The 2010 winning sculpture of a dragon from Rooftop Elementary School & Swinerton Builders

It’s time again for the annual LEAP Sandcastle Contest on Ocean Beach where teams of architects, engineers, contractors, designers, corporations and local elementary school students come together to build awesome sand sculptures.

Before the event, architects and builders meet with students in the classroom to develop ideas based on a set theme. Plans are finalized, clay models are shaped, team structure and schedules are defined, and tasks are assigned, all in preparation for the big day.

This year’s theme is “Sandblast” so expect lots of creative ideas! The event begins at 10am and teams have 4 hours to build their masterpieces on the shore of Ocean Beach. By the afternoon, the beach is host to a wonderful mix of creatures, structures and characters.

LEAP is a local nonprofit organization that provides quality arts education programs for students. Their art and architecture residency programs provide thousands of elementary and middle school students with hands-on learning experiences that enhance their overall education and prepare them for future success in school and in their communities.

Last year’s contest fundraised $222,000 for LEAP, making it possible for them to serve 6,500 students in over 27 schools across the Bay Area.

Competition is stiff in this contest. For two years running, Rooftop Elementary School and Swinerton Builders have taken the top prize. Their Chinese dragon was the hit of the beach last year.

The 28th Annual LEAP Sandcastle Contest (the largest in Northern California!) takes place from 10am until 4pm on Saturday. If you want to just see the finished sculptures, I recommend arriving around 2pm or 3pm. Be sure to bring your camera – it’s sandtastic!

Sarah B.

Calling all budding politicos! Our neighborhood Supervisor Eric Mar is looking for an intern to work at his City Hall office. Responsibilities include:

• Interacting with constituents via telephone or in-person
• Data entry
• Responding to constituent requests and casework
• Working closely with staff on committee assignments
• Perform outreach to neighborhood groups, community leaders, and constituents
• Other miscellaneous tasks, as required

The unpaid internship is part-time, with a minimum commitment of 5-10 hours per week (you can work during the shifts Monday through Friday 9am-1pm or 1pm-5pm).

To find out more about the position including how to apply, visit the job listing on Supervisor Mar’s website.

Sarah B.

This Friday, the 4-Star Theater on Clement will premiere Jackie Chan’s 100th film “1911 Revolution”. The film will simultaneously premiere in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

Starring and co-directed by Jackie Chan, 1911 Revolution tells the story of the founding of the Republic of China when Sun Yat-sen’s Revolutionary forces overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Sun is played by look-alike Chinese actor Zhao Wen Xuan. Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, Joan Chen, Jackie’s son Jaycee Chan also star along with a stellar support cast of over 70 famous actors.

At the beginning of the 20th century, China is in a state of crisis. The country is split into warring factions, the citizens are starving, and recent political reforms have made matters worse, not better. The ruling Qing Dynasty, led by a seven-year-old emperor and his ruthless mother, Empress Dowager Longyu (Joan Chen), is completely out of touch after 250 years of unquestioned power. With ordinary citizens beginning to revolt openly, the Qing Dynasty has created a powerful, modern army (the “New Army”) to quash any rebellion. But weapons are expensive, and desperate for cash, the Qing leaders are trading anything they can get their hands on with foreign countries… and selling China. – Movieclips.com

This $30 million historical epic marks Jackie Chan’s 100th movie. Its cinema release also coincides with the 100th Year Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1911, one of the most significant periods in Chinese history, commencing with the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911 and ending with the abdication of Emperor Puyi on February 10, 1912.

The film opens this Friday at the 4-Star Theater (2200 Clement) with showtimes at 12pm, 2:20pm, 4:40pm, 7:00pm and 9:20pm.

Sarah B.

David Yapp – Summer Fog, Lands End: Oil on Canvas

This weekend, artists all over the Richmond District will be opening their studios to share their work as part of the annual San Francisco Open Studios event.

Twenty artists from the neighborhood are participating this year, displaying art in a variety of mediums including painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and mixed media.

Use the map below to scope out the artists – click a marker to view their info or scroll down to see the list of artists. There might be one just around the corner from you!

Stop by any of these artists’ studios on Saturday or Sunday from 11am until 6pm to check out their work. No appointment needed!

Other neighborhoods participating this weekend are the Sunset, Duboce, Upper Noe Valley, Hayes Valley, Haight, Diamond Heights, Buena Vista, Mount Davidson, Twin Peaks, West Portal, and Glen Park.
Download the full Weekend 2 Map & Guide

This is the 36th year for the Open Studios event, which features 900 artists across the city and runs through October 30th. To see the other artists and neighborhoods participating, visit the event website.

Happy art-ing!

Sarah B.

Sonya Lee Barrington – Sea Stars. 100% wool; 60″ wide x 48″ high

Fong Fai – Nature Phenomenon: Acrylic on canvas 48″x36″

John Mickelson – “Tree Study III”: Archival pigment ink print on Hahnemuhle fine art paper. (18″ by 12″)

Photo by leo811

Twitter user leo811 captured some troubling video footage of bubbling dry ice in Golden gate Park’s Lloyd Lake on Monday afternoon.

