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DUBOCE PARK UPDATE – OCTOBER 12, 2017
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20TH ANNUAL TAG SALE SUCCESS
Sunny skies, fabulous bargains, and community spirit were all part of the Friends of Duboce Park 20th Annual Tag Sale on Saturday, September 9. The proceeds from this year’s Tag Sale paid for the newly installed lights (see photo above) in the alley on the north side of the Recreation Center, between Carmelita and Scott streets. Last year, the Tag Sale paid for a fresh coat of paint for the playground equipment and replaced two rusting slides in the playground.
We started collecting donations from 5:30-7 p.m. at a white rental truck parked near the Photo Center on the Tuesday before the sale. Hundreds of neighbors donated items and shopped at the sale. Over 60 volunteers helped load and organize the truck during the week, unload the truck on the day of the sale, setup all of the various “departments,” sell the donated merchandise in two-and-a-half hour shifts from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and, break down and clean up after the sale.
An album of photos from the Tag Sale can be found on the Duboce Park Facebook page A special thanks to all of the volunteers and a very special shout out to our Tag Sale Chairperson, Rose Gillen.
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NEXT VOLUNTEER DAY SATURDAY OCTOBER 14
Join the Friends of Duboce Park at our next volunteer day on Saturday, October 14, from 10 a.m.-noon. Since our normal volunteer day in September would have been on the same day as the Tag Sale, the September date was cancelled.
In August, 20 volunteers refurbished the small planting bed between the basketball court and the playground with colorful pollinator plants. A new tree was also planted there and this “triangle” will complement the other pollinator beds in the playground and Pierce Street planting circle. We also some weeded and pruned the planting beds just outside the Photo Center.
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Our volunteer day is always the second Saturday of every month. 30 minutes or an hour of your time makes a big difference in the appearance of our park. Volunteers gave more than 187,000 hours of their time and energy to improving our 225 parks and recreation facilities in 2016. Contact rose@friendsofdubocepark.org or 415-255-8370 for more information or with any questions or comments.
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ENCAUSTIC PAINTING CLASSES STARTING
An introduction to Encaustic Painting will be taught at the Harvey Milk Center from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on three Saturdays: October 14, November 4, and December 2.
Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The photograph on the right is a Buddha Ecaustic Painting by Edward Fielding.
This one-day class will cover a brief history of the medium, the diversity of encaustic painting, explanations of tools and materials, techniques used, visual references and a hands-on approach. Each student will complete two unique pieces of art. Students will need to bring collage materials including photographs and two-dimensional personal keepsakes (can be photocopied). All other materials will be provided. This workshop is open to all painting and art making skill levels.
The complete catalogue of classes is available online or you can pick up the 122-page catalogue in the lobbies of the Rec Center and Photo Center. Recreation and Parks offers Recreation Scholarships to eligible individuals and families. More than $1 million in scholarships in Rec and Parks programs has been provided. Ongoing eligibility is dependent on attendance record. Please call Lillian Bautista, Scholarship Coordinator, at (415) 831-2717 for information on how to qualify.
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Proceeds from our Tag Sale this year were used to pay for new lighting (see picture at the top of this newsletter) in the alley on the north side of the Recreation Center that should make that shortcut between Carmelita and Scott streets much safer and deter drug injection and other illegal behavior. The four new light fixtures illuminate the darkest parts of the alley.
The two large bushes that were located just outside the northern low wall of the Scott Street Labyrinth were removed to allow people to sit on the wall and also create more open sight lines into that part of the park. New plants will be installed as soon as the existing roots have a chance to decompose.
The fence in the Dog Play Area will remain up until the new grass has a chance to take hold. Some areas inside the fence look brown and the area just east of the fence (shown below left) also looks worn down to the dirt. The fence forced the annual Bark in the Park last Saturday to use a much smaller area of the Dog Play Area.
There are also extremely worn areas that are down to dirt near the northeastern edge of the hill, next to the pedestrian path ( below middle) and also around the benches on the upper lawn (shown below right) Rec and Park has been notified and has promised to address the problem.
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PHOTO SHOW OPENING: JAY BLAKESBERG
The Opening Reception for Jay Blakesberg’s Light and Dark Show at the Photo Center is Thursday, November 9 from 5:30-9 p.m. The show continues through January 6.
The exhibition features iconic images of blues legends (all now sadly deceased) Muddy Waters, BB King, James Cotton and Johnny Winter taken in 1979 – two weeks after Blakesberg’s high School graduation. There are portraits of Tom waits, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Carlos Santana and many more that were shot on assignment for rock magazines such as Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, or BAM (Bay Area Music Magazine).
Photographs of whirling dervishes shot at Grateful Dead concerts stand beside photographs of stage divers and at festivals such as Lollapalooza. Blakesberg’s hyper sensitive personality is always scanning the scene looking for the unique and interesting photograph that will tell the story of that day!
In 1978, at age 16, Jay Blakesberg’s father loaned him a Pentax camera to take pictures at a Grateful Dead concert in his home state of New Jersey. That was the beginning of a 40-year adventure photographing the rock and roll experience. His first paid assignment came in September 1979 when the Aquarian Weekly paid Jay $15 to run two photographs in the free weekly. In November 1987, Jay landed his first assignment with Rolling Stone Magazine to photograph a free U2 concert in downtown San Francisco.
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STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Step outside your comfort zone with this three-day street photography course, designed to introduce and enhance your approach to documenting people. Using environmental elements, urban backdrops and strangers in the street, you will be encouraged to observe the scene, build confidence in capturing your subject(s) and develop an artistic focus to create a candid narrative of daily life.
