Little Italy
There’s no little fun to be had in San Diego’s Little Italy these days since the neighborhood’s revitalization and renaissance of the last 20 years. With a calendar of events as vibrant and lively as the residents themselves, the little neighborhood that could--east of the harbor and north of Downtown--is the place for a big ol’ time, anytime!
Come to San Diego’s oldest continuous neighborhood business district in February for Carnevale and a taste of the old country with food, music, and costume to rival the best of Brazil and the most of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. Perhaps you like a nice, invigorating stroll among the latest masterpieces of the up-and-coming masters? You’ll love the assemblage of local artists, and galleries, bands, and eating establishment making the Little Italy Art Walk a unique experience in April of each year. And October’s Chalk Festival offers the budding Da Vinci his or her moment in the sun—literally!
Unless of course you prefer your enjoyments year-round? And who doesn’t? Kettner Blvd. is the gallery lover’s stroll through heaven. Interior design issues are straightened out for you at Adorn, while Mixture has home furnishings right where you want ‘em. Of course, the arts are never any finer than at PLMeyer Fine Art.
Public art displays and installations, too, give Little Italy a flavor all its own, the walls of India Street annually enjoying the artistic efforts of area locals, thanks to the sponsorship of The Precious Cheese Company, whereas the New York stickball tradition has found its West Coast home right here in town.
Because we know some of you may think of eating as a year-round activity, too, Little Italy makes a wide array of food traditions available for those bent on following this line. Buon Appetito, Café Zucchero, and Mimmo's Italian Village afford the cuisine of the ancestors, as do Cabo Café, China Camp, and Bud's Louisiana Food Shoppe if your ancestors happen to come from Mexico, China, or Louisiana, respectively.
Little Italy has everything available to the visitor or area resident with an itch for culture they’re eager to scratch. Only a minute’s drive from downtown and everything it has to offer, what could be more convenient?
Long an enclave for area aesthetes, Ray Street plays host to a gathering of the artistic, the inspired, the imaginative, and the merely curious eager to rub elbows with the creative element in this nocturnal celebration. Convened on the 2nd Saturday of each month in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, and located between University Avenue and North Park Way, the PM gallery walk takes place between the hours of 6 PM and 10 PM. It affords access to as many as a dozen venues with live entertainment, food vendors, and even finger food and glasses of wine made available in galleries themselves (in exchange for a small donation).