She witnessed about a dozen “eruption points” where dry ice had been dumped into the lake. In the photo above, you can see wild birds cruising nearby.

Lloyd Lake sits on the edge of where the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival took place last Friday through Sunday. Some roads in the park remained close through Monday morning as crews cleaned up after the popular event which drew 600,000 people to Speedway, Lindley and Marx meadows.

While Lloyd Lake bubbled, leo811 asked a nearby worker who was cleaning up the festival if they had seen anything. They replied that a van had driven up and dumped the ice into the lake, but they were unable to describe it in detail. A Park Ranger was also on the scene taking pictures for a report, and surmised that it was most likely one of the event’s food vendors that dumped the dry ice into the lake during their cleanup.

Hopefully the wildlife in Lloyd Lake steered clear of the dry ice spots. According to one manufacturer’s website, dry ice can cause severe frostbite within seconds of direct contact, and if ingested, can cause severe internal injury. The website further cautions that unused dry ice should not be dumped or left in areas accessible to the general public.

On her blog post about the bubbling lake, leo811 vented her frustration:

Regardless of whether (in my opinion most probable) it was an Event Vendor or some transient passer-thru, I believe that the amount of people these Events draw, should not be in the Park. There is just too much damage to be done and obviously not the man-power to control it..

Sarah B.

The bubbling Lloyd Lake also appears in this video, which aired on KRON-TV’s “People Behaving Badly” segment:

Tomorrow night, October 4th, a community meeting will be held about this morning’s double stabbing and officer-involved shooting that took place on the 600 block of Funston. Both the suspect and an elderly woman died from their injuries. Another victim, an elderly man, is recovering from his injuries.

SFPD Police Chief Greg Suhr will attend the meeting to address concerns and answer questions.

The meeting will be held at the Richmond Recreation Center at 6:30pm, located at 251 18th Avenue between California and Clement.

Sarah B.

Ortega Enterprises is the new vendor that is taking over management of the Stow Lake Boathouse concession in Golden Gate Park. They launched a new website recently at stowlakeboathouse.com that includes details on the new cafe, planned improvements to the boathouse, and the new fleet of boats that will hit the lake.

For boathouse improvements, they’re planning to add a new indoor café that will seat 32 to 36 guests (“The goal is to let visitors recall the historical importance of where they are while providing a relaxed environment in which they can enjoy a snack and beverage lakeside.”), repair and replace the roof, and repair and restore the windows and sills on the boathouse.

The new floorplan for the Stow Lake boathouse

The cafe page mentions “When possible we source our ingredients locally in order to offer visitors access to organic and sustainable food that is healthy for people and for the environment.” The favorite classics, like pink popcorn, will still be available. No menu has been posted yet.

The new owners will also introduce a brand new fleet of rental boats on the lake. “Our fleet of American-made boats includes rowboats, electric boats, and pedal boats that seat from one to four boaters. All motorboats, including the support boat, are electric powered and silently glide across the serene waters of Stow Lake.” Don’t worry, no gas-powered boats will be permitted on the lake. We’ve got our fingers crossed that some of the new pedal boats are swan boats!

No word on the website as to when exactly all these improvements will be completed or when the new fleet will hit the water. But EaterSF reports that the Boathouse café will open this Thursday.

If you get a chance to stop in, leave a comment to let us know what you think!

Sarah B.

The entryway to 636 Funston. Photo by SFCitizen

Helicopters hovered over the central Richmond District this morning after an officer-involved shooting took place on Funston Avenue between Balboa and Cabrillo.

The SFFD was called to the residence at 636 Funston Avenue around 7:15am this morning. When they arrived, they found an elderly man on the front stairs, bleeding profusely from stab wounds on his forearm and hands.

SFPD were then called to the scene. When they arrived, they entered the home where they found an elderly woman who had also suffered life-threatening stab wounds to her upper body.

As police attempted to move the female victim, they were confronted by a knife-wielding man who according to SFPD spokesperson Lt. Troy Dangerfield, “was holding a knife in each hand above his head, advancing towards them.”

Police tried to subdue the man with a non-lethal bean bag projectile, but it did not slow him down. Officers then shot the man. “It is clear that this guy had serious intent to hurt the people inside the house as well as the officers” Dangerfield said.

Both victims and the suspect were transported by ambulance to San Francisco General. The Chronicle reports that the suspect, 44 years old, died at San Francisco General at 9:30am. The elderly female victim also died.

The two elderly victims were parents of the suspect. Police later discovered a second woman in the house, the suspect’s sister, who was uninjured and hid during the incident in a locked bedroom.

The 600 block of Funston was closed off to traffic during the investigation.

Sarah B.

More reports from:
SFAppeal
SFExaminer
KTVU

The 600 block of Funston