eNews from SF Recreation and Parks- August 2, 2023

[SF Recreation and Parks]

Updates, news and events in San Francisco parks   Highlights, News & Announcements San Francisco Announces Four-Day Carnival to Open in Civic Center Mayor London Breed announced earlier this week the upcoming arrival of Civic Center Carnival, a vibrant four-day carnival that promises to infuse the heart of the Civic Center with summer delights and thrilling family entertainment. Civic Center Carnival will kick off Thursday, August 24 and run through Sunday, August 27, on Fulton Street between San Francisco Public Library Main Library and the Asian Art Museum. It will be open from 2:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 12:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday; and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. It will feature carnival games and rides, including a Ferris wheel, 100-foot super slide, fun house, spinning teacups and more. Guests can indulge in classic fair treats including hand-dipped corn dogs, Hawaiian shave ice, funnel cakes, popcorn, cotton candy, caramel apples and French fries. Admission to Civic Center Carnival requires a $10 minimum purchase toward games, rides or food for each person over 12. Rec and Park will distribute a limited number of complimentary passes to nonprofits serving youth in its Equity Zones, including the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods. The event comes on the heels of Rec and Park’s announcement of a pilot program to transform neighboring UN Plaza. Drawing inspiration from activations in Paris, Madrid and Philadelphia, Rec and Park will install a street skating area, exercise equipment, and tables for chess, ping pong and teqball. The project is scheduled to break ground in September and open roughly six weeks later. For more information, click the link below. Civic Center Carnival   Women's World Cup Watch Party at the JFK Promenade on August 5 Thank you to everyone who has come out to our first two FIFA Women's World Cup watch parties to cheer on the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT). The first two took place at the Crossing at East Cut and Embarcadero Plaza, where the USWNT secured a win against Vietnam and a draw against the Netherlands. The next World Cup watch party will take place on Saturday, August 5 on the JFK Promenade at the 14th Avenue East Meadow at 7 p.m. with live music, food trucks, and family-friendly activities beginning at 4 p.m. The match will feature the Netherlands against South Africa. For more information, click the link below. World Cup SF   Goalpher Community Celebration on August 7 at Sunset Rec Center Join us on Monday, August 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. to celebrate the recent installation of Goalphers at the Sunset Recreation Center (2201 Lawton Street) outdoor basketball courts. The event will feature soccer activities, a brief speaking program and special celebrity guests. Goalphers are an easy pull-up goal system that are placed underneath basketball hoops. Park users now have more access and flexibility for play options like soccer or hockey. When play is over, the goals disappear back into the ground.  A special thanks to the Over Under Initiative (OUI) and DICK'S Sporting Goods who made this park improvement possible! For more information about the project and facility, click the link below. Sunset Recreation Center   National Night Out Celebrated in Our Parks Thank you to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), our Park Rangers, and everyone who came out for citywide National Night Out block parties on August 1. This annual community-building campaign organized by SFPD promotes community partnerships and neighborhood comradery with the goal of creating safer and stronger neighborhoods. We were proud to have hosted many of these block parties in our parks, including at Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center, Boeddeker Park, Mission Playground, Muriel Leff Mini Park and more. We look forward to celebrating again next year!   Now Hiring: Environmental Educator Interns We are hiring Environmental Educator Interns to help lead our Youth Stewardship Program (YSP) this coming year, from November 6, 2023 to August 25, 2024. YSP is a free environmental education program offered to the San Francisco Unified School District and youth-serving organizations. Interns will lead youth on field trips to San Francisco parks to help them understand the role they play in building healthy communities. For more information, including hours, compensation and more, click the link below.   