The Marin Human Race is the largest collaborative fundraiser in Marin. Run, walk, or roll a mostly flat, looping 5K course and
raise money for Marin nonprofits and schools. There will be live music from over a dozen local bands, free refreshments, kids races and a Community Fair featuring local green businesses and organizations. There’s no cost to enjoy the day’s festivities or to volunteer. Kids (under 12) can race for free: Runners (over 18) are $20: Youth runners (13-17) are $10.

Registration 7am. Race begins 8:30 am.

PRODUCED BY The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin.
CONTACT
(415) 479-5710 or visit our website at www.marinhumanrace.org

If you like to hike, bike, or ride and enjoy well maintained trails, think about becoming a trail maintenance volunteer. Join us at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness on May 10th from 8:30 to 1:30 for a trail maintenance day. Typical tasks for the volunteers include installation of drainage structures, pruning, trail tread maintenance, and installation of special trail structures such as retaining walls, bridges, and causeways.

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Peralta Hacienda Historical Park ’s Native Plant Garden has been selected to join the 2008 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour! On Sunday, May 4, Peralta Hacienda will host self-guided tours of its one-acre, pesticide-free Native Plant Garden that conserves water, and provides habitat for wildlife. Local native plant specialists will lead fun and educational hands-on activities. Use Ceanothus flowers to wash your hands, learn to grind acorns, squeeze your own lemonade, and watch a soaproot brush demonstration! Docent-led historical tours of the site take place at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. Fun for everyone in the family.
Please email info@peraltahacienda.org or call 510-532-9142 for more information.

The “Free Palestine Peace and Solidarity Festival” is day of resistance music, youth and cultural programs, nakba tents, art and artists in rememberance of the 60th anniversary of Israel.  Meet survivors from 1948, while listening to Palestinian and Native American elders recount their experiences. Childcare will be provided on-site. Live music forom DAM, featuring Abeer–Palestinian Hip-Hop crew from Lid. Special performances by: Boots Riley (pictured), NaR, Mamaz, Kiwi, Politikal Heat, Rithmatik & Patriarch, and DJ Emancipacion - with MC’s: Noura Erakat and Maysoon Ziyad. (more…)

Direct from Venezuela! With a repertoire that covers the coastal country’s history from its pre-Hispanic and African roots to today’s popular rhythms and dance forms, Los Vasallos del Sol delivers a high-energy performance with contagious beats that will have you jump to your feet and dance!

The Bay Area’s dynamic Venezuelan Music Project, led by Jackie Rago, combines indigenous-Venezuelan, West African and Spanish-European influences. Please visit the Venezuelan Music Project’s website for more information.

Over 30,000 are expected for this annual music festival and fireworks show which takes place at Pier 30/32 (just south of the Bay Bridge). The 2008 ‘KFOG KaBoom!’ features live music from legendary East LA rockers Los Lobos, the bittersweet but groovy post-grunge rockers Collective Soul, and impressive 12-string guitar player and pop songwriter Matt Nathanson. There’s lots of food & drink stalls, and tons of events for families. It’s all capped off at 9pm with the state’s biggest fireworks display over the SF Bay exploding synchronized to music broadcast on KFOG (104.5 FM), so bring a radio. Is seven-and-a-half tons of explosives enough for you? (more…)

Dr. Nate Lewis’ talk will look at the challenge of capturing solar energy and storing it as an affordable transportation fuel - all on a scale necessary to reduce global warming. Overcoming this challenge will require developing new materials that can use abundant and inexpensive elements rather than costly and rare materials. Please join us to learn more about the promise of new materials in thedevelopment of carbon-free alternatives to fossil fuel.

Join Park Ranger Bill Cope and view “The Thin Green Line”- an excellent film about Park Rangers around the world, “the keepers and protectors of our national parks.” Also featuring a brief discussion with international park rangers from Costa Rica, Chile, Bolivia, Panama and Ecuador. Discover how we all have very much in common and have the same problems and budget, manpower issues even on different continents

Volunteers will cheer you on at 25 Energizer Stations around San Francisco. Stop by one of the stations (some are during morning, some are in afternoon) to load up on free coffee, snacks, and convenient tote bags for future commutes. We’ll also be passing out info about how you can get involved in making San Francisco a better bicycling city. The SF Guardian Bike to Work Station will be on Fell and Masonic where from 5-7pm we will be handing out SFBC bags of goodies. Enjoy blinkylights, Jetset energy drink, Kristin’s cupcakes and other fabulous give aways.

On May 15th, San Francisco’s only outdoor – and mic-less – open mic celebrates its fifth year anniversary. For the past five years poets, musicians, MC’s, comedians and a wide variety of performing artists have taken over the southwest corner of 16th & Mission every Thursday night. The event starts at 9pm and continues until midnight

ING Greater Body Expo is Official Race Headquarters for the ING Bay to Breakers. It is free and open to the public and a premiere 2-day health and fitness event with interactive displays, free samples and prizes, and great bargains on apparel and fitness gear. Expo is also the final chance for registered runners to pick up their race packets and timing chips. Late registration is also available for those who want to sign-up at the last minute 2008 Exhibitors include adidas, ASICS, BlackBerry, Crocs, Garmin, Home Depot, Naked Juice, Nature Made Vitamins, Nike/Lombardi Sports, Polar, Reebok, Southwest Airlines and many more.

The Artists Guild of San Francisco is the oldest outdoor art collective in the country. Its mission is twofold: first, to bring art and artists into the community for public interaction and education; and secondly, to help artists sustain themselves with art as a full-time career.

Composer/pianist Jon Jang’s musical language re-contextualizes Chinese folk songs within a contemporary music framework, a metaphor for the changing face of Chinese America. Unbound Chinatown pays homage to Alice Fong Yu, the first Chinese American teacher hired by the San Francisco School District. With his stellar ensemble, including saxophonist Francis Wong and trombonist/music director Wayne Wallace, and guest vocalist Min Xiao Fen, Jang paints musical portraits of Yu’s life as a community and political leader during the 1930s.

Bring your tortillas (stale preferred), your costumed, your naked and your beer and participate in one of the largest races in America, and also one of the most strange and “San Francentric.” The Third Sunday in May sees this crown jewel of SF events with over 70,000 race/walk/stroll 7.46 miles from Bay (Howard/Beale) to Breakers (the western end of Golden Gate Park) in a costumed mass of people. Be prepared to see 1,000 ridiculous costumes, lots of naked people and the tired “salmon” swimming against the tide of racers. Although you’re supposed to register and pay $48-$59 to race, but many people just show up and race anyway. We won’t tell anyone.

The annual Bay-to-Breakers race ends with the traditional music and free goodies festival known as “footstock” in the polo fields in Golden Gate Park. This event is free and open to the public, though some of the freebies may only be available to official racers. Awards ceremony at 10am, Live music from The Last Goodnight (12:30p) and The Crazies will Destroy You (10:45a). They’ll have the results of the costume contest (noon), plus lots of food, beer gardens

The fifty performers of Gamelan Sekar Jaya, the Bay Area’s acclaimed gamelan ensemble, present the driving rhythms and refined dances of Bali in this beautiful garden setting. Led by one of Bali’s most brilliant artists, I Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana (guest music director), Sekar Jaya will feature two large percussion ensembles: the 25-player orchestra of bronze gongs, metallophones, and drums called a gamelan gong kebyar, and the ensemble of giant bamboo marimbas, gamelan jegog. The outdoor setup reflects the open-air settings used in traditional Balinese contexts, where groups often play within or in front of temple courtyards. The audience is welcomed to view the performance from various perspectives, to enjoy the complex interlocking rhythms and virtuosic ensemble sensibility of Balinese gamelan and the myriad expressions and delicate movements of Balinese dance.

The Mo’Rockin Project is a brotherhood of kindred North African and jazz musicians traversing the inner experience of the human soul. Handcrafted from traditional Moroccan melodies, and with striking musicianship, salient vision, and immeasurable spirit, the music is alluring, lyrical, creative, funky, spirited and spiritual.

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.