Looking Back At A Week of Panhandle Community Events

Looking Back At A Week of Panhandle Community EventsPhotos: Morgan Fitzgibbons
Nuala Sawyer
Published on November 22, 2014
The second ever NOW! Community Festival wraps up today, after a jam-packed week of slackline walking, silent discos, and free concerts.

Despite a rainy forecast, organizer Morgan Fitzgibbons was cheerful about the results. "The weather is a big difference from last time and it forced us to shift a few things around, but it hasn't really been as detrimental as we feared," he said.

Some of the major highlights included:

Comedy at the Convent on Tuesday night saw a packed house, four great comedians, and a guest appearance from Margaret Cho, who was making the rounds in San Francisco this week. 



If you biked or walked through the Panhandle you may have noticed a Story Forest hanging from one of our park's trees. The installation lasted for two days before it was taken down, but a couple participants managed to make this short clip while it was still up: 

  

Having two live bands perform in the Panhandle via silent disco equipment was also cited as a top event. A park ranger apparently appeared on the scene as the party wrapped up, but was informed that despite having a band there was no amplified sound. "He didn't really know what to do with that," said Fitzgibbons.



Free flowers were once again handed out. Combined with a large game involving tie-dye, which was a huge hit, Haight Ashbury began to vaguely resemble its '60s-era self.  

It appears that the festival achieved its goal to "co-create the best possible version of community for one extraordinary week." The next NOW! Panhandle Community Festival is slated for April, coinciding with Earth Week. So stay tuned for that. And if you have ideas for the next edition, let the organizers know.