SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The San Francisco International Arts Festival celebrates its fifth anniversary with artists from nine countries. The festival will run from Wednesday to June 8, and will include local performances by such groups as Epiphany Productions, AXIS Dance Company and the world premiere of “Levitate” by the AscenDance Project.

Other international groups include Compania Y from Spain, Han, Rae-Sook from South Korea, Cristina Moura from Brazil, Kate Foley Dance Ensemble from Croatia and Shlomit Fundaminsky from Israel. The three week festival offers a different group of performing artists each week.

SFIAF’s traditional opening reception, on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at ArtworkSF Gallery, welcomes international artists who have travelled to The City to participate in the festival and introduces them to their local counterparts. This year’s event takes place at ArtworkSF’s Gallery, and will be featuring “What Goes Around,” an examination by more than 20 individual artists of the threads of common experience across cultures and time — past, present and future — as a means to connect people in an emerging global society. Featured Artists include Alexander Polzin (Germany) and Judy Johnson-Williams (San Francisco). For more information about the festival or for tickets, call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.sfiaf.org.