Events

BagelMacher Pops Up on Mission, Making Sundays Bagelicious

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Sunday mornings mean fresh, house-made bagels from PizzaHacker founder Jeff Krupman. Photo courtesy of BagelMacher.

It’s been a few weeks since BagelMacher began serving fresh-made bagels on Sunday mornings on Bernal’s stretch of MIssion Street, but already the pop-up brunch spot has generated a lot of love in the neighborhood.

A project of Jeff Krupman, the mad genius who founded Pizza Hacker at 3299 Mission (at 29th), Bagel Macher transforms the PizzaHacker space into a bagel bakery on Sunday mornings from 10:30 am – 1 pm. The menu is simple — a limited supply of house-made bagels, a few toppings, a few special bagel sandwich options, coffee, and mimosas.

Neighbor Jasmine visited Bagel Macher last weekend, and she liked it so much she wrote to Bernalwood to share the love:

I’m kinda nervous to share this for fear of my family’s new secret bagel obsession going big enough to attract long lines on a lazy Sunday morning. But during a casual scouting mission this past Sunday, founder Jeff Krupman charmed me into visiting Bagel Macher.

I’m glad he did, because his Raisin Ras el Hanout bagel is too special not to cheer for. It’s a raisin bagel with a North African dusted spice mixture and sesame seeds that turned my raisin-avoidant husband, into an instant convert. Our baby loved it too!

BagelMacher is a concept to make use of the ovens at PizzaHacker. For now, the popup is open Sundays, with limited quantities of everything. (Good to get there on the early side, because things do sell out).  Bagels are available in sesame, poppy (the most poppies I’ve ever seen on a bagel¬—they were black!), smoked salt, sesame zataar and that unusual and inspired raisin variety. Expect most of the usual toppings, plus coffee from The Coffee Shop down the street, and juice and mimosas.

We used to live in New York city, so we’re on a constant hunt for really good bagels out here on the West Coast. The ones from BagelMacher are boiled in lye water and naturally leavened, creating a super crunch leading to an ultra-chewy inside. Our small family made our way through four in a day. So good.

Here’s the menu:

Sunday: Earth Day Festivities at the College Hill Learning Garden

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The College Hill Learning Garden Photo: Courtesy of Danny Palmer

The College Hill Learning Garden is a outdoor education facility for kids located on a patch of land within the grounds of the  College Hill Reservoir. The garden at  336 Elsie (near Santa Marina) is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and it opened in 2016.

This weekend, on Sunday, April 22, Bernalese of all ages are invited to the  College Hill Learning Garden to partake of an Earth Day gala. Program manager Danny Palmer tells Bernalwood:

We’re spreading the word about the second annual Earth Day Garden Party at College Hill Learning Garden. We’ve got a full day of family activities happening in, and around, the garden this Sunday, April 22, from 10:00am-3:00pm and 7:30pm-8:30pm.

We’re located at 336 Elsie Street, between Cortland and Holly Park.

More details in the poster below:

Tuesday Evening: Family Night Out at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center

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On Tuesday evening, April 3, the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center (BHNC) is having a Family Night with dinner, music, and entertainment for Bernalese kids (and their parents too).

Tickets are $15 for an adult + 1 child; additional children are $8 each.

Ailed Paningbatan from BHNC says:

Join us for our Family Night Out at BHNC! Were making it easy for families on Tuesday evening. We provide dinner and activities, so that when families get home its just relaxation and bed time. We’re also partnering with a few childrens’ groups. like Curious Jane and STEM and Tree Frog Treks. We’ll also have a kids band!

Hurry! After 20 Years, Bernaltown: The Movie Will Screen Again in Bernal Heights

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A billboard for Bernaltown appeared across from Good Life in 1997.

FINALLY, after a loooooong hiatus, Bernaltown-The Movie is returning to Bernal Heights on Jan. 30!!

We’ll get to the details about the where and when in a moment. But first, a brief history: What is Bernaltown?

Bernaltown was a delightful short film produced in 1997 by a group of Bernal Heights neighbors and kids. Making movies was a nontrivial thing to do in the late 1990s, because at the time, tape-based camcorders were still the prevailing technology and the era of digital video and YouTube was still a decade away.

