Lori Elder: In Season (Sept. 2006)

By Ed Attanasio

If she wanted to, the highly creative and intensly focused Lori Elder could be the CEO of a major corporation. But Cole Valley and the Lower Haight should be happy she’s chosen another path, and has decided instead to use her abilities to organize events in our communities.

With help and guidance from fellow organizer and local merchant Mario Mogannam from Postal Chase, Elder is once again throwing the Heart of Cole Festival in Cole Valley, an event she helped create in 2003 and has developed into a favorite local tradition.

The Cole Valley Merchants Association is hosting its fourth annual Heart of Cole Festival on Sunday September 24, from 9 am to 6:30 pm on Cole Street between Carl and Grattan. The festival will promote local community art, culture, entertainment and cuisine, according to Elder.

Other than an impressive assemblage of area artists, musicians and various performers, this year’s the Heart of Cole Festival will also feature a vintage car exhibit, as well as a photographic display of the history of San Francisco firehouses, sponsored by the Cole Valley Neighborhood Improvement Association.

“We’ve had consistent support from the very beginning with major sponsors who have jumped onboard,” Elder said. “Without them, the Heart of Cole Festival probably never would have happened.” Some of these sponsoring companies include Craigslist, Wells Fargo, and Walgreens, just to name a few.

In October, Lori is putting on the first Lower Haight Block Party, a similar event focusing on the Lower Haight and its unique flavor. The Lower Haight Merchants Association is hosting this event on Sunday October 15 from 11 am to 6 pm on Haight Street between Fillmore and Pierce. The block party will feature live music, events for children, and reasonably-priced booth spaces to accommodate local and emerging artists.

“This is a totally unique event unlike anything else in San Francisco,” Elder said. “It’s not Union Square, it’s not Cole Valley and it’s not Fillmore Jazz––it’s the Lower Haight. There’s been a lot more work involved with this event, because of the fact that we’re basically starting from scratch. Festivals like these should be about the community and reflect the people and the neighborhood.”

For this reason, neither the Lower Haight Block Party nor the Heart of Cole Festival allows alcohol booths. Local bars and food merchants can sell their wares, but no outside vendors have been invited to participate, making these truly unadulterated community events, Elder said.

Tentatively scheduled to appear at the Lower Haight Block Party are the Rumblers Car Club, with a hot rod and choppers display on Steiner Street; a skateboarding demonstration by the Deluxe Skateboard Company; performances by the San Francisco Mime Troupe; the Western Addition Steppers Dance Team; five DJs, local rappers and a full schedule of local bands.

Another aspect of these events that makes them special is that all the artists who participate are invited and must be selected by a jury of their artisan peers, of which Elder is of course a member.

Elder still manages to pursue her personal passion for the arts, as well as creating and marketing her own inventions. “I’ve pretty much been an artist all my life,” Elder said. “I have always been into metal smithing, working with precious metals and making custom jewelry.”

Elder has crafted pieces for some famous musicians and performers, and although she doesn’t want to drop any names, we can tell that she’s done custom jewelry for the one of the best-known metal bands...and for a diminutive musician/songwriter/producer who several years back changed his one-word moniker to a symbol.

Then in 2002, Lori came up with a unique idea that has blossomed into a burgeoning business. While watching the third game of the World Series at what is now called AT&T Park, Lori observed all of the fans floating in the body of water beyond the right field fence known as McCovey Cove.
“I saw people floating around on rafts that looked like putting greens and all kinds of other stuff,” Elder said. “And the idea just suddenly hit me––the thing to be sitting on in that cove is a big inflatable baseball glove!” Elder’s friends all agreed with her, and after calling Major League Baseball and finding out that nothing like it existed, Lori started her own business and began coming up with plans and prototypes for the floating mitts.

In July of 2003, Lori’s designs were officially licensed by MLB Properties. In January of 2004, Left Field Enterprises was formed and began working with Sevylor, Inc., a top manufacturer in the business of sports-related inflatables. Left Field Enterprises makes mitts with the logos and colors of every major league team. They come in two sizes and both have met with great success and awesome reviews.

To get involved in the Heart of Cole Festival, see page ocho for information
To be a part of the Lower Haight Block Party, email lowerhaightblockparty@gmail.com
To find out more about Lori’s dirigible mitts, visit leftfieldenterrpises.com
To read more articles from Ed Attanasio, visit his blog at edattanasio.blogspot.com