Growing up in Chula Vista, attending December Nights each year became synonymous with the start of the holiday season for Jorge Sinohui.
“It’s just tradition,” he said.
So he and his wife, Miranda, made it a point to arrive early Saturday and share the experience with their 2-year-old son, Emiliano.
“I feel like you’re not a real San Diegan until you come to December Nights,” Miranda said with a laugh.
San Diego city officials expected more than 300,000 people to flow through Balboa Park by the time the 47th annual, two-day event wrapped up Saturday night. Visitors strolled the walkways, soaking up the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the season by taking in the park’s museums, booths, music venues and dozens of food courts.
SAN DIEGO, CA-DEC 2: Visitors walk along the Prado during December Nights at Balboa Park on Saturday, December 2, 2023.
(Sandy Huffaker / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“This is the kickoff for the holidays,” said Sarah Twamley, publicist for the House of Pacific Relations, where singers and dancers performed on the group’s international cottages stage. “The whole park is glowing with energy and magic.”
Across from the San Diego Museum of Art, kids giggled and struggled to stay upright at a new December Nights attraction — a synthetic ice-skating rink constructed in partnership with the city, the Fleet Science Center and San Diego Community Power.
Skaters paid $9.95 for a 30-minute session to glide on the interlocking polyethylene panels. It got rave reviews from the Coppel family, who laced up their skates Saturday after taking a three-hour drive from their home in Blythe.
“Living in the desert, we’re not used to seeing this,” Laura Coppel said as she and her husband, Ryan, watched their 5-year-old daughter, Aria, and 8-year-old son, Damian, scoot around the 30-by-40 foot surface.
Five-year-old Aria Copple of Blythe skates Saturday at the synthetic ice rink that opened during December Nights at Balboa Park.
(Rob Nikolewski/San Diego Union-Tribune)
In what has become a December Nights tradition, the San Diego Civic Dance Company performed its classic “We Need A Little Christmas” multiple times Friday and Saturday on the patio of the Casa Del Prado Building, in the style of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
Katie Cone, a dancer and senior at Mira Mesa High School, said the high-kicking moves are demanding but exhilarating.
“It’s a very hard dance to execute, especially in a group,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s very precise, but it feels really good when you have all the adrenaline, and you’re onstage performing in front of the audience … It feels like a group accomplishment and we celebrate it together.”
Many of the more than 30 groups that host cottages at the park’s House of Pacific Relations sold traditional food and drink from their respective countries, such as perogies at the House of Poland, chicken adobo from the House of Philippines and betasuppe (a flavorful soup) from the House of Norway.
Dancers from Imåhen Taotao Tåno give a performance honoring Chamoru culture of Guam during December Nights festivities on Saturday at Balboa Park.
(Rob Nikolewski / San Diego Union-Tribune)
The park’s museums did not charge admission fees during the festival, and at the Family Zone, children had photos taken with Santa for free.
“We call it our holiday postcard to San Diego,” said Natasha Collura, City of San Diego executive director for special events and filming. “It’s really a gift to the region because it’s free.”
For many families, the event is a time for fun and togetherness. And in some cases, remembrance.
Ramirez and her sister, Stephanie Abuyen, are December Nights regulars, although their celebration was tempered by the recent death of their father.
“Our dad loved the holidays and we’re doing this mostly for him, because he just loved Christmas and coming here each year,” Ramirez said.
Carmelo, a 3-year-old golden doodle dressed in holiday attire by owner Bea Ramirez of El Cajon, attends December Nights festivities Saturday at Balboa Park.
(Rob Nikolewski/San Diego Union-Tribune)
Saturday night’s program featured a pair of free concerts by Switchfoot, San Diego’s Grammy Award-winning alternative rock band — a one-hour performance at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at 6:30 p.m., followed by an acoustic set at 8:45 p.m. at the Holiday Cheer Garden next to the San Diego Natural History Museum.
“We’re so thankful,” said lead singer Jon Foreman, who went to high school in North County with his brother and Switchfoot’s bass player, Tim Foreman. “Every chance I get to play a free show for my hometown is a good one. We came out with a Christmas record last year, so we’re going to dust off a few of those songs and it feels like the perfect way to begin December and get into the Christmas spirit.”
During Friday’s tree-lighting ceremony that marked the opening of this year’s event, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the proceedings.
The demonstration started at 6:12 p.m. as Mayor Todd Gloria began making comments at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s stage, with protesters waving Palestinian flags, carrying signs and chanting “cease-fire now.”
About 125 pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated Friday at the tree-lighting ceremony at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park at the opening night of December Nights.
(Gary Robbins/San Diego Union-Tribune)
The San Diego Police Department monitored the demonstration but did not intervene in the protest that lasted about 20 minutes. No violence broke out, and no arrests were made.
The San Diego chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, which estimated the number of protesters at 200, said in a statement, “There will be no tree lighting in Bethlehem this year, and the rest of the world should follow suit.”
After a weeklong truce, fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed Friday with Israeli airstrikes hitting buildings and houses in the Gaza Strip and militants in Gaza firing rockets into Israel.
