Volume XL, No. 4
May 2016
Our 40th Year
THE NOE VALLEY VOICE
Players Gonna Play. A passion for gaming is evident as people fill the hall adjacent to St. Paul’s Church on a Friday evening in April.
Friday Night Rites: Bingo at St. Paul’s Tradition Continues for More Than Six Decades By Corrie M. Anders he doors open at 5 p.m., but the action doesn’t start until nearly two hours later. By 5:30 p.m., the parish hall at St. Paul’s Catholic Church is already half full of eager players hoping to go home with a bundle of cash. Some people bring talismans to boost their chances of winning, and the more superstitious among them sit in the same seats they sat in the previous week. While waiting, they socialize or snack on hot dogs and hamburgers purchased from the parish kitchen.
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Then, at 6:45 p.m., the microphone crackles, and the buzz in the room falls silent. The games are set to begin. It’s Friday night bingo—a slice of Americana in Noe Valley—where local residents out for a night of fun mingle with serious gamers who travel the bingo circuit seeking to win prize money that can top $1,000. Clearly, bingo can be more than just pocket change for players. But the friendly game of chance also provides a much-needed financial assist to the operating budget at St. Paul’s, a neighborhood institution for more than a century. “You could call it a rainy-day fund,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
Photo by Art Bodner
Town Square Bid Comes in Under Budget Meanwhile, Artists Offer New Choices for Owl Sculptures By Matthew S. Bajko
A Plant Day: The Noe Valley Garden Tour shows off nine gardens on Saturday, May 21. See page 10 for the details. Photo by Lisa Erdos
San Francisco-based construction firm has been awarded the contract to build out the Noe Valley Town Square public park on 24th Street. Bauman Landscape & Construction, Inc. bid $1,097,720 to do the work, the lowest of the seven bids submitted to the city by various firms. The city’s construcCONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Adventures of the Bookworms Club Young Readers Have Fun Picturing the Literary Life By Olivia Boler
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f it’s the third Friday evening of the month, chances are young book enthusiasts are gathering at Folio Books on 24th Street. That’s when the shop’s Bookworms Club meets for pizza and fun activities focused on books, reading, and writing. Most of the members are in grades three through six. They come from neighborhoods and schools around the city and even as far as Daly City. “Bookworms provides a space for kids from 8 to 12 years old to talk about and experience books for their age group in different ways,” says Alissa Hugel, Folio’s children’s book buyer, who took over running the club after former store manager Martha Pettit moved away. Hugel cut her teeth for years as an Comic Inspiration: Members of Bookworms hear tips from Noe Valley cartoonist Judd Winick at the club’s April meeting at Folio Books. The once-a-month gathering is hosted by children’s book buyer Alissa Hugel (standing, right). Photo by Beverly Tharp
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