This week I did something I had not done since my early childhood: I attended a church fair. St. Anne's Church of the Sunset at Judah and Funston was holding their annual parish festival, which lasted all weekend from Friday to Sunday. The festival had all sorts of attractions throughout the weekend, from bingo and exercise groups, to ballet and piano performances. The weekend could not have called for better weather! I took the bus and walked a couple blocks from Lincoln Way, where I could see the church from the street. The architecture of the church was gorgeous and reminded me of some of the bigger churches in Southern California, which I wasn't used to seeing in the Sunset.
As soon as I walked in, the smell of a traditional pancake breakfast hit me like a brick wall and I was smitten. I attended on Sunday, where I actually played a game of Valentine's Day bingo, and sadly ended up losing. I never would have thought that bingo was a sport that actually involved any kind of skill until I saw these people play... Or maybe, like many other competitive challenges, I was just destined to lose. I talked to one of the festival organizers, Fanny Szeto, who was reluctant to say anything negative about the Sunset, and really would only tell me how happy she was with the outcome of this year's event.
Earlier in the week I checked out what is an extension of Golden Gate Heights around 14th and Ortega. Completely stunning. This park practically overlooks the entire Sunset and offers an escape from what is otherwise a concrete district. The staircase leading up to it is decorated by hand, with small remnants of mirror reflecting the day's weather, catching one's eye from afar. This week, I plan to attend the 'Sunset Quality of Life Forum' with the new police chief (Gascon) to try to get more of an understanding of what people in this community truly care about.
The Sunset gets a bad rap for being boring and bland. It's nice the read someone who recognizes that family and blue-collar living is not a lack of culture. A neighborhood doesn't need crazy nightlife or naked hippies to be worth chronicling.
ReplyDeleteI love these photos and I hadn't found that staircase ... but I will. I've done about half of the public staircase walks in the city. I love them. Where exactly is it?
ReplyDeleteI think The actual park is called Sunset Heights Park. The park is right around 14th Street and Quintara, but the staircase is at 14th Street and Ortega. Believe it or not, there's another huge set that's not decorated, shortly following this one. It's a nasty little climb
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