The City of San Diego is home to one of the most vital and culturally diverse populations to be found anywhere in America. The Participant Observer is a web magazine dedicated to discovering and showcasing the wide variety of culturally interesting events, people, places, and organizations our city has to offer. Our continuously updated Events Calendar provides comprehensive information about current and forthcoming events in San Diego. In addition to covering local events, The Participant Observer publishes features and articles about cultural events and phenomena happening around the world. We urge you to explore the many other resources our site provides.
Balboa and Civic Theaters
Balboa Theatre:
Built in 1924, the historic Balboa Theatre was an elegant vaudeville and movie palace in the heart of downtown San Diego. At the time it was a state-of-the-art building that included six storefronts along Fourth Avenue, with 34 offices on the floors above.
The Balboa Theatre has been closed for over twenty years. After numerous efforts to privately renovate and reopen the Theatre, the commitment was made in 2002 to retain the historic Balboa Theatre as a public asset with the City's Redevelopment Agency funding its renovation and restoration and reopening the Theatre as a community performing arts center to be managed and operated by San Diego Theatres.
Upcoming events include Brazilian guitar, Russian ballet, and Chinese circus acts.
San Diego Civic Theatre:
The 2,967 seat San Diego Civic Theatre is the region's largest and greatest attended performing arts venue. The Civic Theatre is owned by the City of San Diego and is managed and operated by San Diego Theatres on behalf of the community.
Opened in January 1965, the Civic Theatre has hosted the world's finest talents in the fields of opera, classical music, dance, comedians, contemporary music, and Broadway. Additionally, it has served as a community gathering place for inaugurations, governmental addresses, religious services, political activities, lectures, educational presentations, and corporate meetings.
Upcoming events include opera and ballet.
For shows and tickets at either venue, see: SDcivic.org
