Find your groove at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, through October 26

April 29, 2008

From May 3 - October 26, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens come alive with music, dance, and theater. Free and open to the public, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival features more than 100 events, including classical, jazz, and world music concerts, theater performances, traditional and contemporary dance exhibitions, spoken word and poetry readings, and children’s programs.

Several distinct series run during the festival’s four-month span, including Music in the Gardens 101, a series of narrated programs that provide a unique opportunity to hear firsthand from musicians about their music and sources of inspiration. The Lunchtime Series, which happens many Thursdays afternoons from 12:30-1:30 p.m., offers a musical lunch break to brown-bagging downtown workers and students, while the Children’s Series offers interactive performances specially designed for kids and families on Fridays and Saturdays in the Children’s Garden.

The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival also plays host to some of San Francisco’s larger events, such as Merola’s Schwabacher Summer Concert (July 7), where artists from the acclaimed Merola Opera Program perform semi-staged, extended excerpts from opera favorites, and the San Francisco Theater Festival (July 27), a day full of short performances on multiple stages by over 50 theater companies and solo artists.

Musical highlights this year include the festival kick-off event with Rupa and the April Fishes, plus the Brass Menazeri (May 3), blacKMahal (June 28), Tom Rigney and Flambeau (August 23), Brazilian Percussion Celebration (August 31), John Handy and The Bay Area Melding Pot (September 6), and Latin Jazz All Stars: Tribute to Hilton Ruiz (October 5).

You can see the full schedule of events on the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival website.