What’s Going On?

The Fillmore Jazz Festival took to the streets once again in an awesome display of color, sound, and flavor. This year the festival brought in record numbers of people to the streets to take part in some of San Francisco’s best entertainment festivals of all time. The Fillmore Jazz Festival is something that always strikes it rich for me because my love of music is great. To be able to come and listen to live music and all different types of Jazz makes one feel like they are a kid in a candy store.

This year there were 3 large stages for performers as well as a smaller stage at Fillmore and Jackson St. In total there were 4. Throughout the festival there were scattered freelance musicians that played everywhere and anywhere. Some played on the sidewalks, some on the street, and some in restaurants and others indoor venues.

Having the festival on the July 4th weekend seemed to be a nightmare because everyone and their families and friends came out in full force to take part in free music and the opportunity to buy some great food and beverage, as well as, arts and crafts and other gadgets and gizmos. Being able to navigate Fillmore Street seemed to be a nightmare; just imagine how hard it would be to find local parking around the area. It is virtually impossible to find something close to the festival, let alone something within half a mile away. Public Transit or Taxis are highly suggested.

The festival ran from 10am - 6pm. The festival kept a good attendance throughout the whole weekend. The festival also scheduled some awesome bands that played anything from Classical Jazz to Swing Jazz. The variety was remarkable and not to mention the bands that played on their own will off stage. My favorite band to see every year has to be Groove8. They are a funk band from North Carolina. It’s rare these days to hear a band that still plays funk music and with a brass section. To hear them for the first time will surely blow one away.

The weekend worked well with the event as it received great sunny weather. It was a perfect time to spend with family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers. The ambiance was great with just a great homey feel and people watching a World Cup Playoffs game added more excitement to the festival.

All in all, the Fillmore Jazz Festival has to be one of my favorite festivals to attend. In fact, the festival is my favorite festival to attend and I cannot wait till it rolls around next summer. Please take my word and check out this festival because you won’t be disappointed.

Pictures of the Fillmore Jazz Festival can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

The North Beach Festival never fails to be one of my favorite festivals to attend in the summer in San Francisco. The pleasant aromas of Italian pasta sauces and freshly oven baked pizzas fill the air. This year’s festival received some amazing weather and the attendance was beyond great. People filled Grant Avenue and Washington Square to enjoy the fun and leisure of the festival. Great music, great food, great art, and great vendors filled every nook and cranny.

Throughout the day, both Saturday and Sunday, the streets were jam packed with people observing and buying local art, sampling and buying snacks from food vendors, obtaining information from informative booths, and the randomly placed street performers to entertain.

Two main stages kept the crowds entertained with great artists who played a lot of upbeat Jazz and Contemporary music. The stage at Washington Square has the capacity to hold thousands of people with food & beer vendors and product vendors surrounding the park. The Green Street stage has a smaller area, but that doesn’t mean that the artists performing there are anything but small. With that said there was great music on Green Street as well as local bars and restaurants surrounding the stage along with food and beer vendors along from Columbus to Grant Avenue. There was also a smaller stage out on Filbert Street, but the majority of performances came from the other two main stages, the Filbert stage was more of a beer garden that had ambient music.

On Vallejo Street, chalk artists drew and colored some amazing pieces of art on the concrete. There were spaces for several artists to display their work, but there also were a couple available squares for anyone to make chalk art for a small nominal fee. Also on Vallejo Street, a sponsoring Las Vegas vendor came to build a large sand sculpture of a mini Las Vegas in a large sandbox with the sponsors giving out prizes for spinning a wheel.

Overall, the North Beach Festival was the place to be in San Francisco for the weekend of Father’s Day. It was such a beautiful weekend with amazing food, art, and music. People put on their happy faces and it seemed like the day was just meant to be perfect. Great festival to attend, bring out your family, friends, and neighbors next year because it’s going to be fun. You can count on that.

Pictures of the North Beach Festival can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

The Giants brought the fair to the park once again for another summer of fun. San Francisco is not known for having carnival rides and carnival games that you would see at a normal state or county fair. However, two weeks in June have become home to a number of rides and games to entertain Giants fans and for the rest of the public. The Giants brought the fair to try and bring out fans to the ballpark before and after home games, to give them a time to remember, a time with family, friends, and others.

