San Diego Winyl Club: The hottest weekly picnic in Balboa Park

Picnic blankets cover the grass like a haphazardly sewn quilt. Music is in the air, mixed with the smell of food and a little smoke. In the middle of this colorful expanse of fabric, someone is steaming dumplings on a gas burner and serving strangers and friends. Down the hill, a group juggles a soccer ball while others play Frisbee and a handful of people take turns slacklining. DoorDashers arrive with pizzas. Children weave through a maze of beach chairs and coolers. Balloons. A cat on a leash. Such is life on a Wednesday.

Once a week during the warmer months, 29-year-old Derek Larson and his friends lug DJ equipment and some of the biggest Bluetooth speakers money can buy to a hilly lawn in Balboa Park for a party they never intended to get this big: Winyl Club, a free, multigenerational gathering and one of the best vibes you can experience in SD.

“It’s not an original idea to take some friends and some wine and go to the park and play music,” Larson says. “But SD hasn’t had these mass outdoor events. It’s not easy to make it happen – working with the city is not fun – but especially in the summer, people like to go to the park and just relax.”

In 2021, Larson and his friends started meeting at Morley Field to play music and hang out. It was a regular gathering that seemed to grow week by week. When Larson gave the event a name and an Instagram account, things really took off.

“We moved it from Morley Field to Balboa after the first official year and it seemed to be a hit,” Larson says. “It was real, organic word of mouth.”

Now Winyl has become perhaps the largest regular park gathering place in SD. It’s even legal. Stop by on a Wednesday night and you might find hundreds of people on the lawn.

“It was something that wasn’t there, but was always there,” Larson says. “I guess you could say we just made sure there was a real space and the consistency that allowed people to come out.”

Now Larson and his crew are looking ahead.

“I try to let Winyl be its own thing,” he says. “Winyl could be anything. The possibilities are endless. We just want to keep it going for people.”