Mission Mission

Our pal Luke snapped this pic of this very organized protest this morning at 24th and Valencia. Thanks, Luke!

Check out the techies up top

UPDATE: SFist has lots more info.

This afternoon/evening from 4-7pm Prensa POBRE/POOR Magazine is hosting an event at 2940 16th Street to support locals who have been evicted, displaced or otherwise affected by the ongoing overvaluation of San Francisco property. The event will feature performances by a puppet theater, engaging activist Fly Benzo (a local rapper from Hunters Point, whom I have worked with before) and a reading from Born N’ Raised in Frisco, a book compiled and workshopped in part by Lisa “Tiny” Gray-Garcia and Tony Robles. Art will be available to purchase, and there will be food offered at a sliding scale.

Check it out. Discuss, debate, plan and proceed.

[via The Bay Guardian]

Longtime Mission Mission superfan Lil Tuffy just posted this gorgeous bingo card, for use keeping yourself entertained this weekend while trapped indoors by this wet ugly weather. At first I was like, “Uh-oh, this is gonna be snarky,” but in fact it’s just everything I love on a great-looking bingo card! Into it!

(Btw I was gonna say “our pal Lil Tuffy” but I didn’t wanna make it too easy.)

(Original Mission Mission logo and look by the legendary Tag Savage, in case anyone forgot.)

TIME TO DANCE!

RSVP and invite your friends!

The SF branch of the World Dodgeball Society LOVES Mission Rec Center, so they wanna give a little back:

Hey all,

Get in the spirit of the holidays and don’t be a Scrooge. Join us for holiday themed dodgeball tourney to benefit The Mission Rec Center. Team themes and costumes are highly encouraged. The best team theme wins a prize! We will have some special holiday rules and interjections as well. Please come out to play dodgeball and raise money for the Mission Rec Center on Saturday, December 7th from 2-5pm.

We will be giving a trophy to the team that raises the most $ for the gym.

We will be doing teams of 10 with a minimum of 2 girls. It’s only $100 per team, but you all are encouraged to raise, donate or bit coin more! The link to register your team or donate (if you can’t make it is below).

Power Yourself Up! Each player can purchase up to 2 bracelets at $5 each (will be donated directly to the Mission Recreation Center). Bracelets can be turned in during any match at any time to get you back in the game. Purchase an advantage for your team and give to a good cause. It’s a win-win situation!

We will be going to Dr. Teeth after to celebrate and shower the winning team and the team that raised the most $ with prizes, including a $100 bar tab.

RSVP and invite your friends and opponents!

Though it’s not even a year old, The Chapel is the lone Mission venue (even including the honorable mentions) in SFist‘s list of the top 10 music venues in SF. Here’s why:

Valencia Street’s newest music venue has a lot of soul for a newcomer. The beautifully revived church-like 1914 building is the official West Coast home of New Orleans’ legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, so naturally the music lineup leans towards the soulful and folky side. The rest is rounded out with local acts graduating from Mission District dive bars and national touring acts that play to the Valencia Street sensibilities.

Read on.

[via The Tens]

“Let it be known that Pop’s has been around since 1947, and I like old things,” says Michael “Spike” Krouse, the new owner of Pop’s, “Pop’s is not going away.”

Krouse is a longtime San Franciscan and a longtime SF bartender and bar owner, having worked at several bars all over town before taking over ownership of Madrone Lounge (and reinventing it as the now very acclaimed Madrone Art Bar) about 5 years back. It came to our attention today that he is the new owner of Pop’s right here in the Mission! So, we asked for a Q&A, and he was into it:

Mission Mission: In general, and specifically in San Francisco, what makes a bar a good one?

Spike: A good bar to me is all about AUTHENTICITY. I came to San Francisco because I wanted to be in a place that was unique to everywhere else. I expect the same things from the places I eat and drink at. That’s what makes them special. It can be divey or fancy as long as it’s authentic. And when it’s done right it becomes alive with energy, and you feel that energy the moment you walk in the room. Great bars can and will stand the test of time, they are not trendy, they move beyond what is artificial and become a fabric of the place and time that they exist in.

It’s been an adventure, and one that I can’t wait to do again at Pop’s. Madrone is as much about me as it is the neighborhood and the location. The location dictates what the bar becomes. The customers define the bar. I just listen to them — and my staff. It’s kind of like throwing darts: sometimes you hit a bullseye and sometimes you miss the board. At Madrone I’ve done both, but I keep trying new things.

Besides the neon sign? The history: it was started in 1947 by World War II gunner Jack O’Connor returning home from the South Pacific. His dad helped him open the bar, hence the name Pop’s. (See the attached picture.) It became an instant SF institution that allowed him to foster both his innate man-of-the-hour persona, and his enduring affinity for fun. He was also a bartender at the Hungry I and 12 Adler (now Specs). He also opened up the New Hearth, known for “High Balls and High Times.” He was married five times and liked to gamble. (See attachment #2.) Over the years the Bar has had a few different owners (Bradley Fitzgerald, Francis Prieto, and currently Malia and Harmony). In the early ’80s Pop’s moved to the current location for whatever reason. Probably a rent hike. Nonetheless, the history of the bar has character and I love that aspect.

24th Street is still the heart of the Mission, it’s still Mom and Pop, it’s still authentic. I remember my first visit 20+ years ago, when I was a student at the art institute and I was turned on to Precita Eyes and Galeria de la Raza. I take my kids to St. Francis Fountain, and play in the mini park while we wait. I like La Victoria Bakery, and Roosevelt Tamale Parlor. I like all the murals, and I especially like that it still feels like the San Francisco I fell in love with.

Change is inevitable. And these two streets are comparable. Over here, for the most part we have people who care about the neighborhood and how their business fit into the fabric of the community. I think that’s super important. You can’t be just a taker. Especially in areas like 24th and Divisadero. They are both small tight-knit communities. My take on the overall changes I see in the city is this: I came here 22 years ago, because I fell in love with San Francisco, I fell in love with the idea that no matter who you were or what you were into, this city would welcome you. I came here with a very little bit of $ in my pocket and found place to live, and a way to grow and experience the life I wanted. I may have grown up in Las Vegas, but I came home the moment I moved here. And now I’m raising my children in San Francisco. What concerns me now, and I hope the politicians can figure it out, but if I was 20 years old now, I don’t know how I would be able to move here and make a life. I think we need to maintain a place for the young dreamers; otherwise our great city will become less unique. We need different people.

Yes I do. It’s going to be a place where everyone is welcome and everyone feels at home. I’m so happy to have a bar with such a strong history in San Francisco. Any bar that has lasted 67 years has earned the right to continue and thrive. I can’t wait to push it forward with integrity.

[Photos by the San Francisco Public Library]

Oh, plus, beer by a million local breweries! Once again, The Bay Bridged presents their expert fusing of local bands and local beers. Here are the set times, just announced:

12:50pm: Magic Fight (Main Stage)
1:35pm: French Cassettes (Loft Stage)
2:20pm: Kelley Stoltz (Main Stage)
3:05pm: Golden Void (Loft Stage)
3:50pm: Shannon and the Clams (Main Stage)
4:50pm: Mikal Cronin (Main Stage)

Additionally, the North Beach Brass Band will be performing throughout the day and DJ Jamie Jams will be spinning between sets.

Get tickets!