The California Academy of Sciences recently posted the trailer for their upcoming Planetarium show, “Evidence of a Restless Planet”, narrated by the always handsome Benjamin Bratt.

The new film will be part of the Academy’s Earthquake exhibition, which opens May 26.

The show includes a model of the earth you can walk through (“to find touchable geology specimens and interactive stations explaining the basics of plate tectonics”) and the infamous “Shake Table” is back, simulating what it felt like to experience the Loma Prieta quake of October 17, 1989. And of course, some safety tips for how to survive the next big jolt.

Sarah B.

Photo by Rob R.

This Saturday, the restored Murphy Windmill at the south end of Golden Gate Park will take its final step to becoming fully functional – prepare to see it turn!

April 28 commemorates the Dutch national holiday Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag; normally celebrated April 30), and SF Rec & Park is using the occasion to celebrate the re-opening of Murphy Windmill. The windmill has been under restoration for many years at a cost of several million dollars.

Saturday’s celebration kicks off at 11am at the Murphy Windmill, where SF Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg and Dutch Consulate General Bart van Bolhuis will officially open the windmill, and commemorate its first turns. The cottage next to the windmill will also be open to the public. Windmill Designer Lucas Verbij will also be on hand to give a windmill history tour at 11:30.

The Murphy Windmill will only be turning for the day on Saturday. We’re not sure what the plans are for its long-term operation, but there is probably more work needed to bolster it for 24/7 turning. Let’s hope for a decent breeze on Saturday so the Murphy Windmill can finally turn along with its cousin, the Dutch Windmill, at the north end of the park!

I’ve been told that Rec & Park has been testing Murphy’s turns for an hour every day “to make sure the parts are greased and working.” So far so good.

In addition to the kick-off at Murphy Windmill, there will be a large Queen’s Day celebration at the Dutch Windmill including vendors, food, games, children’s activities, live music and more from 11am until 5pm.

Stop by to enjoy all things Dutch including pastries, cheese, and other delicacies, plus a flea market (Queen’s Day is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt (“free market” or flea market), at which many Dutch sell their secondhand item) and a beer garden.

The stretch of JFK Drive alongside the Dutch Windmill will be closed to traffic to host Saturday’s festival.

Sarah B.

The Conservatory of Flowers has a new exhibition opening on May 10 called Plantosaurus Rex, featuring a “prehistoric paradise of plants from the time of the dinosaurs when giant ferns, spiky horsetails, and primitive cycads grew in lush abundance and fed many of the monstrous reptiles that roamed the earth millions of years ago.”

Included in the exhibit are some larger than life dinosaur statues, like this mischievous T-Rex who clearly found the Conservatory a little too confining. I just hope that guy on the roof had some dino treats to appease the beast…

Sarah B.

City Burning, from Alamo Square, Hayes Street & Pierce Street, April 18, 1906. Courtesy SFMTA

Happy Friday to everyone! Here are some local links to kick off your weekend…

• It was the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake on Wednesday. The SFMTA posted some new historic photos that have surfaced from the aftermath. Amazing stuff.
• This Saturday, Enjoy Vegetarian will be opening their third restaurant at 5344 Geary between 17th & 18th Avenues. Their press release boasts, “Enjoy has vegan food that not only looks but tastes like real meat. Lots of gluten-free options and a fair selection of Americanized-Chinese food, such as sweet-and-sour chicken. No MSG, garlic or onion in any dishes.” CNN even rated them the 7th best Chinese restaurant in California.
• Patricia Unterman may no longer be a food critic for the Examiner, but she has her own website for fans to catch her latest reviews. She recently reviewed Golden Gate Dim Sum (1829 Clement), and in her usual adventurous style said “most of the dishes I wanted to try were posted on the wall in Chinese.” Unterman concludes the review by saying that Golden Gate “has now joined my top comfort food list.”
• Untapped Cities has a nice feature on the architecture and murals at Beach Chalet. “The City of San Francisco built the Beach Chalet in 1925, at a cost of $60,000, to provide facilities for beach goers. The ground floor consisted of a lounge and changing rooms, while the upstairs held a 200-seat bar and municipal restaurant.”
• CurbedSF is running features on local parks, and spotlighted our own Muriel Leff Mini-Park on 7th Avenue. Did you know it was the first mini-park built in the city? I wonder if it’s jealous of the new parklet craze… Curbed also has a nifty post on pics of the Cliff House, Then & Now with a fancy sliding bar that lets you compare photos easily.
• The Anza Branch Library, which re-opened last June after a nice remodel, was recently certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. What does it mean? That the library was “designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO? emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.” If you’d like a LEED tour of the library, stop by on June 16 from 2-4pm (it’s also their one year anniversary since re-opening).

