In case you missed them, here are some of the news highlights from around the neighborhood during this first full week of October.
Clancy's, San Francisco's oldest pumpkin patch, is once again open for business. Head over to 7th Ave. at Lawton St. for a variety of pumpkins, turkeys, a hay maze, and hay rides. They're open from 9am-9pm daily until October 31st.
On Monday, we brought you scenes of the performers, vendors, and revelers at last weekend's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. Nearly 750,000 people attended the free three-day event in Golden Gate Park.
We also saw troubling festival-related news, as a violent robbery and a homicide were reported in Golden Gate Park near the festival grounds. On Friday night, a 31-year old female was struck on the head and lost consciousness. When she came to, her backpack, wallet, keys and money were gone. On Saturday morning, the body of 23-year-old Canadian Audrey Carey was found near JFK and Chain of Lakes Dr, with signs of blunt-force trauma. She had been traveling solo from her hometown in Quebec, and planned to go to Europe next.
We also recapped Monday night's Inner Sunset Park Neighbors' town hall forum on local businesses. Among the topics discussed were the efficacy of Planning Department policies meant to protect the neighborhood's character, which panelists called somewhat effective, though imperfect. Other concerns were the effects of rising commercial rents on business turnover and the lack of grocery stores.
Now, we turn to the weekend. Here's what's in store:
Friday, October 9th
Friday Nights at the de Young: 40 Years of Persistence in the San Francisco Arts Community
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, 5pm-8:30pm
Host Description: “Join ArtSpan at this special Friday Nights at the de Young with live art performances, video art, and an intriguing panel discussion that features several generations of San Francisco artists who persist in this changing city. From the disco days to the technology craze, we will celebrate 40 years of SF Open Studios and the artists who live and work in San Francisco.” (One of those artists is Mark Harris, who we profiled earlier this week and who'll be painting live.) As always, food and drink are available for purchase, the permanent collection is free, and special exhibitions are discounted to $15.
Photo: de Young Museum
New Exhibit at SF Women Artists
647 Irving St.
The SF Women Artists kicked off a new gallery show this week called Flora and Fauna, which you can catch until the end of the month. The all-media exhibition is juried by curator and consultant Matt McKinley, and runs from Oct. 6th-31st. Gallery hour are Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm, and Sun., 10am-2pm.
Saturday, October 10th
Golden Gate Park Horseshoe Pits Volunteer Workparty
Meet at the front stairs of the Conservatory of Flowers, 10am-12:30pm
Host Description: “Join the RPD Natural Areas Program gardeners and the members of the San Francisco Horseshoe Pitching Club in a volunteer workparty at this historic recreational site within Golden Gate Park. Volunteer work tasks will include habitat and playing-court restoration." Tools and light refreshments are provided. To RSVP, email recparkvolunteer [at] sfgov [dot] org, or call 415-831-6330.
SF Botanical Garden’s Monthly Plant Sale
Botanical Garden Nursery, 1199 9th Ave., 10am-1pmHost Description: “Come by for a unique opportunity to admire and acquire an outstanding selection of plants seldom found in commercial nurseries or garden centers. Enjoy a wide variety of plants at each monthly Saturday sale, in addition to featured selections, based on the season. Find the right plants for your Bay Area (or beyond!) microclimate with many propagated from our very own collections.” This month’s featured plants are trees, ferns, and rhododendrons.
Hidden Garden Steps Events
1490 16th Ave.
Stairway to (Ice Cream) Heaven: 10am -12:30pm
Host Description (Greenbelt Alliance): “Band together with fellow urban explorers for a 3-mile walk in San Francisco’s Sunset District. We will climb the Moraga Steps—a magical mosaic stairway and the fruit of the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project—to majestic views of the Pacific Ocean and that reddish-orangish bridge you might have heard of. Afterwards, we’ll collect our sweet, sweet reward for hiking up all those steps at Polly Ann Ice Cream." Meet at 16th Ave. and Moraga St., bring walking shoes, liquids and lunch, and contact Ken Lavin (klavin [at] greenbelt [dot] org) with any questions.
