Beer and oysters. That’s a pretty good reason to head to Golden Gate Park on Saturday for San Francisco Oysterfest (11am-6pm). It’s a little pricey at $40, but there’s a large stage set up for live music, including Minus the Bear and Young the Giant, so think of it as a music festival with beer and oysters. And bonus for the park setting. Continue reading Procrastinator’s guide to the weekend (June 30-July1)
Sausalito is such a lovely town. Bike across the Golden Gate Bridge or take a ferry from San Francisco, stroll along its waterfront, check out the shops, have lunch at Scoma’s or grab a burger and fries at Hamburgers, maybe an ice cream at Lappert’s or a drink at No Name bar, and you’ve had yourself a pretty darn good day. But venture off the well-traveled tourist path of downtown, and you’ll find some of the best of what Sausalito, and Marin County, has to offer. Continue reading 8 reasons to get reaquainted with Sausalito (hint: it’s all about the food)
Pride week/end is one of those times where I kind of wish I were gay. This is San Francisco’s biggest party of the year, our Mardi Gras, a wild and wacky celebration of the wonderful world of LGBT (and sometimes Y not!). There’s a few events during the week, such as the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, but the action gets ramped up with countless events on the weekend. For starters, on Saturday morning you can help install the giant pink triangle at Twin Pinks just below the huge radio tower, while the Dyke March festivities get going in and around Dolores Park at noon (with the actual march at 6pm). The Pink Saturday block party in the Castro starts 5pm, or check out one of the Lady Gaga flash mobs in locations around town. The main/official SF Pride celebration takes place Saturday (noon-6pm) and especially Sunday (11am-6:30pm) throughout the Civic Center area of downtown, with multiple stages featuring musical acts, performances and speeches, while the Pride Parade starts 10:30am Sunday down Market. After hours parties abound. Continue reading Procrastinator’s guide to the weekend (June 23-24)
The size of Henry W. Coe State Park is surpassed only by its loveliness. At 89,164 acres, it’s the largest state park in Northern California and the second largest in the state, and has another 22,000 acres within its boundaries belonging to the Henry Coe State Wilderness. I realized just how large it was after driving for a good half hour up a windy road from Hwy 101 east of Morgan Hill, and finding the ‘you are here’ dot on a map at the ranger station. We were barely within the western border of a very large stretch of park land. We were also 3,000 feet up, with amazing views looking west to Santa Clara Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountains beyond, as well as Anderson Lake far below (which looked like a puddle from our height). Continue reading Henry Coe State Park: big, beautiful and close by
Depending on your interest, you’ll either want to get up early to stake your claim at whatever green or gallery you want to join at the U.S. Open golf championship, or steer as clear of The Olympic Club and the western half of San Francisco as you can to avoid the predicted traffic snarl. For Bay Area sports fans, you won’t get a better opportunity for an up close and personal view of golf’s biggest stars, from Phil Mickelson to Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods to K.J. Choi. This is the biggest event in golf, and one of the biggest sporting events to hit the city since the World Series in 2010. Of course, you’ll either have to scalp a pass or sneak passed security, since tickets have been sold out for some time. Continue reading Procrastinator’s guide to the weekend (June 16-17)
If you haven’t heard, it was announced in May that 70 of California’s state parks are closing indefinitely due to budget cuts. About 21 of those have gotten temporary reprieves of a year or so, mostly through private funding, but the rest are set to shut down July 1, 2012, which is, what, three weeks from now. It should also be noted that a lot of state parks have already had to drastically cut back services over the last year or more, even before the crazy talk started of actually shutting a bunch of them down. In the Bay Area, 13 state parks are set to close (10 got temporary reprieves), and the best time to see them would also be the only time to see them, now. Here’s the list, from north to south. Continue reading 13 state parks to see before they close
You may not need a reason to enjoy all the incredible nature at our disposal, but if you do, here’s a gentle nudge: on June 9, a number of national parks in the state are free for Get Outdoors Day, including our own Muir Woods just a short jaunt north of the city in Mill Valley. The 554-acre park has one of the last old growth Coast Redwood stands left in the state, nay, the world, and a 1.5-mile trail to enjoy it. The $7 fee is waived for Saturday, and you can even park and ride the Muir Woods shuttle, which also picks up/drops off at the Golden Gate Transit bus stop and Sausalito ferry if you choose total car freedom. Continue reading Procrastinator’s guide to the weekend (June 9-10)
Though not as dramatic as the solar eclipse two weeks ago, the planet Venus transit across the sun today is a far rarer event, not occurring again for another 105 years. The transit begins today locally at 3:06pm and is viewable until sundown. You can either build a special viewing box or buy a pair of welding glasses from your local hardware store to watch the transit without permanently damaging your eyes (which happens when you look directly into the sun for too long). Continue reading Viewing the Venus transit without going blind
Well, it’s Friday afternoon, time to start thinking about options for the weekend. I see that Union Street Eco-Urban Street Fest is running all day Saturday. But unless they drastically improved it from last year, there’s nothing either eco or urban about it. It is on Union Street though. It’s just your basic street fest, with the usual suspects selling beer, barbeque, gyros, artsy-crafty stuff, and a few disappointing eco booths tossed in for effect. A woman selling honey last year seemed lost and really out of place. Union Street denizens seem largely indifferent to it, stumbling through for a beer, or gathering instead at one of several popular bars, like any other weekend. The best thing about it is the price: free. Continue reading Procrastinator’s guide to the weekend (June 2-3)
The Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary Festival
The Golden Gate Bridge opened on May 27, 1937, and this weekend marks 75 years of service with a celebration at the entire northern end of San Francisco, from Fort Point to Fisherman’s Wharf. Saturday is the warm-up act, with art exhibitions and guided tours. Sunday the party starts at 10am and the area will be pretty much shut down; even if streets are open, expect traffic to make it a parking lot. Live music (11am-11pm) and vintage cars from 1937 at Crissy Field and Marina Green, and a vintage boat parade along St. Francis Yacht Club (11am-3pm), highlight the day’s events. A fireworks display over the bridge 9:30-9:50 caps it all off. Continue reading 5 Things to do this Memorial Day weekend
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