Nevertheless, Bernaltown was glorious. Produced in the playful spirit of the 1960s Batman TV series, Bernaltown tells the story of a group of superhero kids who use high-tech go-karts to battle a diabolical developer who’s scamming to build a a hotel-casino complex on the top of Bernal Hill.

Musician and Bernal Neighbor Joshua Brody contributed the music for Bernaltown, and here’s how he remembers it:

A little over 20 years ago, good friend Sheila Balter invited me to donate my services to a fund-raiser for a film her friend Gregory Gavin was finishing up, so I did. Once I met Gregory and saw the trailer he’d put together, I fell in love with the project: A half-hour story called Bernaltown.

Gregory had been running workshops for kids in Bernal Heights to learn how to make their own go-karts and wanted to do some documentation on it, but rather than do a dry non-fiction talking heads piece, he decided to craft a narrative featuring the kids as superhero crime-fighters, other neighborhood regulars playing more-or-less themselves (eg. the beat cop as “the chief of police”) and throwing in a fictitious — but entirely plausible — subplot about an evil gambling syndicate’s real estate grab.

It was charming as f–k, and I instantly offered my services as composer, which Gregory just as instantly accepted, sound unheard. I think my terms — free — helped clinch the deal.

The film premiered in the schoolyard behind the Bernal Public Library (where it will be shown again… to commemorate its 20th anniversary). The showing was successful enough, but what really moved me was the aftermath: neighbors strolling up and down Cortland wearing Bernaltown paraphernalia and greeting each other kill it was the small town portrayed in the film, not just another big city neighborhood.

Maybe that kind of magic can repeat itself.

The trailer for Bernaltown is lost in the analog mists of time, but this KRON report from 1997 captures the spirit of it:

So, with all that established… Bernalwood is thrilled to share the news that finally, at long last, the Citizens of Bernal Heights will again have an opportunity to see Bernaltown again.

The 20th Anniversary screening of Bernaltown – The Movie will happen on Tuesday, Jan. 30 in the main reading room of  the Bernal Heights Library (500 Cortland) beginning at 7 pm.

The screening is free, but tickets are required; reserve your seats here — and you’d best hurry, because space is limited.

PHOTOS: All images via Bernaltown20 on Facebook

There’s So Much Music at Charlie’s Cafe This Weekend

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The City Buds at Charlie’s Cafe

Charlie’s Cafe on the corner of Folsom and Precita on the west end of Precita Park is a neighborhood institution. Yet apart from the cozy daytime vibe and tasty humus, Charlies’s has also become known as North Bernal’s premier site for live music.

This weekend, Charlie’s will be particularly musical, with acts performing on both Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

On Friday evening, Dec. 15 at 7:30, Charlie’s Cafe plays host to Maurice Tani and Mike Anderson:

Charlie’s Cafe is proud to have Maurice Tani and Mike Anderson return to our Friday Night music series.

Like all great songwriters/storytellers, Maurice uses humor, pathos, and metaphor (he loves that word!) to spin tales of sometimes heroic, sometimes conniving, seductive and/or hapless characters. Characters deep in the throes of urban/country angst, unrequited love, love affairs gone wrong—in a nutshell—country noir.

A master of clever lyrics and gorgeous melodies that make for ear-worms almost impossible to dismiss, Maurice’s warm powerful voice animates the songs into a kind of technicolor experience’. Doors 7pm Music 7:30pm $10

Then, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 16 from noon to 2 pm, Charlie’s Cafe will play host to The City Buds:

Elisa M Welch and Jim McLaren are two East Coast transplants who arrived separately in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid 1980s. They met ten years ago on San Francisco’s vibrant singer-songwriter open-mic scene and have been making various kinds of trouble together ever since. They often perform with the garden-rock band, The Buds, delighting audiences of all ages and whipping up toddler moshpits at farmers markets all over the Bay Area.

Jim plays acoustic guitar and harmonica, and as a singer he’s known as a virtual encyclopedia of Dylan. He plays lots of other folk rock favorites, too, and he and his rock-solid rhythm guitar were a mainstay on the streets of North Beach for many years.

