Marcy Coburn of Pier 70 (S4E20P2)

Storied: San Francisco

In this episode, Marcy picks up where she left off in Part 1. She came out to friends on a walk across the country, but then, when she returned to California, had to go through that process again with her parents. Turns out her mother had "met someone" too. Her dad didn't take the news so well.

Marcy made the move to San Francisco in 1994. She talks about what we now call the LGBTQ community in the Mission back then, and how special a time it was.

She left for the East Coast, where she lived briefly. But, because it was a much different place back then, was easily able to move back to The City.

Marcy ended up directing the Eat Real Food Festival in Oakland for a while, as well as other food and agriculture gigs. Then she ended up at CUESA, which runs the farmer's markets at the Ferry Building here in San Francisco. It was there that Marcy began to work on establishing "third places," which start with food and agriculture but go beyond that to create full experiences that are memorable and important. She levied her work with CUESA to get involved at Pier 70.

​Shortly after joining Pier 70, lockdown happened. But Marcy is excited to be with them nonetheless.

As she talks about in the podcast, Pier 70 is a project that honors San Francisco's industrial and maritime history while also creating spaces for artists and makers and looking toward a more inclusive future.

​We end the podcast with Marcy talking about the potential for what's next here in San Francisco.

We recorded this podcast at Pier 70 in June 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather