By Chris Gomez
Spring is in the air and with warm weather comes more outdoor activities to do with your family in Little Italy. We encourage you to come experience San Diego’s culturally vibrant neighborhood for yourself!
The Little Italy community focuses on creating a family-friendly atmosphere, making it easy for families to enjoy themselves and build lasting memories. Here are a few things you can do with your family in the neighborhood come springtime.
Family-friendly events: The neighborhood hosts multiple events throughout the year that are catered to kids and families focusing on maintaining tradition, even in an urban city. One of our most loved events, Mission Federal ArtWalk, is coming up on April 30 and May 1. The colorful street festival is filled with art, music and dance spanning across over 15 blocks in Little Italy—it even has a designated area with kid-friendly activities—KidsWalk. Keep your eyes on the Little Italy Association’s website for other events that are fun for all ages!
Little Italy San Diego app: Kids love to play with phones and one of our newest additions to the neighborhood is the Little Italy San Diego app. The app is perfectly equipped even for kids with a kid-friendly video-guided tour called “Little Italy Bambino Tour,” which allows your kids to follow the animated mascot, Danny Boy, around the neighborhood and learn about its history through videos, photos, augmented reality, games and quizzes.
Waterfront Park: Little Italy is home to a state-of-the-art park at the waterfront of the San Diego Bay, with beautiful views located on Pacific Highway. Kids can play in the spray fountains on a hot spring day, making it perfect for family recreation.
Family-friendly restaurants: Little Italy is home to some great family-friendly restaurants that cater to kids to ensure everyone has a great time. Some restaurants even put together various interactive and memorable activities to keep kids entertained, making it an enjoyable dining experience.
Little Italy Mercato (Farmers Market): Families can eat, shop and play at the Little Italy Mercato held every Saturday with over 150 vendors offering fresh produce, crafts and more. A kids’ favorite, especially the corner musicians who play music and welcome people to dance.
Piazzas and wider sidewalks: Kids love to run around and there’s no better place than the multiple public spaces in the hood, including the infamous Piazza Basilone located on West Fir Street.
Satisfy your sweet tooth: No better way than to end the day with something to satisfy your sweet tooth! Little Italy has an array of choices — Italian pastries, dessert shops and even some authentic Italian gelato.
We hope to see you around the neighborhood this springtime.
To find out more information on where to take the family around, please visit littleitalysd.com. To stay connected with us, check out what’s going on in our neighborhood by following us on Instagram and Twitter @LittleItalySD and Facebook/San Diego Little Italy.
—Christopher Gomez has been Little Italy’s district manager since 2000. Reach him at [email protected].
