10 Best Festivals in San Diego

Brazil Carnival is a day-long festival that sees sunny San Diego do its best impression of Rio de Janeiro. Mission Beach steps up to fill in for Copacabana, so you'll have to head over to the family attractions of Mission Bay to find the shindigs happening right on the side of the Pacific Ocean.

These days, Brazil Carnival attracts a whopping 60,000 revellers each year. The backing track is a medley of samba, bossa nova, and jazz straight out of the Sao Paulo cantinas. There's a food and craft market for shoppers, consisting of over 150 stalls, along with float and dance parades that really channel that Latin spirit.

San Diego Greek Festival is a 3-day celebration of all things… you guessed it, Greek. It takes place in the balmy June days most years, on lively Park Boulevard just north of Balboa Park, the very beating heart of the city. The action usually gets going by the middle of the morning and things wrap up around 10 pm.

As you might expect, food takes centre stage. Greek-heritage cooks flock from all over SoCal to produce a real mezze of enticing dishes, from spinach-packed spanakopita pie to traditional gyros to sizzling saganaki cheeses. You can also join in with Greek dancing and song, so be sure to practice your Zorba on the way over. 

San Diego's Pride Parade and Festival is firmly within the top 50 largest pride parades in the world. A stadium-busting 360,000 people are estimated to attend the party every year. It takes place all over the city, but is centred on leafy Balboa Park. The event has lots of build-up events but officially begins on the 2nd or 3rd weekend of July.

Things usually start with street parties and themed nights in the LGBTQ+ hot spot of Hillcrest on a Friday. Saturday sees the action move to Balboa and University Avenue, where the iconic dance, float and flag parade begins to make its way through the blocks. As evening closes in, attendees switch over to live music stages, which host major A-list acts.

The Coronado Flower Show is one for any budding botanist making their way through this surf-washed city in the spring months. It opens in a bloom of petals and lush leaves in the middle of April to catch the start of the warmer season. It's actually been going since the 1920s, so reigns as one of the longest-running cultural traditions in Coronado Beach.

Most of the impressive flower displays are shown inside large, tented grounds. They're managed by the City of Coronado and the Coronado Floral Association and host judged events that carry some of the most prestigious horticultural prizes in the US. Come to see everything from Venus flytraps to pink-tinged magnolias.

San Diego Bayfest mixes a touch of the surfer vibe, a sprinkle of that Cali-Mex character, and a whole load of reggae spirit. It's a Caribbean-themed music shindig at heart but comes with taco stands and craft beer tents by the beach. Head down to Waterfront Park in early July to catch it. Just be sure to get your tickets well in advance.

Bayfest likes to keep things simple by offering just a single stage. There's no debating what artist to watch and when. Just mosey down to see a hodgepodge of hip hop, dub, and coast reggae maestros doing their thing. There's a heavy focus on burgeoning American acts, with plenty of names coming in from California, the West Coast, and Hawaii.

The San Diego International Film Festival, or just SDiFF for short, is an 11-day blowout of everything cinema. Taking place only a quick whiz down the Pacific Highway from Hollywood, in the Gaslamp Quarter and the happening beach quarter of La Jolla, it draws many a big-name celeb for screenings, judged awards and networking events.

Recent years have seen a diversification in film categories. There's now a big focus on showcasing underrepresented voices. Expect showings of exciting new works of LGBTQ+ cinema, social-impact cinema, and Native American cinema especially. There are also A-lister afterparties packed with famous faces. Scoring a ticket might be a challenge.

The Miramar Air Show has been hailed as the single best military air show in the world by the International Council of Air Shows. It's also America's largest, and one of its longest-running, air shows. The whole thing now draws over 700,000 people each year. It takes place at the Marine Corps Air Station, up in the desert hills some 20 minutes' drive from Downtown San Diego.

Lovers of aircraft will not be disappointed. Everything from Cobra helicopters to F-16 fighter jets is on display. There are also vintage WWII crafts to boot. Then come the daring aerial performances, which inevitably include parachute jumpers and gravity-defying loop-de-loops.

CRSSD Festival is a relatively new addition to California's already pretty awesome array of chill hop and EDM fests. But it's now a permanent fixture of the San Diego calendar. It draws 15,000 or people per day, taking place across 2 days in the early springtime in the prime locale of Waterfront Park, just a few steps from the Gaslamp Quarter and Downtown.

The line-up of artists covers a big cross-section of the electronica scene. There will be burgeoning West Coast experimental acts alongside bigger names and veterans of Coachella et al. The festival also endorses many official after parties. Some even take place on the Inspiration Hornblower – a mega party yacht docked in San Diego Bay. 

The San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival promises a chill-out weekend of good music and good company. It takes place up in the breezy confines of Embarcadero Marina Park North on the side of San Diego Bay and in the balmy days of early July.

Festival-goers are treated to a medley of American soul, piano jazz, big-band straight out of Mississippi, blues, and avant-garde jazz. There's also local food trucks and cooking, along with craft beer and Californian wine tents. The real joy though? That has to be just how intimate this medium-sized music shindig feels. It's a great place to meet and mingle with San Diego's local jazz aficionados.