The Organization of Special needs hosts it’s 4th annual festival for people of all walks (or wheels) of life. May 17th is filled with fun activities. Flag raising ceremony, a special parade, a special soccer tournament, children’s arts/crafts/music and face painting activities, inflatable games like Bounce House, Giant Slide and Obstacle Field, children’s books give away, live community multi-cultural stage performance, over 40 FREE community service exhibits and Health & Nutrition service exhibits, and a one day Youth Leadership Conference. The festival will also prepare an international food court and outdoor music concert,
plus the carnival must have — icy, cotton candy, pop corn, and colorful balloons for children.

Walkable Castro Street will be transformed into a resplendent sea of people and colorful tents for the 12th Annual presentation of A La Carte & Art; a vibrant, multiethnic celebration of the arts. The open-air festival will feature two full days of attractions with live music (rock/jazz/world beat), a juried art show with 250 craftspeople exhibiting their latest wares, festive food, and drink with premium wines, microbrews and margaritas, a farmers’ market with fresh seasonal produce, the popular chefs’ demonstration tent, a variety of amusements for kids and free facials, hand massages and mini-makeovers from Burt’s Bees and Maybelline brand ambassadors.

The 2008 “Film Night in the Park” series kicks off with the 1936 classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Bring a blanket and a picnic to Dolores Park in the Mission District of San Francisco  and enjoy a film under the stars with 500 of your closest friends. This year’s film series runs from May to October and takes place at nine different parks all over the bay area. $6 suggested donation to keep this great series afloat, but it can be free if you’re too cheap. Complete 2008 Film Night in the Park Scheulce

Do you have a Striptease God or Goddess inside you just bursting to get out? Come and practice putting on those bedroom eyes, channeling your seductive self, and learn the art of the tease! You don’t have to be a trained ballerina to entrap the attention of your lover, it’s all in the attitude. Join local burlesque performer and Lusty Lady dancer, Tricksie Treat, in this fun and active workshop! All genders welcome! Come alone, or bring a friend! Held in the Polk Street Gallery for added privacy.

Good Vibrations and Upper Playground are proud to present a new vibrator, “Barry the Beaver”, designed by local celebrity artist Jeremy Fisher. Come by, meet the artist and have him sign your vibe. This limited edition vibrator is already a collector’s item, so be sure to get yours before they’re gone! Visit http://www.vinylpulse.com/2008/02/jeremy-fish—b.html for a sneak peek.

The free 5th annual Berkeley World Music Festival is a cultural program that offers over two dozen continuous musical performances throughout the Telegraph Avenue district, in cafes, street corners, and in People’s Park, plus a craft bazaar at People’s Park. Bands include Dengue Fever (Cambodian Pop/Psychedelic Rock), Sila and the AfroFunk Experience (Africa’s James Brown),  SambaDá (Brazilian Samba Afro Funk) plus Pakistani, Didjeridu Fusion,Cajun Dance Music, Ukrainian & Eastern European, Rebetika (Old Time Greek Blues) and more.

Bay Area R&B icon Booker T. Jones and Detroit’s “Great Lady of Soul” Bettye LaVette kick off the Stern Grove Festival’s 71st Season of free Sunday concerts with an afternoon of soul. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. and the MGs) is a legendary figure with an impressive string of hits, including the million-selling “Green Onions.” He has performed as a session musician on some of R&B’s most seminal songs, including “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” (more…)

Get ready for an afternoon of African rhythms in the Grove when Nigeria’s prince of Afrobeat, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, make their San Francisco debut. With blazing horns, unstoppable rhythms, hypnotic dancing, and marathon performances, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 will have the Grove moving. Opening the afternoon will be local group, Sila and the AfroFunk Experience, who know how to get dance floors around the Bay Area in motion with an exhilarating sound and energetic performance.

Since 1938, Stern Grove Festival has been the Bay Area’s home for outstanding performing arts in a beautiful outdoor setting, completely admission-free. Bring a picnic and arrive early as the main garden often fills up by 1pm.

Public Transportation:
Muni buses: 23 and 28, exit at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
Muni Metro: K or M, exit at St. Francis Circle

Stern Grove Festival presents an annual favorite, the renowned San Francisco Symphony, with conductor James Gaffigan. The program includes Verdi’s Overture to La forza del destino, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43 with Orli Shaham on piano, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Opus 36. The Symphony Jazz Sextet will open the afternoon with a short set of works by some of the great jazz legends. (more…)

New Orleans legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Allen Toussaint brings the Big Easy back to the Grove. With a career spanning forty years as a singer, pianist, songwriter, arranger, and producer, Toussaint is one of America’s greatest musical icons and a captivating performer. Opening is Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue who break down traditional jazz rhythms with funk, pop, and hip-hop. (more…)

Rachid Taha combines Algerian rai music with modern rock, punk, and dance. With a rough vocal style and influences ranging from Johnny Cash and Marvin Gaye, to Kraftwerk and Public Enemy, Taha is a formidable talent with an international reputation. Los Angeles-based MC Rai will lead with a trend-setting mix of edgy Arabic grooves and electronica.

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 Internationally acclaimed local dance ensemble Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet will dazzle with a performance of The Moroccan Project and Migration accompanied by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the ensemble Hamideen. The afternoon also features the American premiere pas de deux choreographed by Alonzo King for former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Muriel Maffre and former LINES Ballet dancer Prince Credell. (more…)

Born in the Mission District, Latin Rock was a defining sound of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, melding the rhythms of Latin music with funk, soul, and rock. “Voices of Latin Rock” features veteran performers like Jorge Santana and Gabriel Manzo of Malo, Abel Sanchez of Abel and the Prophets, and trumpeter Bill Ortiz from Santana, among others. Local favorite SambaDá will lead the afternoon with a high-powered concoction of Brazilian beats, samba, funk, reggae, and hip-hop.

Since 1938, Stern Grove Festival has been the Bay Area’s home for outstanding performing arts in a beautiful outdoor setting, completely admission-free. Bring a picnic and arrive early as the main garden often fills up by 1pm.

Public Transportation:
Muni buses: 23 and 28, exit at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
Muni Metro: K or M, exit at St. Francis Circle

Internationally acclaimed Bajofondo, a collective of Argentine and Uruguayan artists blend the drama and passion of tango music with diverse electronic genres ranging from house, trance and trip hop to dub, drum and bass, and more. Opening are New York’s Si*Sé  with their potent mix of Latin rhythms with electronica, soul, and trip hop. (more…)

Escape to the Hawaiian Islands with an all-star line-up performing together for the first time. Performers include Na Leo, the most popular female trio in Hawai’i; guitarist, vocalist, ukulele player and former member of the Ka’au Crater Boys, Ernie Cruz, Jr.; Kaukahi, who toured recently with Jack Johnson; and One Right Turn with Connie Cruz, Tiffa Cruz-Garza, and singer/ukulele player and member of the Opihi Pickers, Imua Garza. (more…)

Stern Grove Festival’s 71^st Season of free Sunday afternoon concerts closes with the renowned San Francisco Opera, featuring an afternoon of highlights and solos from the American opera canon.
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October 3rd - 5th marks the 2008 rendition of one of the coolest music festivals on the planet: San Francisco’s own Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. This flurry of banjos will take place in Golden Gate Park not too long after the inaugural Outside Lands Festival, but here’s the big difference between the two (besides Outside Lands’ distinct lack of banjos) – HSB is FREE. The lineup is still being put together, but confirmed so far are Robert Plant & Allison Krauss ft. T Bone Burnett, Earl Scruggs, Robert Earl Keen, Gogol Bordello and Loudon Wainwright III. Source: The Owl Mag