hardly strictly: a converstation w/ bluegrass aficionado warren hellman

Posted on October 1, 2011 by fromthethicket

a hardly strictly bluegrass concert, 2010

Hardly, Strictly Bluegrass aficionados will be interested in an interview with Warren Hellman published in the Bay Citizen yesterday:

“After a long walk in the wee hours of every workday morning, 77-year-old Warren Hellman (who is the chairman of The Bay Citizen’s board) returns to his home near the Presidio and practices bluegrass-style banjo in a small upstairs room where he won’t disturb his sleeping spouse, Christina. At the other end of a day spent managing many millions of dollars from the headquarters of Hellman & Friedman at One Maritime Plaza, he’ assays another session with the banjo.

But this coming Friday morning, Hellman will be headed for Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park, for the opening of the 11th annual three-day, free-of-charge Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, which he founded and also finances. And on Saturday morning, he and his instrument will be up on one of the festival’s six stages, performing with his regular group, The Wronglers, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, the renegade country-and-western music legend with whom they recorded the charming Heirloom Music, released earlier this year on the Neanderthal Records label.

Begun on a much smaller scale at the turn of the millennium, shortly after Hellman had reestablished his San Francisco residence and his lifelong flirtation with bluegrass music, the festival now attracts over three-quarters of a million fans and nearly a hundred acts, star-studded and little-known, showcasing not only a variety of bluegrass forms but also C&W, Old Timey, New Orleans, blues, rock, and even North Indian classical genres. Hellman sat down with SFCV in his office, 12 floors above the Financial District, to talk about how he manages money and music.”

For the rest of the interview, follow this link to the full article:

Hardly Strictly a Q&A With Bluegrass Aficionado Warren Hellman – The Bay Citizen.

Posted in arts, concerts, events in Golden Gate Park | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

enthusiastic bicyclists turn out with artful bicycles in golden gate park

Posted on September 25, 2011 by fromthethicket

Many surprised park visitors gawked in delight yesterday at the parade of artful bicycles and colorful riders of all ages circling the music concourse and heading down JFK drive to Lindley Meadow in the annual Tour de Fat.  Here are some snapshots:

green guru provided pedal-powered high fidelity

a truly "fat tire" bicycle, ridden by inventor-artist Fred, from Truckee

the youngest rider? (age four)

destination bike racks

Posted in arts, events in Golden Gate Park, recreation | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

tour de fat: bike and beer ballyhoo in golden gate park

Posted on September 22, 2011 by fromthethicket

‘September is the best time of the year in San Francisco.

The sun is shining, the cool weather is behind us and the festival season is in full bloom. For residents who ride bikes, September brings with it one of the most exciting events of the year: the Tour de Fat, on Saturday at Lindley Meadow in Golden Gate Park.

The annual free bike and beer ballyhoo, which will hit 13 cities across the country this year, is hosted by the New Belgium Brewery Co. of Fort Collins, Colo.; it’s named after its popular Fat Tire amber ale.

Now in its 12th year, the festival continues to expand on its goal to “roust a city’s inner city cyclist” by offering a full day of music, art and bicycle fun. This year, with the beer garden separated from the rest of the event, it’s an all-ages, family-friendly event.

Festivities begin with an 11 a.m. costumed ride through the park (registration starts at 10 a.m.) and continue through the afternoon with music from indie bands the Dovekins and Free Energy, as well as the renegade parade stylings of the Extra Action Marching Band. There will also be a fiery stunt bike performance and a collection of crazy, carnival-like bikes to ride.

The day culminates with one partygoer giving up his gas-guzzling car for a custom, handcrafted steel commuter bike. Complete with fenders, racks and panniers, this bike is designed to do everything your car could do – except pollute.

“The car-for-bike trade continues to inspire me,” New Belgium spokesman Bryan Simpson says. “It’s always so exciting to see someone enter a new car-free phase of life.”

The festival also raises funds for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council – nearly $50,000 last year. New Belgium has raised more than $2 million for bicycle nonprofits across the country.

