Bayview Outdoor Film Fest BIGGER than ever!

The 4th annual Bayview Outdoor Film Festival at the Quesada Gardens featured live music and performance, free food prepared by local Chef Alice Wilson, food service by youth from Old Skool Cafe, and an interactive art table. It all happened at the community mural and gathering space on the 1700 block of Quesada Avenue, just west of 3rd Street.

Like previous years, the event was 100% free due to the generous contributions of neighborhood businesses and residents. Event costs were contained by informal agreements amongst the participants, such as the slogan "Your chair is your ticket" which communicates that the organizers at the Quesada Gardens Initiative have have just a few chairs, and cannot afford to rent them for the many events they hold in the heart of Bayview.

The Golden Gate Chorus, The Skutt Brothers (trio), and soloist Joyce Kinney brought music to the event, while Not Your Grammy's Theater contributed a series of dramatic performance.

Short films about the community and classic cartoons began at dusk as filmmaker and Quesada Gardens Initiative Co-Founder, Shane King, once again took the helm as video jockey.

“It’s a major highlight of the year for residents and friends in our part of Bayview,” said King. "Along with the gardens, public art projects, and other community-building projects we’ve led, the film fest has changed the quality of life for all of us.”

Most Bayview residents never leave the safety of home at night to take to their neighborhood’s notorious streets. Yet hundreds of residents have bucked the status quo by joining in one of the most unique events anywhere to watch films projected onto a screen at the Quesada Gardens’ stunning community mural gathering space at Quesada and Newhall at the bottom of the Newhall steps…right in the heart of the neighborhood.

Share your experience with Bayview school children

George Washington Carver Elementary School and Malcolm X Academy need YOU, this Fall, to be a cheerleader for a child and help tutor reading and math skills.

All volunteers receive training. Stipends are available. And, even though older community members are the driving force behind Experience Corps, you don’t have to be 55 to help...just bring time and energy to the cause!

Children need both the strength of our communities and the friendship and mentoring of their neighbors to know that they can learn and be successful in the future.

James Lowe, a 20-year teacher at Malcolm X Academy, understands the importance of Experience Corps volunteers from firsthand experience.

"The Experience Corps Members are a group of dedicated individuals who are responsible, encouraging, and bring a sense of pride to our school environment," Lowe said.

George Washington Carver School on Oakdale is starting its Experience Corps program in October 2009. Volunteers from the neighborhood are needed to help at both Carver and Malcolm X.

Experience Corps, a nationwide older adult service organization, matches the skills, talents, hard-won wisdom and humor of people over 55 with Bayview children. Volunteers spend anywhere from 2 to 15 hours a week tutoring children in reading and math and being a friend and mentor to a child. Experience Corps has been working with schools in the Bayview since 2000.

To volunteer, please contact Lisa Davidson by email or call 415.978.5296.

Fringe Fest on Quesada

A fringe group from the SF Fringe Festival, called Not Your Grammy's Theater, will do site specific performances on the 1700 block of Quesada near the Quesada Gardens in April. Amy Crumpacker, Jesse Wylie (pictured), and other local talent will perform.

A performance by Not Your Grammy's Theater is planned for the Bayview Outdoor Film Festival at the Quesada Gardens on Saturday, September 12th.

Stay tuned for details about the April performances!

IBNA secures award

by Alex Lantsberg

The India Basin Neighborhood Association (IBNA) has been awarded a three-year Technical Assistance Grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency to facilitate public input into the cleanup of Hunters Point Shipyard. The Hunters Point Shipyard, a Federal Superfund site, was shuttered in 1974 and in 1993, slated for eventual transfer to the City of San Francisco.

IBNA will engage a multi-faceted outreach program focused on leveraging its members’ involvement in the Bayview Hunters Point community’s civic and cultural life, producing and presenting accessible technical reviews across a variety of media, and facilitating public discussion of cleanup proposals and activities throughout the grant period. IBNA is currently preparing a Request for Proposals from qualified environmental consultants.

Specifically, IBNA's outreach activities will consist of publication of cleanup fact sheets in multiple languages; distribution of fact sheets at commercial, cultural, and civic events; operation and maintenance of a website and mail list-serve for posting and distribution of cleanup fact sheets and consultant work product and discussion of cleanup proposals; and presentations and regular updates to neighborhood organizations and individuals.

IBNA has been in existence since 1993, when it formed as the Innes Avenue Coalition to advocate for quality of life improvements in the neighborhood immediately outside Hunters Point Shipyard’s northern gate. IBNA is governed by a seven member board of directors who are elected by the membership for 3 year terms.

Neighbors organize Bayview Outdoor Film Fest

Shane King, QGI Co-Founder and filmmaker is shown at the controls at last year's film fest.

Community spirit will trump fear in Bayview on Saturday, September 12th in the middle of Bayview’s award-winning urban gardens where the Bayview Outdoor Film Festival at the Quesada Gardens will be held for the 4th year in a row.

Short films about the community and classic cartoons will be shown at dusk, preceded by a feast of local food, music, performance, and more. It all starts at 6:30pm. The event is completely free through generous donations and volunteerism from the community.

Once again, filmmaker and Quesada Gardens Initiative Co-Founder, Shane King, will be the video jockey for the evening. The event features performances from the Golden Gate Chorus and the SF Fringe Festival. Jackrabbit Catering and youth from Old Skool Café will prepare and serve free locally-sourced food. 

“It’s a major highlight of the year for residents and friends in our part of Bayview,” said King. Along with the gardens, public art projects, and other community-building projects we’ve led, the film fest has changed the quality of life for all of us.”

Most Bayview residents never leave the safety of home at night to take to their neighborhood’s notorious streets. Yet hundreds of residents have bucked the status quo by joining in one of the most unique events anywhere, and to watch films projected onto a screen at the Quesada Gardens’ stunning community mural gathering space at Quesada and Newhall at the bottom of the Newhall steps…right in the heart of the neighborhood.