The String Cheese Incident has been here in San Francisco doing a number of shows at the Warfield. As a result someone decided to organize a pre-show hooping event in Golden Gate Park and the email she sent out was forwarded on to me. I may or may not be a String Cheese fan (I've actually never heard their music), but I decided to show up and share the joy of hooping. The woman who organized the event never made it, but about a dozen of us were there. It turned out that my new best friends, Missy and Michele, were also promoting their hooping group called BAH - Bay Area Hoopers - and that this was, in essence, their first event. I laughed and told them that I had been a part of starting BAH - also called Bay Area Hoopers, and that we have been hooping every weekend in and around San Francisco for a few months now. The end result: BAH and BAH will merge to form a new hoop group called, you guessed it, BAH. We're very excited about it!

There are a few differences between them and us though. Their hooping history has up until this point been focused on smaller, or more traditional hoops while we're into larger, oversized ones. They also play a real mix of music. I expected to listen to String Cheese, but instead we listened to The Cramps, Chris and Cosey, I think some reggae. The original BAH is driven primarily by trance and breaks. Making an appearance today also was Natalie who found us as a result of this website.

I have little doubt that BAH and BAH will be happy as BAH and that much hooping will come to the Bay as a result. If you're in the Bay Area and you want to join us for some hooping, keep your eye on the calendar page for upcoming events.