An East Palo Alto Youth Center Makes Space for Adults — With a Side of Funk
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/east-palo-alto\">East Palo Alto\u003c/a> is often overshadowed by the neighboring city of Palo Alto, one of the Bay Area’s tech powerhouses. But it was a different story this past Sunday, when the newest youth center in East Palo Alto welcomed all generations for music from Vallejo’s own Con Funk Shun. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://epacenter.org/\">EPACENTER\u003c/a> officially opened its doors in 2022, with input from the city’s youth. As a space for students to cultivate their creativity, it offers workshops and studio space for design, art, dance, fashion and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More recently, they’ve expanded their programming to include the community’s elders. That includes this year’s summertime concert series, which before Sunday’s show had hosted artists like Sheila E., Tony Lindsay and Pete Escovedo. In an effort to make the concerts accessible to the community, tickets for East Palo Alto residents were offered at one-third the cost of general entry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cassandra Wilson, left, and Margaret Blackwell, right, enjoy the music as Con Funk Shun plays at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With Con Funk Shun onstage to close out the concert series, the sun shined on stage, while a metaphorical light shined throughout the crowd. People spent the band’s set dancing, smiling and connecting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many in attendance remembered the site, in an industrial area on Bay Road, before EPACENTER was built. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I think it was a tire company, a moving company. It was a couple of different things that used to be in this area before they converted it over here to this good space that we never got to utilize before,” said Kabaila Everett, who came to the event with her mother Carol Dozier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the makeup of the crowd was older, many were excited to see that the next generation in East Palo Alto now has a space to cultivate their interests.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both inside and outside the building, the impact of the students is visible in every corner. The signs above the entryway and the cafe read “Welcome” in English, “Bienvenido” in Spanish and “Talitali Fiefia” in Tongan to accommodate the diversity of the community that EPACENTER serves. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Felton Pilate of Con Funk Shun sings at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Staci Edwards, the center’s strategic initiative associate, remembers being in middle school and wanting to take up playing the guitar, but there were few places in East Palo Alto where she could learn. Luckily, her sister attended a college preparatory program, and Edwards was able to take lessons in the same building.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In that same room where she played guitar, she would also join a group that led to the beginning of EPACENTER. With the help of the community’s youth, the vision for the center came to life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ I was excited,” Edwards said. “Just the idea of just being able to imagine what this could become, and how this could help our community, and give more opportunities to the youth in our community, was such an exhilarating feeling within itself.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the walls painted with blue, green, orange and other vibrant colors — chosen by students —surrounded the amphitheater. On stage, East Palo Alto’s own Will Roc Project opened the show, playing the hits of Vanity 6, the Mary Jane Girls and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s been very moving to know that you have a positive impact on all sorts of people who really didn’t have access to an opportunity like that before, “ said Nadine Rambeau, EPACENTER’s executive director. “When people come up to me, they have such a light in their eyes. It’s almost like something that they have been wanting, and they’re lit up from the inside.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ronnie Matthews, who’s seen many changes over the 50 years he’s lived in East Palo Alto, welcomed the new energy brought by EPACENTER.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is beautiful for the community,” Matthews said. “Last week we had our first car show here, and it was really nice. It brought everything full circle. Me and my friends as kids, we grew up building our cars out of these wrecking yards that used to be down there.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Funk band Con Funk Shun plays at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto,on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Con Funk Shun hit the stage with their sparkling blazers and big brass instruments, the East Palo Alto community joined together in joy. A boy and his mother danced on the sidelines. The crowd hugged and celebrated to the music. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>EPACENTER hopes to continue serving people of all ages in East Palo Alto, with the summer’s concert series as just a start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have classes for young people. We have internships for young people,” Rambeau said. “But it was important for us to start thinking about other age groups, especially those who helped found the city and have been living in it for decades and decades, to finally gain access to our facility. That’s why we started here.” \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ I think it was a tire company, a moving company. It was a couple of different things that used to be in this area before they converted it over here to this good space that we never got to utilize before,” said Kabaila Everett, who came to the event with her mother Carol Dozier. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Both inside and outside the building, the impact of the students is visible in every corner. The signs above the entryway and the cafe read “Welcome” in English, “Bienvenido” in Spanish and “Talitali Fiefia” in Tongan to accommodate the diversity of the community that EPACENTER serves. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the walls painted with blue, green, orange and other vibrant colors — chosen by students —surrounded the amphitheater. On stage, East Palo Alto’s own Will Roc Project opened the show, playing the hits of Vanity 6, the Mary Jane Girls and more. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s been very moving to know that you have a positive impact on all sorts of people who really didn’t have access to an opportunity like that before, “ said Nadine Rambeau, EPACENTER’s executive director. “When people come up to me, they have such a light in their eyes. It’s almost like something that they have been wanting, and they’re lit up from the inside.