Sunday, June 22, 2008

Arts Fest is the BEST!

On a blazing hot San Francisco afternoon, the corner of Fairfax and Third Streets is the last place you'd look for a crowd. And yet a couple hundred visitors met there on just such a day last weekend to celebrate the opening of Bayview's only community-driven gallery space: Gallery 94124.

Mith Mayra Mizrachi behind the Javalencia Cafe counter, along with most of the Gomez family (independent owners), the cafe and the tasteful gallery behind it bloomed with smiling faces.

There was a lot to smile about. A new organization called Arts 94124 had been working for months to create the art space, and worked equally hard to bring the community together to celebrate it this Saturday.

The arts, too, were blooming. A quality and eclectic collection of visual art swept around the gallery space itself.

Outside, Marc Ellen Hamel and other Shipyard artists watched children and paint mix it up. Juan Fuentes (pictured) screen printed stunning T shirts until the heat made the ink complain. And bands, one after the other, took to the stage to keep music aloft.

The many individuals behind this major accomplishment are true community heroes. Bayview Footprints Collaboration of Community-Building Groups is honored the organization is a member group!

If you couldn't be at Arts Fest this past weekend, you can still stop by the gallery and see artwork (primarily by Bayview and Mission District artists) that will make you feel proud to live in a community alongside such talented neighbors!

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