Events

Polkapolloza! For the Children! Saturday!

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I’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on TV. But I’m happy to prescribe some very fun music on Saturday night to benefit Junipero Serra Elementary School in Bernal Heights.

To wit:

Junipero Serra Elementary School’s First Annual Polkapolloza Benefit with POLKACIDE, SASSY, CARMICHAEL AND THE FRIJOLITAS BAND
At Thee Parkside
1600 17th Street, San Francisco
Saturday, Sep. 17, 2011 11:00 am
Doors: 11:00am (bands 12, 1, 2 ish)
All Ages / Bar with ID
$10
Bake Sale!!! Buy a Pie!

If you need any more introduction, check out the the joy that is Polkacide:

Lights, Camera, Action! The 2011 Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Festival Begins

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Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema @ Precita Park

Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema

In Park City, they have Sundance. In Colorado, there’s Telluride. And here in San Francisco’s finest rustic mountain village, we have our own celebration of homegrown cinema: The Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Festival.

Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema offers free screenings of Bernal Heights and local filmmakers’ works in neighborhood parks and open spaces to increase the exposure and recognition of local artists, to heighten appreciation by neighborhood and citywide residents and to bring community together for the enjoyment of our parks and neighborhood resources.

Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema 2011

There are a few differences, of course. Those other festivals show their films in, you know, theaters. We show ours outside. They are overrun with paparazzi and creepy Hollywood types; Our festival is dog-friendly and BYOB. Sundance takes place in January, and Teluride kicks off early September. And wouldn’t you know it… Bernalwood’s festival happens in early September too. Which means it’s that time of year, right now.

So pack a blanket, don your most cutting-edge polar fleece, and get ready to enjoy our very own glamorously unglamorous film event. The festival kicks off with a star-studded opening night gala tomorrow night, Aug. 31, at the world-famous New Old Clam House on Bayshore, before moving on to other sites around the neighborhood on subsequent cinema-packed evenings.

Heeeeeeere’s you complete 2011 Bernal Heights Outdoor Film Festival schedule:

Wednesday, August 31 – Sunday, September 4

5 FREE Nights / 5 Bernal Sites

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Download the 2011 Film Lineup

Wednesday 8/31 — 6:30–9:30 pm
Opening Night at The Old Clam House
299 Bayshore Boulevard
Reception, Films & Music
Benefit for Bernal History Project. Suggested donation at the door of $15 includes two (2) drink tickets

6:30–7:30 pm Music & Reception
Mister Odom and the Odom Poles
7:30–8:00 pm Awards Presentation
8:00–9:00 pm Film Screening

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Thursday 9/1 — 6:30–9:30 pm
Block Party on Tiffany Avenue
between 29th & Duncan Streets
in partnership with Mobile Arts Platform
Outdoor Films, Music & Fun

6:30–7:30 pm Live Music & Activities
The Patsy Chords
Make Your Own Film
Plant a Seed
7:30–9:30 pm Film Screening

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Friday 9/2 — 5:00–10:00 pm
Film Crawl on Cortland Avenue
between Bennington & Anderson Streets
Music, Lounge, Films & After Party

6:00–8:00 pm Red Hill Books —Headquarters & Lounge
401 Cortland
Michael Groh and Ted Savarese
7:00, 8:00 & 9:00 pm Film Screenings
Simultaneous presentations at 7 sites. Screening times at some sites are limited. Check the venue film listing for times.

– Progressive Grounds — 400 Cortland
– Four Star Video — 402 Cortland
– Kingmond Young Studio — 416 Cortland
– Bernal Yoga — 461 Cortland
– Bernal Branch Library — 500 Cortland
– Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center —
515 Cortland
– Inclusions Gallery — 627 Cortland

– After Party at The Lucky Horseshoe —
453 Cortland (21 years and over venue)

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Saturday 9/3 — 6:30–9:30 pm
Under the Stars at Precita Park
Folsom Street at Precita Avenue
Meet-the-Fillmmakers, Music & Films

6:30–7:30 pm Live Music & Reception
Classic Rain featuring Karen Huggins
7:30–9:30 pm Film Screening

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Sunday 9/4 — 6:30–9:30 pm
Closing Night at El Rio
3158 Mission Street — 21 years and over venue
Meet-the-Fillmmakers & Films
Suggested donation at the door of $10 includes
two (2) food tickets
No-host bar; No cover

6:30–7:30 pm Filmmakers Reception
7:30–9:30 pm Film Screening

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Free admission. Seating at all screenings is on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and low-back beach chairs for outdoor venues. Each site is easily accessible to neighbors and citywide residents on foot or directly by BART 24th Street and SF Muni bus lines #12, #14, #24, #49 and #67.

