Hui O Hawaiʻi of San Diego, located in Chula Vista, was founded in 1969. Many of the current board…read moremembers have grown up with the club since they were children. They now have their children dancing in the shows and representing the Hui at festivals--as they once did. This is their first annual Lōkahi Festival. It was well received with a great turnout, clearly demonstrating its potential to grow bigger in the coming years. Whereas the PIFA Pacific Islander Festival, held two weeks earlier, presents various cultures of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, the Lōkahi Festival showcases the Hawaiian culture exclusively. It is also an initiative to help fill the vacuum left by the annual San Diego Hoʻolauleʻa that ceased after 2019. The show lineup featured three local dance academies: Nā Pua ʻIlima of Chula Vista; Hālau Hula ʻO Kawahinepiʻilani of Chula Vista; and Healiʻi's Polynesian Revue of San Diego. Two solo dances were performed by this year's Miss Hui O Hawaiʻi of San Diego, Kehaulani Wilson (of Healiʻi's Polynesian Revue). In between the performances, music was provided by Mele Mokupuni and Hui O Hawaiʻi's Kanikapila Group. The performances all took place on the stage inside of the church, which also included vendors selling Hawaiian foods, goods, crafts, and clothing. A fascinating historical display highlighted the Hawaiian ancestry of William Heath "Kanaka" Davis, founder of San Diego. The parking lot in front of the church had a water station, food served by several Hawaiian vendors (including a food truck from Hawaiian Fresh Seafood), a tent that served a small selection of beer and wine. The weather was hot here in Santee on this first Saturday of October, so folks had to make effective use of the indoors and shade.

Go for the food, stay for the local vibe. Poke was ono and the ube cookies (yeah, I know not…read moreHawaiian) were really good, in fact all the desserts were great. Also got some Ani's Sweeat Bread, which is similar to the Molokai Bread I get on Maui. Caught the tail end of a Chula Vista Halau performing - beautiful. Festival had lots of seating in the air-conditioned hall, where people could get out of the sun. Nice assortment of vendors carrying local crafts and t-shirts. A nice way to spend a couple of hours soaking up Hawaiian-style culture in Southern California.

I happened to see an ad in the newspaper on the last day of the festival, May 26th, 2013, or I…read moremight not have known about it all. I was shocked to see that this was their 10th anniversary and I'd never even heard about it before. As much as I love Mideast music & foods I decided to go to it, especially since it wasn't that far, and I wasn't sorry. I got there Sunday evening around 7 and spend a couple hours listening to the lively music, wandering around looking at all the booths, smelling the aromas of food cooking, and eating a variety of the foods available. I may have felt a little less comfortable than I do at the Greek Festival because I've been going to it for 40 years but had a good time. Most of the foods are similar to what I have had at the Greek Festival but with their own variations of course. I probably spent about $30 total. Admission was only $2. I got a sandwich for about $7, a cheese on pita type thing for $3, some meat and rice stuffed grape leaves for 2 or 3 dollars, a bunch of desserts, and then somebody told me how good these other little pastry things with meat inside were that I don't know the name of. I had a couple dollars left and bought some of those. I brought a lot of food home and ate it over the next several days. I enjoyed their version of the Turkish coffee. It was only $1 for a little paper cup full and I don't usually drink coffee at 9 o'clock at night but it was very very good. By the way, they take credit cards. You don't pay the vendors directly except by tickets. You go to a cashier, give them your cash or card and tell them how many tickets you want @ a dollar each. If you run out you go back and get more. These tickets are used to buy food and pay for rides. I don't know about merchandise since I didn't buy any. I would definitely try to go to this festival again next year and would recommend it to others especially if you like homemade Middle East food.

Great experience with our brothers and sisters of the Maronite community in their festival…read morecelebration at a mini-shrine that resembles the original Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon (Notre Dame du Liban) found at Harissa, Lebanon. Beautiful round-shaped church architecturally and visually and I'm sure spiritually too but there weren't a mass service at the time of our visit. Attendees were very nice and beautiful bunch of people. Great cultural show with Lebanese and Arabic music, songs, and dancing. The food was good with an elevated outdoor dining area. We had shawarma (beef), chicken, and falafel wraps and they are all delicious. Tented market for arts and crafts and other activities. Parking was an issue but we were able to find street parking with 5-minutes walk away. Very nice event and we recommend it.

