The North Beach Festival: Now With More Beer

Okay, so we admit to confusion on our end about all of this. Hell, we admit that everyone appears slightly confused about this too as every story we've read says different things. Regardless, the compromise that was reached to keep the North Beach Jazz Festival knee-deep in booze, or at least knee-deep in booze only in special sections, also includes this weekend's North Beach Festival. Err, we mean the Precious Cheese North Beach Festival as that is it's official name, being selected over other choices such as the "Precocious Cheese Festival," the "Better than the Average Bear Gnocchi Fest" and-- our fave-- the "Persnickety Garlic Romp."

Basically, what this will mean is that part of Washington Square Park will be open for everyone and parts of it will be fenced off for all the alcoholics to roam free. The "alcohol gardens" as it were, will serve beer, wine, and noted North Beach drink of choice, margaritas. If we remember our street festivals, the Union Street Fair works much in the same way (not that we've ever gone to the Union Street Fair as we're too cool for partying on Union Street and that one time we went was when we were young and that other time we went we had a date and that other time we went it just seemed like the thing to do and that other time...). This seems to work reasonably well as it keeps the riff raff away from the hoi polloi and makes it easier to hookup with someone as all the drunks are in one place. So if there's an increase in people doing the Walk of Shame come Sunday and Monday morning, it'll all be thanks to the Cheese People.

But wait, it gets better! Saturday afternoon at 4:30, Mickey Thomas and Starship will perform! Seriously, could anything be finer than being out on a beautiful San Francisco day and drinking some Bud to the rockin' strains of "We Built This City?" We think not.