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ronnie Matthews, who’s seen many changes over the 50 years he’s lived in East Palo Alto, welcomed the new energy brought by EPACENTER.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is beautiful for the community,” Matthews said. “Last week we had our first car show here, and it was really nice. It brought everything full circle. Me and my friends as kids, we grew up building our cars out of these wrecking yards that used to be down there.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have classes for young people. We have internships for young people,” Rambeau said. “But it was important for us to start thinking about other age groups, especially those who helped found the city and have been living in it for decades and decades, to finally gain access to our facility. That’s why we started here.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/east-palo-alto\">East Palo Alto\u003c/a> is often overshadowed by the neighboring city of Palo Alto, one of the Bay Area’s tech powerhouses. But it was a different story this past Sunday, when the newest youth center in East Palo Alto welcomed all generations for music from Vallejo’s own Con Funk Shun. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://epacenter.org/\">EPACENTER\u003c/a> officially opened its doors in 2022, with input from the city’s youth. As a space for students to cultivate their creativity, it offers workshops and studio space for design, art, dance, fashion and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>More recently, they’ve expanded their programming to include the community’s elders. That includes this year’s summertime concert series, which before Sunday’s show had hosted artists like Sheila E., Tony Lindsay and Pete Escovedo. In an effort to make the concerts accessible to the community, tickets for East Palo Alto residents were offered at one-third the cost of general entry. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cassandra Wilson, left, and Margaret Blackwell, right, enjoy the music as Con Funk Shun plays at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With Con Funk Shun onstage to close out the concert series, the sun shined on stage, while a metaphorical light shined throughout the crowd. People spent the band’s set dancing, smiling and connecting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Many in attendance remembered the site, in an industrial area on Bay Road, before EPACENTER was built. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“ I think it was a tire company, a moving company. It was a couple of different things that used to be in this area before they converted it over here to this good space that we never got to utilize before,” said Kabaila Everett, who came to the event with her mother Carol Dozier. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the makeup of the crowd was older, many were excited to see that the next generation in East Palo Alto now has a space to cultivate their interests.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both inside and outside the building, the impact of the students is visible in every corner. The signs above the entryway and the cafe read “Welcome” in English, “Bienvenido” in Spanish and “Talitali Fiefia” in Tongan to accommodate the diversity of the community that EPACENTER serves. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Felton Pilate of Con Funk Shun sings at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Staci Edwards, the center’s strategic initiative associate, remembers being in middle school and wanting to take up playing the guitar, but there were few places in East Palo Alto where she could learn. Luckily, her sister attended a college preparatory program, and Edwards was able to take lessons in the same building.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In that same room where she played guitar, she would also join a group that led to the beginning of EPACENTER. With the help of the community’s youth, the vision for the center came to life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ I was excited,” Edwards said. “Just the idea of just being able to imagine what this could become, and how this could help our community, and give more opportunities to the youth in our community, was such an exhilarating feeling within itself.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Sunday, the walls painted with blue, green, orange and other vibrant colors — chosen by students —surrounded the amphitheater. On stage, East Palo Alto’s own Will Roc Project opened the show, playing the hits of Vanity 6, the Mary Jane Girls and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s been very moving to know that you have a positive impact on all sorts of people who really didn’t have access to an opportunity like that before, “ said Nadine Rambeau, EPACENTER’s executive director. “When people come up to me, they have such a light in their eyes. It’s almost like something that they have been wanting, and they’re lit up from the inside.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ronnie Matthews, who’s seen many changes over the 50 years he’s lived in East Palo Alto, welcomed the new energy brought by EPACENTER.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is beautiful for the community,” Matthews said. “Last week we had our first car show here, and it was really nice. It brought everything full circle. Me and my friends as kids, we grew up building our cars out of these wrecking yards that used to be down there.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13992121\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260726-EPACenter-JY-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Funk band Con Funk Shun plays at EPACENTER in East Palo Alto,on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Con Funk Shun hit the stage with their sparkling blazers and big brass instruments, the East Palo Alto community joined together in joy. A boy and his mother danced on the sidelines. The crowd hugged and celebrated to the music. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>EPACENTER hopes to continue serving people of all ages in East Palo Alto, with the summer’s concert series as just a start. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have classes for young people. We have internships for young people,” Rambeau said. “But it was important for us to start thinking about other age groups, especially those who helped found the city and have been living in it for decades and decades, to finally gain access to our facility. That’s why we started here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979610/rooky-ricardos-dick-vivian-cancer-diagnosis-gofundme\">Dick Vivian\u003c/a>, the widely loved proprietor of Rooky Ricardo’s record shop in San Francisco, died on Friday, July 24. He was 78. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbQ1rHHFEBX/?img_index=1\">a statement\u003c/a>, Rooky Ricardo’s said that Vivian “passed peacefully in his beautiful home, right about the time he would have been leaving to open the shop.