Venture Crew 21 spent a lazy Sunday afternoon last month learning and tasting bistro-style Chinese food from Bay Area celebrity chef and Food Network reality star Kathy Fang at Fang Restaurant in San Francisco.
Chef Fang spoke with spice about working at her father's restaurant, the House of Nanking, for as long as she could remember, 7 days a week. After attending USC and jumping into the corporate world of marketing, she decided her passion and happiness would be better served dabbling in food. Food was her passion. Today, she creates all the dishes at Fang Restaurant by taking familiar Chinese dishes and adding her own twists and exotic spices to create a new dish that is familiar by name only, but looks and tastes completely different – bistro cooking! Chef brought the scouts into the kitchen where she demonstrated wok cooking, and the need to not waste any motions cooking the protein and crispy vegetables to arrive on the plate just in time for piping hot service.
After hearing a narrative of Kathy’s life and a Q&A period, Crew 21 scouts dined on Northern-Style Pork Dumplings in a curry sauce, Crispy Honey Chili Short Ribs, Whitefish poached in a silky white sauce, Nanking Sesame Chicken, Tofu Chow Mein, along with a variety of tasty vegetarian dishes. Teenagers sometimes stay away from broccoli, but in this case the charred broccoli totally disappeared from the oblong plate within minutes of the first scout giving the high five to this Fang bistro-cultivated dish.
A major hit was the castle of fried rice with a moat of fried scrambled eggs being mixed table-side on a hot cast-iron plate. The visit and dining experience caused Scout Parker Goode (Troop 333) to declare that “This is where I want to go for my birthday.” Scout William Mai (Troop 3) had never had white fish that tasted so delicate, while Scout Shane Pecko’s (Troop 343 Daly City) family is set for a visit to House of Nanking, the institution where it all began 37 years ago, and which is now recognized as a San Francisco legacy business.
Venture Crew 21 meets and cooks on the first Sunday of each month.
This email goes to all registered adult leaders in the Golden Gate District (San Francisco/Daly City). Want an easy way to share this with others who may be interested?
October 21 @ 7 pm at West Portal Lutheran Church (200 Sloat Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94132)
In October, we'll be passing out the Scouting for Food door hangers. This is the best time to get these ahead of door hanger distribution day! We'll also be having a great roundtable conversation and fellowship with other scouters. The topic for October is: Girls In Scouting. Join us!
Scouting for Food 2025 is right around the corner! Once again, we will be collecting food and donations to benefit the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. If your unit will be participating for the first time OR you want to update your collection area on the map, please contact Paul Lanzi (ggd.commissioner@gmail.com).
IN PERSON: BALOO and IOLS Training Mega Super Regional List
Various Dates
Need to complete BALOO training so your Cub Scout Pack can go camping? Want to tackle IOLS to complete your ASM/Scoutmaster Position-specific training? Well, you're in luck -- this is the MEGA list of all regional offerings currently available. You will find this list NOWHERE ELSE.
Don't procrastinate in signing up as these trainings WILL fill up!
IOLS 2025 - for Scoutmasters/Assistant Scoutmasters
10/25/25 @ Marin Community Foundation (Novato) - Register
Rangemaster Training (Archery, BBgun, Slingshot, Tomahawk)
Various Dates
Our Range & Target Activities at Camp Tamarancho are very popular with all Scouts, and especially the Cub Scouts! Here's your chance to attend rangemaster training, giving you the skills and certification to teach our young Scouts the skills and safety for a fun archery, bb-gun or slingshot experience. The Marin Council Range & Target Activities Committee has planned more range re-certification training weekends -- open for any registered Scout leader, and new volunteers are always welcome!
September 21 2025 9:30am-3:30pm @ Tamarancho - Register
October 19 2025 9:30am-3:30pm @ Tamarancho - Register
November 16 2025 9:30am-3:30pm @ Tamarancho - Register
For All Scouts
Scout Pokémon Cards + Pokémon Adventures Now Available
Are your scouts excited about Pokémon? There is a Tiger Adventure, "Catch Them All!" that can be met with a Pokémon tournament, but Pokémon is exciting for youth of all ages. Here are some great Pokémon resources for scouting:
Our District Executive, Brian Woo, has recently joined the SF Rotary. See below for new volunteer opportunities with this great San Francisco organization:
Leave No Trace Level 1 Instructor and LNT Skills courses for adults and scouts (age 14 and up, including Venturing and Sea Scouts).