In keeping with the brewer’s message of green living, the festival will be powered through solar and biofuel and incorporate recycling and compost bins. Last year’s festival produced only 12 pounds of trash for 6,500 people, according to the bicycle coalition, making it one of the greenest San Francisco festivals of the year.

No matter your reason for riding – community, the environment, fun – the Tour de Fat will probably reinforce why you do it.

11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. Free. Lindley Meadow, Golden Gate Park, S.F. www.sfbike.org/?fat.’

via Tour de Fat: Bike and beer ballyhoo hits city.

Posted in events in Golden Gate Park, recreation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

waterfall restoration in AIDS memorial grove, golden gate park

Posted on September 20, 2011 by fromthethicket

‘The century-old Dry Creek and waterfall at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is getting a face lift.  The De Laveaga Dell, which used to be a vibrant part of the park with three waterfalls, has been fairly dry as the state has gone through cyclical droughts, forcing unsustainable water features in the park to be eliminated  .  .  .

National AIDS Memorial Grove Director John Cunningham said the hope is that the waters will flow again on World AIDS Day on December 1.  “20 years ago, this space of Golden Gate Park was a neglected site, a derelict site,” said Cunningham. “It was a dump.”  The National AIDS Memorial Grove is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and remains the first and only federally designed memorial to AIDS in the country.’

via National AIDS Memorial Grove Restoration Begins In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park « CBS San Francisco.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

landmark windmill gets new dome

Posted on September 13, 2011 by fromthethicket

‘San Francisco officials and international representatives will celebrate a crowning achievement this morning when a refurbished dome is placed on top of the Golden Gate Park windmill that is considered the largest of its kind in the world.  The 106-year-old Samuel Murphy Windmill, also known as the South Windmill, will receive its restored 64-ton copper dome at a “capping” ceremony at 11 a.m., a San Francisco Recreation and Park Department spokeswoman said.  The windmill, which is one of two traditional Dutch-style windmills in Golden Gate Park, has been waiting more than 10 years for its cap to return after it was shipped to The Netherlands for restoration, according to the park department.

The Murphy Windmill, named after a local banker and benefactor, was constructed in 1905 after the successful creation of the Dutch Windmill. The Dutch Windmill, which now sits next to the Beach Chalet restaurant, was built in 1902. At one time, both windmills were responsible for pumping as many as 1.5 million gallons of water everyday, according to the park department.  But through natural corrosion and man-made neglect, the Murphy Windmill sustained significant damage. Its powerful sails, considered the longest in the world, were detached and abandoned and its wooden wraparound deck was also destroyed.

Now considered to be treasured landmarks, a campaign to save the windmills was organized more than 10 years ago and a major milestone for the restoration efforts will be celebrated today.  San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg, Supervisor Carmen Chu and Dutch Consul-General Bart van Bolhuis will attend the dome placement ceremony, which will take place at the Murphy Windmill near Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Great Highway.’

via SF: Golden Gate Park’s landmark windmill gets new dome – San Jose Mercury News
Posted in history, infrastructure | Tagged , | Leave a comment

crasher livens up golden gate park wedding

Posted on September 10, 2011 by fromthethicket

‘So much planning goes into making your wedding the most perfect day of your life – the location, the guests, the flowers, the cake. But, as always, it’s the things you can’t plan for that can ruin everything. Consider the case of one unfortunate couple whose Golden Gate Park wedding this past weekend got thrown into disarray by one unwelcome guest.

Police said a well-dressed but sauced wedding crasher caused a disturbance during festivities at the Conservatory of Flowers Saturday night and then returned after being ejected, lobbing his shoe at the DJ, getting pepper-sprayed and then arrested.

Officers were called to the reception at 11:45 p.m. Saturday to investigate the disturbance and found a shoeless, bleary-eyed 33-year-old San Francisco man, Park Station Capt. Denis O’Leary said.

Guests said the drunken man had wandered into the reception and began causing a disturbance, according to O’Leary.

“Some of the guests got him to leave and then he forced his way back in,” O’Leary said. “The drunk came back in throwing his shoe.”

The shoe flew in the direction of the wedding DJ, who then pepper-sprayed the man, “but two of his friends got sprayed as well,” O’Leary said.

