"Johnny<\/a>
johnny mcdonald<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Actually, it will also serve as a kickoff to next year\u2019s Centennial, a celebration of the 1915 Panama California Exposition.\u00a0Transformed into a holiday wonderland, officials expect\u00a0350,000 attendees this year, which would make it San Diego\u2019s largest free community festival.\u00a0Along the way will be six stages, intermingling chortlers and light shows to brighten the sky. As a bonus, participating museums will host open houses.<\/p>\n

Co-produced by the City and the Park\u2019s Conservancy, it will feature multicultural music and dance performances; carolers, bell-ringers, choirs, bands and food. Highlights include:<\/p>\n

The Del Cerro Baptist Church Christmas Story Tree;\u00a0House of Scotland Piper\u2019s Sun Harbor Chorus and others on the Organ Pavilion Stage; and musicians and dance troupes at the Botanical Building Stage and Palisades Stage; Cajun-Zydeco sounds on the Bon Temps Dance Pavilion; music and dance at the Junior Theater Stage; Civic Youth Ballet\u2019s excerpts from \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d on the Casa del Prado Stage; music and dance from around the world at the International Cottages Stage; and the international cottages will feature food from around the world including empanadas, egg rolls, fried plantains, pierogi, baklava, paella and pie. Additionally, this will be the 33rd year for the Santa Lucia Procession at the California Quadrangle near the Museum of Man.<\/p>\n

\"bpdn_santa_and_opweb\"<\/a>Enhanced lighting includes an energy-efficient holiday light canopy covering the center of Plaza de Panama, a light show across the lily pond and on Botanical building and the lighting of the Moreton Bay Fig Tree, the monsterous tree on the north side of the Natural History Museum.<\/p>\n

This year the festivities begin earlier \u2014 3 p.m. on Friday and at noon on Saturday,\u00a0with free shuttle service provided from additional parking locations at Petco Park, along Park Boulevard and City College. Service runs from 3 p.m. \u2013 midnight on Friday and 11:30 a.m. \u2013 midnight on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Journey back in time<\/strong><\/p>\n

We got a sneak preview of the\u00a0mysteries of ancient Egypt at the Natural History Museum at an exhibit called \u201cThe Discovery of King Tut.\u201d In several rooms, ornate replicas depict the mysterious world of ancient Egypt, featuring King Tut\u2019s throne and tomb.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1969web\"<\/a>
Artifacts from King Tut\u2019s tomb are on display at Natural History Museum (Photo by Linda Hite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An introduction displays on a video screen in a small theater.\u00a0Then, with a remote in hand, you listen to\u00a0narrations as you enter other rooms. It unmasks the discovery made in 1922 by Howard Carter, Lord Carnarvon and others. It presents the excavation itself, the story of King Tut and his legacy. The exhibit will run until April 30.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the Park<\/b> \u2014 In September, Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Frederick Schenk, 22nd district agricultural association president, co-announced the theme of the 2015 San Diego County Fair: \u201cA Fair to Remember: A Celebration of World\u2019s Fairs and Balboa Park.\u201d This theme commemorates the centennial anniversary of the 1915 Panama \u2013 California Exposition<\/b> and unites the fourth largest fair in North America with the nearby San Diego treasure known as Balboa Park. \u201cThe 2015 centennial celebration will bring our city together through events that celebrate, elevate and promote Balboa Park,\u201d stated Faulconer in a press release. \u201cThis partnership with the San Diego County Fair is a perfect fit for the community.\u201d … The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater\u2019s <\/b>Christmas offerings in December include the Merry Christmas Show with a snowman,\u00a0gingerbreadmen dancing out of the oven and a frisky mouse, Dec. 10 \u2013 14; Cindy, the youngest elf in Santa’s workshop, and the mystery of the missing Christmas, Dec. 17 \u2013 21; Benito Bunny\u2019s Great Christmas Adventure, Dec. 22 \u2013 23; and Jack and the Beanstalk, Dec. 30 \u2013 Jan. 4 … To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the start of the Vietnam War, the Veterans Museum<\/b> is converting its office into a gallery dedicated to the men and women who served in the conflict. The project will exceed $20,000 and a\u00a0fundraising campaign is underway.\u00a0So far, $3,500 has been raised. The project will require a complete renovation and new display cases … San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory<\/b> announces a relationship with XLNC1 Radio, 104.9FM of Chula Vista to broadcast four prior SDYS concerts.\u00a0Concerts from recent SDYS seasons will air at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, two or three weeks before major 2014 \u2013 15 concerts. … The San Diego Model Railroad Museum<\/b> broke ground for its Centennial Railroad Garden. In G scale, the exhibit will utilize new technology, sustainable energy practices and sculptural art. This open-air model railroad will feature a miniature recreation of Balboa Park as it existed in 1915. It\u2019s scheduled to open in March.<\/p>\n

\u2014After an award winning, 38-year sports-writing career with the San Diego Union and authoring three books, Johnny McDonald now considers writing a hobby. You can reach him at johnny23@cox.net<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holidays just around the corner By Johnny McDonald Yuletide frolickers will fill Balboa Park\u2019s streets again for December Nights\u2019 traditional holiday revelry, Dec. 5 \u2013 6.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":237245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Exploring Balboa Park November 2014","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}