Yerba Buena Gardens Festival offers the ultimate staycation in San Francisco May through October

Marcus Shelby

The 2010 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival presents a dazzling lineup of 100 free cultural events in San Francisco May 1 through October 31 for those who seek the best in music, theater, circus, dance, and poetry. Here are three of countless highlights that show the range of genres from jazz to Hawaiian hula to the music of the Havana social clubs of the 1950s.

The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra’s world premiere of MLK, featuring Faye Carol, Kenny Washington, Jeannine Anderson and Nicholas Bearde, kicks off the festival Saturday, May 1 from 1:00pm–2:30pm. The new oratorio for jazz orchestra and choir celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who called music "the soul of the Movement." The composition will include re-orchestrated African-American spirituals and freedom songs as well as jazz compositions written during the Civil Rights Movement by such luminaries as Charles Mingus and John Coltrane. Original music by Marcus Shelby will be featured, composed in honor of Dr. King and his journey from Atlanta, Georgia where he was born, to Memphis, Tennessee, scene of his untimely death. Commissioned by YBGF & MSJO, MLK will be launched in the very gardens that are home to the insplring Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which immortalizes his words in 12 shimmering glass panels set in granite behind a 50 foot waterfall.

Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, Patrick Makuakane’s dynamic Hawaiian dance company, presents hula as a full theatrical experience that blends traditional and contemporary forms of hula Saturday, May 8, 1-2:30pm. A “talk-story” format will incorporate narration and dance in a rich cultural context.

Get your dancin’ shoes on the first Thursday of each month, 6-7:30 pm, at Jessie Square. You’ll put them to good use with free dance lessons to soulful sounds from today’s best Bay Area artists.

Let’s Go Dance@Jessie, takes place at Jessie Square in front of the Contemporary Jewish Museum and next to St. Patrick’s Church, across from YBG.

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición gets the party underway Thursday, May 6, with a sweet yet driving rhythmic journey back to an era of sensual danzones and swinging cha-chas — the music of the Havana social clubs of the 1950s.

This is but the start. Click below for the full calendar of events and plan to feed your body and soul all spring summer and fall. The outdoor locations are beautiful, and the price is right! 

Visit

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival  or call (415) 543-1718 for more detailed information.