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since 1987, Vivian owned and operated Rooky Ricardo’s, a used vinyl store that specialized in 45 RPM singles and was prized by casual fans and serious collectors alike. The store obtained \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/rooky-becomes-a-veteran/article_e1db29cd-ebd9-5c40-ba32-a18ba635626d.html\">official legacy status\u003c/a> from the City of San Francisco in 2007.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1435\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GettyImages-1322023904.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13979617\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GettyImages-1322023904.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GettyImages-1322023904-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GettyImages-1322023904-768x551.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/GettyImages-1322023904-1536x1102.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dick Vivian (center), the owner of Rooky Ricardo’s vinyl record shop in San Francisco, Ca., pictured helping Kurt Andre in 2013. A well loved member of the Bay ARea music community, particularly with soul and R&B fans and DJs, Vivian is currently battling Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. (Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vivian was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979610/rooky-ricardos-dick-vivian-cancer-diagnosis-gofundme\">diagnosed with Stage 3 pancreatic cancer\u003c/a> in March of last year. By last Friday, a GoFundMe to assist with medical bills had raised more than $40,000 from all corners of the local music community, including donations by musicians, record collectors, DJs and other record store owners. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chris Veltri, who owns nearby record store Groove Merchant, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13979610/rooky-ricardos-dick-vivian-cancer-diagnosis-gofundme\">told KQED last year\u003c/a> that Vivian himself was the spirit of the Lower Haight record shop.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“His store is kind of a dying breed; it’s 100% him. You’re kind of walking into a different era, a space that’s unique into itself,” Veltri said, adding that “He’s always sitting at his table, cleaning 45s, pricing 45s. You walk in and a relaxation sets in. You don’t get that in a lot of stores.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.gq.com/story/rooky-ricardo-dick-vivian-san-francisco\">2013 profile in \u003cem>GQ\u003c/em> magazine\u003c/a> described Vivian in near-Biblical terms as “the man who will save your musical soul.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Quick with a joke or anecdote, Vivian’s contagious love for music carried over to his customers. He was known for enthusiastically sharing knowledge about his favorite records, many of them obscure. Any judgmental tones were practically banned from the store. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the store’s statement posted to social media, Vivian’s many titles were enumerated. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our joke-teller, dancer, proprietor, host (both social and professional), waiter, tennis ace, best calves in the city, stack-maker, cash-loaner, gift-giver, convertible driver, laugher, cocktail drinker, not-a-bad-record-in-the-place-thank-you-very-much, mayor of the Lower Haight, Rooky Ricardo himself,” it read. “He was a celeb.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cp>The crime drama \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27666105/\">\u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is a feature film with local star power, glossy cinematography and a dark storyline about an issue that has long plagued the Bay Area: \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/let-me-show-you-how-to-bip-tracing-the-origins-of-hip-hop-favorite-new-word/\">bippin\u003c/a>‘.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Car windows are shattered. Backpacks are snatched. Underbuckets bend corners through busy San Francisco streets. There’s guns, sex, big money and high stakes. \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, written and directed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6484571/?ref_=tt_ov_1_2\">Alex Ferrufino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7229790/?ref_=tt_ov_2_2\">David Mansanalez\u003c/a> (and distributed by Lionsgate), also features an affecting performance by Oakland lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a>, a cameo from Pinole-raised producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971354/p-lo-for-the-soil-warriors-golden-state-entertainment-nba-all-star-weekend\">P-Lo\u003c/a> and a brief appearance by Fillmore rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mobetta__mochedda/?hl=en\">Ronski Mayfield\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it’s the film’s antagonist who embodies an archetype often seen in hood films. Through him, \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em> brings into focus real-life issues caused by wealth inequality in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991926\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson and Quincy ‘Galaxy’ Brooks as Darnell ‘Dolo’ Ferguson in ‘Splash City.’ (Courtesy of Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was a time in my life where I was waking up and bippin’ all day,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBmf7ovBO6/\">Quincy “Galaxy” Brooks\u003c/a> today. “That’s how I was getting my money to eat.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brooks, a 27 year-old rapper and son of San Francisco hip-hop legend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-quinn\">San Quinn\u003c/a>, plays the menacing role of Darnell “Dolo” Ferguson in the film. As the ultimate bad guy, his character is a wolf in high-end clothing, tattoos and shiny jewels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To prepare for the role, Brooks relied on his own lived experiences, and his mother’s mentality from a time when she, too, was forced to navigate all the streets entail. Lastly, Brooks says, he was heavily influenced by the iconic role Tupac played in 1992 film \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was like ‘I want make that new millennium 2026 Bishop,’” says Brooks, adding that he watched \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em> over a dozen times before taking the role of Dolo. In doing so, he saw beyond the ruthless character on the screen and identified with Tupac the person, a young rapper and actor influenced by the Bay’s culture. Tupac brought a certain “ummph” with him to the set of the film, says Brooks, and “that’s the same thing I wanted to do for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991933\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson in ‘Splash City. ’ (Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, Dolo is a headstrong character who holds a boss-like influence in the community. He pays for a couple younger homies’ jewelry when their stolen credit card is declined. He also