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Taken from The Tamalpais News (Oct 04, 2007)
Thousands Attend Power to the Peaceful in the City
by Isabel Scharrer
 A swarming crowd of 60,000 converged in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the 9th Annual Power to the Peaceful. Held on September 8, the free open air festival was dedicated to social justice and?non-violence education.
The most famous appearing artists were Michael Franti and Spearhead, Indigo Girls, Hot Buttered Rum, Bassnectar and DJ Spooky.
Tam Senior Sarah Wolken said, “Michael Franti and Spearhead seem to have a big following here, but personally I think the lineup was much better the previous year. This concert was nothing special, just sort of tradition.”
Not only did the festival offer great music but there was also morning yoga, and for those interested in art, an open air art gallery. They also organized a “family friendly” kid’s zone, a small live theater, face painting and story telling.
People of all ages and places attended the memorable concert. Middle aged women who seemed to know the lyrics to every Indigo Girls song hardly went unnoticed along with those who attended merely to smoke in a public setting.
Tam alumni Trevor Barrett said, “Speakers from anti-war organizations speak in between artist sets. The crowd was much larger this year, because of so much public unrest about foreign affairs.” The speakers between sets reminded people of why they were there to rally for peace.
The first Power to the Peaceful Festival was in 1998 with a crowd of about 6,000. In its 9th year of celebration this number has grown up to 60,000. Tam Junior Sofia Soorenko said, “I think that in the last years so many people enjoyed the concert, because they liked the artists, the dancing, eating, singing and the shops.”
The message of the music was about freedom and living without violence or an ongoing war. Between songs, motivational guest speakers alluded to the tragedy of September 11. This is where the concert earned its title, “911 Power to the Peaceful.” This tribute made people remember and understand that every moment we enjoy in peace is one of beauty.
This article originally appeared in the September 2007 issue.
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