Sunday Picnics at the Presidio Start October 7

Presidio of San Francisco (October 3, 2012) –The Presidio’s Main Post Lawn will be the center of the action this Sunday, October 7, when the Presidio Trust and Off the Grid launch a unique culinary tour of San Francisco.

Picnic at the Presidio will combine the best of the city’s food scene with classic outdoor games to create a playful, new way to experience the revitalized Main Post. There will be plenty to see this Sunday, as the Blue Angels fly overhead and America’s Cup catamarans race on the bay. The picnics will continue every Sunday throughout October.

Picnic at the Presidio is not your typical Off the Grid experience. Absent, for the most part, are the trucks; replaced by food tents featuring almost 20 of San Francisco’s most popular restaurants. The idea is to build your own picnic; mixing and matching main dishes, side dishes, sauces and such, in the process creating exciting new combinations, flavors and tastes. Then retreat to your blanket; where roving vendors will deliver classic brunch cocktails like mimosas, bloody marys, and irish coffee; to enjoy and take in the relaxing atmosphere of the Main Post with its panoramic views of the bay.

Traditional lawn games including bocce ball, croquet and horseshoes will be available for rent. There will even be yoga classes, though you’ll need to bring your own mat for those.

Picnic at the Presidio will be held every Sunday in October from 11am to 4pm on the Main Post lawn. Tarps will be provided free of charge, while Army-style wool blankets will be available for sale. Please note the first week, October 7, is Fleet Week and America’s Cup racing. Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the Presidio for those events. The Trust is recommending people bike or walk that day to avoid the anticipated traffic congestion. Limited parking is available.

While you’re here, visit the Walt Disney Family Museum and the Before the Bridge: Sight and Sound at the Golden Gate exhibit, which immerses visitors in an era before the bridge was built. Both are located in rehabilitated barracks on Montgomery Street, adjacent to Picnic at the Presidio.

The Presidio Trust (the Trust) is a distinguished federal agency created to save and transform the Presidio of San Francisco, an historic American place steeped in service. The Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio, a former army base and new urban national park site located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, over 2,700 people live in the park’s former military housing, and more than 200 organizations have located in Presidio buildings, attracted by the Presidio’s beauty and historic significance. Under the Trust’s management, the Presidio has been transformed into a stunning visitor destination with an extensive system of trails and scenic overlooks; rehabilitated historic buildings; programs that teach about the Presidio’s military history and natural resources, and tenants and residents who help to sustain the park. To learn more about the Trust, visit www.presidio.gov.