On Sunday, San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area celebrated the 75th anniversary of our most beloved bridge - the Golden Gate Bridge. The festival, the vibe, music, crowd, historical exhibits, the art exhibits, the food and the weather were all great.
Let me take you on a photo tour of the Golden Gate Festival. I must have walked a total of 7 miles back and forth during the entire festival. In the process, I have a renewed awe of the most beautiful bridge in the world.
I had originally planned to start the 'tour' of the festival from Fort Point, at the base of the bridge, and then work my way to the Marina Green where I was going to meet Mijo later that day. This plan will cut the walking time to half. However, I was told by a Muni bus operator that there won't be any bus service to Fort Point because of the festivities. This meant that I must walk the entire span of the festival route - twice!
This was the start, the Marina Green. I was greeted by the view of the entire bridge. From here, I could almost feel the party vibe of the event. There must have been a million people as far as my eye could see in the area.
Here, I was joined by other festival goers. I was already feeling overwhelmed by the amount of walking I was going to go through. Armed with a bottle of water, extra layers of clothing, a hat, my festival map, and a bag of trail-mix, I was ready to start my Golden Gate Festival tour. The plan was to pace myself.
After leaving the festivities in the Marina Green, I reached the bike park at the end of Baker St, near the Palace of Fine Arts. A lot of people brought their bikes which was smart thinking and also an earth friendly way to go to the festival. I also got a chance to buy a souvenir cap. I used it to protect my face from sunburn because the weather turned out to be quite sunny.
After leaving the festival store, I noticed that everyone was looking up and seemed to be taking pictures. When I looked up, I saw a H A P PY 7 5 T H on a clear blue sky. Of course, I took a snap! It was also at this time when my friend Dinah called to say she is on her way.
This is the East Beach. As you can see, lots of people have already camped out here. They will wait here and hang out with their friends through the fireworks at 9:30 that evening. In fairness to them, they got a nice view.
I finally reached the Crissy Field Center and the Future Fair. They showcase here sustainable technologies and green innovations like these wind turbines. I can see more people are congregating in this area.
Here, you can see multitudes of people walking to the festivities in Crissy Field or all the way to Fort Point to see the art exhibition called International Orange. I was to going to see this similar scene non stop for four hours. Lots of people came to the festival that day.
This area is called the Hospitality Area. From the outside, I could see countless bottles of sparkling wines, food and red orange balloons. I couldn't resist so I asked one of the uniformed guys outside what's going on in there. One of the guys said it is for VIP only - politicians, business leaders, employees of the Golden Gate bridge, and their guests. I took a sip of my water and sort of imagining what should I do to be in there 25 years from now - during the bridge's 100th year anniversary.
What a view! This is the beach next to Crissy Field. Several families and groups were camping out behind me when I took this photo.
I saw this huge tent. It says Bridge History so I went inside. Lots of interesting things inside - from how the bridge was constructed, the people and institution that financed the construction of the bridge, the paint used, the bridge toll price in the 1950s, etc.
A Golden Gate Bridge hard hat. This is also part of the Bridge History.
Just so you know, the Golden Gate Bridge is not the longest suspension bridge. The longest suspension bridge is in Japan. This is also part of the Bridge History.
Lots of work is involved in retrofitting the Bridge to make it eartquake proof. This is still part of the Bridge History.
Outside the Bridge History tent is the Crissy Field stage. The Golden Gate Gay Men's Chorus was performing.
This art installation is called 1558. The shoes signify all those lives who were lost due to suicide on the Bridge. It is also a recognition of the historic progress made in the continuing movement to end preventable death on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Of course, there were lots of good food but no alcohol was allowed during the festivities.
Of course, Filipino cuisine was represented. The HAPA SF food truck was there and the line was super long.
There was also a rock balancing exhibition along Fort Point Rd.
At last, I made it to the other end of the festival route - Fort Point.
And then I saw this ship cross the bridge. I was smirking because I feel like a tourist all over again. Snap here, snap there. But hey, everyone looked like a local tourist that day. I like that, local tourist.
Finally, free admission International Orange art exhibition at Fort Point. It was also at this point where I put on my jacket on top of my thick red hoodie sweater. The wind was blistery cold!
Inside the courtyard of Fort Point. I was technically underneath the most beloved bridge. I could here the traffic like a loud thunder.
Everything in this exhibit was colored International Orange, which is the color of the Golden Gate Bridge. Everything here was not for sale except for the free post cards by the door. I also read that Stephanie Syjuco, the artist and collector, was born in the Philippines.
This exhibition showcases how the bridge was built. The theme is still International Orange.
This view can be seen from the rooftop of Fort Point. The wind was so strong it was hard to keep your hands steady. The wind was blistery cold too. I couldn't feel my hands at one point after being outside on the rooftop for a few minutes. My good friend Dinah joined me right after this.
Dinah and I had to walk back to the Marina Green to meet up with Mijo to see the fireworks. Here are the ones that I captured.
Happy 75th anniversary my beloved bridge. I hope to be here again when you turn 100.
~rl
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