does scandalous stuff to the younger ring of thieves, cutting them short on loads of cash because he runs the operation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the film’s story unfolds, a chain of events pits Dolo against a childhood friend and rising hoop star, Elijah “Slim” Johnson (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7094722/?ref_=tt_cst_t_8\">Zach Sowers\u003c/a>). Eventually, Slim’s brother and the main protagonist of the film, Julian “Juju” Johnson (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5476739/?ref_=tt_cst_t_2\">Reed Shannon\u003c/a>), steps up to bring Dolo to justice — but not before Dolo and his hot temper wreak havoc on the community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the outspoken live wire of the crew, Dolo is an archetype that we’ve seen before. Similar to Bishop in \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>, O-Dog in \u003cem>Menace II Society\u003c/em> or Bundy in \u003cem>Belly\u003c/em>, he’s a Black man who’s both charismatic and a crashout. Full of ego and rage, he overly flexes his power to get revenge on those who once made him feel powerless.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in a beanie has a terrified look as a pistol is aimed at his face in a darkly-lit room\" class=\"wp-image-13991927\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quincy ‘Galaxy’ Brooks as Darnell ‘Dolo’ Ferguson in ‘Splash City.’ Brooks, the son of San Francisco rapper San Quinn, drew on real-life experiences for the role. (Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to Brooks’ performance, even as Dolo goes off the deep end, his character retains a relatable humanity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“\u003cem>I know that dude\u003c/em>,” Brooks says, explaining his familiarity with the role, which he landed in a circuitous way. Initially in contact with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a> (founder of the Cookies cannabis brand and San Francisco hip-hop artist) to play the role of Preach in the film, he heard Dolo described as “a young street dude from the city — the wild one.” Brooks said to himself: “I feel like I do that real good.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He and his younger brother Zakee “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/h2othawave/\">H20\u003c/a>” Brooks, who raps with Brooks in a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JnWE3QX96U\">THA SOULJAS\u003c/a>, each auditioned multiple times before being awarded roles in the film. “I wasn’t \u003cem>that\u003c/em> deeply involved in the streets,” the older Brooks says, contrasting his life with Dolo’s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In order to really tap into that cutthroat mentality, he looked to his mother, Cheryl-T.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My mom was ruthless out here on the streets,” says Brooks, adding that she’s done it all, from robberies to theft, all as a means of survival.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/Vrze2vx3avI?si=O3TLrzX2trGkEztl\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a child, Brooks’ mom moved from New Orleans to the West Point housing projects in Bayview-Hunters Point. She later lived in the notorious Harbor Road projects before being kicked out of the house at age 13. She became a parent while still young, mothering two children before Brooks, plus his younger brother soon after.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a mom, Brooks says, Cheryl-T stole school clothes to ensure the kids had fresh fits in the classroom. She took football pads from the store to make sure Brooks had the gear he needed when he stepped on the gridiron.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My mom made everything happen, by any means necessary,” says Brooks. Even as she settled down and found legal employment, Brooks saw her adapt that same hard-won “I’m gonna do what I have to do to make sure my kids get by” mentality in the corporate world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And Dolo was that same type of dude,” Brooks says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He’s a dude of logic,” explains Brooks, adding that he’s also “a little bit of a dictator.” Despite Dolo’s immoral actions throughout the film, Brooks says, there’s a certain rationale to his logic, based upon the circumstances from which he comes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Brooks says, Dolo’s downfall is that he wants it all. “He didn’t know how to be a team player,” Brooks tells me. “There \u003cem>was\u003c/em> an ‘I’ in ‘team’ for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991932\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson and Zach Sowers as Elijah ‘Slim’ Johnson in ‘Splash City.’ (Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even with Dolo’s snake-like mentality, many viewers may find themselves siding with him at times, much like Bundy in \u003cem>Belly\u003c/em> or Bishop in \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think we all have a little Bishop or O-Dog or Dolo in us,” says Brooks. A lot of folks have experienced the feeling of being pushed to the limit. “Especially as Black people, just because all the scrutiny and hardships. Dolo is just a young dude who’s been through hardships and isn’t turning down no more.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What’s more human than navigating an oppressive system by taking vengeance out on those in close proximity? In the Bay Area, where the chasm between the haves and have nots is wider than the Salesforce Tower laying on its side, it’s no wonder that people wielding a spark plug are preying on the parked vehicles of others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bippin’ has been around for years. At this point, if you haven’t had your car window busted, it means you ride a bike to get around. People readily live in worry that they might be the next victim. It’s nearly impossible to get audiences to feel empathy for the head of a crime syndicate focused on burglarizing vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dolo is a foul snake. But somehow, in \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, you can \u003cem>lightweight\u003c/em> understand where he’s coming from.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the reason he’s got that likability,” Brooks says, reflecting on his role, “is because I was able to add a little bit of myself in there.” Brooks credits the directors for allowing him to bring his full self to his first acting role, and for pushing him to “humanize” Dolo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I didn’t want him to be a ruthless murderer,” says Brooks. “He has a conscience too.