El Cajon's 2025 Oktoberfest was ran by German American Societies of San Diego and includes a…read moreselection of traditional Bavarian food and beer. AMBIANCE: festive, loud, and a crowd Note: there's no water fountain - water's sold $2/bottle. Entry fee: $5 Sunday. BEERS, $8 each 3 of 10 beers sold out Sunday 2pm. I would not have bought the Fest Lover's Package (includes 2 beers) had I known this before hand. 4/5 RADLER: Austrian, citrusy and sweet 3/5 HEFFEWEISSBIER: light, did not taste the advertised banana flavor PASTRIES: 4/5 Bienenstich or bee sting cake: Bavarian cream sandwiched by a yeast dough bottom and topped w caramelized almonds. More cake would balance this out. 4/5 POPPYSEED (pie?) w streusel topping: very sweet, poppyseed is nutty FOOD Food options include pretzels and cheese dip, potato pancakes w applesauce and sour cream, bratwursts/wieners 4/5 PLATE: sauerkraut, red cabbage, mashed potato, ox. The horseradish elevated the food for me. PARKING Parked about 1/3 mile away on residential streets as the event parking lot was full.

So good here every year! Beer, Brots, Bread and lieblichen…read more.we love Octoberfest 2025

This is only my second year coming to Starlight circle but it has quickly become one of my favorite…read moreplaces to see lights. It is located right by Santana High School, which they open for parking and bathrooms! So there will always be a spot to park, even if it's a little far. We usually drive it though, since it's like one huge circle of a street. There's beautifully lit houses, light shows, art, and blow ups out! A good portion of the houses also had stands in front of them where they sold hot chocolate, tameles (one of the best I've ever had), macrons, kettle corn, cup of noodles, hot apple cider, and other holiday snacks! You can drive it as many times as you want, just look out for people walking! I highly recommend this is a free holiday must see in San Diego.

Our favorite family holiday outing! This was our 13th year and the houses never disappoint! Fun…read moreholiday lights and decor with neighbors selling yummy treats and crafts. Parking is made easy with a convenient lot at the nigh school down the street.

The tour is a must signup. They have tiny, light chairs to take from room to room…read more The tour was two hours long. There is so much knowledge that you pickup if you see, hear and are able to question at one time. We had a lovely picnic after the tour.The picnic tables are located below in the parking lot on the left. Please call and verify the time of your tour as it may email you a incorrect starting time. There are only two tour times a day. It is only $8.00 / $6.00 to tour on your own but I strongly suggest buying the two hour guided tour.

So this place is definitely one of the coolest looking museums I've ever been too. Very nicely…read moredone, I loved that each room was completely different and the dinosaurs were all really cool. This museum is definitely on the religious side rather than science. Whatever you believe you'll still have a cool time, but there was a lot of things that I would say are not facts. Great book store as well, and pretty big! I think it's worth a visit to learn or just have a different experience.

Planning - I reached out to Davina a couple months ahead of time and communicated with her via text…read moreto confirm number of guests. She was really flexible with my changing head count and just shared the minimum cost which was around $330. She had me choose what design I wanted to paint in advance too, which was easy! Review - I planned this for my birthday and I had such a fun time. Davina really walks you through the steps in an easy to understand way and shows you how to do each step on her own canvas. It was totally fun and doable for my friends who are not generally crafting people! The studio has great decorations and ambiance, Davina gave us glasses, glow in the dark hair clip, and a hat to take home with us. The final painting is so pretty and glows in the dark. Super recommend, especially for kids, families, friends. COVID - we didn't wear masks but you could wear masks. Davina shared she is vaxxed and boosted.

Oh my goodness, I guess there's no way to get the previous tenants to take their stuff away. Maybe…read moreleave a bad review ?

I had the pleasure of working with Cirque Quirk at big corporate Great Gatsby Gala in San Diego in…read moreDecember 2025. They were truly top notch in all regards: professional, punctual, enthusiastic, kind, funny and uber-talented performers! Their newsboy performers were a total riot and delighted the guests and the Jay Gatsby / Leonardo DiCaprio impersonator was a total dead-ringer for Leo. All of the guests wanted to get their photo with him and his performance on the mic announcing the raffle winners was spot on and very entertaining. I highly recommend booking Cirque Quirk for your next event!

He was a great performer and entertainer, we all enjoyed that he interacted with mort of the people…read moreI invited to the party. For sure I will hire him again!