The Seminole Club of San Francisco has quite the weekend planned for Seminole fans coming out to the Bay Area for Florida State’s game at Stanford and apparently many are making the trip as tickets to these events have sold fast.
We’re looking forward to seeing Osceola readers at these events and, if you haven’t booked yet, we encourage you to do so now at TallytoCali.com while space remains.
“Tally to Cali is not just a catchy slogan, it is who we are. We have poured the spirit of Tallahassee into the Bay Area, creating a home for incoming Noles and visitors alike,” said Jessica Rice, the San Francisco Seminole Club President.
Originally from Northern Virginia, Rice became a Seminoles fan “thanks to a happy accident.”
Her grandmother once bought her a Florida State hat, mistaking it for a Washington Redskins hat. “From that moment on, I was hooked,” Rice said. “I spent my high school years in Southwest Florida (Punta Gorda) before graduating from Florida State University in 2008 with a degree in Sociology.”
Shortly after moving to Hawaii that same year, Rice founded the Honolulu Seminole Club, whose biggest obstacle was noon games, which kicked off at 6 am Honolulu time.
She’s called San Francisco home since 2013, arriving from Australia just in time to witness the Seminoles’ National Championship win.
Rice serves as the Global Events Manager for The INKEY List, a UK-based skincare brand, so she’s no stranger to event management.
Here’s the San Francisco Itinerary (Found at Tallytocali.com)
Thurs. Oct. 16: Welcome to the City Happy Hour
Hosted at the club’s home base Bartlett Hall Brewery from 4 pm to 7 pm.
FSU volleyball vs. Stanford on the Palo Alto campus at 7 pm.
Friday Oct. 17: Garnet and Golden Gate Cruise
Kickoff Party; San Francisco Pier 43 ½, 5:30-7:30 PM
Watch the sun melt into the Pacific surrounded by a boat load of Seminoles… Multiple bars, live DJ, photo booth, non-stop views of Alcatraz, Angel Island, the Marin Headlands, and the Golden Gate bridge as the sky turns gold and the sun sinkes below the horizon. Tickets $70.
Saturday Oct. 18: SF Gameday Party
Bartlett Hall, San Francisco 1-3:30 p.m. Silicon Valley Spear It Shuttle
Roundtrip SF to Stanford
Bus leaves Bartlett Hall at 3:30 PM (SOLD OUT)
Tally to Cali Tailgate
A Tally-style tailgate with Cali flair
Stanford Campus Uleand Field, 5-7 p.m.
All-inclusive game day celebration that blends Seminole spirit with the vibrant flavors of Northern California. Inspired by the culinary diversity of San Francisco, we’ve curated a menu that brings the city’s iconic neighborhoods — and their signature bites — straight to your tailgate for the ultimate Tally to Cali experience.
North Beach – Savor the classic taste of Huria's Woodfired Pizzas, with their signature brick oven Pizza Napoletana, freshly made on-site and fired to perfection.
The Mission – Experience bold, flavorful tacos from El Último Baile, where Chef Dominic Prado serves up perfectly cooked meats that even visiting pro sports teams rave about.
The Embarcadero – Treat yourself to Hog Island Oysters, harvested fresh from the coast and delivered straight to our tailgate, then shucked live by the legendary Hog Island Shuckmasters.
Napa Valley - Our bartenders will be pouring a selection of local Northern California craft beers, ciders and wines, perfect for a pre-game toast. Prefer something non-alcoholic? Enjoy sodas, sparkling waters, and local non-alcoholic craft beers — there’s something for everyone.
The tailgate is located just minutes from the stadium, right where the FSU football team is dropped off, this tailgate puts you in the heart of the action as excitement builds for the big game. Get your tickets
Labor of love
The logistics of these events become a full/part time job for the club leadership as they leverage their local area knowledge with event planning skills.
“We rented a massive boat for golden hour on the Bay. Hundreds of Seminoles from across the U.S. will join us as we sail beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, the SF skyline glowing in the background, and the Warchant echoing across the water at sunset,” Rice said.
Saturday’s Tally to Cali Tailgate is on campus the same day as Stanford’s homecoming.
“Stanford may not be known for tailgating, but Seminoles are, so we secured a prime spot next to the stadium,” Rice said. “This tailgate will combine a Tallahassee tradition with the best of the Bay. Expect slow-cooked street tacos from a well-known Oakland chef, fresh wood-fired pizzas cooked on site to perfection and Hog Island oysters, fresh from the coast and shucked throughout the party.”
