BALBOA PARK – The season of Santa started yesterday with the kickoff of Balboa Park's December Nights celebration.
SEAN M. HAFFEY / U-T
The December Nights festival included an appearance at the Old Globe by the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. He grumpily posed for a picture with a smiling Kevin Meehan, 8.
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Grown men in elf costumes caroled in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. The San Diego Junior Theater crooned “White Christmas.” And revelers wearing shorts and Santa hats danced to Cajun music in front of the San Diego Museum of Art.
Welcome to the holidays, San Diego-style.
“The lights, the music, the food – it's great, and it's free,” said Helen Crooks, who was enjoying the singing elves at the organ pavilion with her mother, Jean, and a friend. The North Park resident is a regular at the park's holiday gathering.
“It's better than last year, when it rained,” Crooks said. Yesterday's clear, mild weather drew an estimated 140,000 people to the 31st annual event, which continues today from noon to 10 p.m.
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December Nights
Where: Balboa Park
When: Noon to 10 p.m. today; museums open for free from
5 to 10 p.m.
Transportation: Free shuttle service is available noon to 11 p.m. from three sites: Tailgate Park near Petco Park; City College; and the County Administration Building, 1600 Pacific Highway.
More information: Go to uniontrib.com/more/decnights
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The festival – a mix of performers, gift vendors and food booths – seemed less congested than in years past, when crowds were so thick that walking was a chore. But the extra elbow room may have been due to the effort to better spread attractions across the park.
Janet Viloria snared an empty place at a table to enjoy her Indian bread taco from the Barona tent. It was Viloria's third time at the festival. She and daughter Nichole Andrews arrived at 7 p.m. and were lucky to get one of the last parking spaces near Roosevelt Junior High.
Organizers have asked people to try public transportation and to use shuttles from satellite parking lots to avoid the gridlock that grips streets around the park.
“We love going to the museums for free,” Viloria said. “But we heard about the ice skating rink this year, and we want to go see where it's at.”
Ice skating made its debut this year – sort of. Kids did their best to skid around on a 30-by-50-foot slab of plastic that was coated with a “glide enhancer,” its owner said.
Haidyn Asman, 4, of Tierrasanta held out her arms like a ballerina for as long as she could until, like the others, she ended up bottom-down and feet-up quite a few times during her 30-minute session.
“They love it. This is great,” said her mom, Patty, who was watching from a nearby chair.
Another new twist to the festival is David Root's Patriot Tree, which is part of the San Diego Floral Association's display in the Casa del Prado building.
Root is gathering warm wishes for injured service members at the nearby San Diego Naval Medical Center, located in the park off Florida Avenue.
People write messages on slips of paper, then tie them to a “tree” structure made of pine cones.
Root, a floral designer and former Army soldier, takes flowers to the Navy hospital every month. He plans to deliver the December Nights greetings on Monday.
“I thought it would be a beautiful way for the people of San Diego to send messages of support,” Root said.
Jeanette Steele: (619) 293-1030; jen.steele@uniontrib.com