Officers then arrived and arrested the man.

Other than the wedding crasher’s missing shoes, “he was dressed like he belonged there,” O’Leary said. The man was wearing a white shirt, gray tie, and a black-and-gray vest over black slacks.

The man spent the night at Park Station until he sobered up.

“Hell of wedding, don’t you think?” said O’Leary.

According to its website, the Conservatory of Flowers rents out for a wedding ceremony and reception for $8,900. The venue “offers a beautiful, unique setting that will make any engagement unforgettable!” Indeed.’

via Crasher livens up Golden Gate Park wedding in San Francisco | Ari Burack | Crime | San Francisco Examiner.

Posted in events in Golden Gate Park, safety | Tagged , | 1 Comment

victory gardens in golden gate park

Posted on September 1, 2011 by fromthethicket

golden gate park victory gardens, 1943 - sfpl historic photograph collection

Urban farming and community gardening have been time-tested in San Francisco.  Few people today realize that Golden Gate Park was a productive urban farm during World War II.

‘Victory Gardens, also called “war gardens” or “food gardens for defense”, were gardens planted both at private residences and on public land during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a civil “morale booster” — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution of labor and rewarded by the produce grown. These gardens produced up to 41 percent of all the vegetable produce that was consumed in the nation.

–City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America, Laura Lawson

Throughout the country people plowed front yards, lawns, back yards, flower gardens, and vacant lots to grow their own vegetables. Even public land was put to use, from the lawn at San Francisco City Hall to the Boston Commons to portions of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. San Francisco’s victory program became one of the best in the country. There were over 250 garden plots in Golden Gate Park.  Every park in the city had gardens and many vacant lots were used for growing vegetables.’

via ~ Victory Gardens History ~.

Posted in "lost" golden gate park, eating, health and safety, history, plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

coyotes in golden gate park

Posted on August 22, 2011 by fromthethicket

photo by Scott Sommerdorf, The Chronicle, 8/20/11

It seems we may be seeing coyotes more frequently in Golden Gate Park, according to this recent column by C.W. Nevius, for SF Gate:

‘Four years ago, the city was in a tizzy over coyotes. It culminated with two of them getting shot and killed in Golden Gate Park.

Now the message is tamer. At a neighborhood meeting organized by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma in the Richmond District on Friday, animal experts kept it simple: They’re here. There are more of them than ever. Get used to it.

“The whole nation is having problems with coyotes,” said Kent Smirl, a Department of Fish and Game lieutenant who has coordinated a coyote-watch program in Southern California.

San Francisco is actually behind much of the rest of the country. Between April 2010 and July of this year, there were 122 coyote “incidents,” meaning some kind of physical interaction with humans, in Southern California and just 29 here in the north.

San Francisco may be late to develop a coyote population – Project Coyote Director Camilla Fox says they’ve arrived in the past 10 years – but, as usual, we’re way ahead in the range of reactions. It starts with whether you say KI-oat-ee or KI-oat and goes from there.

Pet fanciers are horrified that a predator is stalking the public parks. And, says Eric Covington, a district supervisor for USDA Wildlife Services, concerns about pets are not entirely misplaced .  .  .

Conrad Jones, an associate wildlife biologist with Fish and Game, says one study, based in Malibu, found that 13.6 percent of coyote scat contained cat remains. (Fox says other studies show a much lower percentage.)

So coyotes are definitely a threat to pets, particularly cats out wandering at night or off-leash dogs crashing through the underbrush in parks.

But as Smirl says, “We don’t have a four-legged problem; we have a two-legged problem.”

The coyotes first arrived in the Presidio, probably after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Since then they’ve spread through the city’s parks and beyond. They are regular sights on golf courses, and Johnson says he’s seen them at Fisherman’s Wharf.

The reason is simple. The city is a coyote buffet line.

As Jones says, “What’s food for a coyote? Everything.”

It’s not just that food is readily available from unsecured garbage cans. There’s also pet food left out in backyards and bird feeders. Worse yet are well-intentioned folks who think they are helping the situation by feeding the coyotes.

