Picnic blankets cover the grass like a quilt haphazardly half-stitched together. Music is in the air, mixed with the smell of food, some smoke. In the middle of this multicolored cloth expanse, someone is steaming dumplings on a gas burner, 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. Kids weave in and out of a labyrinth of beach chairs and coolers. Balloons. A cat on a leash. This is where it’s at on a Wednesday.
Once a week in the warmer months, 29-year-old Derek Larson and his friends haul DJ equipment and some of the biggest Bluetooth speakers money can buy to a rolling patch of grass in Balboa Park for a party they never intended to get so big: Winyl Club, a free, multigenerational gathering and one of the best vibes to catch in SD.
“It’s not an original idea to get some friends and some wine and go to the park and play some music,” Larson says. “But it’s something SD didn’t have, these mass gatherings out in the open. It’s not easy to make happen—the city is not fun to work with—but, especially during summertime, people love to go out to the park and just chill.”
In 2021, Larson and friends started getting together at Morley Field to play music and hang out, a consistent meetup that seemed to grow by the week. When Larson gave the function a name and an Instagram account, that’s when things took off.
“We moved it to Balboa from Morley Field after the first official year, and it seemed to catch fire,” Larson says. “It was real, organic word-of-mouth.”
Now, Winyl has turned into perhaps the biggest regular park hang in SD. It’s even permitted. Roll up on a Wednesday evening, and you might find hundreds of people on the grass.
“It was something that wasn’t there, but was always there,” Larson says. “I guess you could say we just allowed it to have an actual space and have the consistency to allow people to come out.”
Now, Larson and crew are looking ahead.
“I’m trying 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 the people.”