To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to Lucinda Seagraves at lucinda.segraves at sfgov.org by Wednesday, September 6 at 6 p.m. Environmental Educator Internship Flyer   NY Times: The Magical Space Where Fun is Every Child's Birthright Check out the recent article from New York Times that highlights recreation centers as a critical place for youth where they can play, make friends, get exercise and have fun. Read the full article at the link below, and check out our list of recreation centers to see where you can get out and play in San Francisco this week! Magical Space Where Fun is Every Child's Birthright   People of the Parks: Where Community Grows To wrap up July as National Park and Recreation Month, we're celebrating the essential role park and recreation professionals play in creating community. Last month at Rec and Park’s annual Play Day, we caught up with Garfield Recreation Center coordinator Antonio. Antonio has been leading summer camps and after-school programs at Garfield for three years. The most rewarding part of his job, he said, is serving children who don’t always have access to such programs. “What makes our summer camp unique from the others is that we really keep it open to the kids who live in public housing. Sometimes, kids on the lower end of the economic scale are an afterthought and it’s really cool that we can make them the focus,” he said. According to Antonio, his summer camp had a blast at Play Day, held last month at Bayview KC Jones Playground. The annual event has been going on for 35 years. This year, some 1,800 youth from Rec and Park’s various summer camps kept busy with a variety of activities, including carnival rides, sports, games, live entertainment, food, swimming, and much more. “This is one of the best events to bring kids to because there’s just so much to do,” he said. “The kids really love it.” People of the Parks is a series of short stories, based on conversations with people we meet in San Francisco parks.   SF Environment: Interview of Rec and Park's Mei Ling Hui “I never really felt like I belonged anywhere until I had the opportunity to contribute to my community the way I can now,” says Mei Ling, who manages Rec and Park's Community Gardens Program. “I feel like I belong to the city as much as the city belongs to me.” Walking around San Francisco, Mei Ling often spots a street tree she helped plant or a neighbor whose garden she helped bloom. It makes her feel like she’s part of the ecosystem of the city. She remembers the giant trees that grew in her neighborhood park as a child, walking past them to her elementary school and wondering what they were called. Years later, when she moved to San Francisco and began working in urban land management, she finally learned that those trees were sycamores and felt the same curiosity in connection to her environment. In her role at Rec and Park, Mei Ling spends her days building connections between the people who live here and the landscapes they inhabit. Along with managing the Community Gardens program, Mei Ling and her team are focused on reducing barriers for anyone who wants to garden anywhere in the city. They provide support to more than 20,000 people a year through their education and community resource programs, including Garden Resource Day in which Rec and Park provides free materials, like compost and vegetable seeds, as well as gardening advice to the public. She’s thankful for all the partnerships her team has been able to develop for this program, including major support from SF Environment for funding this year’s compost giveaways and the UC Master Gardener Program’s volunteer expertise. Garden Resource Day helps connect neighbors to each other as well as support food security and has proven so popular that Rec and Park is currently scoping a project to build the San Francisco Garden Resource Outreach and Workshop Center, or GROW Center. This facility will expand on Garden Resource Day programming, both in frequency and scope, allowing Mei Ling’s team to help more San Franciscans with their gardens. Mei Ling shared, “At the Recreation and Park Department, we all love that we get to make spaces in the city that are for everyone and we’d love your support as we work towards building out the SF GROW Center. The parks belong to all of us – this Park and Recreation Month and every month, we hope that you get out there and enjoy your parks!” You can learn more about Rec and Park's Urban Agriculture program at the link below. Urban Agriculture   Rec and Park's Urban Ag Team: How to Protect Gardens from Birds In the Winter 2023 edition of Rec and Park's The ComPost newsletter, our Urban Agriculture team shared the preliminary results of a doctoral thesis by PHD student Kelley Langhans that catalogued the presence of a variety of birds in our community gardens as well as how our community feels about them. In her recently published final report, Langhans shared that gardeners recognize that birds eat things that are trying to eat our crops, like slugs, caterpillars, and moths, but they are just as likely to eat newly planted seeds and seedlings. Kelley's final report can be viewed at the link below. The only way to keep your plants safe from birds is to cover them. Repellant strategies such as artificial owls, hanging metallic or shiny items, planting companion plants with strong scents or using essential oils may work at first, but tend to lose effectiveness over time. Additionally, feeding birds to redirect them is not allowed in public parks or community gardens and can increase the problem over time. The good news is that once your plants reach roughly 8 inches tall, most birds will stop bothering them until they bear fruit. For young plants, bird netting or garden cloth work great as exclusionary materials. Netting has the additional benefit of allowing small beneficial insects access to your crops for pollination. Use netting with holes smaller than one centimeter and replace them when seams fray or fail. To construct a frame to support the fabric, use PVC, bamboo or bendable arches purchased from your local garden store. Stretch the netting or fabric over the frame