Happy 4^th of July weekend friends. There will be no fireworks (the legal ones at least), but you can always barbecue in your backyard and find some fireworks online to watch. Or head to one of the smaller parks in the city with a takeout meal – Park and Eat! Meanwhile, Kepler’s Book Store presents an interesting online author event about a new kind of “wonder woman.” The San Francisco Art Institute collaborates with the San Francisco International Art Salon for a beautiful online event. Check out Rockin in the Fillmore with Bill Graham. Are you ready for your “what’s next?” Listen in to this week’s podcast.

Outdoor Afro

California Native Rue Mapp has loved the outdoors her whole life, trekking around for years, she realized that in the wilderness there weren’t many who looked like her. She has broking the stereotypes that black people don’t hike. On Outdoor Afro, her blog, she wrote about her experiences as a Black woman in nature.

Due to its popularity, Mapp and Outdoor Afro have become leaders in not just building a community of Black outdoor enthusiasts, but in expanding the definition of the outdoors to include the experiences and knowledge of Black Individuals. Now her nonprofit has over 40,000 people in 30 states participate in their activities each year. She leads healing hikes around the bay area and across the country, important especially now with unrest unsettling the world. To find out more.www.outdoorafro.com

“Midlife is not a crisis, it’s an opportunity.” That’s the advice of our Happy Hour guest Amy Schmidt, founder of Fearlessly Facing Fifty and also the author of Cannonball! Fearlessly Facing Midlife and Beyond (published by The Three Tomatoes Book Publishing). We had a great conversation about how to overcome the obstacles we put in our way that keep us from creating the next best phase of our life. WATCH NOW.

July 27. Wonder Woman

From an unstoppable warrior to a struggling teenage refugee, get ready to see Wonder Woman in a new light. New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak, Shout) and artist Leila del Duca (Sleepless, Shutter) have reimagined Wonder Woman’s origins in this timely story about the refugee experience, teenage activism, and finding the love and strength to create change.

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed is more than a reboot of Wonder Woman’s origin story, weaving in real-world issues like refugee crises and child trafficking, emphasizing how we can change the world through activism and small gestures of compassion.  Sponsored by Menlo Park’s own independent bookstore Kepler’s. July 27^th 7 p.m. Sign up.

July 5. Bill Graham—Rocking in the Filmore

Tomatoes, I know you remember the groovy 70’s, and if you want to take a walk or dance back in time, we have the event for you. On Sunday July 5^th, head online for Rocking in the Fillmore. Impresario Bill Graham was crucial to establishing San Francisco as the epicenter for the psychedelic rock music sounds of Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin among others.

Graham was truly a self-made man, surviving the Holocaust and coming to the US as an orphan child. Learn about his beginnings in the SF hippie scene and his emergence as a rock promoter using the Fillmore Auditorium and other venues.

The presentation will include videos of Graham describing the scene and some of the top bands he hosted. July 5^th 4 – 5:30 p.m. Sign up.

Art Salon

Time to support our local young artists! The San Francisco International Art Salon is hosting its first online art salon benefitting the student artists of the San Francisco Art Institute.  Like previous art salons, all types of creative performances and pieces will be displayed ranging from music, dance, film, photography, with large scale projection mapping.

 During this shelter in place, SFIAS has been forced to into creatively bringing the arts directly to our screen for an online experience. They are presenting a ‘tableau vivant” (living picture) creating a unique online cinematic experience for each artist and their project; all filmed and directed in the historic 906 World Cultural Center in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. The creativity during this pandemic has been outstanding, and this will be no exception. Sfias.org

Park & Eat

It’s the summer of social distancing and we are spending more time outside. Though restaurants are open for outdoor dining (for now) takeout is still de rigeur. Here is one suggestion for sitting and munching – more coming next week (but check before you go, as things are rapidly changing.)

McLaren Park is San Francisco’s second largest park and resides at the southern edge of SF, situated a few residential blocks away from the main commercial stretches of the Portola and Excelsior neighborhoods. At a little more than 300 acres, there are all kinds of trails to explore, grassy areas for picnics, and beautiful vistas in all directions. (Note: Parking lots closed July 4^th weekend.) Before your hike, swing by Excelsior Coffee on Mission for a cappucino and pastry. For great picnic provisions, the Excelsior’s Calabria Bros Deli – a yummy one-stop shop. Then in the evening, head to Gentilly for a taste of New Orleans. A lot of hiking deserves a lot of eating!  Enjoy.

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