Posts Tagged ‘first 5’

Outdoor festivals abound, but if you’re not at the Maker Faire, you’re so square.

Maker Faire

There’s one event this weekend that should have been red-circled on your calendar for months: Make magazine’s Maker Faire. The family-friendly weekend-long San Mateo conference is intended for creative weirdo types: sculptors, knitters, robot makers, and the like. Ideally you’ll be there all weekend enjoying the exhibitions, workshops, and vendor booths, but particularly appealing to kids will be the the Life-Size Mousetrap, the Bike Rodeo and Power Tool Drag Racing, while parents should make sure to attend Saturday’s lunchtime lecture, Five Dangerous Things Your Kids Should Do. In between, make sure to get a good viewing spot for the Diet-Coke-and-Mentos Fountain (going off at 4pm daily), listen to live music, stroll around the Expo Red kids area, and bring some discarded wearables for the Swap-o-Rama-Rama (plus a bag to carry the new clothes you scoop up).

When: Sat., 5/3, 10am-10pm; Sun., 5/4, 11am-6pm; All ages; Free-$25 daily.

Where: San Mateo Event Center & Expo Address, 2495 South Delaware St. (at Concar), San Mateo, makerfaire.com.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

Everybody’s Mexican today at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Dolores Park. Bring a blanket, spread on some sunscreen, and watch performances from Latin music and dance troupes.

When: Sat., 5/3, 10am-4pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Dolores Park, 18th St. (at Dolores), San Francisco, 415-647-1533, sfcincodemayo.com.

“See Me” Let’s Go!

This free city-sponsored party is gentle fun for the little ones: bounce houses, face-painting, puppet shows, storytelling, live music. UCSF doctors and dentists will also be there to do on-the-spot health and developmental screenings.

When: Sat., 5/3, 11am-3pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Civic Center Plaza across from City Hall, Polk (between McAllister and Grove), San Francisco, 415-934-4849, first5sf.org.

Stay Tooned, Kids!

Offbeat animated offerings for sophisticated cinephile kids. Short films screened during this San Francisco International Film Festival event include “When I Grow Up,” illustrated conversations with children about their dreams.

When: Sun, 5/4, 10:15am; Age 7+; $10-12.50.

Where: Sundance Kabuki Cinema, 181 Post (at Fillmore), San Francisco, 925-866-9559, fest08.sffs.org.

Got a community project that needs an infusion of cash, or just a grand plan you can’t bankroll? The San Francisco Chronicle has a line on a local agency that distributes hundreds of thousands of dollars in “Parent Action Grants.” The money comes from a pool of $564 million raised by Proposition 10, which increased taxes on cigarettes by 50 cents a pack. SF gets about $9 million to spend, about $200,000 of which is handed out to average Joes and Janes by First 5 San Francisco, an agency charged with improving the lives of kids aged five and under.

And apparently, says the Chron, which takes a rather chiding tone, First 5 isn’t uptight about the grant programs having some widespread impact. Examples of some of the projects funded by First 5 San Francisco: “‘Multi-Family First Time Camping Experience’ included a camping lesson and overnight trip to Big Sur for six families” and “‘Couples Travel and Learn Together’ included an overnight stay at the Four Points Sheraton in Pleasanton, where couples from Chinatown took marriage workshops. It also included $250 in Target gift cards.”

Nice! The grants aren’t based on income, like many social programs, so just about anyone can get them — a relief for parents like me, who in most other cities would be well-off, but in San Fran are just scraping by. There’s a reason why families have fled our city in droves, and it’s not that we don’t like foggy afternoons and Victorians. As the Chronicle article notes, “Children younger than 18 made up 22 percent of the city’s population in 1970, compared with just under 15 percent in 2006.”

Find out more about First 5 San Francisco funding opportunities at its website, first5sf.org. Hey — maybe this is the way I can get my dreamed-of organic garden started in the blighted patch of city-owned land in my neighborhood!