and secure it to the ground with gardening staples or rocks. SF Garden Birds Project Report   Outside Lands Music Festival's Meadow and Road Closures Outside Lands is just around the corner! Please note that meadow and road closures in Golden Gate Park have begun with Middle Drive to accommodate the load in/load out for the festival, along with the Polo Field and Marx Meadow. JFK Drive will be closed beginning August 7. See the map above for bike and car detours in Golden Gate Park. For more information and to stay up to date, click the link below. Outside Lands 311   Coyote Pupping Season in our Parks As we hit the dog days of summer, it means that we're in the midst of coyote pupping season. While coyotes are generally wary of humans, parent coyotes may become territorial if you or your pet stumbles upon their den. To foster a safe coexistence between yourself and our natural neighbors, please take the following precautions: Never feed coyotes or any wildlife Keep dogs on leashes in our parks, unless in a designated off-leash dog play area Only admire coyotes from a distance If you encounter a coyote, slowly back away carrying any small children or pets. Do not run. You may also scare the coyote away by appearing large and making loud noises. If you encounter a coyote or see someone putting out food for a coyote, report it to Animal Care and Control (ACC) at (415) 554-9400, or by email at ACC at sfgov.org. For more information, visit ACC's coyote page at the link below. Living with Urban Wildlife: Coyotes   Upcoming Events SF Bay Area Pro-Am on August 3; Championship Series Begins August 7 The legendary San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am basketball league is wrapping up its summer season at Kezar Pavilion (755 Stanyan Street). The league features many talented hoopers ranging from professionals to college players. League alumni includes Steph Curry and recently crowned NBA champion Aaron Gordon. Attend the game on Thursday, August 3 at 8 p.m., to find out who will be facing SF City in the championship series, starting on Monday, August 7. For more information, including the playoff schedule, click the link below.  SF Bay Area Pro-Am   Illuminate Live at the Golden Gate Bandshell August 4, 5, 6 and 9 Kick off August at the Golden Gate Bandshell (75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive) with free concerts from Illuminate Live. On August 4, swing by Friday Happy Hour from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. featuring Sgt. Splendor, Kate Vargas and Eric McFadden. On Saturday, August 5, we have the Bay Area Techno Showcase featuring Max Gardner, Adra, Dhyan Moller and Zachary Noel from noon to 4 p.m. For Reggae Sunday on August 6 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., we have Irie Dole and DJ Guid8nce with special guest DJ Dinga. Next week, we have Singer/Songwriter Wednesday on August 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. featuring Stevie Cornell, Tre Shortland, and Von Doodle Daddies For more information, click the link below. Golden Gate Bandshell   Nihonmachi Street Fair at the Japantown Peace Plaza on August 5 & 6 The 49th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on August 5 and 6 in Japantown. Post Street between Fillmore to Laguna streets will showcase Asian Artisans, Art & Soul of Jtown, Children’s World, Doggie World, the Sounds of Thunder Car Show (Sunday only), and more. The Our Community Our Pride stage will be located at the Japantown Peace Plaza. For more information, including the full schedule, click the link below. Nihonmachi Street Fair   Jerry Day at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park on August 5 Join the Friends of Jerry Garcia Amphitheater (40 John F Shelley Drive) for the 21st Annual Jerry Day on Saturday, August 5 with the doors opening at 11 a.m. and the first act at 11:30 a.m. The event will feature Melvin Seals and JGB, Stu Allen and Mars Hotel, and Box Set! Come out for more music in McLaren with this quintessential San Francisco concert! For more information, click the link below. Jerry Day   Union Square in Bloom Summer Concert on August 5 Free outdoor concerts at Union Square (333 Post Street) have returned! Swing by on Saturday, August 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. for the Union Square in Bloom Summer Music Series, featuring Big Brother and the Holding Company and DJ Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist. For more information about this summer music series and other events in and around Union Square, click the link below. Union Square in Bloom   Sam Jordan's 2nd Annual Block Party on August 6 Join the San Francisco African American Arts and Cultural District, along with community partners for Sam Jordan's second annual block party on Sunday, August 6 from noon to 6 p.m. at the 1600 block of Galvez Avenue (Sam Jordan's Way). There will be food, live music, kids zone and more! The India Basin Waterfront Park project partners are proud to support this event, and will be present to share information about the project and its Equitable Development Plan. Celebrate this historic space and Sam Jordan, a remarkable and pioneering San Franciscan, this weekend. Questions? Contact Ruth Jordan at sjbp1959 at gmail.com.   