A couple of local businesses are getting into the Earth Day spirit this weekend:

• The recently opened Ingenious Salon (389 Arguello) is hosting a grand opening party on Saturday night from 7 to 10pm. Stop by to enjoy “hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, modeling of cutting-edge hair styles and fresh spring make up by makeup artist Ananda Grant, goodie bags, music, and raffle for free and discounted service.”
• Foggy Notion (275 6th Avenue), a new boutique that specializes in recycled and vintage items, is hosting an Earth Day Vintage Sale on Sunday from 12noon until 6pm. Little Eagle Vintage will create a pop-up store on site, vintage vinyl records will be on sale, and all mittenmaker handmade jewelry will be 50-75% off. Plus complimentary Mimosas and other champagne cocktails.

Keep it green!

Sarah B.

The Outside Lands music festival will return to Golden Gate Park from August 10 through 12, and they just announced the lineup today which includes the usual eclectic mix of artists.

Whether you’re into metal, folk rock or thumping dance music, Outside Lands will have something for your musical tastes. The 2012 headliners include Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck and Skrillex.

Other names you may be familiar with: Norah Jones, Fitz and the Tantrums, Franz Ferdinand, Regina Spektor, and Passion Pit.

3-day tickets go on sale this Thursday, April 19 at 12noon Pacific with prices ranging from $195 for a special 3-day ticket to $495 for a VIP 3-day ticket which includes lounge seating, special restrooms, VIP food and drink access and a commemorative poster.

No word yet on who is playing when over the course of the 3 day festival, or when single-day tickets are going on sale. And we’ll undoubtedly be hearing about the food and wine lineup in the coming weeks as well.

Here’s the full list of 66 artists and bands performing at Outside Lands 2012:

Alabama Shakes
Allen Stone
Amadou & Mariam
Andrew Bird
Animal Kingdom
Beck
Big Boi
Big Gigantic
Bloc Party
Bomba Estereo
Caveman
City and Colour
Die Antwoord
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Dispatch
Dr. Dog
Sq_90
Electric Guest
Explosions in the Sky
Father John Misty
Fitz and The Tantrums
Foo Fighters
Franz Ferdinand
fun.
Geographer
Grandaddy
Honey Island Swamp Band
Jack White
Jovanotti
Justice
Metallica
Michael Kiwanuka
MiMOsa
MSTRKRFT
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Norah Jones
Of Monsters and Men
PAPA
Passion Pit
Portugal. The Man
Rebelution
Reggie Watts
Regina Spektor
Santigold
Sean Hayes
Sharon Van Etten
Sigur Ros
Skrillex
Stevie Wonder
Tame Impala
Tanlines
Tennis
The Be Good Tanyas
The Kills
The M Machine
The Walkmen
Thee Oh Sees
Trampled by Turtles
Two Gallants
Wallpaper
Washed Out
White Denim
Wolfgang Gartner
YACHT
Yellow Ostrich
Zola Jesus

Will you be going to this year’s festival? Who are the bands you’re looking forward to seeing live? Leave a comment to let us know!

Sarah B.

Photo by lokisi1

On Saturday, April 28, the San Francisco Parks Alliance is offering a guided walking tour of the Golden Gate Park windmills.

The first stop will be at the Dutch Windmill and the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Gardens, followed by a walk along the Great Highway. At 11:00 am we will arrive at the newly restored Murphy Windmill for the opening of the windmill and cottage for the public.

The tour will end back at the Beach Chalet, where you can join the festivities of the Queen’s Day Celebration, a National holiday in the Netherlands that honors the Queen’s birthday. Enjoy a concert by the Netherlands American Foundation at the Park Chalet, visit the flea market and booths along JFK, and buy delicious Dutch delicacies. To add to the fun, participants are encouraged to wear orange, the Netherlands national color.

The tour runs from 9am until 11:30am, and meets at the Beach Chalet restaurant at 1000 Great Highway near Fulton. The cost is $10 for non-SFPA members, free for members.

To sign up, contact Donalda Watson-Walkinshaw at 415-621-3260 x118 or donalda@sfparksalliance.org. Space is limited and sign-ups close on April 24.

Sarah B.