They are not only missing the point – coyotes self-restrict their population based on available food, so the feeders are actually increasing the number – but it is dangerous. Coyotes that become dependent on handouts lose their fear of humans  .  .  .

The flip side of that situation is that some are so enamored of urban coyotes that they refuse to hear anything bad about them. Those are the people who say that the coyotes who were killed in Golden Gate Park just administered a light nip to a dog. Covington says it was more than that. The vet bill ran to thousands of dollars.

The debate is sure to continue.’
via Coyotes in city to stay, so protect pets and food.

For some many beautiful photographs and stories about coyote encounters in San Francisco see Janet Kessler’s blog,  Coyote Yips:  http://coyoteyipps.com/

Posted in wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

dahlia! S.F.’s official flower in bloom

Posted on August 18, 2011 by fromthethicket

‘A leftover dahlia that came with their new San Francisco home is what hooked Gerda Juul and her husband, Erik, in the 1950s.

“It sort of went on from there,” she recalled, to buying bulbs at the Dahlia Society of California’s annual sales, to a membership (free with the purchase of a dozen bulbs). “Then, about 35 years ago, after we moved to the Sunset, we seriously started to grow and show and hybridize.”

The dahlia mystique goes back to pre-Conquest Mexico, where the Aztecs cultivated them. Today, it’s Mexico’s national flower. It’s also the official flower of San Francisco – Mayor Gavin Newsom has declared Saturday to be Dahlia Flower Day.

A Spanish botanist, Vicente de Cervantes, sent the seeds of several natural species to Madrid in 1789; seeds collected by the explorer Alexander von Humboldt reached Paris and Berlin in 1804. Those founding seeds gave rise to a multitude of hybrids. The American Dahlia Society recognizes 18 form categories, based on the shape of the flower head (ball, pompon, stellar) or its resemblance to other kinds of flowers (anemone, cactus, water lily, peony, orchid). There’s also a flower-size hierarchy, from AA on down. The group’s annual show, this weekend at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, puts ever more people in danger of dahlia addiction  .  .  .

Beyond their home garden, the Juuls helped maintain the Dahlia Dell in Golden Gate Park for 15 years  .  .  .  Other volunteers help tend the dell, with the park providing space, soil and rototilling.’

Don’t miss seeing these spectacular flowers growing in the park this month!

via Hello, dahlia! S.F.’s official flower in bloom.

Posted in blooming, people, plants, san francisco botanical garden | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

searching for spanish monastery stones in golden gate park

Posted on August 12, 2011 by fromthethicket

monastery stones used at the library terrace garden, san francisco botanical garden, golden gate park

Walking in Golden Gate Park you may notice some ornately carved stones, segments of fluted pillars, arches, sculptural reliefs worn smooth by time.  These are remnants of  a medieval Spanish monastery, now scattered throughout the park and put to various uses, from retaining walls to sculptural accents.

Apparently “the stones originally made up the 12th century Cisterian monastery of Santa Maria de Ovila in Spain. The abandoned buildings were purchased by William Randolph Hearst in 1931, part of his elaborate Wyntoon estate building project in Northern California. It took eleven ships to bring all of the stones to the U.S. where they were held in a San Francisco warehouse.

When the Depression began to take its toll on Hearst’s fortunes, he abandoned the project and sold the stones to the city. San Francisco made plans to rebuild the structure in Golden Gate Park – a project immediately made more complicated when a fire destroyed all of the packing crates showing the key markings for reconstruction.

golden gate park, crates holding monastery stones on fire, 1941 (SFPL historical photograph)

Finally, in the 1960s, the remaining stones were distributed throughout the park including the Strybing Arboretum Library Terrace Garden and the Japanese Tea Garden.

Elsewhere in the park, two so-called “Druid circles” hide in the wooded areas and act as sacred spaces for occasional ceremonies. Further north in Sacramento Valley, the remainder of the stones are getting an unexpected new life as the Chapter House of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.”

via Spanish Monastery Stones located in San Francisco, California, US | Atlas Obscura | Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations.

Posted in "lost" golden gate park, ghosts, history, people, san francisco botanical garden | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments