Archive for August, 2009

San Francisco’s editor is squeezing the last bit of fun out of the summer this week and will return next week. Until then, have fun, enjoy the fog, and celebrate that the kids are back in school.

End of summer and the parking’s easy all over town. If you’re still here (and why aren’t you off vacationing at the beach?), some ways to amuse yourself during the dog days.

Rock Make Music and Art Street Festival

A chance for Bay Area parents and kids to rock together at this homegrown music and art street fest, with performances from all-kid bands The She’s, The Psychotherapists, and Secret Cat.

When: Sun., 8/23, 11am-7pm; All Ages; Free.

Where: Treat Street (between 17th & 18th streets), San Francisco; rockmake.com.

School Lunch Sound Off!

Meet up with other parents, teachers, students, and nutrition experts for a speak out about the National School Lunch Program and its deficits. Learn what you can do to help advance reform; students will be encouraged to write letters and draw pictures for elected representatives. Snacks and door prizes are included.

When: Sat., 8/22, noon-2pm; Age 8+; Free.

Where: a.Muse Gallery, 614 Alabama Street (between 18th & 19th streets), San Francisco; 415-832-9113, lbeck@pcrm.org.

Stepology’s Bay Area Rhythm Exchange

Toe-tapping fun with tap-dancing group Stepology, which celebrates the uniquely American dance form of tap in this exuberant show.

When: Fri. & Sat., 8pm; Age 6+; $17-25.

Where: at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue (at Grove Street), San Francisco; stepology.com.

Street Food Festival

A big block party in celebration of worldwide street food, with booths serving everything from tamales to squid salad.

When: Sat., 8/22, 1-7pm; Age 5+; Free.

Where: In front of La Cocina, Folsom Street at 25th Street, San Francisco; eatrealfest.com.

Everyone made a big huge deal about the wife of Twitter’s CEO tweeting her labor last week in San Francisco, but her tweets, while amusing (I liked “Epidural, yes, please,” at 2:49 a.m.), added up to a mere three posts during the labor itself. What’s far more interesting at this point is to follow Sara Williams’ Twitter feed, as well as that of her husband Evan, to see a picture of a couple bowled over by their newborn. “Up to our ears in baby products. Favorites so far: the Woombie and Itzbeen,” said Sara two days ago, while Evan posted Monday: “Checking the Twitters with the boy.” Awww.

If you’d like to follow the Williams’ example, maybe you’d be interested in a project called the Kickbee, a prototype developed by a New York new daddy who wanted to be more immersed in his growing child’s development. Sensors strapped around the pregnant belly send wireless updates to Twitter: “Wow I’m being very active! I kicked Mommy 13 times at 03:44AM on Thu, Dec 11!” What better way to show your spouse the agony of constant fetal kicking than a whole bunch of Tweets?

Does school really start in just over a week? Hurry, hurry, get your summer fun before it’s too late.

Destination Fort Mason Center

Every Saturday through September 12, Fort Mason Center brings on the fun with a diverse lineup of local organizations: performances from the New Pickle Circus and Bay Area Theatresports, art with SCRAP, music from the Blue Bear School of Music. Attendees will get the chance to make art projects and try their own hand at performing.

When: Sat., 8/15 (and continuing each Saturday through 9/12), Age 3+; 10am-4pm; Free.

Where: Fort Mason, Marina Boulevard (at Buchanan Street), San Francisco; 415-345-7500; fortmason.org.

Learning Days at Yerba Buena Children’s Learning Garden

Explore the learning garden and learn how to care for plants through music, art, and hands-on garden sessions.

When: Sat., 8/16, 11am-4pm; Age 3-6; Free.

Where: Yerba Buena Gardens Children’s Learning Garden, 760 Howard Street (between Third and Fourth streets), San Francisco; 415-543-1718; ybgf.org.

Marin Family Well-Being and Safety Fair

Learn how to spot the common signs of allergies and developmental disorders, get your kid fingerprinted, or sample nutritious toddler-friendly snacks at this fiesta of safety/health information for parents.

When: Friday, 8/14, 10am-3pm; Age 2+; Free (RSVP required).

Where: Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto (at E. Blithedale Avenue), Mill Valley; 415-383-1370‎; elainaserotte.com.

Stories from the Past: Toy Boats

Read a story about traveling the seven seas with a reading of the story Toy Boat. Then walk through the history museum to learn about the magnificent ships that have sailed the San Francisco Bay.

When: Fri., 8/14, 11am-noon; Age 2-6; Free with admission ($2-4 adults, free for kids under 5).

Where: San Mateo County History Museum’s Wells Fargo Learning Center, 2200 Broadway Street (at Middlefield Road), Redwood City; 650-299-0104; historysmc.org.