The course is being offered Friday-Sunday, October 20-22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Transportation to field locations will be via San Francisco Street Cars. Class time will balance between lecture, field work, guided challenges and ending review. Please note that camera proficiency is required and a DSLR or CSC is required for the field work.
The complete class schedule and description of all of the courses offered at the Photo Center is listed online or you pick up the full catalogue of courses at the Center. Don’t hesitate to call the Photo Center at (415) 554-9522 with any questions.
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FREE BLUEGRASS IN THE PARKS
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the annual free music gathering in Golden Gate Park, featured over 90 musical artists on 7 stages last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Hellman Hollow, and Lindley and Marx meadows. As Fleet Week stunt planes periodically roared above, thousands of music lovers attended the three-day outdoor concert held less than a week after the horrible massacre at a country music concert in Las Vegas. Organizers estimated that about 250,000 people attended each day, for a total of about 750,000 over the weekend. Performers included John Prine, Jello Biafra, Randy Newman, Cheap Trick, Conor Oberst, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Big Fredia, Bob Weir, and many others.
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Bluegrass music continues with the free closing concert of the San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival (SFBOT) this Sunday, October 15, noon-4 p.m. at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre in McLaren Park (off of John F. Shelley Drive near Cambridge Street). This special Sunday event showcases several local troubadours at a non-stop afternoon of new and traditional tunes sung and played by several well-known bluegrass bands. Here’s the lineup:
12-12:45 p.m. AJ Lee and Blue Summit. Featured in the Chronicle.
1-1:45 p.m. Beauty Operators
2-2:45 p.m. Crooked Jades (tentative). Old-time band have released six albums.
3-3:45 p.m. Rusty Stringfield. Played the Redwood Ramble and Strawberry Music festivals this year.
4-5:15 p.m. Bluegrass All Stars Featuring Laurie Lewis (picture above). Grammy award winner and long-time local legend.
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Boo! Scaregrove returns to Stern Grove (19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard), on Friday, October 27 from 3 to 9 p.m. An "out of this world" Halloween event, this year's event will feature a costume contest and parade, haunted houses, hay rides, carnival rides, giant inflatables, food for sale and live entertainment. The cost is $10 per person; children under 2 years old are free! Tickets are now available at the McLaren Lodge Annex (501 Stanyan Street in Golden Gate Park), Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., until the day of the event, or by mail until October 20 by calling (415) 831-6800.
The San Francisco Giants’ Mission Rock project will turn a 28-acre parking south of AT&T Park onto a new neighborhood of up to 1,500 housing units, 1.5 million square feet of retail land office space, and eight acres of parks.
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The Duboce Triangle celebrated the opening of McKinley Elementary's schoolyard on September 23. McKinley's great schoolyard is now available for the whole neighborhood to enjoy on the weekends between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. as park of the Shared Schoolyard Project. The schoolyard will be opened by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks department and cleaned by the San Francisco DPW.
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The opening celebration featured friends and families enjoying mouthwatering tacos while the kids participated in various games, water painting under the sun, soccer, or one of the many other activities conducted by the organizations that participated. For a list of all of the schoolyards open on weekends, visit their the Shared Schoolyard website.
San Francisco’s first bike park, McLaren Bike Park, has its grand opening on Saturday, October 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The brand-new park is located within McLaren Park at 2050 Sunnydale Avenue next to Gleneagles Golf Course. The event will feature a ribbon cutting, pump-style bike competition, kids’ races, food, raffle, bike demos and more!
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Rec and Park announced that a newly constructed park space in Chinatown is scheduled to open in early October. The 6,000 square-foot Rooftop Park, which is connected to St. Mary's Square, contains planted areas, seating and an open plaza. It was built as a condition of approval from the San Francisco Planning Department for the development of 500 Pine Street and 350 Bush Street; the owners of 500 Pine St. and 350 Bush St. will work with Rec and Park to maintain
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it. The new plaza is located at Quincy Street between California and Pine Streets and is accessible to the public through St. Mary's Square.
Another 5.4-acre rooftop park will open over the new Salesforce Transit Center in March 2018 that includes 12 distinct gardens and more than 400 trees amid plazas and meadows. The main entrance will be at Mission and Fremont streets. The rooftop will be managed by PWP Landscape Architecture.
JOIN FRIENDS OF DUBOCE PARK
Annual Membership dues for a Supporting Member are $25 per person and entitle you to voting privileges and participation in the governance of the organization. Your dues help cover the few costs we have, such as our website, newsletter, movie nights, and insurance.
Your tax-deductible membership is gratefully accepted and should be sent to Friends of Duboce Park, 79 Scott Street, San Francisco, CA 94117. Friends of Duboce Park are a 501(c)(3) organization. General Membership is still available at no cost but does not carry any voting privileges. Another way to show your support is by getting involved. If you are interested, please contact President Doug Woo at doug@friendsofdubocepark.org.
Our Mission Statement includes the following: "to organize and represent the collective interests regarding Duboce Park; to beautify and promote safety within Duboce Park; and, to initiate and/or support beneficial neighborhood projects on behalf of Duboce Park."
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER CALENDAR
Saturday, October 14, 10 a.m.-noon. Friends of Duboce Park Volunteer Day. Contact Rose at rose@friendsofdubocepark.org or 415-255-8370.
Thursday, November 9, 5:30-9 p.m. Photo Show Opening: Jay Blakesberg Light and Dark. Photo Center. Visit harveymilkphotocenter.org.
Saturday, November 11, 10 a.m.-noon. Friends of Duboce Park Volunteer Day. Contact Rose at rose@friendsofdubocepark.org or 415-255-8370.
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