My Weekend Passport » San Francisco

Bay to Breakers: Will it be the same this year?

Alex @mwp — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:30:28 +0000

Coming up in mid May is the 98th running of the famous BAY TO BREAKERS run in San Francisco. This awesome event brings tens of thousands of runners, joggers, walkers, centipede runners, nudists, drunks, and more nudists and drunks through the city every year. The course is 12K (more than 7 miles), starting from the bay, through town, to end at the breakers at Ocean Park. Along the way, you’re bound to run into 50+ naked men and women, spiderman, spongebob squarepants, salmon swimming upstream, floats, and frat boys pushing along a keg.

Or so it’s been in the previous years. One of the best annual events in all of the US caved in to local residents who have complained that the event has gotten out of hand and has imposed new restrictions. These restrictions include no floats, no drinking, and no nudity. What gives? Now it’s just a 12K that you can do in any city.

Fans of the event have protested to defend the sanctity of the Bay to Breakers. Really, what would it be this year without nudists, drunks, and costumed freaks? In response to the public upheaval, the city and race organizers have lifted a few restrictions. Kegs and bottles are banned, floats must be registered, and there is now no mention of nudity in the language. Still, some people hold that consumption of alcohol will still be allowed as long as you don’t give them a reason to stop you from enjoying your fun and look the other way.

Still, the race is still always a fun spectacle, starting with the tortilla chip toss at the beginning, dodging water balloons in the middle of the race, to the “footstock” music perfomance at the end. Run to achieve a personal best time, to dress up in something goofy, or just to get crunk. Make your way to the Bay to Breakers.

Bay to Breakers
Sunday, May 17th 2009
$44 registration (until April 30th)
San Francisco, CA

Music Festivals: New Jersey and SF get into it

Alex @mwp — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:28:40 +0000

While I’ve been on the topic of Coachella and Lollapalooza, I gotta mention that SF and New Jersey have festivals of their own as well. If you’re in those locales, you have Outside Lands (SF), Bamboozle (NJ), and All Points West (NJ) to look forward to in the coming months.

Bamboozle is on the weekend of May 1st out in the meadowlands. I’ve been to Bamboozle Left for the last two years at the Irvine Ampitheater, and always had a great time there. You have to love a lineup of headliners No Doubt, Fall Out Boy, and a SLEW of punk, alternative, and hardcore rock bands (personal faves Rise Against, Taking Back Sunday, and All Time Low). Disney princess Demi Lovato seems a bit out of place in the lineup, but hey, there’s something for everybody here. Bamboozle skews to a younger crowd than Coachella and Lollapalooza anyway.

Also part of Bamboozle weekend is the popular Hoodwink Festival on May 1st where you’ll have a chance to see your favorite band do a cover set of your other favorite band. This year you’ll have acts like Sum 41 playing Metallica’s music, We The Kings playing Jimmy Eat World, and Boys Like Girls playing Coldplay. It’s definitely an interesting treat for those who are entertained by covers. Personally, I usually like the originals best.

Later in the summer, you can catch All Points West the weekend of July 31-August 2nd in Jersey City. This massive musical orgy in the Garden State boasts acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, Coldplay, Tool, and many others. Look for me to consider a cross country trip for this one.

This year also marks the second running of the Outside Lands music and arts festival in Golden Gate Park, SF. Held on the last weekend of August, it’s bound to provide a good close to another good summer concert season. Their lineup hosts headliners Beastie Boys, Dave Matthews Band, and Pearl Jam, but I will be going for Jason Mraz, MIA, Thievery Corporation, Black Eyed Peas, and Incubus. I had never heard of SF having a music festival of this scale before when I was still up in the bay, but I’m glad that they finally have one. The Golden Gate Park also makes for a seemingly perfect venue… I only worry about parking and getting around.

Summer music festivals galore!

A Night at the Museum

Alex @mwp — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:59:05 +0000

For many out there, the weekend begins on Thursday night. For one, it’s a good night to catch friends before they skip town for the weekend. Also, it’s when most bars and clubs break out cheap specials. In college towns, Thursdays > Fridays–always. In a small city like San Francisco, it’s primed for young professionals to make their way out to the bars. This Thursday night, it seemed like all those yuppies were at… the museum!?

Yes, all the young ladies and gents had made their way out to the newly remodeled California Academy of Sciences on this Thursday night. I had been wanting to visit since they remodeled last fall, but was scared away by the large crowds. Looking on their website, I found that they had just started a new weekly event–Adult Thursdays. From 6:00-10:00 PM, the science museum will be only open to 18+ patrons for $10. Since their normal operating days go for $25 and are most likely to include swarming children in every exhibit, this opportunity to visit the museum “after hours” can be a very welcome addition for the young adult crowd of San Francisco.

A bar in every exhibit

Upon arrival, I found the place very packed in its second week of running Thursday nights. It had a great vibe and a great San Francisco crowd, both equally intrigued by the exhibits and enjoying the lounge-like atmosphere. The center veranda was a social zone serviced by multiple bar tables and filled with mingling crowds. After a Jack and Coke, I was ready to expore the sights.

Tip: You should come early. The Walking Rainforest will stop people from going in after 8 and the Planetarium’s last showing is at 8:30. All the other exhibits seemed to stay open for the duration. Something I had to learn this time, unfortunately. The albino alligator “Todd” also was not in the house this night.

Walking down some stairs, I found myself in a busy aquarium full of exotic ocean animals and the people checking them out. Some interesting things here: Upside-down Jellyfish, eels, and starfish. There’s a tidepool exhibit, a deep dark sea exhibit, and two ridiculously large tanks housing all sorts of creatures. What I really enjoyed about this aquarium was that all the tanks seemed to be convexed or concaved for the viewer’s pleasure. This effect allowed you to feel like you’re about to walk right into the water or feel that the fish are coming right to you.

Off to the living roof! The room of the museum is a living garden of multiple species of plants. At night, it loses much of its meaning, as the darkness keeps you from enjoying the expansiveness of it all. Also, since it’s filled with adults under a starlit sky, the roof has a different vibe. It becomes a romantic retreat for couples to get away from the noisy crowds and have some intimacy under the stars.

Adults and kids both love these floor projector games

Back to the first floor now. Where is this loud techno/house music that I’m hearing coming from? The evolution exhibit is just bouncin’! Who ever thought a bunch of fossils, Galapagos Tortoises, and homo erectus would know how to have a party? An area here is cleared to make way for a dance floor complete with its own pro DJ. You have no idea how entertaining it is to see a mob of people under the influence dancing in a museum exhibit. Props to the museum heads for coming up with all these ideas for a great Thursday night. It makes for one exciting night out that’s also a different experience than we’re all used to.

Street parking can be a bit troublesome, so early arrival would be recommended if you don’t want to have to walk far. Bring friends to this event–you’ll all enjoy feeling like a big kid in this science museum.

Visit the museum website: http://www.calacademy.org/