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Your District 5 Insider
Welcome to your last District 5 Insider of 2019! We have plenty of opportunities to get out and play before 2020, from Hamilton Recreation Center to the Panhandle Playground. Be sure to check out the news, updates and activities we have going on in your district below!
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Citywide Highlights
Winter Class Registration on December 14
Winter registration opens on Saturday, December 14 at 10 a.m.! Break out of your winter hibernation or get ready to knock out those New Year's resolutions with classes including kayaking, metal casting, theater for all, rocketmobiles and more! For a full list of classes, as well as sites where you can register, click
here.
Uncle John's Tree Lights Up for the Holidays
Following a countdown led by Mayor London Breed, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department turned on the holiday cheer this month, along with 550 dancing lights illuminating the city's official holiday tree.
The 90th annual Holiday Tree Lighting, a celebration with free activities and live entertainment for San Francisco families, took place at McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park. Children and their families turned out to decorate cookies, visit with Santa, enjoy food trucks from Off-The-Grid, and dance along to live music.
The lit-up tree, surrounded by a decorative children's train, is a Monterrey Cypress planted over a century ago by the city's first park superintendent, John McLaren. Around it, families gathered in Santa's Workshop for arts and crafts, played interactive games in Imagination Playground, and reveled in the holiday spirit with sledding, free carnival games, hockey, and a rock-climbing wall. For more information, click
here.
Harvest Season in our Community Gardens
Our
Video of the Month
highlights one thing that we are thankful for, our community gardens! From goats to garden resource days, check out what's been going on and growing in our gardens across the city this harvest season. For more information about our community gardens, click
here.
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District 5 Park Activities and Updates
Panhandle Playground Celebrates Renovation
With new equipment to spark imagination, fresh surfaces for jumping and running, and innovative features to explore music and sound, the renovated Panhandle Playground opened amid a community celebration this past month. The transformed Panhandle Playground includes a sandbox in which children can dig for built-in sea treasures, multiple climbing surfaces, two swing sets, an area for older and younger children, and reservable picnic tables. The use of natural materials like boulders and wood allows the new playground to blend into the area, which is home to 80 species of trees.
On the count of Mayor
London Breed, children from Stepping Stones Preschool whooshed down one of the playground's two new slides alongside District 5 Supervisor
Vallie Brown. The ceremony also included the unveiling of a memorial bench for Konstantinos "Gus" Vardakastanis, the late owner of Gus's Community Market who was beloved by the Panhandle community for his generous spirit.
Panhandle Playground is among 13 renovations across the city supported by the Let'sPlaySF! campaign, a partnership between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance. Panhandle is the second playground to be completed after Washington Square Playground in North Beach, which opened in January. For more information, click
here.
Rec & Park Commission Approves Operator for GGP Tennis Center
Lifetime Activities, a company that runs municipal tennis centers in five Bay Area cities, has been chosen to operate the Golden Gate Park Tennis Center when it opens next year.
San Francisco Recreation and Park commissioners voted unanimously last month to authorize the 26-year-old company to enter into an agreement with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department to offer tennis programs for up to eight years at the center, which is currently under construction.
Lifetime Ac
tivities runs municipal tennis centers in Cupertino, Pleasanton, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Walnut Creek. It was chosen by a selection committee comprised of experts in public projects, urban recreation, tennis programming and finance.
For more information, including terms of the proposed agreement between SF Rec and Parks and Lifetime Activities, click
here.
AIDS Memorial Quilt to Return to San Francisco
Last month, the Library of Congress announced hat the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be returning to San Francisco.
Some of the quilt's more than 50,000 panels came home to the National AIDS Memorial in time for Light the Grove and World AIDS Day. The National AIDS Memorial, which currently exists as a landscaped grove in Golden Gate Park, aims to incorporate the quilt in the physical Center for Social Conscience it plans to build. Read more courtesy of the New York Times here.
SF Rec and Parks Wins Big with the San Francisco Beautiful Awards
We are happy to share that a number of our parks, staff and partners have recently won awards from San Francisco Beautiful. Staff who won awards include our Director of Partnerships Lisa Bransten and Jim Jackson for his work with our Permits and Reservations team. Amy Cohen, of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, won an award as well for her work in the Civic Center area. The Phil Arnold/Oak Woodland Trail Improvement Project also won the best public program award. Other community partners and organizations to win include Susan Strolis from the Friends of Alvord Lake, Hayes Valley Art Works, Cole Valley Improvement Association and Supervisor Vallie Brown! For the full list of award winners and parks recognized, click
here.
