Neighbor John reports from a seasonal horror show currently on display in Bernal Heights:
For the past few Halloweens, a few of us on Gladys Street have been collaborating, carving upwards of 20 pumpkins in and afternoon and then creating the “Grisly Picket Fence of Death” to display ’em. We know other houses are also getting into the … ahem … spirit, so we wondered if you’d want to post shots of Bernal’s holiday pride.
Bwwwwwaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!
PHOTOS: Neighbor John
Neighbor Annelise is hosting a sinister event for fearless trick-or-treaters of all ages, TONIGHT on Bessie Street:
We will be hosting a small but awesomely weird and beautifully homemade HAUNTED GARAGE at our house at 25 Bessie Street. Wed. 5-9pm. Free! Get scared!
PHOTO: Neighbor Annelise
Late notice on this (not my fault!), but the Bernal Business Alliance will host their annual Halloween Stroll on Cortland this evening.
It’s intended to be kid-friendly, so bring your little monsters to see and be seen — and scoop up piles of candy — beginning at 4 pm.
Here are some Pro Tips from Miss Lynn of the BBA:
In the excitement about the Giants this weekend I had forgotten to send out our guidelines for Halloween on Cortland on Wednesday October 31, 2012 – so here they are:
- IMPORTANT: Cortland does not get closed off for Halloween – so if you are walking keep your eyes/ears open for traffic; if you are driving in the neighborhood, remember that the smallest trick-or-treaters will be out and about from around 4pm.
- Please do not cross on the diagonal.
- Stick with friends.
- The Library will be open on Wednesday until 9pm.
- Make sure you have a meeting place pre-agreed with friends/family before going out – the Library might be a great option.
- The stores and the Neighborhood Center will generally start early with their treats around 4pm.
- Stores will shut down at 8pm.
PHOTO: Bernalwood’s Cub Reporter with her best friend Eddie on Cortland for Halloween, 2009. Photo by Telstar Logistics
It wasn’t as bad as the two-alarm blaze last week, but there was another residential fire in Bernal yesterday on Moultrie. Neighbor Max says:
Two fires in one week, both within a block of my house. This one was on corner of Moultrie and Ogden. Bad Mojo I tell you! This one wasn’t nearly as bad as the other one; it stayed contained to a single house and was put out pretty fast by SF’s finest.
Ack. Bernalwood will provide additional details as they become available.
Speaking of which… there’s some disheartening news about last week’s fire on Andover Street, as well as a valiant effort underway by Bernal neighbors to assist the victims. Since we have a lot of Halloween events to cover today, I’ll provide a complete update on the Andover fire tomorrow. Stay tuned.
PHOTOS: Courtesy of maxlug
Bernalwood has long known that the glamorous and geologically-themed Rock Bar, on 29th Street at Tiffany in the La Lengua Autonomous Zone, is a rather delicious place to enjoy a cocktail.
Now the San Francisco Chronicle has come to a similar conclusion. In a recent article, the Chron’s Tara Duggan wrote:
[The Rock Bar] has a much friendlier atmosphere than you might expect, considering the quality of its cocktails. In addition to a few bar snacks, you can order anything off of the Front Porch menu from a retro phone at the bar. When your order’s ready, carry it back on a tray to your perch at the bar – just in time for another drink.
The vibe: The decor is like Granny’s living room, except Granny has tattoos and purple hair. Curtains and Victorian lamps pair with cacti, air hockey and crystals on the bar.
The crowd: Cocktail-curious neighborhood folks.
Best seat: Bypass the handful of small tables for a spot the bar, where you can learn more about the drinks and chat with the accommodating bartenders.
Killer app: Frying is the Front Porch’s cooking method of choice, with starters like fried pickles and Tabasco aioli ($6.50) and fried okra with jalapeno aioli. Buckets of spicy-coated fried chicken come with shareable portions of garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and collard greens ($17 for 3 pieces/$34 for 9 pieces).
Signature drink: A lot of thought is put into the drink menu, with house specials like Ichi Rock ($9), gin-based with St. Germain, yuzu and grapefruit bitters.
But wait! There’s more! And an additional excuse to have a drink: Rock Bar is having a ghoulish Halloween Party tomorrow:
Halloween Eve, from 4 pm to closing on October 31, 2012, will be a spooky spectacle filled with spine-tingling sounds; classic horror films; and eerie drink concoctions like Ghouly Punch in honor of the spirited evening.
Costumes encouraged and suggested, but all are welcomed for fright night sounds and films. Films are part of the Rock Bar’s ongoing Wednesday “Silent Movies or Played Silently” series. For more information about the series, please visit Rock Bar’s website or Facebook page.
PHOTO: Top, 3rd Base Coach and Black & Orange cocktails, at the Rock Bar, via Rock Bar on Facebook. Below, sign via the Bernal Barfly
The newfangled New Wheel bicycle shop is having a free pumpkin carving this afternoon, and you’re invited. Miss Karen from New Wheel says:
We are having a fabulous pumpkin carving event at The New Wheel on Monday from 4-8 pm. Carving is free, but it is a BYOK event (bring your own knife). It should be lots of fun and we’ll showcase Jack-o’-lanterns at the shop that are not taken home during Halloween trick-or-treat festivities!
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
Oh, hey… didya hear? The San Francisco Giants won the 2012 World Series. Seriously! Afterward, fans in Bernal Heights were just a little bit excited.
I took in the scene from the corner of Mission and Precita, where revelers set up an orange-and-black balloon conga line for motorists to traverse. There were lots of smiles, lots of people saying “Wooooooooooooo!” and many, many high-fives.
