The Haight Street Fair is over, it isn't quite Pride yet, the 'hood is settling into its summer routine, and the coming days in and around the Haight are full of things to get up to, if you know where to look.
Tomorrow, June 20th, the de Young Museum launches one of its biggest exhibitions of the year, "J. M. W. Turner: Painting Set Free." The show, put together by the Tate, Getty and de Young museums, features over 60 later works by the artist. You can preview the exhibition here.
Tickets are are $25 on Saturday and Sunday, or $20 if you can wait to go on a weekday. They're available online (which you'll want to do if you plan to go this weekend, because it's going to be swamped). If you're a member of the museum who's free this evening, the show is open as a members-only preview from 1-8:30pm.
J.M.W. Turner's A Fire At The Tower Of London, 1841. (Photo: de Young Museum)
Meanwhile, it appears that the vehicle burglaries that have characterized the flavor of crime in the Upper Haight for most of the past year are still going strong. The SFPD Park Station announced earlier this month that it's simply powerless to deter the rash of thefts on its own, given the number of officers available and the number of streets they have to cover.
Of the 19 non-arrest incidents reported for the district in the current Park Station newsletter, only one was neither a burglary or a bike theft. (It was a stabbing.) Most of the burglaries were vehicle burglaries, including the following:
Victim was moving things from the trunk of his vehicle to his home. His vehicle was parked in the garage. Victim brought some of his items upstairs and had to step away from his vehicle for a few moments. When he returned to his vehicle, he discovered some items missing from the trunk. He looked around and noticed a thief with his bags. Victim confronted the thief and got into a brief struggle for his items. The thief got away, but the victim was able to retrieve his belongings without sustaining any injuries. The incident is under investigation.
The Park Station has asked neighbors and merchants in the area to be vigilant and to report suspicious activity; a number of burglaries take place on crowded streets and in broad daylight, and burglars often work up and down a street trying cars one by one until they net something.
Cheese fans should note that Say Cheese (856 Cole St.) is offering another cheese class next month, on Thursday, July 9th from 6:30-8 pm. The class, "I Like Your Style," is a broad tasting designed to cover cheese classification based on technique, history and flavor. It'll be held at Cafe Reverie and led by Say Cheese's head cheesemonger, Steve Wooten. Tickets ($35) include the class, a flight of tasting cheeses, and discounted Reverie drinks. Advance registration is required.
And lest you forget, the summer solstice is this Sunday, June 21st: get out and enjoy that sunlight as long as you can.