Registered Scouters (age 18 and over) may take the Level 1 (formerly Trainer) course leading to certification as a Level 1 Leave No Trace Instructor.
Registered Scouts (at least First Class and age 14) and Scouters may take the Leave No Trace Skills course (Certificate of Completion by Leave no Trace)
Sunday October 12 @ SF Sea Scout Base / Aquatic Park
The Fleet Week Airshow + Lunch is a San Francisco scouting tradition. The Sea Scouts are kind enough to host all scouts and their families at the Sea Scout base in Aquatic Park. This is the PERFECT place to watch the Fleet Week Airshow as the United 777, Canadian Snowbirds, Patriots Jet Team, US F-35s and other airshow planes flight directly overhead. We have a great lawn space to enjoy the show from, and you'll get to meet and hang out with other SF scouting families.
Our Makani Maritime Explorer Club will be offering the opportunity to go out on the water on the outrigger canoe - open to adults and youth!
Crew 21 and Troop 74 (Pacifica) will be serving lunch at this annual event. See the link below for details on the menu being offered ($10).
This year's ScoutZone will be at the Sunday Streets in the Excelsior District (along Mission St) on Sunday, October 19. We'll have another great event, and it's a fantastic time to recruit new scouts into your unit! Each Pack, Troop, Ship, Post, Crew and Club is invited to host a fun activity. Your Unit Commissioner (or me, Paul Lanzi, if you don't have an assigned UC) will be in touch with additional details.
Are you and your troop ready to test your map reading and problem-solving abilities? Are you ready to pass the map and compass requirements for First Class, Second Class, or the Orienteering merit badge? The Bay Area Orienteering Club is pleased to offer the thirty-first annual Scout-O, a cross-country map and compass adventure designed to test the map reading ability, compass skills and backwoods savvy of any troop or pack, regardless of size or experience.
Registration is first-come-first-served and there will be a cap on the number of attendees!
Warriors Scout Nights - Tickets Now Available for Purchase
Friday November 21 & Sunday February 22
Scout Day #1: Friday, November 21st Vs. the Portland Trailblazers
Scout Day #2: Sunday, February 22nd Vs. the Denver Nuggets
Below is the link that will allow you to purchase tickets at the Group rate with no fees or taxes. If you are looking to secure 10 or more tickets, or are looking to book a Fan Experience Program, please contact Andrew Sheets directly so he can assist with seating your group together.
Tickets will move quickly, so please secure yours as soon as possible:
Game Details: Scouts Day #1
Date: Friday, November 21st
Opponent: Portland Trailblazers
Ticket Prices:
Upper Level: $90- $100 Per Ticket
Cache Creek Club (Sections 126-129): $155 Per Ticket
Did you know that we now have the ability to do recruiting events (including Join Nights) at select SFUSD schools? We do! Plan your Fall Recruiting activities now!
Friday October 24 - Saturday October 25 @ Camp Chesebrough
Come join us for our annual Halloween campout where participants get to make their own spooky area, trick-or-treat down the haunted nature trail, carve pumpkins, and participate in traditional scout activities with a spooky twist!
Archery, Air-powered BB guns, slingshots- Get out on the range and practice your target skills!
Arts & Crafts – Pumpkin carving, costume decoration, & more!
Scout Skills – Learn things that help you care of yourself and others like knots!
Fishing – Catch a fish, identify fish, and tie a fishing knot!
Games – Plenty of tricks to be learned while playing games!
Daily Flag Ceremonies – Learn about the US flag ceremony and ceremonies!
Cracker Barrel – Come have fun themed snacks and socialize with folks in your optional costume!
Trick or Treat! – Explore the haunted nature trail and discover some enjoyable treats along the way.
Mountain Rendezvous (including black powder shooting)
Friday September 26 - Sunday September 28 @ Camp Hi Sierra
Where else can you shoot black powder rifles, throw tomahawks and knives, and learn to live in the mountains?!
