The tents you might have seen sprouting on the Panhandle's lawn at the Ashbury crossing are in preparation for tomorrow night's Party For the Parks, a fundraising gala hosted by the San Francisco Parks Alliance to benefit, in part, the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.

Proceeds from the gala—tickets for which start at $275 apiece—are generally split between the Parks Alliance, San Francisco Rec & Parks' general fund, and a Rec & Parks named project dictated by the Parks Alliance's board, said Rachel Norton, the Parks Alliance's CEO.

In this case, she said, the primary beneficiary of the funds would be the 13 playgrounds across the city named as priorities, including the Panhandle Playground.

"The reason why we chose the Panhandle is because the Panhandle Playground is one of the first playgrounds prioritized for improvements," she said.

In 2014, the Panhandle Playground was initially designated as one of the first city playgrounds to be renovated with part of a 2012 "failing playgrounds" fund. The playground hasn't been updated in 18 years.

But not everyone is thrilled about the gala. The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council is planning to protest the event tomorrow evening, said Calvin Welch, a HANC boardmember.

The protest, which Welch said "is really more of an informational picket," is designed to draw attention to Rec & Parks' stagnant, stalled promise to repave the Panhandle's southern pedestrian pathway, Welch said. "We're not really protesting the event itself," he said, "although we're a little pissed about it."

After two years of sporadic talks with Rec & Parks and a promise to supplement city funds with a $600K supplement, HANC feels that the city is refusing to hear neighborhood requests to improve the walkway. "Rec & Parks doesn't seem to care about the park," Welch said. "They continue to disregard pretty broad neighborhood sentiments to redo the southern pathway."

While HANC supports the fundraiser for playground improvements, he said, "the southern pathway is, in fact, the principal way moms and dads [in the neighborhood] get their kids to the playground." 

"We're taking this opportunity to go to one of their lavish commercial events to say, 'Hey, what about us residents, who pay the taxes?' We're going to ask the friends of the park to help us remind Rec & Parks that access to the parks, access to the children's facilities, are as important as building children's facilities."

As of earlier this year, southern pathway improvements were still possible, but contingent on funding, Rec & Parks spokesperson Sarah Madland told us. We'll continue to keep you posted on any upcoming Panhandle projects.

Thanks to tipster Mac M.