Festival To Celebrate Opening of New Mission Bay Medical Center
UCSF Community Invited to Join Sept. 6 Hard Hat Walk and Lights On Festival
To mark the near-completion of the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, UC San Francisco is holding a celebratory 5K walk followed by an outdoor festival, featuring food, music and a spectacular light show.
Hard Hat Walk
3:30 to 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 6
$25 minimum donation or fundraising total
Lights On Festival
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 6
$100 minimum donation or fundraising total (participants ages 12 and under can attend for free, with adult)
► Start or join a Hard Hat Walk team
The Hard Hat Walk and Lights On Festival will take place Saturday, Sept. 6. The event will kick off at 3:30 p.m. with expo booths and entertainment, including live music, face painting, a circus alley and local radio stations. A few hours later, members of the construction team who built the medical center will lead participants in a leisurely walk around the new complex, along Mission Bay’s waterfront and AT&T park. There will be snack stations, rest stops and entertainment along the route.
The walk and festival are a fun way that the public and UCSF community can help to raise the final dollars needed to complete the new medical center. Participants are asked to raise or donate at least $25 to join the Hard Hat Walk, with prizes given for different levels of fundraising. Walkers can register online in advance, and are encouraged to join a team with UCSF colleagues or form a new team. Participants may also register the day of the event.
"The excitement at UCSF about the opening of our new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay is palpable," says Kathy Balestreri, executive director of Patient Services at UCSF Medical Center. After the walk, participants who raise or donate at least $100 are invited to attend the Lights On Festival, a lively party with complimentary food from more than 20 top San Francisco restaurants and live music entertainment. As the sun sets, the grand finale light show will begin, a professionally choreographed display culminating in the switching on of the medical center lights.
“The center is an exciting new space where patients will experience amazing care coupled with the latest technology, innovation and research. We urge our patients, faculty, staff, and students to join us in this fundraising effort,” she said.
Supporters also can participate by volunteering at the event. And for those who can’t attend but would like to support the medical center, they can donate to support a team online.