Jorge Kageyama was enjoying a picnic with friends at Golden Gate Park when the world suddenly stopped.
It was 1:25 p.m. on Saturday when time froze for about 100 people scattered throughout the gardens of the Conservatory of Flowers.
Some were suspended mid-motion while playing catch with a dog, some were drinking water, and one person was on bended knee in the middle of a marriage proposal.
“I have seen this before,” Kageyama, 36, from Mexico, remembered thinking.
Some years back, he had been at Grand Central Station in New York when another group of people froze, emphasizing the routine scenes people pass on a daily basis.
The freeze flashmob, put on by San Francisco community group PURSUIT, was inspired by the New York freeze staged by Improv Everywhere.
PURSUIT organizers Riley Walz and Shreyas Parab came up with the idea after holding a popular scavenger hunt a few months ago.
They were left with hundreds of phone numbers of people who participated and sent a text blast about a freeze-in-place flashmob. They picked what they thought would be the most crowded place in San Francisco.
“Once a couple minutes passed, I felt like, ‘Oh, this is life now. I’m just going to hold my hands up and pretend to catch this frisbee for eternity now,’” Matthew Siu, a friend of Walz, said.
Participants congregated beforehand to practice, but most of the poses were improvised.
“It’s fun for us participating; it’s fun for those watching,” said Walz, a computer engineer from upstate New York. “It’s just a fun thing to do in SF.”
“I appreciate when fun and silly things happen in the city and make people smile,” agreed Panhandle resident Jenna Birkmeyer, 31.
“I feel like these events are fundraised to bring parts of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area together,” Siu added. “Every time I come to one of these, I run into people that I know from different walks of life. It’s an opportunity to catch up with people. It’s always a good time.”