Cranes, Conversations & Golden Hour II: World Tree of Hope, Grace Cathedral

Our world tree of hope event created a record for us, in that over half registered showed up. And the director of the program wants us coming back. So here it is again, episode 2.

Image is the director giving us a tour of the Grace Cathedral after our shift.
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🕊️ Cranes, Conversations & Golden Hour Walk on Nob Hill: the World Tree of Hope, at Grace Cathedral
TownFlame November Saturday Series · Sun, Nov 15, 12 PM–evening

We have a long tradition of decorating the World Tree of Hope, with Grace Cathedral, during the pre-holiday season. One year old actually :), so we are coming back again, in the format of volunteering mixer, socializing after volunteering together.

By our experience, volunteering together is a great way to know others, working side by side, with a shared purpose. Grace Cathedral being an iconic place on Nob Hill adds to the context.

Every Saturday this month, TownFlame is helping build San Francisco’s World Tree of Hope inside Grace Cathedral. It’s the largest origami holiday tree in the world, decorated with thousands of hand-folded cranes and stars, each carrying a wish for the world. We’re turning the shift into a mixer, then heading out for a sunset walk and dinner.

How it works
We sit at small tables of 5–6 to fold, wire and sort cranes and stars for the tree. Every hour or so, half of each table moves to a new one, so by the end of the afternoon you’ll have worked alongside three or four different groups. Your hands stay busy, there’s always something to talk about, and you get new faces every half hour.
No origami experience needed. Someone at your table will show you, and soon you’ll be the one teaching.

Schedule

• 12:00 PM: Meet on the Grace Cathedral front steps (1100 California St)
• 12:00–3:00 PM: Folding mixer inside the cathedral

Running late? Walk in and tell them you are there for the tree decoration volunteering, and tell the onsite director that you come from meetup, and ask to sit with the meetup people.

• 3:15–4:45 PM: Golden-hour walk around Nob Hill: Huntington Park, the Fairmont, ending at a viewpoint for sunset
• 5:00 PM: Group coffee or dinner nearby (location shared with RSVPs; pay your own way)

Come for the folding only, or stay for the whole afternoon.
Before you come

• Register with Rainbow World Fund as well as RSVPing here. The cathedral needs every volunteer on their list: https://bit.ly/WorldTreeofHopeVolunteerSignUp
• Wear layers, because the cathedral is chilly inside and it gets cold on the hill after sunset.
• Coming from the South Bay? Caltrain to SF, then Muni or a cable car up to Nob Hill.

How to enter the building from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28 at noon: At this stage of the project, we will be working in a large room on the Cathedral’s ground level.

Enter through the street/ground-level entrance on Taylor Street. At street level, next to the main steps leading up to the Cathedral, there are glass double doors (next to the underground parking garage entrance; see the picture above). Enter through these glass doors (they should be unlocked). Once inside, take the first left, walk through the doorway, and our room will be on the right.
If the doors are locked, please text or call Director Jeff, and we’ll come let you in.

Why we do this
Each crane carries a written wish for the world. You’ll leave having helped build something thousands of people will see this December, and knowing a few more people than you did at noon.
Can’t make the 7th? We’re back on the 14th, 21st and 28th. Each Saturday is a new group of people.

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🌇 Nob Hill → Russian Hill Golden-Hour Walk (self-guided)
About 1 mile, 1.5 hours. Steep in places. Start: Grace Cathedral steps, 3:15pm.

How it works: A different person reads each stop aloud. At every stop, switch walking partners so you walk the next stretch with someone you haven’t talked to yet.

Stop 1: Huntington Park (directly across Taylor St from the cathedral)
A small, formal park at the top of Nob Hill, with the tortoise fountain in the middle.
💬 Form a circle, do group self intro.

Stop 2: California & Mason (walk east along California, 1 block)
The Fairmont Hotel is on the south side. On the north side is the brownstone Pacific-Union Club, the old Flood Mansion and one of the few buildings on the hill that survived the 1906 fire. In the 1870s and 1880s, Nob Hill was where the railroad and silver-mine millionaires built their mansions.
💬 What brought you to the Bay Area?

Stop 4: Ina Coolbrith Park (keep walking north on Mason to Vallejo, then climb the Vallejo St steps west)
This is the steep part, so take it slowly. At the top, face east toward Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island. Sunset is around 5pm, so stay to watch the light change on the bay and the city lights come on.
💬 What’s one thing you want to do before the year ends?

Finish: North Beach (walk back down the Vallejo steps east to Columbus Ave). Anyone heading home can leave here.

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