This year’s fair seemed to draw in a smaller crowd due to the fact that the economy is not in the best situation. Not as many people are spending money on leisurely activities. Therefore, not being able to bring in the vast crowds the Giants cut back and did not hire any bands to perform on stage. The Giants County Fair did however bring in DJs to spin some records and play music throughout the day and night.

New to the fair this year was a petting zoo and mule/horseback riding. The usual carnival food (corn dog, pizza, cotton candy) and bbq grilled foods were there.

Will the Giants bring back the fair next year? I hope they do. It takes several years to get something good started and I hope that this is just the start of something big that the Giants will bring to San Francisco. Unlike other counties in the Bay Area, San Francisco is it’s own City and County in the United States and to be able to put on a fair on its own would cost a pretty penny and I’m sure the tax payers of the city don’t want to front money into bringing one back anytime soon. Therefore, the Giants are doing a good job in trying to bring back the nostalgia of being young once again. Of course you can drive throughout the Bay to attend one of the other fairs in Marin County, San Mateo County, and Alameda County; however, you never know how long they will last. A few years back Santa Clara County decided no longer to hold the fair, but you never know, things can change with community involvement. This year it looks like Santa Clara will have a County Youth Fair, but it will probably be on a smaller scale.

Pictures of the Giants County Fair can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

The Haight Ashbury Street Fair is a San Francisco fair that promotes love, not war. It is one that brings back nostalgic memories for those that grew up during the 60s and 70s when Flower Power and spiritual freedom reigned supreme. Although, the fair promotes this much differently than how they did almost half a century ago, there are still a few people present at the festival that are there to talk and educate you about how the way things were and some there that are unable to change and are living according to the way of life back in the day. Some of their ideologies are still promoted, but protesting is done in a more calmer way with signing of petitions.

The fair is held for one day and extends from Stanyan Street to Masonic Blvd. Two main stages are on opposite ends of the fair. The main type of music that is performed at this fair is mostly rock; however, there are a few exceptions to this. Almost in the middle of the fair is a smaller stage where other bands and groups play in the kid’s zone. In addition to these official stages, there are a few other musicians throughout the fair that perform in random corners or public spaces. Some of the musicians that freelance on the streets played Jazz, Rock, and Peruvian music.

Similar to the Union Street Festival, the Haight Ashbury Street Fair has similar types of food. Most vendors from the previous weeks festival were also there for this festival and pretty much show up to other various festivals throughout the San Francisco festival circuit.

In contrast to the Union Street Festival, the Haight Ashbury Street Fair (HASF) brings about a different vibe and culture. The fair of Love, Joy, and Peace is one that seems to promote a bit more liberalism out of all festivals throughout San Francisco. For example the air is filled with abundant smells of marijuana, the homeless population populate the streets, a few people with petitions to sign are scattered throughout, the sale of “special” treats and glass pipes are available, and various types of fortune reading and spiritual freedom representatives are present as well.

If Rock music, tie-dyed shirts, spiritual freedom, and a festival that you just want a sense of relaxation and letting loose, then the HASF is the place to be. To some, the fair can be seen as extreme, but it is part of American culture and for those that want to see just a little taste of what things were like back in the mid to late 20th century then coming to the HASF will help enlighten some people.

Pictures of the HASF can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

The Union Street Festival is one of San Francisco’s Arts & Crafts Festival. Although, not acclaimed for being an official arts & crafts festival, it seems to cater to those qualities more than that of a cultural festival, unless you would call selling arts & crafts part of American culture. The festival runs for two days and usually lasts for 7-8 hours.

The Union Street Festival extends from Gough Street to Steiner Street. Throughout the festival there are various food booths that line the streets with charcoal burning grills and with deep fryers-a-plenty. The main staple of the festival is BBQ chicken sticks and garlic fries. There are a few things that are quiet different, such as the Greek and Indian food. Every block has a beer garden in the middle, where guests are allowed to purchase and drink alcohol. Although alcohol is not permitted on the festival grounds other than the beer gardens, there are also local restaurants and bars that sell drinks and food.

