San Diego Makes a Big Splash this Summer

San Diego is the ideal summer travel destination, offering a near-perfect climate, 70 miles of sparkling beaches and new rides, exhibits and shows at its world-class family attractions. Summertime also brings entertaining street festivals, community celebrations and a dazzling array of visual and performing arts.

Whether planning a weekend getaway or a long leisurely stay, visitors have plenty of fun-filled attractions and activities to choose from, including the following:

ATTRACTIONS

San Diego's four major attractions make a splash with the following new rides and exhibits:

• SeaWorld San Diego's new sea lion and otter show, Clyde and Seamore in Deep, Deep Trouble, takes guests on a 25-minute fun-filled adventure featuring a cast and crew of eight on a submarine voyage mistakenly taken for a “Love Boat”-style singles cruise. The wacky hijinks blend trained animal behaviors with theatrical elements. The show runs between two and eight times daily.
  Cirque de la Mer returns to SeaWorld this summer to treat guests to spectacular cirque-style acts on a beautiful water stage along Mission Bay. This "fantasea" adventure includes athletics, acrobatics, music and special effects with a grand finale of dazzling daytime fireworks.
  SeaWorld's Summer Nights also returns with extended evening hours, special entertainment and nightly fireworks. www.seaworld.com.
• LEGOLAND California introduces a bold new attraction, Knights’ Kingdom, on Memorial Day weekend 2005. Guests can board one of six passenger-carrying robotic arms for a six-dimensional thrill ride that ventures back in time to challenge a medieval dragon. The unique robotic coaster attraction will deliver twists, turns and fun for the entire family.
  Guests to LEGOLAND can now take a bigger bite out of the Big Apple. The monumental Freedom Tower, constructed completely out of LEGO bricks, has been added to the park’s newly renovated Miniland New York City skyline. Years before the real Freedom Tower is completed at the site of the former World Trade Center, guests have a unique opportunity to view an impressive scale-model of this skyscraper up-close. The 25-foot tower is the tallest Miniland building ever created. www.legoland.com
• In early summer the world-famous San Diego Zoo debuts its largest, most elaborate animal habitat ever, Monkey Trails and Forest Tales. Guests can trek through Asian and African forests teeming with wildlife, including mandrills, Africa’s largest, most colorful monkeys; Asia’s beautiful and elusive clouded leopard, and the extremely rare pygmy hippo. The multi-level, naturalistic habitat spans three acres, transforming the center of the zoo into an amazing monkey-filled jungle.
  Guests can discover creatures that lurk after dark during Nighttime Zoo, June 25-September 5. Gates are open daily until 8 p.m. and guests are welcome to explore the Zoo grounds until as late as 9 p.m. www.sandiegozoo.org
• Park at Dark returns to the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park this summer from June 18-September 5. Entrance gates remain open until 8 p.m.; guests can stay in the Park until 10 p.m. and enjoy nighttime tours aboard the Wgasa Bush Line Railway, entertainment and other activities.
  The popular Roar & Snore Camp-Overs also return to the Park on May 7-October 29. Guests can pitch a tent on a hilltop high above the expansive East Africa exhibit, surrounded by the sights and sounds of roaming giraffes, rhinos and antelopes. Campers are supplied meals, tents and a full program of events, including nature hikes and up-close animal encounters. Reservations are required.
  The Park's Beastly Bedtime Sleepover program for families with children aged 4-7 features a private Wgasa Bush Line Railway tour, close-up animal encounters, craft projects, campfire songs and an overnight stay in a tent. The program runs every Thursday night, July through August; reservations are required. www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/visitor_info.html
• The popular San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum/USS Midway has become the second-most visited ship museum in the country, with more than 600,000 visitors in its first eight months of operation. Several new exhibits and restored spaces have been added since its grand opening in June 2004. There are now more than three-dozen exhibits on the island, flight deck, hangar deck, mess deck and 01 level. The forecastle, junior officers berthing areas and sick bay have also been restored and incorporated into the museum’s self-guided audio tour. The museum’s on-board “air wing” now boasts 17 restored planes and helicopters. Also new this summer, a restored portion of the ship’s massive engineering plant is open to visitors. www.midwaymagic.com
• Knott's Soak City U.S.A., San Diego's largest recreational water park, gets in the swim of things May 21-September 25, with 23 wet and wild rides, including the new Pacific Spin, towering water slides, a family raft adventure ride and a large wave pool for body surfing. Knott's Soak City is located in San Diego's South Bay city of Chula Vista. www.knotts.com/soakcity/sd