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>Splash City’ is currently showing at select theaters nationwide, with upcoming screenings on \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059063/seats\">Friday, July 31\u003c/a> in San José and \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059056/seats\">Saturday, Aug. 1\u003c/a> in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/splashcitythemovie/\">Screening times and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The crime drama \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27666105/\">\u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is a feature film with local star power, glossy cinematography and a dark storyline about an issue that has long plagued the Bay Area: \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/let-me-show-you-how-to-bip-tracing-the-origins-of-hip-hop-favorite-new-word/\">bippin\u003c/a>‘.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Car windows are shattered. Backpacks are snatched. Underbuckets bend corners through busy San Francisco streets. There’s guns, sex, big money and high stakes. \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, written and directed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6484571/?ref_=tt_ov_1_2\">Alex Ferrufino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7229790/?ref_=tt_ov_2_2\">David Mansanalez\u003c/a> (and distributed by Lionsgate), also features an affecting performance by Oakland lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a>, a cameo from Pinole-raised producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971354/p-lo-for-the-soil-warriors-golden-state-entertainment-nba-all-star-weekend\">P-Lo\u003c/a> and a brief appearance by Fillmore rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mobetta__mochedda/?hl=en\">Ronski Mayfield\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Car windows are shattered. Backpacks are snatched. Underbuckets bend corners through busy San Francisco streets. There’s guns, sex, big money and high stakes. \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, written and directed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6484571/?ref_=tt_ov_1_2\">Alex Ferrufino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7229790/?ref_=tt_ov_2_2\">David Mansanalez\u003c/a> (and distributed by Lionsgate), also features an affecting performance by Oakland lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a>, a cameo from Pinole-raised producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971354/p-lo-for-the-soil-warriors-golden-state-entertainment-nba-all-star-weekend\">P-Lo\u003c/a> and a brief appearance by Fillmore rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mobetta__mochedda/?hl=en\">Ronski Mayfield\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But it’s the film’s antagonist who embodies an archetype often seen in hood films. Through him, \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em> brings into focus real-life issues caused by wealth inequality in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But it’s the film’s antagonist who embodies an archetype often seen in hood films. Through him, \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em> brings into focus real-life issues caused by wealth inequality in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991926\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson and Quincy ‘Galaxy’ Brooks as Darnell ‘Dolo’ Ferguson in ‘Splash City.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was a time in my life where I was waking up and bippin’ all day,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBmf7ovBO6/\">Quincy “Galaxy” Brooks\u003c/a> today. “That’s how I was getting my money to eat.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It was a time in my life where I was waking up and bippin’ all day,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBmf7ovBO6/\">Quincy “Galaxy” Brooks\u003c/a> today. “That’s how I was getting my money to eat.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brooks, a 27 year-old rapper and son of San Francisco hip-hop legend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-quinn\">San Quinn\u003c/a>, plays the menacing role of Darnell “Dolo” Ferguson in the film. As the ultimate bad guy, his character is a wolf in high-end clothing, tattoos and shiny jewels.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brooks, a 27 year-old rapper and son of San Francisco hip-hop legend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-quinn\">San Quinn\u003c/a>, plays the menacing role of Darnell “Dolo” Ferguson in the film. As the ultimate bad guy, his character is a wolf in high-end clothing, tattoos and shiny jewels.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To prepare for the role, Brooks relied on his own lived experiences, and his mother’s mentality from a time when she, too, was forced to navigate all the streets entail. Lastly, Brooks says, he was heavily influenced by the iconic role Tupac played in 1992 film \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>To prepare for the role, Brooks relied on his own lived experiences, and his mother’s mentality from a time when she, too, was forced to navigate all the streets entail. Lastly, Brooks says, he was heavily influenced by the iconic role Tupac played in 1992 film \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was like ‘I want make that new millennium 2026 Bishop,’” says Brooks, adding that he watched \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em> over a dozen times before taking the role of Dolo. In doing so, he saw beyond the ruthless character on the screen and identified with Tupac the person, a young rapper and actor influenced by the Bay’s culture. Tupac brought a certain “ummph” with him to the set of the film, says Brooks, and “that’s the same thing I wanted to do for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was like ‘I want make that new millennium 2026 Bishop,’” says Brooks, adding that he watched \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em> over a dozen times before taking the role of Dolo. In doing so, he saw beyond the ruthless character on the screen and identified with Tupac the person, a young rapper and actor influenced by the Bay’s culture. Tupac brought a certain “ummph” with him to the set of the film, says Brooks, and “that’s the same thing I wanted to do for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991933\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson in ‘Splash City. ’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, Dolo is a headstrong character who holds a boss-like influence in the community. He pays for a couple younger homies’ jewelry when their stolen credit card is declined. He also does scandalous stuff to the younger ring of thieves, cutting them short on loads of cash because he runs the operation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the film’s story unfolds, a chain of events pits Dolo against a childhood friend and rising hoop star, Elijah “Slim” Johnson (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7094722/?ref_=tt_cst_t_8\">Zach Sowers\u003c/a>). Eventually, Slim’s brother and the main protagonist of the film, Julian “Juju” Johnson (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5476739/?ref_=tt_cst_t_2\">Reed Shannon\u003c/a>), steps up to bring Dolo to justice — but not before Dolo and his hot temper wreak havoc on the community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the outspoken live wire of the crew, Dolo is an archetype that we’ve seen before. Similar to Bishop in \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>, O-Dog in \u003cem>Menace II Society\u003c/em> or Bundy in \u003cem>Belly\u003c/em>, he’s a Black man who’s both charismatic and a crashout. Full of ego and rage, he overly flexes his power to get revenge on those who once made him feel powerless.