Blog – Page 10

This is what 10,000 postcards looks like. Actually, that’s less than 10,000. There’s another box in front of me that we cracked open before snapping the photo. And these babies look pretty slick, if I do say so myself 🙂

You could save a tree and look up the YBG Festival schedule online, but there’s something more satisfying about holding a smooth and shiny card in your hands. A card seems so much more official and polite. Our schedule card is our personal invitation to you to meet fascinating artists in the sunny, green outdoors.

The cards will soon be distributed to museums and shops around the YB Gardens. Please pick one up and share it with friends. (C’mon, what sort of friend doesn’t share a FREE invite to shows?!) ~~My lazy legs~~ I love when you drop a small stack for coworkers or a favorite coffee shop.

Dear friends and colleagues,

I am proud of the role Yerba Buena Gardens Festival plays in making San Francisco a culturally vibrant place for artists and audiences, children and adults, residents and visitors.

The 2014 season offers over 90 admission-free programs, including music, theater, circus, dance and poetry. Whether from the Bay Area or well beyond, every one of our artists is tops.

The Festival’s official kick-off is May 4 with ten-time Grammy-winning Latin jazz master Eddie Palmieri and his Salsa Orchestra, and our season takes off from there.

I am especially proud of our commissioning program. As I write, some of our most accomplished composers and choreographers are developing new work for the Festival, some of which is coming to fruition in 2014.

~ Composer John Santos’ The Art of the Descarga for the John Santos Sextet. Featuring renowned timbalero Orestes Vilató, The Art of the Descarga celebrates the Cuban jam sessions popularized among jazz musicians during the bebop heyday of the ‘40s and ‘50s.

~ Circus artists Abigail Munn and David Hunt are creating a brand-new work (still untitled) for Circus Bella, set to an original score by Rob Reich.

Season highlights include the Grammy-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra, African super-group Babá Ken Okulolo & Kotoja, hip-hop classicists Ensemble Mik Nawooj, accordion virtuoso André Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Marcus Cohen & The Congress, Uncommon Time (Kenny Endo, Abhijit Banerjee, and John Santos), the Tiffany Austin Quintet, 2013 Goldie-winners RAWdance, Ukrainian subversive punk-folk quartet DakhaBrakha, vocal ensemble Kitka, Shotgun Wedding Quintet & Associates, Jerry González & The Fort Apache Band, Litquake Nation, Conjunto Karabalí, Grammy-winning Chicano alt-rockers Quetzal, the eagerly awaited Merola Opera’s Schwabacher Summer Concert, Destani Wolf, Les Gwan Jupons, and so much more, including outstanding artists to be announced.

I look forward to seeing you soon! Summer is HERE!

Linda Lucero
Executive/Artistic Director

Prior to our May 4 opening celebration with Eddie Palmieri and his Salsa Orchestra, the Festival co-presents with Dancer’s Group, Eye of Horus, at Jessie Square, April 24, 26, 28, 30, and May 3.

Do jeh! Grazie! Salamat! Mahalo! Merci! Toda! ¡Gracias! Shakkran! Tak! Thank you!

A heartfelt shout out to those generous individuals who give throughout the season – whether $5, $25, $250 or $2,500 – your contributions make our accessible, admission-free programs possible!

A special mention to the kind, mostly anonymous, individuals who give via the audience donation buckets – your generosity is a blessing.

Postcard delivery

A pre-season welcome