It's arguably the most hectic weekend of the year for the North Beach area, but before we dive in, here's a look back at area news from the past week that you might have missed.
The new Joe DiMaggio Playground officially has a grand opening date of November 14th, well ahead of what was originally a projected January 2016 opening. The 2.5-acre park has a Mediterranean theme with fan palms, olive trees and lavender, in addition to children’s play areas and a resurfaced and renovated sports court area.
In local development news, the luxury condo and restaurant project set to be built on the former Pagoda Theater site appears to be full-steam ahead, despite some disagreements from district supervisors who believe the land would be better used for extending the Central Subway line. With the window of time before construction begins closing fast (it's slated for sometime "in October or November"), the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council held a rally on Thursday in support of the subway project. Stay tuned.
In other housing news, the 17 condos planned for the southwest corner of Bay and Powell streets, the former home of Caesar's restaurant, appear to be a go, with groundbreaking scheduled for next year and completion by 2018. The Chronicle also checked in on the "immense potential" of the proposed developments on the Embarcadero between Broadway and Davis, which would house the new Teatro ZinZanni dinner theater, and the 150 "affordable apartments" at the base of Telegraph Hill that were given the green light by the Port of San Francisco last week.
Speaking of ZinZanni, the Northeast Waterfront Advisory Group had a brief group meeting this week, touching on topics from the Salesforce Dreamboat to the re-opening of ZinZanni, which will start design work this month. Everyone is encouraged to attend the Waterfront Vision Workshop is on October 19th from 6–8:30pm at the Pier 27 cruise terminal; those who can't join can also leave comments online.
North Beach is the home base for Kinkbnb, a Airbnb-type service for the kink industry, allowing interested parties to find rental locations using wide-ranging criteria, from location, on-site amenities and particular sexual fetishes. We got to know the trio of entrepreneurs behind the business.
We're less than a month out from the November elections and SFgate.com noted a recent North Beach mobile workshop by the city's planning department evolved into an "all-in-one San Francisco event: planning, politics and protests," with District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen in the midst of it all.
Christensen inadvertently angered some locals late this week when she was quoted in a Chronicle article as saying that many housing "horror stories" perhaps weren't real, and that landlords had some horrific tales of their own. Twitter users snapped back with their personal housing stories under the hashtag #DearJulieImReal, which trended on the social site for the area most of Thursday.
The Bold Italic recently shared their definitive guide to eating and drinking in North Beach, noting that after you get around to the sights, there are plenty of places—from Park Tavern for brunch to Vesuvio for a Bohemian coffee—to enjoy a bite or a drink.
This weekend's highlights kick off with the return of Fleet Week, featuring the Blue Angels air show over the city. Then there's Sunday's Italian Heritage Parade, and the North Beach Bazaar both Saturday and Sunday. With all this excitement going on, streets will be closed and Muni will be affected, so plan accordingly.
On to your weekend events:
Saturday, October 10th
8th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival: Hosted by Terry Adams and Fred Dodsworth. Over 45 poets, including many from the East Bay poetry scene, will gather on Saturday and Sunday from 1-6pm. Free and open to the public. (540 Broadway)
Country Bandwaggin: If you need some prime seating for the air show, the Country Bandwaggin event at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion is worth a shot. They'll have country-music cover bands, craft beer, whiskey flights, BBQ options, food trucks and line dancing. Doors swing open at 2pm. (2 Marina Blvd.)
Fleet Week's Air Show: On both Saturday and Sunday, the air show will be performed between 12:30pm-4pm, featuring programs from the U.S. Navy Leap Frogs Parachute Team, the U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Demo, the Red Star Pilots Formation Team, a United Airlines 747 Demo and, of course, the Navy's Blue Angels, which will feature their first female pilot this year. Pier 39 is the official Fleet Week headquarters and will be packed with on-lookers. The streets leading up to Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower are also popular viewing areas.
Freaky Deaky: The SF-based jam band plays a free show at Pier 23 at 8pm.
Hot Pocket: The funk/reggae group performs at Tupelo, starting at 9:30pm. (1337 Grant Ave.)
John Heffron: The comedian and winner of Last Comic Standing's second season will perform at 7:30pm and 9:30pm sets at the Punch Line Comedy Club. (444 Battery St.)
Michael Ian Black: The comedian, actor, podcaster and director will perform two sets at Cobb's Comedy Club, at 7:30pm and 9:45pm. (915 Columbus Ave.)
North Beach Bazaar: Sponsored by the Sts. Peter and Paul Salesian School, the 96th annual North Beach Bazaar is on Saturday & Sunday from 11am-7pm. It features games and entertainment for the whole family, including face painting, a bouncy slide, salami toss, trick or treat bag creation, wine raffle, a sports bar and plenty of food options. Proceeds from the Bazaar benefit the the educational and scholarship goals for the K-8 grades at the school. You can read more about the event here. (660 Filbert St., across from Washington Square Park)
North Beach Brass Band: Playing New Orleans-style jazz, the homegrown five-piece group performs at Doc's Lab starting at 8pm. (124 Columbus Ave.)
Superbad: The SF-based four-piece cover band take the stage at Maggie McGarry's, beginning at 10pm. (1353 Grant Ave.)
Tainted Love: The '80s cover band welcomes David Bowie tribute band The Jean Genies during their performance at Bimbo's 365 at 9pm. (1025 Columbus Ave.)
Tomoko Funaki: The upright jazz bassist performs at Rose Pistola, beginning at 9pm. (532 Columbus Ave.)
Zombie Scavenger Hunt: The Saturday Night Action Club's costumes-encouraged competitive bar crawl will meet at the Bamboo Hut. Tickets must be purchased in advance. (479 Broadway)
Sunday, October 11th
Barren Vines: The bluegrass outfit plays a free show at Pier 23, starting at 5pm.
Electric Squeezebox Orchestra: The 17-piece big band welcomes SF native and jazz saxophonist Charlie Gurke for its weekly performance at Doc's Lab, starting at 5:30pm.
Founder's Day at the Exploratorium: The popular museum will have open admission to celebrate its anniversary. Doors open at 10am; entry is subject to capacity, so show up early. (Pier 15)
Frank Tusa: The jazz double-bassist, composer and educator will play Rose Pistola at 8pm.
Italian Heritage Parade: Starting at 12:30pm, North Beach will celebrate the Italian Heritage Parade, featuring 93 units of bands, marchers, vehicles, floats, dancers, and equestrians—the largest number of entries in parade history. Check out this Hoodline post for more, including the complete parade route.
Keith and The Girl: Cobb's Comedy Club will host this comedy talk show, led by Keith Malley and Chemda, which covers current events, pop culture and politics. It kicks off at 7:30pm.
SF Comedy Showcase: The showcase of up-and-coming SF comedians returns for its weekly 8pm performance at the Punch Line Comedy Club.
The Love Gangsters: The jazz and soul group round out the weekend music performances at Tupelo, beginning at 9pm.
Need a jump start on next week? Ernie Beyl, author of Sketches from a North Beach Journal, will be giving a reading at the Live Worms Gallery (1345 Grant Ave.) on Monday at 6:30pm. His last event, at Original Joe's, drew a packed crowd, so get there early.
Did we miss anything good? Let us know in the comments, and enjoy your weekend!
