Whooooosh, well, that was a marathon of a weekend. Outside Lands is not for the weak, that’s for damn sure, which is the thought I had every afternoon as I was pedaling my bike to the festival into the head wind and mist, a bit slower with each passing day. But all that walking and bike riding and dancing is why you can eat amazing festival food like monkey bread chicken Parms and saturated Philly hoagie/muffulettas and your dream chocolate cookies with impunity, that’s rightttttt. SF, you crushed it, no one does it better. And thanks to Wine Lands, I was never too late for bubbles o’clock each day. Whew.
I kind of can’t believe how many amazing artists I got to see, from Little Dragon to the much-needed musical medicine from Solange (!!!), and I loved the discovery of seeing some for my first time, like Future Islands and Sofi Tukker. Great performers. I caught a little bit of The Who, which kicked up some nostalgia, and now I’m ready for a Quadrophenia viewing party—it has been 25 years since I watched it. But really, the festival belonged to Solange. I feel so lucky to have witnessed that performance. Dreamy.
There is so much work that goes into pulling this behemoth of a festival off, so I just want to say thanks to everyone who worked SO HARD to made it a special 10th anniversary. Except you, A Tribe Called Sorry Not Sorry Enough—way to just keep posts hawking merch up on Instagram instead of addressing your disappointed fans who got dissed two days in a row. Weak sauce.
Anyway, moving on… Thanks to everyone who entered the two giveaways I was running this past week for Eat Drink SF VIP tickets and the Mount Gay rum tiki cocktail party. I hope you folks who won have a blast. And for those who didn’t, there will be more!
Real quick: fellow Hatch chile fanatics, did you know the Mollie Stone’s Hatch chile roasting days are back? I’m heading to the Mollie Stone’s in Pac Heights this Sunday for mine… Check out the calendar for chile roasts around the Bay Area! They’re my favorite thing to have at the ready in the freezer. Well, besides some vodka to go with caviar, but that’s another story.
Okay, one last thing, and I could really use your help. As many of you know, I recently visited Thailand to be a part of the 10th anniversary mission of Pencils for Kids, an amazing nonprofit that raises funds to deliver backpacks filled with school supplies and uniforms to children in Myanmar, Indonesia, and Thailand every year. In 2017, PFK will deliver 2,200 backpacks to children in need!
I’m helping Pencils for Kids with their annual fundraiser in San Francisco this winter, with 100 percent of the event proceeds going directly to supply children with backpacks. We are currently looking for a venue to host this year’s fundraiser on the evening of Thursday November 16th (although that date is flexible based on availability—it could also be Nov. 8th or 9th!). It’s going to be a walk-around tasting featuring Asian street food, especially highlighting the three countries PFK visits each year. Attendees will include approximately 200 guests.
I’m having a hard time finding a venue who can donate their space, and thought I’d open up my quest to you, dear readers, for any ideas, connections, offers, and introductions. I know it’s a big ask, but we rely on the generosity of local donors so we can ensure that proceeds go where they are most needed: directly to fund the annual mission trips to help the children. Thanks for considering it, it’s for such a worthwhile cause. Just hit reply! Mwah.
Sawatdee-ka! Marcia Gagliardi
Solange on the Sutro stage Sunday night. It looked like an album cover that came to life. Photo: © tablehopper.com.View tablehopper Newsletter from Tuesday, Aug 15 2017