Golden Gate Park Band: Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue August 6 Join the Golden Gate Park Band for its Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue show at the Golden Gate Bandshell on Sunday, August 6 from 8 to 9:35 p.m. It will feature whimsical music scores from Sousa, W.C. Handy, Leroy Anderson and more, with music conducted by Dr. German Gonzalez. For more information, click the link below. Golden Gate Park Band   Programming SF Public Library & Children & Nature Programming August 3, 7 and 8 San Francisco Public Library's (SFPL) is regularly visiting our parks this summer to provide amazing programming with our San Francisco Children and Nature team. Its SummerMobile will be at Glen Canyon Park Recreation Center (70 Elk Street) from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Crocker Amazon Clubhouse (Moscow Street and Italy Avenue) from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 3. It will also visit St. Mary's Recreation Center (95 Justin Drive) from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Garfield Recreation Center (Treat Avenue and 26th Street) from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday, August 7. On Tuesday, August 8, Swing into Stories comes to Koret Playground in Golden Gate Park (MLK and Bowling Green drives) from 9:30 a.m. to noon. For more information on San Francisco Children and Nature offerings with the SFPL, click the link below.  SF Children & Nature Upcoming Events   Jazz Thursday at Muriel Leff Mini Park on August 3 Jazz Thursdays have returned to Muriel Leff Mini Park (420 7th Avenue). The park was renovated earlier this year and the San Francisco Parks Alliance, working with Bay Area Jazz Mobile, is bringing free live jazz to the improved park every Thursday through August 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. The next takes place on August 3. Swing by after work, meet your neighbors, and enjoy the park's jazzy vibes this summer. For more information, click the link below. Jazz Thursdays at Muriel Leff   Pop-Up Beer and Wine Garden on the JFK Promenade this Weekend The pop-up beer and wine garden is on the promenade for the summer! It will be open from noon to 7 p.m. at the 14th Avenue East Meadow just west of the Rose Garden on Saturdays and Sundays. Swing by for drinks, music, food trucks, art, and the atmosphere of Golden Gate Park. Click the link below to see the drink menu, food truck and music lineup this weekend. Golden Mile Project   Adaptive Bike Program Serving People with Disabilities in our Parks San Francisco's free Adaptive Bike Program is in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, August 5. In partnership with the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, we're providing free reservations for adaptive bikes at these two locations during the summer and fall months, with the program serving people with disabilities. The 2023 season runs through the end of October. The Golden Gate Park program will take place at the Music Concourse behind the Bandshell (75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive) and next to the new accessible parking lot on the first and third Saturdays of the month. The Great Highway program will take place at the end of Judah Street on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. Reservations are required to participate. To reserve a bike, contact BORP Cycling Center at (510) 848-2930 or email cycling at borp.org by 5 p.m. on the Thursday before each program date. For more information, click the link below. JFK Promenade   Great Highway Park's Sundays at the Beach: Chair Yoga on August 6 Join the Friends of Great Highway Park for its Sundays at the Beach programming. These free activities will be hosted weekly from live music to Tai Chi! The next program will be chair yoga on Sunday, August 6 beginning at 2 p.m. at Irving Street and the Great Highway. For more information, click the link below. Great Highway Park   Mission Rec Rebels Girls Basketball Tryouts Beginning August 22 Our Mission Recreation Center (MRC) Rebels girls basketball program will be holding tryouts for its upcoming Fall/Winter 2023-24 seasons! Tryouts will take place on Tuesday, August 22; Thursday, August 24; and Tuesday, August 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Mission Recreation Center (2450 Harrison Street). Attending all days is recommended. The MRC Rebels girls basketball program is an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program offered by our department for 4th to 8th graders for more than 30 years, with teams competing in AAU tournaments nationwide! For more information, click the link below.    Mission Rec Rebels   Video of the Week: Steph Curry at SF Bay Area Pro-Am at Kezar Pavilion Ahead of the championship series for the San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am summer league starting on Monday, August 7, our Video of the Week comes from Ball is Life and depicts when Steph Curry played in the league, dropping 43 points at Kezar Pavilion. Be sure to check out the games over the next week to potentially see some future NBA players! SF Bay Area Pro-Am   San Francisco Recreation and Parks | sfrecpark.org         SF Recreation and Parks | McLaren Lodge-Golden Gate Park, 501 Stanyan Street, San Francisco , CA 94117 Unsubscribe house at digitalkingdom.org Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by rpdinfo at sfgov.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!
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