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in a beanie has a terrified look as a pistol is aimed at his face in a darkly-lit room\" class=\"wp-image-13991927\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quincy ‘Galaxy’ Brooks as Darnell ‘Dolo’ Ferguson in ‘Splash City.’ Brooks, the son of San Francisco rapper San Quinn, drew on real-life experiences for the role.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Thanks to Brooks’ performance, even as Dolo goes off the deep end, his character retains a relatable humanity.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“\u003cem>I know that dude\u003c/em>,” Brooks says, explaining his familiarity with the role, which he landed in a circuitous way. Initially in contact with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a> (founder of the Cookies cannabis brand and San Francisco hip-hop artist) to play the role of Preach in the film, he heard Dolo described as “a young street dude from the city — the wild one.” Brooks said to himself: “I feel like I do that real good.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He and his younger brother Zakee “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/h2othawave/\">H20\u003c/a>” Brooks, who raps with Brooks in a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JnWE3QX96U\">THA SOULJAS\u003c/a>, each auditioned multiple times before being awarded roles in the film. “I wasn’t \u003cem>that\u003c/em> deeply involved in the streets,” the older Brooks says, contrasting his life with Dolo’s.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He and his younger brother Zakee “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/h2othawave/\">H20\u003c/a>” Brooks, who raps with Brooks in a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JnWE3QX96U\">THA SOULJAS\u003c/a>, each auditioned multiple times before being awarded roles in the film. “I wasn’t \u003cem>that\u003c/em> deeply involved in the streets,” the older Brooks says, contrasting his life with Dolo’s.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In order to really tap into that cutthroat mentality, he looked to his mother, Cheryl-T.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My mom was ruthless out here on the streets,” says Brooks, adding that she’s done it all, from robberies to theft, all as a means of survival.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a child, Brooks’ mom moved from New Orleans to the West Point housing projects in Bayview-Hunters Point. She later lived in the notorious Harbor Road projects before being kicked out of the house at age 13. She became a parent while still young, mothering two children before Brooks, plus his younger brother soon after.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a mom, Brooks says, Cheryl-T stole school clothes to ensure the kids had fresh fits in the classroom. She took football pads from the store to make sure Brooks had the gear he needed when he stepped on the gridiron.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My mom made everything happen, by any means necessary,” says Brooks. Even as she settled down and found legal employment, Brooks saw her adapt that same hard-won “I’m gonna do what I have to do to make sure my kids get by” mentality in the corporate world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And Dolo was that same type of dude,” Brooks says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He’s a dude of logic,” explains Brooks, adding that he’s also “a little bit of a dictator.” Despite Dolo’s immoral actions throughout the film, Brooks says, there’s a certain rationale to his logic, based upon the circumstances from which he comes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He’s a dude of logic,” explains Brooks, adding that he’s also “a little bit of a dictator.” Despite Dolo’s immoral actions throughout the film, Brooks says, there’s a certain rationale to his logic, based upon the circumstances from which he comes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Brooks says, Dolo’s downfall is that he wants it all. “He didn’t know how to be a team player,” Brooks tells me. “There \u003cem>was\u003c/em> an ‘I’ in ‘team’ for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Brooks says, Dolo’s downfall is that he wants it all. “He didn’t know how to be a team player,” Brooks tells me. “There \u003cem>was\u003c/em> an ‘I’ in ‘team’ for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991932\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson and Zach Sowers as Elijah ‘Slim’ Johnson in ‘Splash City.’ \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even with Dolo’s snake-like mentality, many viewers may find themselves siding with him at times, much like Bundy in \u003cem>Belly\u003c/em> or Bishop in \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think we all have a little Bishop or O-Dog or Dolo in us,” says Brooks. A lot of folks have experienced the feeling of being pushed to the limit. “Especially as Black people, just because all the scrutiny and hardships. Dolo is just a young dude who’s been through hardships and isn’t turning down no more.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>What’s more human than navigating an oppressive system by taking vengeance out on those in close proximity? In the Bay Area, where the chasm between the haves and have nots is wider than the Salesforce Tower laying on its side, it’s no wonder that people wielding a spark plug are preying on the parked vehicles of others.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>What’s more human than navigating an oppressive system by taking vengeance out on those in close proximity? In the Bay Area, where the chasm between the haves and have nots is wider than the Salesforce Tower laying on its side, it’s no wonder that people wielding a spark plug are preying on the parked vehicles of others.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bippin’ has been around for years. At this point, if you haven’t had your car window busted, it means you ride a bike to get around. People readily live in worry that they might be the next victim. It’s nearly impossible to get audiences to feel empathy for the head of a crime syndicate focused on burglarizing vehicles.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bippin’ has been around for years. At this point, if you haven’t had your car window busted, it means you ride a bike to get around. People readily live in worry that they might be the next victim. It’s nearly impossible to get audiences to feel empathy for the head of a crime syndicate focused on burglarizing vehicles.