Photo: Hidden Garden Steps
Monthly Community Clean-Up: 1pm-3pm
Host Description: “All are welcome to join the Hidden Garden Steps monthly community clean-up (always held on the second Saturday of the month on 16th Ave between Kirkham & Lawton). Clean up is 1-3pm, unless heavy rain cancels the event. Tools & gloves are provided; donations of succulents & California native plants are always appreciated. This is a great chance to meet neighbors and hear about other projects under discussion.” For more information contact hiddengardensteps [at] gmail [dot] com.
Garden for the Environment Classes
Lawton St. at 7th Ave.
Grow Your Own Food in October!: 10am-12pm
Host Description: “Year-round vegetable gardening makes you a part of creating a seasonal, local and clean food system. To take full advantage of the unique gardening climate in San Francisco, it’s important to know your vegetable garden’s needs each month. Join GFE and Carey Craddock as we take a closer look at what to do in your garden in October to ensure a bountiful harvest all fall. This month will focus on caring for your emerging winter garden, and how to properly harvest greens and lettuce, as well as a tour of what’s growing at the GFE in October.” The class is $15 for GFE members and $25 for the general public.
Gardening in a Drought: 1pm-3pm
Host Description: “Our dynamic and diverse garden thrives in San Francisco's summer-dry climate. Come take a tour of our beautiful water-wise demonstration garden! While our experts guide you through the space, you will have the opportunity to ask your gardening questions, learn to reduce outdoor water use and get inspired by our climate-appropriate blooms.” This class is free for all.
Photo: Garden for the Environment
21st Annual Arab Cultural Festival
Hall of Flowers, 1199 9th Ave., 11am-7pm
Host Description (The Arab Cultural & Community Center of SF): “Celebrating with the community our Arab Heritage Month in San Francisco and celebrating a year of RENEWAL. An event full of live cultural entertainment, music, dancing, singing, poetry and more from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria & Iraq. A wide variety of authentic cuisines and home made sweets. Lots of kids' activities. A traditional market SOUK including many local vendors.”
Litquake Presents: Fiston Mwanza Mujila
Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 9th Ave., 7:30pm
Congolese author Fiston Mwanza Mujila and translator Roland Glasser will discuss Mujila’s debut novel Tram 83 at Green Apple Books, as part of 2015’s Litquake festival. About Tram 83: “Two friends, one a budding writer home from Europe, the other an ambitious racketeer, meet in the only nightclub, the Tram 83, in a war-torn city-state in secession, surrounded by profit-seekers of all languages and nationalities. Tram 83 plunges the reader into the modern African gold rush as cynical as it is comic and colorfully exotic, using jazz rhythms to weave a tale of human relationships in a world that has become a global village.”
Sunday, October 11th
Spreckles Temple of Music, Golden Gate Park, 8:30am-10:30am
Host Description: “Runners, walkers and revelers will put on their best costumes for a morning of rollicking fun, fitness and charity in Golden Gate Park. Participants can select either a 5K or 10K course. Some people run, some people walk. Everyone has fun. That’s because all proceeds benefit the free, life-saving HIV prevention and care programs of San Francisco AIDS Foundation.” Registration is $50-$75, or you can sign up to volunteer.
SF Miles for Midwives 5K Fun Run/Walk
Peacock Meadow, Golden Gate Park, 240 JFK Dr., 9am-1pm
Host Description: “We invite you and your family to join us for the 3rd SF Miles for Midwives, a stroller-friendly 5K fun run/walk that celebrates midwifery and the women and families served by Bay Area midwives. Join us afterwards for prizes, music and a midwifery fair, featuring fantastic local practices and organizations. The proceeds will go towards increasing access to midwifery care for California families.” Registration is $30 in advance or $40 cash on race day.
Photo: SF Miles for Midwives
6th Ave. and JFK Dr., Noon-5pm
Host Description: “There is a happy place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park that is heaven for Bay Area inline skaters and roller skaters who like to boogie to the funky beat on wheels ... Skaters have been rollin' here since the roller disco days of 1979, when it was common to see 15,000 to 20,000 people flocking to the park to skate on Sundays when there are no cars. The closed roads become a safe recreational paradise for runners, walkers, skaters, cyclists and others who were looking to escape the pressures of the fast-paced city lifestyle and enjoy themselves in a lush, green, sylvan park environment.”
Enjoy the weekend, Sunsetters!