This is a 1840s event emphasizing the lifestyle of the old trapper days for Scouts BSA Troops and Crews. The time is set from 1825 - 1840 when the first Rendezvous was held. So, if you can, please dress, camp and eat as in the 1800. Think of this as a Camporee in the frontier! Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind event. Your scouts will be transported to a different time for an amazing experience and learn period-oriented skills.
Golden Gate District: Senior Youth Leader Roundtable
Thursday September 25 @ Ocean Beach
This event is designed specifically for SPLs, ASPLs, and other senior youth leaders in our district. 6:30 to 9:00 PM at Ocean Beach. It will be a fun and engaging evening featuring:
Dinner, snacks, and s’mores
A flip chart overview of the Patrol Method
Discussion on troop leadership challenges and ideas
An adult leader talk on mentorship
Summer activities overview
SYL bonding
Please forward this information to your SPLs, ASPLs and other senior youth leaders in Troops, Ships, Posts and Crews.
Service Opportunity: Excelsior Community Food Pantry
Every Saturday morning @ SF Campus for Jewish Living (302 Silver Ave, SF)
We distribute free groceries to registered participants every Saturday morning (10:15 AM - 12:30 PM) in the parking lot at the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living (302 Silver Avenue). We do not require advance sign-ups, and welcome volunteers of all ages (including supervised children). If you ever find yourself with a free Saturday, please consider volunteering with us—even just one time will help.
National Jamboree 2026 - Learn about the Sustainability Treehouse
October 14, 7-8pm @ San Francisco County Fair Building (Golden Gate Park)
Get a behind the scenes look at what went into designing the Sustainability Treehouse.
This summer, tens of thousands of Scouts will make their way to Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia for the National Jamboree. One of that High Adventure Base’s most popular experiences is the Sustainability Treehouse, a net-zero building that is entirely powered and cleaned by the wind, sun and rain. It’s a feat of sustainable engineering, brought to life by engaging, hands-on exhibits that let visitors interact with the building’s many systems.
Those exhibits were created by the San Francisco design firm Volume (the creative masterminds behind many of your favorite California Academy of Sciences exhibits too!).
We’re excited to welcome them to Troop 333's meeting on Tuesday, October 14 for a design presentation and Q&A.
Registered Scouts and Scouters from any unit are invited to attend. This is a free event.
Sunday, October 19 - Scout Zone @ Excelsior Sunday Streets
Tuesday, October 21 - Roundtable (in person) @ West Portal Lutheran
Sunday, October 26 - Bay Area Orienteering Championships "Scout-O" (all ages)
Saturday, November 8 - Scouting for Food: Door Hangers
Tuesday, November 11 - Annual District Business Meeting
Friday, November 21 - Warriors Scout Night #1
Key 3 Corner
Featured this month: District Commissioner Paul Lanzi
Last weekend was the first weekend of Wood Badge Course 3-23-25, our (one and only!) GGAC 2025 course. I was so proud to have 5 adult leaders from Golden Gate District in attendance -- each seeking to get something personal and unique out of Wood Badge, and all of them together for fun and fellowship among the beauty of Camp Herms. (If you don't know already, Wood Badge is advanced scout training for adult leaders -- with a lot of fun mixed in.)
One of my favorite moments of the weekend was the second night's campfire program. On the first night, the staff of Wood Badge run a campfire program, and on the second night the adult participants get a chance to run their own campfire program. The second's night program was easily among the top 3 best campfire programs I've ever been to -- it had songs, it had dancing, it had run-on skits, it had stories -- everything! I found myself belly-laughing on more than one occasion, and as the fire started to die down and turn into coals, I found myself wishing the campfire could go on just a little longer.
It was a great reminder that, while Scouting is and should be foremost about our scouts, Scouting is also an opportunity for us -- adults -- to make friends and have fun. In a world where it's hard to make new adult friends, I find scouting to be a rich source of connection -- and I am deeply thankful for that. At the end of every meeting, I tell my Commissioner Corps members how thankful I am for their volunteerism, and for the opportunity to get to spend the time with them. The gratitude is genuine, just like the belly laughs!
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