San Francisco Urban Riders Work on Trails in Golden Gate Park
Thank you to volunteers from the San Francisco Urban Riders for helping with trail maintenance in Golden Gate Park this past month! Your work helps ensure our trails are safe and accessible to all!
Free Lessons at the San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club!
Swing by the San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club (320 Bowling Green Drive) this month for free lessons! The club offers them on Wednesdays and select Saturdays at noon, as well as group lessons with a reservation! Wear flat-soled shoes, enjoy a blissful time on the green, and discover why lawn bowls roll on a graceful arc. For more information, click
here.
Golden Gate Park Nursery Volunteer Day on December 7
This Saturday, December 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, join the natural resources division at the Golden Gate Park Nursery in propagating San Francisco native plants from seeds, spores or cuttings. All seeds and plants being propagated were collected from wild populations, currently growing in San Francisco. This is a great opportunity to acquire plant propagation skills and deepen your knowledge of the San Francisco flora. Many of the plants we grow will be planted this winter in one of our many restoration sites and will enhance and aid wildlife habitats. Volunteers must be 12 years or older. To register, email
here or call (415) 831-6330 and press "1."
Mobile Rec at Hamilton Recreation Center on December 7
Mobile Rec comes to Hamilton Recreation Center (1900 Geary Boulevard) on Saturday, December 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring recreation opportunities like rock climbing, BMX biking, skateboarding and more. FREE! Equipment will be provided. For more information, click
here.
SF City Guides' Historical Tours of Golden Gate Park on December 8
Join San Francisco City Guides for its historical tours of Golden Gate Park this December, including on the park's east end. The east end of Golden Gate Park holds many features and stories from its past 150 years of existence. The Conservatory of Flowers, underground tunnels, a rock quarry, and a long gone aviary are part of its past. View the AIDS Memorial Grove, and the new buildings in the Music Concourse, site of the 1894 World's Fair. The next tour of the park's east end will take place on Sunday, December 8 at 1 p.m. Meet at the top steps of the Conservatory of Flowers. For more information, including other tours, click
here.
Sharon Art Studio Annual Winter Sale on December 8
Join the Friends of the Sharon Art Studio (300 Bowling Green Drive) for its annual winter studio sale from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, December 8! Find stunning, unique and affordable handmade items crafted by the Studio's talented students and staff! For more information, click here.
Utilities Disruption at the Margaret Hayward Playground Tennis Courts
There are currently no lights or drinking fountain available at the Margaret Hayward Playground tennis courts due to the renovation project. These utilities will not be available until the completion of the project in summer 2020. For more information, including alternative tennis courts to play on, visit the project page
here.
Asphalt Repaving at the Lily Pond in Golden Gate Park
The pathways around the Lily Pond in are currently closed as we install new pedestrian walk ways. Please cross over at the intersection of Nancy Pelosi and JFK drives, or the path from the southeast corner of the Cal Academy on Nancy Pelosi Drive to the Rhododendron Dell on JFK Drive. We anticipate completing the project in the new year. Check back next month for an update!
Stanyan Street Retaining Wall Repairs
We are currently working to repair the retaining wall on Stanyan Street near Hayes Street. During this time, there may be lane closures to accommodate construction. We anticipate completing this project in the new year. Check back next month for an update.
Hamilton Pool Closure on January 5
Please be advised that the pool at Hamilton Recreation Center will be for closed for its annual maintenance beginning on Sunday, January 5. It will reopen on Saturday, January 18 for you to get out and swim that weekend!
Rec & Park Branded Athletic Gear for Winter
Ready to get active in our parks this winter, but need to revamp your workout wardrobe? We have you covered! Whether you're playing ping pong at Richmond Recreation Center or doing Zumba at Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center, we have everything from shorts to hoodies.
Check out our full catalog through Squad Locker
here
for clothing you can get out and play in!
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Volunteer Highlight of the Month
Greenagers Harvest Honey at the EcoCenter!
Thank you to our Greenagers who volunteered to help clean Heron's Head Park and the EcoCenter this past month, removing 15 pounds of weeds, spreading 12 wheelbarrows of mulch and watering 170 native plants. After this busy morning, they helped harvest honey at the EcoCenter with Planet Bee. Great work and we look forward to your next adventure!
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Upcoming Northern San Francisco Volunteer Days
Buena Vista Neighborhood Association
Buena Vista Park
Time: 9 to 11:30 a.m.
Sat, December 14, 2019
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North Panhandle Neighborhood Association
GGP - Panhandle
Time: 9 to 11 a.m.
Sat, December 14, 2019
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Alvord Lake Task Force
GGP - Alvord Lake
Time: 9 a.m. to Noon
Sat, December 28, 2019
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To join any upcoming Friends of Group workdays please RSVP by emailing
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