ARTS & CULTURE

Continually updated information on San Diego's sizzling arts and culture scene is available on the San Diego Art + Sol Web site, www.sandiegoartandsol.com. Other visual and performing arts events taking place this summer include:

MUSEUMS

• The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park presents the impressive exhibition, "Maxfield Parrish: The Master of Make Believe," July 16-September 11. This traveling exhibit features approximately 80 sumptuous works by Parrish, including his beloved calendar and book illustrations, signature classicized paintings and rarely seen murals. www.sdmart.org
• The Russians are coming! In early summer a Soviet-era, Foxtrot class Cobra submarine will be displayed at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Guests will have the unique opportunity to explore a rarely seen Russian Navy relic. www.sdmaritime.org

CLASSICAL MUSIC

• The critically acclaimed 17th Annual Mainly Mozart Festival, a tribute to the works of Mozart, brings together an all-star orchestra performing at various locations throughout San Diego and Baja California, Mexico. Dates are June 3-25. www.mainlymozart.org
• A San Diego tradition, the San Diego Symphony's Summer Pops Series features fun, food, fireworks and fantastic orchestral performances under the stars at picturesque Embarcadero Marina Park South in downtown San Diego. Performance dates are July 1-September 4. www.sandiegosymphony.com
• A roll call of internationally renowned musical artists, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma (August 6) will participate in SummerFest 2005, presented by the La Jolla Music Society, August 4-21. Program highlights include performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and other venues, open rehearsals and pre-performance discussions. www.lajollamusicsociety.org
• Guests can enjoy the traditional sounds of one of the world's largest outdoor pipe organs during the 18th Annual International Summer Organ Festival, June 20-August 2. The free organ concerts at the 90-year-old Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park begin at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays. Guests can also enjoy the Organ Pavilion's Twilight in the Park concerts from 6:15-7:15 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from June 21-August 25. www.balboapark.org

CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

• San Diego Bay provides the perfect backdrop for the popular 24th Annual Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, which run from May through October, featuring top name entertainers and musical performers. Concerts take place at Humphrey's Half Moon Inn & Suites on Shelter Island, adjacent to the marina. www.humphreysconcerts.com
• Downtown San Diego’s East Village will rock 'n' roll again during Street Scene (August dates TBA), California’s largest, most diverse urban music and food festival. This headliner event features more than 100 bands performing a myriad of musical styles, ranging from rock, hip-hop and electronica to funk, reggae and the blues. www.street-scene.com

FILM

• Ahoy! Guests are invited aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego's famous tall ship, the Star of India, for the annual Movies Before the Mast series, beginning the weekend of July 15 and continuing through the weekend of Aug. 12. Audiences are in for an outdoor movie-going treat, with nautical-themed films projected on the ship's sails. www.sdmaritime.org

POP ART

• Visitors can be Super Man or Wonder Woman for a day at Comic-Con International, July 14-17 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 thousands of artists, celebrities and fans of comic books, movie memorabilia and all things related to pop culture. www.comic-con.org

THEATRE

• The Old Globe’s popular Summer Shakespeare Festival returns with three of the Bard’s most loved plays: “The Comedy of Errors,” “Macbeth” and “The Winter’s Tale,” June 19-October 2. The Globe also presents the hilarious “Moonlight and Magnolias” (July 16-August 14) and the world-premiere of “The Lady with All the Answers,” an entertaining visit with the wise and witty, no-nonsense Ann Landers who helped shape the social and sexual landscape of the last half-century (August 6-September 11). www.theoldglobe.com
• The Tony Award®-winning “I Am My Own Wife,” returns home to the La Jolla Playhouse, August 9-September 11. Tony Award® winner Jefferson Mays performs more than 36 characters in this tour-de-force show. www.lajollaplayhouse.com