Here’s a video, for full audio effect:
Things even got loopy on Cortland Street, as seen in this photo by The New Wheel:
Congratulations, San Francisco Giants!!
(PS: Have more photos from last night? Send ’em to us and I’ll post the greatest hits here.)
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS: Telstar Logistics, except for final image, by The New Wheel
From his covert utility-meter lair hidden inside an otherwise typical home on Bocana Street, Mossquatch, Bernal’s favorite mutant Bryophyta-Homo Sapien hybrid, has launched a daring campaign to become the next President of the United States.
We have no information on Mossquatch’s fundraising efforts or his campaign strategy, but Bernalwood expects his policy positions to be very, very green.
Also, for what it’s worth, your Bernalwood editor totally anticipated Mossquatch’s political career in our original post last year:
Prediction: Mossquatch is embraced as folk hero by Bernal Heights vegans, becomes raw food spokesmonster, develops political aspirations, defeats David Campos (the “rumored omnivore”) for D9 Supervisor’s seat, serves two terms in Board of Supes, runs for Mayor of San Francisco, and, after hard-fought campaign, elected by mudslide in 2019.
Mossquatch: He’s tanned! He’s rested! He’s ready!
PHOTOS: Fiid Williams
Nifty! Neighbor Victoria is hosting a glamorous pop-up store this weekend from 11 am – 6 pm Saturday and Sunday at 698 Precita at York.
I’m putting on the Sunshine Factory Pop-Up Shop this weekend, October 27th and 28th, at my storefront live/work space on the Mission-Bernal Heights border. It is the first event of this kind, and it’s organized by myself and Jillian Knox of Joules Jewels Vintage.
The Sunshine Factory Pop-up Shop will be filled with tons of vintage clothing, curated vintage housewares and furniture, local and organic bath products as well as original art, jewelry, and designs by local SF makers! Polaroid kits, vintage records (good ones) and homegrown succulent arrangements in retro planters will also be for sale. We will also have a selection of vintage costumes for last minute Halloween shoppers.
On Sunday, we’ll have complementary Halloween-themed drinks between the hours of 11am and 1pm, as well as coffee served up both days by Vega!
BTW, great poster, eh? Nicely done.
Put on your walking shoes, art lovers, because Open Studios are coming to Bernal Heights this weekend. The event’s organizers at Artspan bring the context:
Here is the premise in a nutshell: The city is divided into four quadrants for the four open studios weekends. Artists in each area open their studio doors to show their art to the public. The work is for sale, but much more than an exchange of goods takes place. Perspective, inspiration, and ideas are shared; creative processes are divulged; and the appreciation of a life devoted to art is doled out. Join in the celebration by exploring and investigating a vast range of artists and artwork during this year’s SF Open Studios.
Bernal’s turn is this weekend; studios will be open Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm. Lots of Bernal artists will be participating, and here’s where to find them: (Click the map for the spiffy interactive version.)
IMAGES: Work by Bernal Artists Beryl Landau (top) and Mark Monsarrat
A two-alarm fire broke out this afternoon the 600 block of Andover Street (near Crescent) in Bernal Heights, damaging two homes. The fire was under control by 4:30. CBSLocal has the details:
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A two-alarm fire that started at a home in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood Thursday afternoon has spread to an adjacent home, a San Francisco fire spokeswoman said.
The fire was reported at 3:55 p.m. at a home at 655 Andover St., fire spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
There were heavy flames in the attic and the blaze extended into one of the next-door homes, Talmadge said.
Firefighters have not located anyone in the homes and no injuries have been reported, Talmadge said.
UPDATE: KTVU adds this:
Heavy flames in the attic of the home spread to a next-door house before the fire was contained, Talmadge said.
The American Red Cross has been called to assist three adults and three children who live in the first home and five adults, one child and three cats who live in the next-door residence, she said.
Personnel from the city’s Department of Building Inspection have been called to the scene to check the integrity of the buildings, Talmadge said.
No injuries were reported in the blaze.
UPDATE: More from KTVU regarding two arrests connected to the blaze:
Two people have been taken into custody in connection with a suspicious fire that caused an estimated $540,000 in damage to two residential buildings in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, a fire department spokeswoman said Friday. [ …]
Two people were taken into custody after investigators determined the fire was suspicious, Talmadge said. The official cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, she said.
Police were not immediately available Friday afternoon to provide more details about the arrests.
PHOTOS: Click images for original source
I noticed this colorful explosion of foliage while driving past the intersection of Cortland and Nebraska last week, and it was so stunning I stopped to admire it. I’m more of a gearhead than a green thumb, so I fired off an email to Neighbor Chuck, an expert on our local flora, to learn what kinds of plants these are. He replied:
Yeah, I’ve taken that picture many times myself. It’s a bougainvillea/geranium mashup.
The geraniums are technically pelargoniums, but only a hardcore plant person would bother to make the distinction.
What he said. All I know is that when I saw this, I had to pull over and say, “Wow!”
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
The San Francisco Public Library is holding a contest to crowdsource some new library card designs, and aspiring Bernal Heights artist Mia submitted the drawing shown above. Neighbor Julia writes:
You might be interested to know that a Bernal resident is one of the finalists in the SFPL library card design contest. Mia’s design is in the “2nd grade and under” category. Mia’s submission is called “Reading,” and if you are a Camp Mather regular, you might recognize the hammock scene.
Anyone with an email address can vote. My disclaimer: I’m biased, because I’m her mom. Here’s the link if you’d like to vote.
Bernalwood 