| |
Taken from Golden Gate [X]press (September 16, 2009)
Power to the Peaceful a success despite weather
by Emily Sheldon
 Despite the soggy weather, thousands turned up at Golden Gate Park to promote peaceful activism to social change. Yogis, musicians, smokers and activists flooded Speedway Meadows for a day filled with live performances and art. The event provided a peaceful remembrance of the 9/11 attacks, as well as other social injustices.
The 11th annual Power to the Peaceful Festival was held on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at Speedway Meadows, hosted by social activist, musician and founder Michael Franti. The festival, which began as a local movement and community-based event, has grown to be one of the nation's largest free music celebrations, centered on the idea of peaceful global co-existence, non-violence, social justice and environmental awareness.
"We came to have an amazing time," Zaida Williams, a SF State Creative Writing major said.
The weekend-long event began Saturday morning with a 2-hour yoga experience which included AcroYoga, a combination of yoga, Thai massage and acrobatics. "It's a partner-based practice," Jason Nemer, instructor and co-founder of AcroYoga in San Francisco said. "It's a gentle, passive release of Thai massage and therapeutic flying. So we use acrobatic principles to get people inverted on your feet, and you give them massage. Then there's the acrobatic aspect that's very engaged, handstands and partner acrobatics, and the yoga's just the common thread between them all."
Headlining the festival was Michal Franti's band Spearhead, as well as Grammy Award winning singer and fellow activist, Alanis Morissette. She sang several acoustic renditions of some of her most popular songs. Other performers included Sly & Robbie, Cherine Anderson, Sellassie and Truth Universal.
The festival also included a separate tent where DJ's Michael Miggs, Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist, DJ Zita, DJ Adnan and DJ Hey Man! spun tracks for those at the other end of the park.
The festival was a family event, including a Kids Zone which provided a stage and instruments for budding artists to perform on. Connecting all of these components were several food and art vendors, as well as local activist groups such as Oaksterdam University, Veterans for Peace and the Cannabis Action Group.
Despite the massive amounts of marijuana and other-related drug paraphernalia, SFPD law enforcement was present and monitoring the event from beginning to end. "Unless there's a violent crime that's occurring, we're just going to allow people to do what they want to do," an SFPD officer said.
|
|
