“Excelsior Buzz” is a recurring column on changes, tidbits and other news from the Excelsior. Got news? Send us tips at xueer@missionlocal.com
The Mission Terrace Garden Tour is back! Come stroll through local gardens on Sunday, May 31 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Mission Terrace, just west of the Excelsior, and get inspired by what your neighbors have been growing.
Hilary Weber, an organizer of the event, said so far 15 people have signed up to open up gardens to their neighbors, up from just nine last year.
Weber said the garden tour was knocked out by the pandemic, and its revival has been very much a grassroots effort, with support from local groups such as the New Mission Terrace Improvement Association.
News of the tour has also bubbled up through word of mouth in a very active WhatsApp group called Mission Terrace Parents, where, Weber said, if someone wants to give away plant cuttings, “Boom! It will happen in a day.”
The purpose of the tour, Weber said, is not to feature picture-perfect gardens that potentially intimidate aspiring gardeners, but to encourage people to “just get out there and start gardening.”
“The event is designed for neighbors,” said Weber, who grows tomatoes, potatoes, limes, herbs, and apples in her own yard. “And all are welcome. It’s free.”
Weber’s group, called Mission Terrace Garden Group, is now looking for:
- Volunteers to help the day run smoothly
- Garden hosts to open up their yards
- Attendees to come and enjoy the gardens
If you’re interested, shoot an email to mtgardentour@gmail.com or text Weber at 415-755-7266. You’ll get a map of the gardens just before the tour starts.
Mark your calendars for a night of grooving, dancing and music on Friday, June 5, at the Italian American Social Club for a 70s disco night.
The club, at 25 Russia Ave., has been doing more public events to bring together neighbors and attract more customers.
“We try to create something like a “Friday night,’” said Julie Clima, the club’s manager. “We did a western night and a back-to-school night and we got filled.”
The Excelsior Action Group, a local nonprofit in the Excelsior that supports small businesses and works on revitalizing merchant corridors, will have a new executive director soon.
Mission Local has learned that an offer letter has been sent to the finalist, who hasn’t yet been named. The former executive director, Maribel Ramirez, led the group for about five years until July 2024.
Currently, the group is led by co-interim directors Ben Bleiman and Duncan Ley, who together co-founded the Discover Polk Community Benefit District in Polk Gulch and Nob Hill. Bleiman is also the president of the city’s Entertainment Commission.
Posters promoting the 2026 San Francisco Dragon Boat Festival are already up on lampposts along Mission Street in the Excelsior.
Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday created to commemorate Qu Yuan, a patriot and poet who died by drowning himself in the Miluo River in despair after the fall of his state.
On the holiday, which falls on June 19 this year, participants race long, decorated boats to the sound of beating drums, meant to evoke the frantic search for the poet.
A snack called Zongzi — a steamed, sticky-rice pastry filled with pork, red beans or egg yolk and wrapped in bamboo leaves — is also symbolic of the festival.
Some say these rice dumplings were meant to be thrown into the river to feed fish so they wouldn’t eat the poet’s body. Others argue the pastry is consumed to ward off illness and carries prayers for good health.
The opening celebration will take place in Chinatown at 830 Sacramento St. on June 13 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival and dragon boat race will be held at Lake Merced, at 1 Harding Rd, on June 20 and 21 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.