Master of Ceremonies Charleston Pierce
San Francisco Beautiful Gala Chair Sharon Seto, Board Chair Bob Friese, and Margaret Mitchell
Christopher Lee, Judy Jorgensen
Carla Zuber, Marybeth La Motte, Elaine Mellis
Some 300 guests donned masks and celebrated the beauty of San Francisco at San Francisco Beautiful’s inaugural masquerade party at the Palace Hotel on October 14, 2011. Guests dined, danced, donated and participated in a costume contest emceed by local media personality Charleston Pierce.
San Francisco Beautiful recognized four projects that creatively repurposed, restored, and reactivated San Francisco public spaces in 2011:
- EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park: the nonprofit Literacy for Environmental Justice built an off-the-grid, sustainable classroom to teach environmental justice and urban sustainability to youth in what was once a landfill at Hunter’s point.
- Pavement to Parks/Parklets Programs: the San Francisco Planning Department, the Department of Public Works and the Municipal Transportation Agency reclaimed underutilized spaces in the public realm and turned them into vibrant, beautiful gathering spaces.
- Off-the-Grid: in partnership with the Recreation and Parks Department, Off-the-Grid brought high-quality food to people in parks and open spaces across the city. They not only enhanced park experiences, but also created new revenue for the city.
- Sunnyside Conservatory: A 100-year old treasure once slated for demolition in the Sunnyside neighborhood, the Sunnyside Conservatory was saved by a dedicated group of community members who preserved and repurposed the cherished neighborhood landmark.
Scenes from the San Francisco Beautiful Inaugural Masquerade Gala:
Mary Poland, Elisabeth Thieriot
Leigh Wasson, Margaret Mitchell, Trish Loucks, Amy Millman, Sharon Seto
San Francisco Beauties: Assunta Jenny Leong, Angellica Yi, Betty Hsu, Louisa Liu
Michael Babineaux, Margaret Mitchell, CeCe McGraw, Renee Rodman, Anthony Aquaviva
Carolyn Fung, Ivy Young
Photos by Drew Altizer Photography