Cabrillo Festival, San Diego

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo had no idea the chain of events he was setting in motion when he discovered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. As the first European to set eyes on what would later become California, he simply saw a quiet, sheltered inlet that would make a fine harbor and encourage settlement. The land here was much like parts of Spain, sunny and dry but not too hot or arid; perfect for cattle, fruit, and wheat. 

How could he have foreseen what would come to pass over the next 461 years? Nobody could have predicted California’s rise to the position of the most powerful state in the world’s most powerful political union. Nobody could have guessed that the serene harbor would become the front door of a city beloved worldwide for its climate, beauty, amenities and relaxed lifestyle. Or that the port itself would become home base to the U.S. Navy’s most powerful Pacific flotilla.

San Diegans don’t hold his lack of foresight against Cabrillo: As New Yorkers might shrug and say, “Who knew?” But they know he started a good thing and they honor him every year on September 28 with the Cabrillo Festival. The festival, a weeklong affair, begins on Sept. 21 and runs through the 28^th, the anniversary of Cabrillo’s serendipitous discovery.

The festival site is at Cabrillo National Monument, which occupies a bluff on the west side of the entrance to the harbor. From there you can look northeast to a magnificent view of the U.S. Naval Air Station at North Island and downtown San Diego; east to Coronado and San Diego Bay; and then south along the Pacific to the hills of Tijuana. The view from here joins San Francisco’s Marin Headlands and West Vancouver’s Lighthouse Park as one of the West Coast’s great places for viewing a port city.

Activities at the festival include dancing, recreations of 16^th-century soldiers’ quarters, weapons demonstrations, food and crafts booths, and a last-day re-enactment of the discovery. 

All of this is just icing, though. San Diego in September, with its warm days, cool nights and golden light, is about as attractive as a city can get. The world-famous zoo is a perpetual attraction, and 1,100-acre Balboa Park rivals San Francisco’s Golden Gate, New York’s Central and St. Louis’ Forest parks as among the most beautiful in the land.

Other area attractions include some of California’s best beaches (from La Jolla south to Mission Bay), the great urban mall at Horton Plaza, the Victorian-era Coronado Hotel, harbor tours, a light-rail ride to the Mexican border, a visit to the great Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar, and easy access to beautiful mountain and desert back country on the way to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

By Patrick Totty