Taking a CPR/emergency class for infants and children is such a pain…but not as big a pain as helplessly watching a child choke or stop breathing in front of you. CPR classes are offered daily all over the Bay Area, and many organizations will give lessons free to a group of parents. Make learning CPR the focus of your next mommy-get-together, or contact one of these fine civic organizations:

DayOne: This San Francisco parenting support organization offers several classes monthly for $45.

CPR Family: Classes in San Rafael and San Francisco run $35-75; pre-crawling babies are welcome.

American Red Cross: The paterfamilias of lifesaving organizations offers classes in most communities for around $50. Type in your ZIP code to find the location nearest you.

SafetyMax: Will give seminars for groups of 12 (minimum) in your Bay Area home or office.

CPR Education Seminars: Teaches safety classes all over the North and South Bay as well as in San Francisco.

Strawberries don’t grow in little green plastic containers at the store, but the only way you’ll prove that to your children is to take them to a berry farm so they can see for themselves. Strawberries are ripe and ready in the fields and they’re perfect for small kids: no thorns, and they grow close to the ground so kids can just lean over and pick rather than kneeling like adults must.

There are many you-pick farms in the Bay Area that grow pumpkins, apples, and kiwi fruit but the berry farms are mostly concentrated in the South Bay, San Mateo County. Everyone’s favorite is Swanton Berry Farm Coastways Ranch, located at 640 Cabrillo Highway, Pescadero (south of Half Moon Bay). The coastside fields have an unparalleled view, and once you’re done picking you can relax with a picnic (heavy on the berries). Through the end of the summer you can pick organic strawberries from 10am to 5pm, or wait for the Sunday you-pick tour which leaves at 9am every Sunday for a one-hour farm tour, tasting of all the berry varieties, and dessert from the Swanton kitchen. You-pick berries are $2.50 a pint; the farm tour is $10 ($5 for kids under 8). Call 831-469-8804 or visit swantonberryfarm.com.

Phipps Ranch is in second place, where strawberries are ripe and ready to pick from the end of May until the end of September. Phipps is located at 2700 Pescadero Road, Pescadero. There’s an entrance fee, $3 for those aged 5-59, which is in addition to the $3 per pound of berries. The ranch is open 10am to 5pm, but there’s no berry picking Mondays or Tuesdays. The farm store, filled with exotic beans and interesting jams and jellies, is a draw, as is the menagerie of chickens and other farm animals located just outside the store. Call 650-879-0787 or visit phippscountry.com.

Counting down the last month of summer.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

A boy gives a hungry mouse a cookie, and then a lot of other stuff happens at this Fairyland show. Admission includes the price of an hour at Fairyland. The Friday evening shows are supper shows; bring your own picnic for eating in the outdoor amphitheatre or buy dinner at the Fairyland cafe.

When: Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays, 4pm, Fridays 6pm through 8/16; Age 2+; Adults $12, Children $10.

Where: Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Avenue (at Lake Merritt), Oakland, 510-452-2259, activeartstheatre.org.

Pier Crabbing Demonstrations at Fort Point

Learn how to drop a net and catch crabs off the San Francisco piers at this demo from Fort Point staff. All equipment is provided but (free) reservations are required.

When: Saturdays, March through October (including 8/8), 10am-noon; Age 2+; Free.

Where: Fort Point, Marine Drive (at Old Mason Street), San Francisco; 415-556-1693; nps.gov.

Family Day at SCRAP: Accessorize with Toys

Bring small objects from home or use SCRAP’s treasure trove to make jewelry or sculptures. Participants will learn basic jewelry-making techniques.

When: Sat., 8/8, 1-4pm; Age 4+; $15 per individual or $20 per family.

Where: SCRAP, 801 Toland Street (at McKinnon Avenue), San Francisco; 415-647-1746; scrap-sf.org.

You read their books night after night, but what do you know about the artists who illustrated your favorite children’s books? Likely not much, a situation that can be remedied with a visit to “Once Upon a Book,” a neat exhibition in the San Francisco Center for the Book that focuses on Bay Area children’s book illustrators. Curator Thacher Hurd, himself an illustrator and writer, has impeccable taste in illustrators, choosing to focus on such well-known luminaries as Maira Kalman (Max Makes a Million, Max Deluxe), David Macaulay (The Way Things Work), Chris Raschka (The Hello, Goodbye Window) and Brian Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Doll People). But best of all is the segment of the exhibition devoted to Remy Charlip, the octogenarian San Franciscan who’s fiercely venerated for books like his Fortunately and 1966 classic Mother, Mother I Feel Sick; Send for the Doctor Quick, Quick, Quick.

Get a look at the artistic processes each artist goes through with video interviews, sketches, original drawings, and other ephemera. The exhibit’s only open another few days so go now!

“Once Upon a Book” is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Friday, August 7 at San Francisco Center for the Book, 300 DeHaro Street (at 16th Street), San Francisco. The exhibit is free. Call 415-565-0545 or visit sfbc.org.