Elisa has a classical music degree, but she doesn’t let that get in the way of her playing. She used to play just about any instrument she could lay her hands on, but these days she has whittled it down to keyboard and pennywhistle, tho not at the same time. People always tell her she has an amazing voice, and she’s inclined to believe them.

Saturday Morning: Join the Party to Clean Up Precita Park

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PrecitaParkcleanup

As you’ve probably noticed, Precita Park is one of the most charming and vibrant parks in all of San Francisco.

It’s a beautiful place, in no small part because of all the hard work Neighbor Demece Garepis puts into it under the auspices of Precita Valley Neighbors, the volunteer group she  leads, in collaboration with the dedicated staff at the City’s Rec and Parks Department.

Tomorrow morning, Saturday, Dec. 16 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, PVN is organizing a neighborly Precita Park cleanup, and it’s a great opportunity to give the park some of your love. Neighbor Demece says:

We’re having a Precita Park Clean-Up on Saturday morning, Dec. 16.

Meet your neighbors! Join us to prune and remove debris from our Monarch Butterfly Garden along the Children’s Playground. We’ll also sift sand in the Children’s Playground.

Just bring yourselves! Our Park Gardener and Volunteer Captain Ryan will lead the way! We will supply tools, conversation, and fun! Meet us at the big green Rec and Parks Dept. truck that will be in Precita Park.

Friday: Meet SFPD Capt. Jack Hart at “Coffee With a Cop”

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A SFPD officer meeting with Bernal neighbors at Charlie’s Cafe in 2011.

Neighbor Sarah, Bernal’s intrepid liaison with the SFPD, shares details about a “Coffee with a Cop” event happening on Friday morning, Dec. 15, at Charlie’s Cafe at 3202 Folsom, on the western end of Precita Park.

Neighbor Sarah says:

Please join SFPD Ingleside Station Captain Jack Hart and Ingleside officers for their monthly Coffee with a Cop event – this will take place on Friday, Dec. 15, from 7:30-9:30am.

This month’s event has several attractive features for Bernal residents, including:

 

  1. The location: Charlie’s Deli Cafe, 3202 Folsom at Precita,
  2. The theme: Ugly Christmas Sweaters (wear yours; I’ve been assured Capt Hart will wear his)
  3. The format: meet cops in a casual setting, ask questions, and/or alert them to public safety issues in the neighborhood.
Hope to see you there!

TONIGHT: Come to the Bernal Library’s Holiday Celebration

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Tonight, Wednesday Dec. 13 starting at 6 pm, the fabulous Bernal Heights Library at 500 Cortland will host its seasonally festive Holiday Winter Celebration… and Bernalese of all ages are invited to attend.

Bernal branch library manager Valerie Reichert tells Bernalwood:

It’s that time again! Please join us for our annual Winter Holiday Celebration, Wednesday, December 13, 6-9pm.

The Bernal Jazz Quintet will put us in the mood with a seasonal selection. There will be crafts for all ages, a family movie and refreshments.

TONIGHT: Eat, Drink, Be Merry During the Mission-Bernal Merchants Holiday Walk

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As you know, included among our many blessings here in the Dominion of Bernalwood are two terrific commercial districts; each of which now plays host to its own holiday celebration.

TONIGHT, Friday, Dec. 8 from 6-9 pm, the fabulous merchants, chefs, and barkeeps along the La Lengua stretch of Mission Street will hold the glamorous 2017 Mission Bernal Holiday Walk.

Neighbor Eden from Secession Art & Design tells us:

The Mission Bernal Merchants Association is excited to invite San Francisco to explore the vibrant Mission Bernal small business community on Friday December 8th, from 6pm to 9pm.

The numerous locally owned restaurants, bars, galleries, coffee shops, and other businesses that line Mission Street from Cesar Chavez Street to Randall Street—along with businesses on adjacent side streets such as 29th Street—will open their doors and put out their welcome mats to the city at large, in a neighborhood celebration aimed at encouraging neighbors and visitors alike to peruse their wares, get to know local business owners, and sample the neighborhood’s diverse flavors.

Emerging and legacy businesses alike would like to welcome you to our festive home.Our neighborhood is buzzing with love, light, and festivities. Some highlights from Cesar Chavez to Randell include:

  • Selfie on a motorcycle and art show Eagle Rider 3146 Mission
  • Toy drive and mulled wine at El Rio 3158 Mission
  • $2 off Local brews & live music: Panique gypsy jazz at Old Bus Tavern 3193 Mission. Rachel’s Fig And Honey Saison may become your new favorite
  • Hot apple brandy & live music. Wayne De La Cruz and Ray Scott at
    Royal Cuckoo 3202 Mission
  • Deviled Eggs and sparkly wine at Blue Plate 3218 Mission
  • Art fundraiser & holiday party at Secession Art & Design 3235 Mission
  • The owner is spinnin’ records playing 70’s, 80’s & 90’s Perfect bar for a beer and a shot at Knockout 3223 Mission
  • Arroz Con Leche at Sabor De San Miguel 3263 Mission
  • 2 for 1 ice-cream cones at Mitchell’s Ice Cream 688 San Jose Ave Try the eggnog, peppermint candy, cinnamon snap, or ginger spice to get you holiday happy.
  • Hot apple cider and cookies in front of our store. All non medicated, of course! 😉 Harvest 33 29th St
  • Mini hot chocolates and cookies at Cafe Seventy8 78 29th St
  • Special menu this Friday night during the Mission Bernal Holiday walk featuring Caldo Verde soup w/sweet bread rolls and Portuguese ports, beers and wines and more! Cafe St. Jorge 3438 Mission
  • Spiced Toddy at Old Devil Moon 3472 Mission

PHOTO: Top, by Telstar Logistics

Thursday: Come All Ye Bernal for the 2017 Holiday Stroll

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Holiday Stroll

stroll.singers

Tens of thousands of years ago, in the time of our Bernal ancestors, a joyous community of elves lived on Bernal Hill. Each year, during the early days of the winter season, these proto-Bernalese would gather on the land we now call Cortlandia to celebrate the arrival of the season of lights.

Today, the Bernal Business Alliance carries on this ancient ritual, in the form of the glamorous Cortland Holiday Stroll. The 2017 Holiday Stroll happens this Thursday, Dec. 7, from 6 to 9 pm, and Bernalese of all ages are invited to partake of the festivities.

Neighbor Laurie from BBA tells Bernalwood:

Come one, come all, to the 8th annual Bernal Heights Holiday Stroll, this Thursday, December 7th from 6:00 – 9:00 along Cortland Avenue!

Stores will be open to help you with your local holiday shopping, and they’ll be offering treats and libations along the way. There will also be live music and caroling to add to the festivities.

The Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center at 513 Cortland, will be taking photos with Santa and strollers of all ages, for a recommended donation of $5.00. They are also collecting new, unwrapped toys for their annual toy drive until December 15th, so buy a little extra to give back this season.

Happy holidays, and see you there!

Check out the BBA website for more detail on participating merchants and their extra-special Stroll festivities.

Wednesday: Bernal History Project Presents “History of the Bernal Cut” (Plus Potluck)

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Bernal Cut looking north, circa 1912. Southern Pacific train passing under the Richland Street bridge. (Image courtesy OpenSFHistory, from the Emiliano Echeverria/Randolph Brandt Collection)

At the Bernal Library on Wednesday evening, Nov. 15, starting at 7 pm, The Bernal Heights History Project will host John Blackburn and Bill Cassidy as they present a slideshow about the history of the Bernal Cut.

The origins of the Bernal Cut lie in the early San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, which later became the Southern Pacific Railroad. Dug out of the hills between Mission and Randall streets and San Jose and St. Mary’s avenues, the “cut” established a shorter rail travel route into and out of the City.

Southern Pacific Railroad entering Bernal Cut as seen from Richland-Miguel overpass, April 5, 1922. (Photo: SFDPW, courtesy C.R. collection)

This single-track route remained a passenger route until 1932, continued to operate for freight trains through the 1940s. It was essential to transporting coffins and visitors to the cemeteries in Colma.

These days, The Cut is known as San Jose Avenue, and it carries the J-Church streetcar and I-280 automotive traffic.

John and Virginia Kibre will bring their fully working scale model of the train and the Cut, which they built for the Bernal History Project for San Francisco History Days 2017.

This is the last meeting of the year and will be a pot-luck event. Bring goodies of any kind: chips and dips, sodas and water, noshes, sushi, sweets, or anything to share. BHP will provide home-baked cookies and coffee.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. sharp in the downstairs meeting room at the Bernal branch library (500 Cortland at Anderson); turn left at the bottom of the stairs. As always, it is free, kid-friendly, and open to all. Street parking: can be tricky because this is St. Kevin’s bingo night.

Sunday: Join a Fabulous, Fascinating Bernal-La Lengua Walking Tour

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Valencia Street at Cesar Chavez (Army) Street looking south, June 9, 1920. (Source: SFMTA)

The fertile flatlands of Bernal Heights along Mission Street are home to many tasty restaurants, rollicking nightlife, and proud inhabitants who are famous for their hyperlocal pride and rebellious attitudes. Yet even if no one can quite agree what to call it — La Lengua? Mssion-Bernal? Bernal-Mission? South of Army? — Bernal’s stretch of Mission Street is one of the most vibrant micro-hoods in all of San Francisco, and tastemakers around town are just starting to realize that.

Underpinning all this, La Lengua also has a rich history that extends all the way back to our primordial ancestor, Jose Cornelio Bernal, whose ranch gave our neighborhood its name and whose homestead was located on the site of today’s St. Luke’s Hospital.

This weekend, on Sunday Nov. 12 starting at 10 am, Bernal Neighbor Michael Nolan will join forces with neighborhood enthusiasts to lead a walking tour of Mission-Bernal La Lengua Bernal-Mission South of Army:

District Nine Neighbors for Housing presents a Mission-Bernal Walking Tour ~ Past, Present & Future, Part One, Led by Gillian Gillett

$5 covers tour guide materials for participants. We convene at Tierra Mia Coffee, Valencia & Mission at 10am and conclude at El Buen Comer, Mission & Kingston, at Noon for Brunch.

Our guide and neighbor, Gillian Gillett, will describe the street widenings (and sidewalk narrowings) of Cesar Chavez (once Army), Guerrero and San Jose Avenue, the aborted Mission Freeway and Southern Crossing, and troubles at St. Luke’s Hospital: 1940-2017.  We look at housing development opportunities along the route.

Gillian Gillett is a neighborhood activist (San Jose/Guerrero Coalition to Save Our Streets), public space advocate (Greening Guerrero and Guerrero Park), and mom of two. During her day job, she is Director of Transportation Policy in Mayor Lee’s office, focusing on Caltrain, bike share, California High Speed Rail, BART and the coming of the Autonomous Vehicle.

Part Two will take place in January, originate at Tierra Mia Coffee and head south past the Royal Cuckoo, 3300 Club/Graywood Hotel-Cole Hardware-Safeway sites and finish at Randall Street.  More details will follow as the date approaches.

To join, use this link to get an invitation from Neighbor Michael.

Saturday: Families Invited to Frolic at the Paul Revere Elementary Schoolyard

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There’s a gorgeous schoolyard at Paul Revere Elementary School in South Bernal, and this Saturday morning, Bernalese of all ages are invited to come celebrate and enjoy it.

Sharon Chung from the San Francisco Shared Schoolyard Project tells Bernalwood:

We’re hosting a large community event at Paul Revere Elementary on Saturday, Nov. 4 and welcoming families and kids to come have a great time with us under the sun.

The San Francisco Shared Schoolyard Project is a non profit organization that works to open schoolyards across the City for public use on weekends. Our mission is to provide every child and family in San Francisco an accessible space to gather and play within walking distance.

We hope everyone in the Bernal Heights community will be able to utilize Paul Revere’s schoolyard more readily with this opening.

WHAT: Schoolyard Opening at Paul Revere Elementary School
WHEN: Saturday, November 4, 11 am – 1 pm
WHERE: Paul Revere Elementary, 555 Tompkins Ave.
RSVP: Via this website