More than 2,000 people descended on the Mission Sunday for the ninth Clarion Alley Block Party, an event organized by neighborhood residents to celebrate art, local music, and community spirit.
Hipsters, cyclists, and skateboarders from various San Francisco subcultures flooded the alley, which stretches from Valencia Street to Mission Street between 17th and 18th streets.
Dan Doherty, 27, was one of the chief organizers of the party, and described the bash as a display of “anarchy being peaceful.”
“All this stuff was organized by random people in the community,” he said while cleaning up after the party.
The party included live music on two stages made of carpet duct-taped to the asphalt, skateboarders launching off a small wooden ramp, and alcohol consumption.
The walls of Clarion are completely covered in murals, and more than 15 new murals were painted for the event. Some were painted in a couple days, while other artists spent weeks creating intensely detailed pieces.
Doherty said it was difficult to decide who got a space to paint a new mural, and said the process was a democratic, but chaotic attempt at dealing with individual artistic visions and egos.
Samuel Vasquez, 23, lives in an apartment above the alley and painted a mural on the wooden gates in front of the residence he shares with his girlfriend “K,” 28. His rows of numerals in grayscales went up next to Doherty’s depiction of a man sitting against a wall, feeding pigeons while a rat rests on his head.
“It’s the best block party in San Francisco,” Vasquez said, noting that the Clarion soiree was free of the pretension and spectatorship that characterize events like the Folsom Street Fair and Lovefest. “This is community gathering. It’s a time to realize we’re all just human beings.”
“Everyone is welcome, everyone is here,” K said. “It should be like this every day.”
Skateboarders had a session on a small launch ramp built for the event, while photographers set up a veritable paparazzi tunnel near the landing.
Peter Sonnenberg, between 360 flips and 40 oz. sips, expressed his enjoyment of the day.
“It’s everyone I love in one place,” he said.
Local bands including Shotwell, Kung Fu USA, Floating Corpses, Manhaterrr and 50 Million performed all afternoon, with sets rotating every half-hour between the two stages situated at either end of the alley. 50 Million closed out the night with a high-energy performance lasting 20 minutes after the amplified noise permit expired at 9 p.m.
“Everyone had a peaceful experience,” said Shell Driver of 50 Million, who has worked and played at previous Clarion parties. Driver said the music was organized better this year, with fewer acts than years past and half-hour sets rather than 12-minute scream sessions.
Police officers Preston and Lopez stood on Mission Street as the rock and roll pounded past the permitted time. They said no officers were assigned to the event, and the police received no calls or complaints.
“If there were any problems, they handled them themselves,” Officer Preston said, but noted a nefarious element of the party. “There are street locals mixed in, they’re lurking, they’re looking,” he said while peering less than 10 yards down the alley where homeless gathered empty 40 oz. bottles, and drug dealers moved in after the sun went down.
