Events

Asian Heritage Night with the Pacifics Baseball Game

Published

7 years ago

August 2, 2019

The Asian American Alliance of Marin (AAAM) is inviting the public to watch the San Rafael Pacific play against the Vallejo Admirals on 6:30 p.m., Friday August 9 at Albert Park, 155 Andersen Drive in downtown San Rafael. The gates will open at 5:30 p.m.

This will be the San Rafael Pacifics’ first Asian Heritage Night. Sonoma County Taiko will be performing.

A single game ticket is $15. Enter promo code AAAM and all fans will receive $3 off any general admission ticket! In addition, the Pacifics will donate half of the proceeds to AAAM for every ticket sold.

The Pacifics was created by major league baseball executive Mike Shapiro and investor Brian Clark in 2011 to play in the North American League. The Pacifics then won the championship in 2012.

Eugene Lupario and Shapiro, along with Steve Allen, Lupario’s business partner, bought out Pacifics’ majority owner Brian Clark to make the Pacifics a primarily Marin-owned group.

The new owner, Redwood Sports and Entertainment, created the current league, the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, an independent professional baseball circuit not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Napa Silverados, Salinas Stockade, Sonoma Stompers, and the Vallejo Admirals also play in the league.

Sharpiro, Clark, co-owners Lupario and Allen, proposed to the City of San Rafael that Albert Field could be transformed into a minor league ballpark, and that San Rafael and the entire Marin County community would benefit from having a minor league baseball team as a part of its social fabric.

The proposal was unanimously approved by San Rafael’s Parks and Recreation department and then twice approved by the City Council.

On June 4, 2012, before a sold-out crowd at Albert Park, the first pitch was thrown and the San Rafael Pacifics were launched. The Pacifics won the 2012 North American League championship in its inaugural season.

In 2013, the Pacifics posted a league-best regular season record of 54-21 (.720), and won the newly formed Pacific Association’s Division Championship. They also won in 2014, 2015, and 2018.

In 2017, the Pacifics drew over 18,000 fans over their 39-game schedule, averaging over 450 fans per game played at Albert Park in downtown San Rafael.

Attorney Leslie Lava joined the San Rafael Pacifics Ownership Group.

The Pacifics, beginning in their seventh year in operation in 2018, were the league’s most successful team, having won three championships in the league’s first six years and each year supported by the league’s highest attendance.

The Pacifics established themselves in the local community for their engaging and unique family-oriented fan experience at their games, and for their commitment to community service; and was awarded in San Rafael’s 2015 “Large Business of the Year,” the 2015 “Spirit of Marin,” and as the 2017 Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s “Business Diversity Award” winner.

The Pacifics also reaches out to the community through school, senior center and hospital appearances, fund-raisers and awareness campaigns, and baseball clinic and equipment programs for economically disadvantaged kids.

In August 2018, the team was put up for sale, and in 2019, was sold to Gabriel Suarez who was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 2004. He retired in 2013 and began owning and operating minor league franchises.

Suarez hopes to continue with the success of the Pacifics. “I want people to remember the Pacifics. I want them to remember the team and what’s (on the field),” Suarez told the Marin IJ. “I want them … to think ‘The Pacifics were an awesome part of that, an awesome part of our trip here’ or ‘an awesome part of community’ if they live here.”

Godfrey Lee

Posts by Godfrey Lee

Activism

Agricultural Engineer Effie Gant Plans Bay Area Farmers Market Initiative

Published

7 days ago

July 18, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Agricultural Engineer Effie Gant displays watermelons from her Sacramento farm at the Temescal Festival in Oakland. Photo by Carla Thomas.

In her 80s and still actively working as an agricultural engineer, Effie Gant continues to break barriers in urban farming and community leadership.

The certified USDA grower and respected urban farmer, based in South Sacramento, was recently spotted vending at the Freedom Farmers’ Market by the Temescal Street Fair on Saturday, July 11, where she proudly displayed dozens of sweet, juicy watermelons.

Festivalgoers gathered not only to purchase her produce but also to enjoy activities like the popular watermelon-eating contest. Yet beyond the festive atmosphere, Gant has a larger vision.

Gant is now setting her sights on the Bay Area, where she plans to launch a farmers’ market to increase access to fresh, locally grown food.

Known for her leadership in sustainable agriculture and food justice, she brings decades of hands-on experience and community advocacy to regions where food access remains inconsistent.

She has built a strong reputation through her work with Meadowview Urban Farm and the Yisrael Family Urban Farm, cultivating crops such as watermelons, honeydew melons, and collard greens. Her approach emphasizes sustainability, education, and empowering residents to grow their own food, even in small urban spaces.

As a USDA-certified grower, Gant blends technical expertise with grassroots engagement to combat food insecurity.

Beyond farming, Gant serves as CEO and President of Highways to Hedges, a nonprofit focused on environmental justice and community development. She is also president of the Hampton Station Neighborhood Association and board chairman for HHCORE, where she advocates for safety, equity, and economic opportunity.

Her proposed farmers market will connect small-scale farmers with urban communities while elevating Black farmers and other underrepresented growers.

“I want to teach the next generation about farming and how lucrative it can be,” Gant said. “You don’t need hundreds of acres. You can start with one acre or even your backyard.”Gant also noted her involvement in a collective of farmers who supply produce through government-supported programs.

“We operate as a team, and we all benefit,” she said.

Through workshops, speaking engagements, and hands-on training, Gant and her organization continue to educate communities about agriculture and food justice. Her market initiative will emphasize affordability, cultural relevance, and nutrition education.

Her broader work includes creating edible forests in partnership with Soil Born Farms, planting fruit trees directly in neighborhoods to expand food access. As a mentor with the Center of Expertise on Food Justice and Health Equity, Gant remains a leading voice in building sustainable and resilient food systems.

Gant says she welcomes the community to join her in creating a new farmer’s market.

“Farming is essential to life,” she said. “I want to train as many people as I can to use food and farming as a tool for empowerment, health, and long-term change.”