Port to Enliven Waterfront with Events on San Diego Bay

Friday, 09 December 2011

The Port of San Diego has plans to enliven the San Diego Bay waterfront with diverse community events, ranging from concerts and dances to festivals and eco-tourism celebrations.

The Port's goal is to create a vibrant waterfront year-round that attracts residents and visitors to the bay front of its five member cities, and bring an economic boost to businesses located there.

•   ReEventing San Diego Bay: Waterfront Activation Plan (553.89 kB)

The Board of Port Commissioners on Tuesday, December 13, 2011, will hear a presentation from Public Works, Inc., a consultant proposing an event and waterfront activation program.

The report – a draft Waterfront Activation Plan – includes a proposed four-year Master Plan and guidelines outlining how the port can partner with member cities, tenants and civic organizations to create successful events.

These proposed activities are designed to complement and expand on events already sponsored by the Port, such as the Holiday Bowl Big Bay Balloon Parade Family Festival, the Festival of Sail and Big Bay Whale Days.

Major proposed events include a Spring 2012 Big Bay Boot Camp that would be held simultaneously in the port member cities of Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City and San Diego. Events specific to member cities are also listed, such as National City's 125th anniversary celebration.

Plans also call for programs at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier. Events marking key construction moments in the revitalization of the North Embarcadero and promoting Port tenant businesses located there are also included.

Public Works, Inc. has recently assisted the Port in staging the lively dance event "Mambo on the Bay," held at Cesar Chavez Park on August 13, 2011, and the "Fall for the Arts" art festival at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier on October 1, 2011.

Experienced in staging waterfront events, Public Works, Inc. created and produced the Santa Monica Pier Centennial Celebration in 2009, and a major music festival and concert series on a 750-foot-long pier in New York City's Hudson River Park.

The Port of San Diego oversees 17 public parks – with one more now under construction – in its five member cities.

The Port District was created by the state legislature in 1962 and is responsible for $1.7 billion in public improvements in its member cities. The District oversees two maritime cargo terminals, two cruise ship terminals, the Harbor Police Department and the leases of more than 600 tenant and sub tenant businesses around San Diego Bay.