Clothing, arts, crafts, gifts, and other various products are available throughout the fest, but if you’re not interested in what the vendors are selling then Union Street is the perfect place to shop with permanent shopping fixtures. Union Street is known for having independent boutiques, corporate clothing stores, hair and nail shops, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and much more.

For the kids, between Steiner and Fillmore Streets, there is a Kiddie Carnival. There are a couple of games, rides, and inflatable jungle gyms. There are also a couple of face painting and temporary tattoo booths as well.

At the festival there are two music stages where bands perform. The type of music played at the Union Street Festival is mainly Country and Jazz, but occasionally there may be different types of Genres.

Pictures of the festival can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

The Carnaval Grand Parade is a parade that takes place on the last day of the Carnaval Festival. This year’s theme for Carnaval was Colors of Sound / Splashes of Culture. The parade kicked off at about 9:30am, however things were a little backed up and so the parade started a little later than that. The parade started off on 24th Street and Bryant Street and continued until it hit Mission Street. The parade then turned onto Mission Street and continued all the way down until 17th Street where the parade then did a final right turn towards the festival grounds at Harrison street.

The Grand Parade was great this year with many attenders this year. The weather was amazing and a little too hot for myself, but I’m sure most of the people there that day enjoyed it. The lead float of the parade was led by King Miggy and Queen Carmen. They are the winners of the Carnaval King and Queen competition that was held prior to the Carnaval Festival. Both winners of the competition won their titles with their performance of Samba. Each competitor during the competition is given the option of singing, dancing, and/or playing a musical instrument. They are given three minutes to perform and must compete in a Carnaval costume.

The parade consisted of numerous cultures through out the Americas. The majority of the parade consisted of music and dance of the native land from which they represented; however, there were a few countries represented that walked the parade demonstrating the clothing and some of the traditions that was signature to their country. The parade seemed to last forever with probably more participants than previous years. This parade I believe was a little over three hours long. It seems much longer when you’re standing in the sun.

The parade grand marshals were Benjamin Bratt and Peter Bratt. They were followed in part with the rest of their cast in the movie “La Mission”. The actors sat in the restored vintage car portion of the parade and cruised in style while being applauded as they travelled down Mission Street. Some cars were tricked out with hydraulics enabling the cars to bounce, be raised and lowered from the back axle and also the front axle with the ability to be raised and lowered left and right as well.

The theme for Carnaval this year was truly played out to the fullest as all the units in the parade displayed vivid colors. This festival is probably ranked one of my favorite festivals to attend every year because of the vast amounts of color, happy participants, and enthused on-lookers.

Following the parade, attenders were welcomed at the festival that was located on Harrison Street where the festivities continued with food, drink, fun, and other various performances. The festival following the parade is probably the time when people who feel claustrophobic shouldn’t attend purely for the fact that thousand upon thousands of people pack the venue. As with the previous day of the festival, Sunday is just jam packed with people and sometimes trying to get around can get a little frustrating when you move throughout the 6 blocks at a snail’s pace.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the turnout of the festival and I’m sure I’ll be back again to enjoy another year of awesome fun and food. I hope to see you all there next year. Bring your family and friends because it’s going to be a great time.

Pictures of Carnaval can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

Carnaval this year was great and surprisingly hot. People from all over the Bay and the country came out to check out this special celebration of various cultures from Mexico, Central America, South America, and a few other countries as well. The majority of the festival took place on the Harrison Street where vendors sold their food and products. The festival started off light, but by mid-day the crowd packed the streets.

Like most festivals, this festival had a couple of stages for live performances, there were a couple of drinking areas, and throughout the festival there were food and shopping available. This festival also had a new addition this year and it was an area dedicated to dancing. Most of the music at the festival was Latin inspired, but there was Jazz and Reggae as well. For the kids, there was an area for a little batting practice and a few inflattable jumping zones.

The festival lasted for two days with the final day having a Grand Parade on Sunday. Great event for family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and all. If you haven’t been to this you’ll be in for a surprise because this is one of the festivals that can get jam packed. Especially on the day of the Grand Parade when parade attenders flock to Harrison Street after the parade down Mission Street.

Pictures of the Carnaval festival can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

May is Asian Pacific American Month and one of the last events during the month was a privately held Asian Pacific American Month Celebration thrown by employees of the Federal Building. The event took place in the ceremonial courtroom of the Federal Building at Civic Center. The turnout for the event was very successful. The large crowd filled up the benches of the courtroom and they were able to see several Polynesian dance performances, along with a couple of songs, a Samurai sword demonstration, and a speech given by keynote speaker Miss Chinatown USA Crystal Lee.

The performances for the afternoon were pretty enjoyable, but among the top of enjoyable moments was when a few State and Federal workers were asked to perform some hula and that’s when things got a little interesting. Having been able to attend, I really had a great time being able to enjoy the moment.

Following the performances, guests and employees enjoyed a luncheon with a taste of Asia where the food was vast and abundant. Different types of Asian cusine lined the tables. There was Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, and Hawaiian food available. Everything was delicious and the event was fun.

Pictures of the APA Heritage Celebration can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

San Mateo County Fairgrounds was host to the famous Maker Faire where maker’s of arts & crafts, gadgets and gizmos, and other various contraptions were shown to the public. Entrance to the fair was at most $25 for at the door costs, but presale tickets were sold at a discount. The fair took over the whole fairgrounds and much was to be seen. Entertainment lined the fairgrounds inside and out with tons of stuff to see and do left and right. Food was all over the places and looked and smelled great.

One of the most entertaining things to see at this show was being able to see music come from electrical arcs from Tesla coils. With a live band playing as back up, a man in a wire meshed suit stood between two huge Tesla coils and was able to allow electricity to go to his suit and closing the circuit.

This year Bazaar Bizarre SF obtained the Cypress Room where vendors from all over came to show off their work. Lots of people came to shop around and many just looked around at some of the cool and interesting creations that people can come up with. Many vendors sold jewelry and clothing, but some of the most interesting ones came from a few that made stuffed animals from different types of materials. Some animals were made from cotton (yarn), some from felt, and some from denim or other various materials.

Having walked around the bazaar there were many things that I wish I could purchase, but I know if I did that I wouldn’t have any more money left in my bank. However, just being able to see these items brought a sense of joy and happiness to me.

Although, I did not spend much time searching the whole fairgrounds, I had a great time meeting the makers of Bazaar Bizarre. They are ordinary people trying to make a living by selling some of their creations. A lot of them do it as a hobby, but most of them do it for a living. Come out to an event and help support local artists, artists including myself. For more information on Bazaar Bizarre please go to their website at http://www.bazaarbizarre.org/sanfrancisco

Bay to Breakers is San Francisco’s excuse to have a crazy good time. It’s an event race where practically the whole city attends with many more coming from all over the Bay Area and even throughout the world. Some come with running the race in mind, some come just to relax and have a great time partying with friends and family. Some come clothed in costumes and some don’t come clothed at all.

This year’s race was a little better in terms of the weather, but still was a little bit on the chilly side, until the early afternoon when things started to clear up. The foot race seemed to have a lot more people, but the costumes were on the decline as to previous years. I think perhaps race attenders didn’t have enough disposable income to spend on creating costumes. Many race attenders just came armed with cameras to try and catch the craziest costumes and just the weirdest of things.

All in all, being able to document this foot race was pretty fun and seeing just the vast amount of people on the streets felt kind of surreal. The colors all over were just a photographers dream come true. I, myself, love colors all around it just makes me happy. However, when I come across old naked and even young people naked, it just throws me for a loop because this is just something you don’t see everyday, nor should you be exposed to some of them. I mean if you’re gonna expose yourself please look in the mirror and don’t punish people.

In the end, I had a great time. People that I photographed were nice and friendly. Some of the costumes were great and some not so great, but in the end I think that it’s the spirit of laughter and joy that make this foot race so fun to attend. My favorite costumes this year for the race would have to go to the groups that created team outfits, especially the group of gnomes, the Pac-Man group, the Mario Kart groups, and the Tetris group. Congratulations guys for making me laugh, you guys are great. Until next year folks! See you at the races!!!

Pictures of the Bay to Breakers can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.