The Apalachicola-oyster-eating Seminoles will be lined up to see how the Pacific coast bivalves compare to the Gulf Coast variety. Don’t be surprised if you see Seminoles with a bottle of Crystal and saltine crackers, just in case they don’t know the secret sauce out yonder.
“To top it off, we will have a curated lineup of Northern California craft beers and wines,” Rice said. “With Seminoles traveling in from around the country, it will be a true celebration of who we are—rooted in Tallahassee pride and reimagined through Northern California flavor.”
Props to the club as it takes strong relationships to host a tailgate on an opponent’s campus, let alone on Homecoming. To organize one withing walking distance of the stadium requires knowing the right people. Crafting an ambitious taste-of-SFO menu isn’t standard fare with catering companies. That takes individual effort, local club members leveraging relationships with restaurateurs and exhaustive follow through to execute.
“Planning our events has been surreal,” Rice said. “And this October we are thrilled to showcase our San Francisco community for the wider Seminole Nation.”
“Even in the ‘new ACC territory,’ we have embraced our role as the welcoming committee for Seminoles out west,” Rice said. “From cheering on our men’s and women’s basketball teams to supporting softball and baseball, even traveling up to Corvallis to unite Noles for the Super Regionals, we have proven that the Seminole spirit runs strong in the Golden State. We may be new to the hosting gig, but we take our job seriously: making California feel a little more like Tallahassee for everyone who visits while sharing a little of this place we now call home.”
The Seminole Club network consists of 60 clubs and chapters throughout the country, who serve as the village fire keepers for the university and for FSU sports, keeping the university’s garnet and gold flames glowing. A complete list of clubs can be found at the FSU Alumni Association's site.
Done right, Seminole Clubs are a year-round home away from home for Seminole fans, players and coaches and foster a special spirit you don’t find in Tallahassee, where it’s easy to take the university for granted.
Before the season began, the Seminole Club of Polk County asked me to speak at their kickoff party and I was met by a group hungry for news about the Noles. Just last week, the Washington, D.C., Club organized a bus trip and tailgate on the Virginia campus, and it quickly sold out.
And on Oct. 15, on the way to San Francisco, I’ll join the Seminole Club Of the Rockies at their Downtown Denver Game Watch Location, Tony's Tenderonis, located at 1937 Market Street. 6 p.m. to 7:30 or 8 p.m.
These gatherings, run by volunteers, are a labor of love and provide local alumni a chance to network in their new homes, provide fans a welcoming experience, and make a long road trip feel like home to the players, coaches and their families.
“The further we have moved from Tallahassee, the more vital our connection with fellow Noles has become,” said Rice. “Out here, it is not just about geography, it is about building a true family of Seminoles in San Francisco. That shared bond so far from home transforms strangers into friends, and friends into family."
Many of the San Fran Seminole Club members work in tech, including Vice President Michael Lucas and Secretary Luis Rizo, who both work at Google, while Treasurer Eric Wind works in finance.
“It’s a board that’s pretty quintessential — and maybe even a little cliché — for San Francisco, where startups, spreadsheets, and software engineers are part of everyday life,” Rice said.
Together they’ve cheered promotions, toasted proposals, celebrated weddings and welcomed baby ‘Noles.
“It has always been about more than sports,” Rice said. “It is about the powerful connection of being a Seminole that ties us together. We carry our pride in being Seminoles, and we carry our pride in being San Franciscans.”
The Parents Are Coming
The club loves to help the players parents have fun when they travel west.
“A lot of the baseball parents came out to Corvalis, Oregon for the NCAA Super Regional so a lot of them came to NAPA Valley and then on to Corvallis,” she said.
The SFO Seminole Club travelled to see the Seminoles’ softball team play at Cal and St. Mary’s in April. They participated in making the experience better for the team, too.
“When Micheala (Edenfield) hit her 51st home run she hit it into some bushes over the fence and we knew she would want that ball, so we all had to look for it,” Rice said, describing SFO members trudging around in thigh-high brush. “Michaela was engaging with our members and painted her face with our SFO logo.”
Moments like these are fun for the club members – memorable moments – where alumni, interact with the person, not the player, moments that make a positive impression on fans and a lasting memory for the student-athletes and coaches.
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