SF’s Excelsior District is hosting its 3rd annual block party on Sunday, August 21st from 12-5 pm. This free outdoor event will feature coffee, tattoos, art, music, and an exciting motorcycle show. The block party, dubbed “Forever Forward” is sponsored by Excelsior district businesses Excelsior Coffee and The Helm tattoo shop and serves as an anniversary party for both businesses.
The party will feature tasty bites from Filipino American food truck Barya Kitchen as well as smash burgers from Excelsior restaurant The Dark Horse Inn. The Helm will be offering discounts on flash tattoos, featuring six amazing artists on site. The event will also feature t-shirt screen printing, a live DJ, photo exhibits, and other artists and vendors centered around the motorcycle community.
Motorcycle shows have a reputation for being lawless and wild which is something that Excelsior Coffee owners Lea Sabado and Andre Higginbotham want to change. Both are active members of the motorcycle community and see the block party as a way to shift public perception towards a positive view of motorcycle culture.
“For us, this is an opportunity to collaborate, celebrate, and role model appropriate behavior [at motorcycle shows], especially among those who choose to show up on two wheels or four,” said Higginbotham.
“We want to showcase motorcycle and car clubs, support the culture, and have a safe place to do it,” Sabado added. “There’s just not a safe place to showcase and do these things. We got the permits and want to do it right.”
Higgenbotham is the founder of the motorcycle mechanics program at June Jordan School for Equity, an Excelsior District high school. The program’s goal is to teach motorcycle maintenance and safe riding to local high school students. It is the only program of its kind in the SF public school system and is already popular among the students. As a fundraiser for the program, Sabado and Higginbotham will be auctioning off a 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000 motorcycle, which has been fully restored.
Stop by the Excelsior block party on Sunday, August 21st from 12-5 pm. The event is located at 4495 Mission Street.
Featured image courtesy of Lea Sabado