FESTIVALS AND FAIRS

San Diego's pleasantly warm and sunny weather brings a lively and entertaining mix of festivals and community celebrations to San Diego each summer, including the following:

• Good ol' fashioned family fun awaits visitors to the San Diego County Fair, June 10-July 4. This year’s theme, “Cinema Summer, Lights… Camera… Action!” spotlights films and television shows that have been filmed in San Diego County and Baja California (the box office hit “Titanic” was filmed at Fox Studios in Baja), with special exhibits and events throughout the fair. Other highlights include animals, woodworking, gems and minerals, art and photography, hobbies, flower and garden exhibits, mouthwatering foods, top-name performers, a midway and carnival rides. www.sdfair.com
• Residents and visitors alike show their pride at the annual San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and Festival on July 29- 31, one of the most popular events of its kind in the country. Highlights include a mile-long parade through Hillcrest, a two-day festival in Balboa Park, various dance parties including the popular Zoo Party, and headliner concert. www.sdpride.org

FOURTH OF JULY

Star-spangled Fourth of July celebrations can be found throughout San Diego County.

• Most notable is Coronado's Independence Day Celebration on July 4. The “Crown City,” home of NAS North Island and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, proudly salutes its Navy neighbors with a festive two-hour parade, a family concert in Spreckels Park, spectacular fireworks display over Glorietta Bay and more. www.coronadovisitorcenter.com
• SeaWorld San Diego's Independence Day Celebration features musical acts, extended evening hours and San Diego's biggest fireworks show, beginning at 9:30 p.m. www.seaworld.com

SPORTING GOOD TIME

The San Diego Padres step up to the plate for their second season at PETCO Park, the new state-of-the-art ballpark located in downtown San Diego's East Village. The Ballpark features 46,000 seats, garden terraces with sweeping views of San Diego Bay, spacious concourses, and the adjacent Park at the Park for fans to picnic and view games on a big screen. The Padres' home game schedule can be found at www.padres.com.

Following are some other exciting sporting events:

• The popular Suzuki Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on June 5 features a 26.2-mile course with live bands performing along each mile. The race begins at Balboa Park, finishes at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and includes a post-race concert. www.rnrmarathon.com
• The San Diego International Triathlon sprints into action on June 26; the event includes a 1,000-meter swim, 30K bike ride and 10K run. The race begins at Spanish Landing and finishes along the downtown Embarcadero. www.kozenterprises.com
• A San Diego original, the 52nd Annual World Championship Over-the-Line Tournament takes place on Mission Bay’s Fiesta Island, July 9-10 and July 16-17. This boisterous, fast-paced beach softball event is open to the public; games begin at 7 a.m. each day and end at 7 p.m. www.ombac.org
• Guests can wiggle their toes in the sand and view hundreds of sand sculpting artists at work at the Annual U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition, July 15-17 at Imperial Beach Pier; event highlights include a parade, children’s sandcastle contest and fireworks. www.usopensandcastle.com
• The "turf meets the surf" at the Del Mar Racetrack where fans flock each summer to wager on their favorite horses during the popular, annual Del Mar Thoroughbred Club racing season, July 20-September 7. Races run six days weekly, except Tuesday. www.dmtc.com
• Visitors can swing over to La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad for the annual Acura Classic, July 30-August 7. This WTA Tour event, now part of the U.S. Open Series, features the world’s top women tennis players, such as Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsey Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and many more. www.acuraclassic.com
• Body surfers make a splash at the 30th Annual World Body Surfing Championships, (August dates TBA), at the Oceanside Pier and Beach. www.worldbodysurfing.org

For more information on San Diego and its summer activities, call (619) 236-1212 or visit the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau's Web site, www.sandiego.org, where visitors can also find summer vacation packages and hot deals on hotels and attractions. In San Diego, visit the International Visitor Information Center, located along the Embarcadero at the corner of West Broadway and Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego, and the La Jolla Visitor Center, located at the corner of Herschel Avenue and Prospect Street in La Jolla.

SOURCE San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau