Richmond Roundup
Stern Grove gets ready for 69th season
A beloved Bay Area tradition returns as the Stern Grove Festival celebrates its 69th season with 10 free concerts every Sunday from June 18 through Aug. 20. The concerts will be held at Sigmund Stern Grove, located at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard, at 2 p.m.
Scheduled performances are:
• June 18, singer/songwriter Aimee Mann and Brazilian Seu Jorge take the
stage for the first of this summer's performances;
• June 25, Malian blues duo Amadou & Mariam perform with the Otis Taylor
Band;
• July 2, New Orleans brass ensemble Rebirth Brass Band and Zydeco musicians
Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie;
• July 9, an annual favorite, the Grammy-winning San Francisco Symphony,
with conductor Edwin Outwater at the helm;
• July 16, Hawaiian vocal ensemble Makaha Sons and the San Francisco-based
hula dance troupe Halau 'o Keikiali'I;
• July 23, soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples and roots music performer
Jackie Greene;
• July 30, the San Francisco Opera hosts international opera stars Stephanie
Blythe and Lawrence Brownlee;
• Aug. 6, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra plays classic salsa and Ska Cubano
plays Cuban-rooted rhythms;
• Aug. 13, the San Francisco Ballet returns to Stern Grove in its only
Bay Area summer appearance;
• Aug. 20, Latin hip-hop performer and Grammy winner Oxomatli and local
hip-hop band Crown City Rockers end the lineup of summer concerts.
Pre-concert talks with the performers, educational programs for children, and the opportunity to participate in blood drives prior to some concerts will also be available. The free concerts do not require tickets or advance reservations, but attendees are encouraged to arrive early for the best lawn seating.
For more information about the Stern Grove Festival, call (415) 252-6252 or visit the concert series Web site at www.sterngrove.org.
New center at V.A. opens
The San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center recently celebrated the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art Center for the Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIND).
The center is dedicated to the early detection and subsequent monitoring of chronic and neurodegenerative brain diseases and conditions, such as Alzheimer's, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and dementia. The advanced brain imaging center, located in a newly-renovated 10,000-square-foot building dedicated entirely to imaging research, also has a staff of more than 60 physicians, physicists, computer scientists, radiologists and support personnel.
The center's opening was followed by an inaugural conference, with international medical imaging experts paying tribute to CIND director Michael Weiner, M.D. for his achievements as a leader in magnetic resonance research.
Local director's film to be shown at LGBT Film Festival
Director Richard Wong, a Richmond District resident, presents a screening of his feature film "Colma: The Musical," at the 30th annual San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.
The film, which tells the story of three friends seeking something better in a small town where the dead outnumber the living 1000 to 1, will be shown on Thursday, June 15, through Sunday, June 25, at the Castro, Victoria, CineArts and Roxie theatres in the City, as well as the Parkway Theatre in Oakland. Wong's work was selected as one of the 260 feature and short films that will play during the festival.
For the complete schedule of films and events, visit www.frameline.org.
Celebrating Asian heritage, culture at festival
The second annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration was held May 20 on Irving Street, between 20th and 25th avenues.
The fair featured a variety of Asian-American food, cooking and martial arts demonstrations, arts and crafts, karaoke and live performances by local musicians and comics.
Zion carnival in May
The Zion Lutheran Day School, located at 495 Ninth Ave., held its spring carnival May 6. The event attracted hundreds of local residents and featured games, prizes, food, crafts, lion dancers and a silent auction.