Photo courtesy of Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Happy Thursday to all! Here are some local links to distract you as the weekend approaches…
- Wildflower walks at Lands End kick off this Saturday. From 11am-12:30pm enjoy a free guided tour with the Parks Conservancy along the trails and share the folklore, medicinal uses, and biology of the native wildflowers. All ages welcome; registration is required due to limited space. Dates: April 4, 18, 25, May 9, 16, June 6, 13, 20, 27
- The Outside Lands Music Festival ramped up recently with the announcement of the lineup and schedule. Tickets are selling fast so if you’re planning to go to catch bands like Mumford & Sons, Elton John, The Black Keys, Sam Smith and more – don’t delay! August 7-9
- The Richmond District Neighborhood Center has opened up registration for their summer camps, which includes Summer Solstice Camp for Elementary Students, where campers will be hitting the trail to adventure around the Richmond District neighborhood, as well as hands-on activities, crafts and games. RDNC Summer Camp is also available for 6-11 year olds, and features an art-based camp, a performing arts camp, and an urban farmer camp.
- Mountain Lake received some new residents recently, when biologists and volunteers introduced more than 150 three-spined stickleback fish after a multi-year rehabilitation of the lake water and bed. Get the full scoop on SFGate. Soon to come – chorus frogs, Western pond turtles, thousands more California floaters, and rough-skinned newts. In other lake news, the new aquatic amnesty box on the south shore is being used according to Planning Association for the Richmond. “Recently, two red-eared slider turtles (one of the most popular pet turtles) deposited in the box were taken to Sonoma County Reptile Rescue.”
- Several Richmond District restaurants were named among San Francisco Magazine’s 15 Best Regional Chinese Restaurants, including Hakka (4401 Cabrillo; house specialties include salt-baked chicken, clams stir-fried with basil, and lush slices of braised pork belly served over preserved mustard greens), Shanghai House (3641 Balboa St.; a good place for xiao long bao and salty soy milk, a savory-spicy soup spiked with chili oil, pickled vegetables, fried Chinese doughnuts, and tiny dried shrimp), Spices II (Szechuan, 291 6th Ave.; good bet for authentic versions of classics such as chili oil–spiked “water-boiled fish” and ma po tofu), and Grand Hot Pot Lounge (Szechuan, 3565 Geary Blvd.; for the communal tongue-scorching of a ma la hot pot meal).
- Grocer Fresh & Easy announced they will be closing their store at Silver and Somerset in the Portola neighborhood as of April 3. Still no word on the Richmond District location at 32nd Avenue and Clement, which will be the sole Fresh & Easy in the city. [Socketsite]
Maybe a better grocery will replace fresh and sleazy if it closes.
Yay for richmond district for its fab chinese food!
I really like that Mountain Lake is coming back, with the native species and all. It is very good to see. However, it still doesn’t justify the poisoning of the non-natives to eradicate them. The means always color the end.