Hopefully this Neighborhood Notes finds you still reeling from a full Thanksgiving feast, reader. Here’s a round up of some events. We’re grateful for your support — and would always appreciate some more, if you can spare it!
What’s been going on in the neighborhood?
Thanks be to the Mission
The Mission bar Teeth and its burger making partner Mission Street Burgers both located at 2323 Mission Street, teamed up to cook and deliver 130 meals in the Mission to those who didn’t have the means to do so themselves this year. Martin de Porres House of Hospitality, Miracle Messages, the Salvation Army, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, City Team and Glide all pitched in on Turkey Day, too.
And volunteers at the Resource Hub, led by Roberto Hernandez, distributed thousands of turkeys and other food to the several of the 7,000 households who have been frequenting the hub for food boxes each week.
To everyone who has donated time, money, or resources at any time during this pandemic — especially essential and healthcare workers — Mission Local thanks you.
Bring on the Weekend
Tap, tap, tap in
Sometimes the cheer of the holiday season just makes you wanna break into a joyful dance number. Dance Mission Theater presents a one-day-only intermediate tap dancing workshop this Saturday. Instructor Vanessa Sanchez will lead the choreography from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. over Zoom. Register at Dance Mission Theater and pay a sliding scale fee of $10 to $16, and get your steps in!
Put to the Covid-19 test
Acknowledging the recent surge and anticipating even more cases post-holiday, the University of California San Francisco, the Department of Public Health, and several community organizations teamed up to offer 500 Covid-19 tests in the Mission, Bayview, Tenderloin and Excelsior, where new case rates have been high.
Healthy Holidays testing will run from Sunday Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the 24th Street Mission BART, Mendell Plaza in the Bayview, and the 100 block of Golden Gate Ave. in the Tenderloin. The Excelsior site will be at the Crocker Amazon parking lot and run on the same dates from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. The Excelsior site offers both walk-up and drive-through testing. Essential workers are especially encouraged to test.
Per usual, testing occurs at the Resource Hub every Thursday.
The Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax urged those with insurance and those who are asymptomatic to request testing from healthcare providers. And, a negative test doesn’t necessarily mean all is clear, he said. If you’re experiencing symptoms or know you have been exposed, he advises you to quarantine.
Mark your calendars
A conversation to chirp about
Calle 24 is interviewing the owners of Il Pollaio about the plight of their restaurant, which recently set up shop here in the Mission. Tune in to the conversation with owners and spouses Maria Paula (or Maria Paula Castellucci Bautista) and Alejandro Bautista on Tuesday, Dec. 1. If you’re jonesing for a bite, head on down to 2859 Mission St.
Everybody go to the (online) discoteca!
Miss dancing to reggaeton in a crowded room surrounded by friends? Us too. Luckily, some of the city’s best reggaeton and Latin trap artists are banding together for a two-day virtual series event on Mixcloud. The lineup includes the city’s own La Doña, who launched her album “Algo Nuevo” this year, and Sazon Libre, the tropical bass group that had DJs play weekly gigs at the Valencia Room and El Rio. Grammy-nominated Oakland-based rappers Los Rakas and cumbia rap artist Turbo Sonidero from San Jose will also perform sets. Tune in on Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. This is a part of the larger event Red Bull Estados Unidos de Bass, which showcases Latin American bass music from San Francisco, Miami, Austin, New York and Los Angeles from Dec. 4 to Dec. 19. Check out the schedule here.
Alert the presses
Join Gray Area in a free graphic journalism and tech workshop and webinar on Dec. 6 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Learn to amplify your essential graphic journalism stories with virtual and augmented reality and mixed digital multimedia. The workshop will cover the journalistic practices necessary to spit out a well-informed article and the graphic and tech possibilities to make the illustrations come to life, in forms such as the virtual comic book, for example. This event is put on through the collaboration of Gray Area, Priya’s Shakti, Empathetic Media, Archcomix, Baturu, and ZERO1 and is funded by Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund for U.S. Alumni. Sign up here.
Drive in, and get Lost Landscapes
Cozy up in your car and traipse through a bit of San Francisco’s history while you watch this year’s edition of “Lost Landscapes of San Francisco,” which premieres in December for the feature film’s 15th anniversary at the Fort Mason Center on 2 Marina Blvd. The film includes clips from vintage home videos and historical clips of the city that span from the 20th century to the 1980s, and after the screening its creator, Rick Prelinger, will provide commentary and anecdotes about it. This year’s film, like every year, will have 80 to 90 percent new material compiled from San Francisco families’ interviews and videos. Prelinger said this year’s film showcases scenes from the 1918 Spanish Flu and Brown Beret anti-war demonstrations.
“I’m really interested in mainstreaming histories that are forgotten, but it’s not about the past. I mean it is, but it’s just as much about the future,” Prelinger told Mission Local.
Snacks can be purchased at the Interval at Long Now in the Fort Mason Center, and bathrooms will be open and cleaned throughout, but these facilities can only be accessed with masks on. And, if you are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, the event holders ask you to stay home this time around. Catch the flick on Tues. Dec. 8 from 8:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. If you can’t make it, a free screening will run Wed. Dec. 16 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:10 p.m. with the opportunity for virtual discussion, Prelinger said. The drive-in costs $60 per vehicle, and both events accept donations that will go to the Prelinger Library. Register for the drive-in here and the free virtual event here.