PHOTOS: From top, slowpoke_taiwan, Guillaume Lebleu, and Telstar Logistics

Meet Darren Samuelson, Large Format Photographer

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Darren Samuelson

Here in Bernalwood, we like to go big. From our sprawling McMansions to our hulking Chevrolet Suburbans, life in the ‘Wood is all about living large. So it’s fitting that the Inclusions Gallery on Cortland is currently hosting an exhibit by Darren Samuelson, a San Francisco photographer who uses an ultra-large format camera to take big pictures of America’s  most beefy landscapes.

On Thursday night, August 25 at 7 pm, Inclusions will host a Q&A with Samuelson, to discuss his work. Inclusions tells us:

Darren Samuelson built an ultra large format camera as a tool to experiment with 14×36 inch x-ray film. Seventy pounds of carefully constructed red oak, steel, and 6-foot bellows, along with an entire set of custom made film holders, processing and printing tools make both shooting and developing a photo a laborious task that results in a truly unique image. The prints showcased in this exhibition were gathered from trials on his back porch, San Francisco landscapes, and a road trip across the U.S. The character of these images comes from both the experimental nature of the camera and the orthochromatic register of x-ray film, which more closely aligns with film before the 1920s. In their iconic subject matter and aesthetics, these photos reach back to the first applications of photography. Darren is a self-taught photographer, freelance designer, and part-time chef. He works with many camera sizes–medium, large, and ultra large, and always with film. He is a Bay Area native who lives and works in San Francisco.

This terrific video shows how the magic happens:

Once again: Q&A with Darren Sameulson at Inclusions Gallery, Thursday night, August 25 at 7 pm. If you can’t make the event, do sees the exhibit of his work — and his supersized camera — on display be at Inclusions until September 18.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Celebrate Secession Art & Design’s Fourth Anniversary, Friday

/ Todd_Lappin

Secession Art & Design is located on Mission Street, right across from our Taoist Safeway, and I love stopping in there during grocery runs to check out their current shows. When possible, I also enjoy giving them some of my money, because Secession always always has very cool, locally made stuff. So it is indeed cause for celebration that on Friday night, August 19, Secession is having a Fourth Anniversary Party from 6:30 to 9:30. Here are the deets:

Secession Art & Design took over 3361 Mission Street, nestled between Abner’s Barber Shop and Smoke N Talk, in 2007 with the dream of creating a space to house a rotating collection of independent art & design. We wanted a store that could be home to a mix of medias co-existing. The neighborhood is a living, breathing work of art. Four years in one location has taught us so much about human nature, working together, and community. Our hood has taught us to dream big, build a career, and support everyone in our path. Community is about sharing resources!

Last year, we expanded our wall space to The Front Porch, 65a 29th Street, a five-minute walk from the gallery. Art from our gallery is now the backdrop to fantastic southern-inspired food. A tasty inspiration! Happy 5th Anniversary to The Front Porch on August 21! The Southern Mission has opened so many doors, and we appreciate all that our neighborhood has offered! Secession is excited to announce the celebration of extending our lease three more years! Please join us on Friday to celebrate our independent art & design community.

Bernal’s Celebrity Succulent Expert Opens Show in Oakland

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Here’s a welcome change of pace: A story about succulents that has nothing to do with crime.

Ken Shelf is the co-owner of Four Star Video on Cortland, as well as the Succulence plant store that occupies the rear of the space. From 6 – 9 pm on Thursday night, August 18, Ken will open a show of his plant art at The Rare Bird in (gasp!) Oakland, where he is the featured artist-of-the-month.  As the store’s website explains:

Ken Shelf is the co-owner (with his wife, Amy) and lead cultivator at Succulence – a life and garden store in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco that sells supplies for a succulent lifestyle.  Ken also lives in Bernal with Amy and their children, Huck and Trudy. Ken’s plant art began with the creative camouflaging of marijuana plants in his tomato garden and continues with his exploration of the disintegration and reintegration of nature with itself. In his endless quest for interesting planting vessels, he has planted teapots, popcorn poppers, electrical boxes, watering cans, shoes, bicycle rims, bird-feeders, sea shells, grain mill belts, coal cans, potato and onion baskets, and a metal Hoosier flour bin for his wife’s 40th birthday.

Star Sighting: Mayor Ed Lee Visits Bernal’s New Mini-Park

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Mayor Lee

Vista Pointe Gardens

Hey there celebrity-spotters! Guess who dropped by Bernalwood yesterday? Why, it was our very own interim mayor, the Honorable Ed Lee! The Mayor was here to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our fabulous new Vista Pointe Garden mini-park on Bernal Heights Boulevard, and it was a very sweet little event.

Truth is, however, even though the Mayor is famous for his side-splitting charisma, drop-dead sense of style, and spectacular singing voice, the real star of the show was project director Julian Wyler, who spearheaded the volunteer effort to make this glamorous new park a reality. Say hello to Julian:

Vista Pointe Gardens

This is Mayor Ed giving Julian a well-deserved Certificate of Honor:

Vista Pointe Gardens

Then Mayor Ed and Julian cut the grand-opening ribbon with giant clown scissors:

Vista Pointe Gardens

Afterward, Julian and the Mayor had a bromantic moment:

Vista Pointe Gardens

But seriously… Immense thanks go out to Julian and all the volunteers from Friends of Bernal Gardens who helped make this new park possible. It is truly an impressive feat. And thanks to Mayor Ed for making the trek to Bernal Heights to recognize that fact.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Come to Cortland for the Summer Solstice Stroll, Tuesday!

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Summer Solstice Stroll

In winter we wandered Cortland merrily for the Holiday Stroll. Now the days are longer and the weather is (marginally) warmer, so it’s time for the 2011 Summer Solstice Stroll! Come on out tomorrow evening, Tuesday, June 21, starting at 6 pm for a neighborly walkabout on Cortland.

The stroll is sponsored by  the Bernal Business Alliance and Bernal Bucks, and there will be yummy food, drinky treats, and cheerful people-watching. (Fashion tip: Per usual, Prada and Louis Vuitton are de rigeur.)

Bernalwood will be there too… look for us and feel free to say hello!

Off the Hill: Best Cheap Eats in the Mission, Carnival Parade on Sunday, Beach Chalet Blues, and a Market Street Makeover

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It’s time for Bernalwood’s Friday buffet of warmed-over nibbles from around The City:

The 20 Best Dishes Under $10 in the Mission  (7×7 via MissionLoc@l)

Design Unveiled for New SFMOMA Addition (SF Chronicle)

Don’t Forget the Carnival Parade on Sunday Morning!! (FunCheapSF)

Let’s Roll: Best San Francisco Food Trucks of 2011 (SF Weekly)

The Odyssey of the Original Beach Chalet at Ocean Beach (The Richmond Blog)

Planning Underway to Make Market Street Not Crappy (Streetsblog)

PHOTO: Carnival 2009 in the Mission, by Telstar Logsitics

Happy Motoring During the 2011 Bernal GT

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2011 Bernal GT

2011 Bernal GT

2011 Bernal GT

2011 Bernal GT

I had such a great time on the road last Sunday driving in the 2011 Bernal GT.

Organized by the überdudes from Bernal Dads Racing, the Bernal GT started at Fort Funston, meandered to Pescadero (via just about every twisty-curvey road between here and there), and then concluded at our own Holly Park.

There were 25+ glamorous cars on hand for the event — including two Ferraris, several classic Volvos, a rare Dinalpin, a 1964 Alfa Romeo, a 1956 Jaguar, a DeLorean (sans flux capacitors), and one mutant Porsche 914 repowered with an engine from a Subaru WRX.

Meanwhile, in true Bernal fashion, the GT was extremely kid-friendly, and many of the above vehicles came tricked-out with kiddie car seats — and young’uns to warm them. A favorite moment: Watching a pack of kids pile into a Ferrari to gobble down a box of donuts in the back seat. (Somewhere, Enzo Ferrari was rolling in his grave.)

There was another so-Bernal aspect to the rally as well: The warmth and hospitality of the participants. For example, one gentleman from BDR actually loaned me a 1972 BMW 3.0 CS to use for the day. (“I can’t go, but my car wants to,” he playfully explained.) The car was a dream to drive, but the gesture itself was the best part. Sweet! So this was my ride for the day:
2011 Bernal GTAnd here is what it was like to drive the BMW up a winding, wooded hill near La Honda while chasing Ben Buja’s Volvo 124:

Lots more photos in the 2011 Bernal GT slideshow right here.

Special thanks to Armando, Ben, and Fiid for organizing the 2011 Bernal GT!

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

This Weekend, Drive in the 2011 Bernal GT

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Okay, so maybe it’s not quite as much fun as tearing up the track with Bernal Dads Racing. Nevertheless, if you’re up for a little family motorsport this weekend, then get on board to join the Bernal GT road rally that will take place on Sunday, May 22. All you need is a vintage car, a late-model kid, or some combination of the two.

Sorry for the late notice with this — my fault — but rally organizer Ben tells the complete details:

Note: This is simply a drive, not a race or competition for awards, trophies or bragging rights.  The organizers would like to encourage vintage cars to participate on the GT.

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When: Sunday May 22, 2011
Time: 9:30am into the afternoon
Where: A to-be-determined starting point in San Francisco and later returning to Bernal Heights.
Length: Somewhere between 80 and 120 Miles
Cost: Nothing

You are eligible by one of the following:
A) Car of 1980 model year or or older
B) Rare and/or exotic car 1995 model year to 1981 Model Year (must be approved for exotic status)
C) If you have kids 17 years or younger and/or kids in car seats, newer cars can be submitted for approval, No minivans or SUVs

There is no cost associated with this event but we want to get stickers made for the event so if you are planning on attending email the following information by 12:00pm Sunday, May 15 to:BernalGT100@gmail.com

Registration Information:
1) Drivers name, Co-driver or other passengers
2) Phone number
3) Kids along: Yes or No
4) Your vehicle’s Name
5) Vehicle info: Year, Make, & Model
6) Applying for Exotic Status (Section B)? Tell us what makes it rare/rarer than any of the cars we normally see on the streets of Bernal
7) New Car Approval (Section C)? Tell us is this your daily troop transport or your fun car.

PHOTOS: 2010 Bernal GT, by Rat Fink

Race Summary: Bernal Dads Get Results in Reno

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Equipped with a spiffy new set of lights that not both pierced the Nevada night and increased their car’s Road Warrior quotient by about 15x, Bernal Dads Racing had a successful weekend in Reno competing in the 24 Hours of LeMons.

Battling darkness, cold, rain, and the inevitable weirdness that results from grafting a Volvo station wagon body onto a Mazda Miata, BDR’s “Molvo” completed the entire race. Team Member Fiid Williams sent along this summary:

The Molvo finished it’s (and ours) first around the clock 24 hour race with very little in the way of problems!  We think we placed either 24th or 26th overall an around 4th or 5th in our class (B – Bad).  We started off around 32nd place and then dropped down to 49th shortly after and then started working our way back up into the top 30.  We had a few black flags in the beginning that yielded us the “build an art-project engine out of cardboard” penalty.  The chief race perpetrator, Jay Lamm was around at this time and we managed to mitigate the penalty by letting him drive our car while we were working on it!!  The car and it’s drivers held it together for the full 24 hours.  We sent Mason out last with a screw in the tire (we had no way to fix it) and it stayed inflated until the cooldown lap, so all in all; a very successful and extremely fun race!!

Indeed, the The Molvo crossed the finish line in fine form:

Team member Stephan Zuercher sent along this video of the moment:

Sneakily, Bernalwood mounted  a spycam inside the Molvo to capture the action during the race. Here’s an exclusive in-car photo we captured during a particularly intense segment of the competition:

Go Bernal Dads, Go!

PHOTOS: Molvo by Stephan Zuercher