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Dolo is a foul snake. But somehow, in \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, you can \u003cem>lightweight\u003c/em> understand where he’s coming from.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think the reason he’s got that likability,” Brooks says, reflecting on his role, “is because I was able to add a little bit of myself in there.” Brooks credits the directors for allowing him to bring his full self to his first acting role, and for pushing him to “humanize” Dolo.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I didn’t want him to be a ruthless murderer,” says Brooks. “He has a conscience too.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>Splash City’ is currently showing at select theaters nationwide, with upcoming screenings on \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059063/seats\">Friday, July 31\u003c/a> in San José and \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059056/seats\">Saturday, Aug. 1\u003c/a> in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/splashcitythemovie/\">Screening times and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>Splash City’ is currently showing at select theaters nationwide, with upcoming screenings on \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059063/seats\">Friday, July 31\u003c/a> in San José and \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059056/seats\">Saturday, Aug. 1\u003c/a> in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/splashcitythemovie/\">Screening times and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The rapper’s empathetic performance helps drive a new crime drama about the life of bippers in SF.",
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"title": "In ‘Splash City,’ Actor Galaxy Brooks Brings Firsthand Knowledge of the Streets | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The crime drama \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27666105/\">\u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is a feature film with local star power, glossy cinematography and a dark storyline about an issue that has long plagued the Bay Area: \u003ca href=\"https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/let-me-show-you-how-to-bip-tracing-the-origins-of-hip-hop-favorite-new-word/\">bippin\u003c/a>‘.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Car windows are shattered. Backpacks are snatched. Underbuckets bend corners through busy San Francisco streets. There’s guns, sex, big money and high stakes. \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, written and directed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6484571/?ref_=tt_ov_1_2\">Alex Ferrufino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7229790/?ref_=tt_ov_2_2\">David Mansanalez\u003c/a> (and distributed by Lionsgate), also features an affecting performance by Oakland lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a>, a cameo from Pinole-raised producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13971354/p-lo-for-the-soil-warriors-golden-state-entertainment-nba-all-star-weekend\">P-Lo\u003c/a> and a brief appearance by Fillmore rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mobetta__mochedda/?hl=en\">Ronski Mayfield\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it’s the film’s antagonist who embodies an archetype often seen in hood films. Through him, \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em> brings into focus real-life issues caused by wealth inequality in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991926\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01166R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson and Quincy ‘Galaxy’ Brooks as Darnell ‘Dolo’ Ferguson in ‘Splash City.’ (Courtesy of Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was a time in my life where I was waking up and bippin’ all day,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBmf7ovBO6/\">Quincy “Galaxy” Brooks\u003c/a> today. “That’s how I was getting my money to eat.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brooks, a 27 year-old rapper and son of San Francisco hip-hop legend \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-quinn\">San Quinn\u003c/a>, plays the menacing role of Darnell “Dolo” Ferguson in the film. As the ultimate bad guy, his character is a wolf in high-end clothing, tattoos and shiny jewels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To prepare for the role, Brooks relied on his own lived experiences, and his mother’s mentality from a time when she, too, was forced to navigate all the streets entail. Lastly, Brooks says, he was heavily influenced by the iconic role Tupac played in 1992 film \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was like ‘I want make that new millennium 2026 Bishop,’” says Brooks, adding that he watched \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em> over a dozen times before taking the role of Dolo. In doing so, he saw beyond the ruthless character on the screen and identified with Tupac the person, a young rapper and actor influenced by the Bay’s culture. Tupac brought a certain “ummph” with him to the set of the film, says Brooks, and “that’s the same thing I wanted to do for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991933\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00886R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson in ‘Splash City. ’ (Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, Dolo is a headstrong character who holds a boss-like influence in the community. He pays for a couple younger homies’ jewelry when their stolen credit card is declined. He also does scandalous stuff to the younger ring of thieves, cutting them short on loads of cash because he runs the operation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the film’s story unfolds, a chain of events pits Dolo against a childhood friend and rising hoop star, Elijah “Slim” Johnson (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7094722/?ref_=tt_cst_t_8\">Zach Sowers\u003c/a>). Eventually, Slim’s brother and the main protagonist of the film, Julian “Juju” Johnson (\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5476739/?ref_=tt_cst_t_2\">Reed Shannon\u003c/a>), steps up to bring Dolo to justice — but not before Dolo and his hot temper wreak havoc on the community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the outspoken live wire of the crew, Dolo is an archetype that we’ve seen before. Similar to Bishop in \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>, O-Dog in \u003cem>Menace II Society\u003c/em> or Bundy in \u003cem>Belly\u003c/em>, he’s a Black man who’s both charismatic and a crashout. Full of ego and rage, he overly flexes his power to get revenge on those who once made him feel powerless.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man in a beanie has a terrified look as a pistol is aimed at his face in a darkly-lit room\" class=\"wp-image-13991927\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_01655R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quincy ‘Galaxy’ Brooks as Darnell ‘Dolo’ Ferguson in ‘Splash City.’ Brooks, the son of San Francisco rapper San Quinn, drew on real-life experiences for the role. (Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to Brooks’ performance, even as Dolo goes off the deep end, his character retains a relatable humanity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“\u003cem>I know that dude\u003c/em>,” Brooks says, explaining his familiarity with the role, which he landed in a circuitous way. Initially in contact with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/berner415/?hl=en\">Berner\u003c/a> (founder of the Cookies cannabis brand and San Francisco hip-hop artist) to play the role of Preach in the film, he heard Dolo described as “a young street dude from the city — the wild one.” Brooks said to himself: “I feel like I do that real good.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He and his younger brother Zakee “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/h2othawave/\">H20\u003c/a>” Brooks, who raps with Brooks in a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JnWE3QX96U\">THA SOULJAS\u003c/a>, each auditioned multiple times before being awarded roles in the film. “I wasn’t \u003cem>that\u003c/em> deeply involved in the streets,” the older Brooks says, contrasting his life with Dolo’s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In order to really tap into that cutthroat mentality, he looked to his mother, Cheryl-T.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My mom was ruthless out here on the streets,” says Brooks, adding that she’s done it all, from robberies to theft, all as a means of survival.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Vrze2vx3avI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Vrze2vx3avI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a child, Brooks’ mom moved from New Orleans to the West Point housing projects in Bayview-Hunters Point. She later lived in the notorious Harbor Road projects before being kicked out of the house at age 13. She became a parent while still young, mothering two children before Brooks, plus his younger brother soon after.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a mom, Brooks says, Cheryl-T stole school clothes to ensure the kids had fresh fits in the classroom. She took football pads from the store to make sure Brooks had the gear he needed when he stepped on the gridiron.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My mom made everything happen, by any means necessary,” says Brooks. Even as she settled down and found legal employment, Brooks saw her adapt that same hard-won “I’m gonna do what I have to do to make sure my kids get by” mentality in the corporate world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And Dolo was that same type of dude,” Brooks says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He’s a dude of logic,” explains Brooks, adding that he’s also “a little bit of a dictator.” Despite Dolo’s immoral actions throughout the film, Brooks says, there’s a certain rationale to his logic, based upon the circumstances from which he comes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Brooks says, Dolo’s downfall is that he wants it all. “He didn’t know how to be a team player,” Brooks tells me. “There \u003cem>was\u003c/em> an ‘I’ in ‘team’ for Dolo.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991932\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SPLASHCITY_SG_00165R-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reed Shannon as Julian ‘Juju’ Johnson and Zach Sowers as Elijah ‘Slim’ Johnson in ‘Splash City.’ (Lionsgate)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even with Dolo’s snake-like mentality, many viewers may find themselves siding with him at times, much like Bundy in \u003cem>Belly\u003c/em> or Bishop in \u003cem>Juice\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think we all have a little Bishop or O-Dog or Dolo in us,” says Brooks. A lot of folks have experienced the feeling of being pushed to the limit. “Especially as Black people, just because all the scrutiny and hardships. Dolo is just a young dude who’s been through hardships and isn’t turning down no more.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What’s more human than navigating an oppressive system by taking vengeance out on those in close proximity? In the Bay Area, where the chasm between the haves and have nots is wider than the Salesforce Tower laying on its side, it’s no wonder that people wielding a spark plug are preying on the parked vehicles of others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bippin’ has been around for years. At this point, if you haven’t had your car window busted, it means you ride a bike to get around. People readily live in worry that they might be the next victim. It’s nearly impossible to get audiences to feel empathy for the head of a crime syndicate focused on burglarizing vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dolo is a foul snake. But somehow, in \u003cem>Splash City\u003c/em>, you can \u003cem>lightweight\u003c/em> understand where he’s coming from.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the reason he’s got that likability,” Brooks says, reflecting on his role, “is because I was able to add a little bit of myself in there.” Brooks credits the directors for allowing him to bring his full self to his first acting role, and for pushing him to “humanize” Dolo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I didn’t want him to be a ruthless murderer,” says Brooks. “He has a conscience too.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>Splash City’ is currently showing at select theaters nationwide, with upcoming screenings on \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059063/seats\">Friday, July 31\u003c/a> in San José and \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/showtimes/145059056/seats\">Saturday, Aug. 1\u003c/a> in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/splashcitythemovie/\">Screening times and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sf-art-book-fair-susan-omalley-daria-loard-2026",
"title": "There’s a Zillion Things to See at the SF Art Book Fair",
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"content": "\u003cp>The SF Art Book Fair can be a little overwhelming. Books, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/zines\">zines\u003c/a>, stickers and prints blanket folding tables as far as the eye can see, if one is not looking instead at a giant crowd of people. As the annual event takes over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/minnesota-street-project\">Minnesota Street Project\u003c/a> this weekend, two of the literal thousands of items for sale illustrate the diversity of the fair’s wares.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One is a major publisher’s retrospective of a well-known artist. Christina Amini’s \u003cem>It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine\u003c/em>, published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13401706/born-in-the-summer-of-love-chronicle-books-celebrates-50-years\">Chronicle Books\u003c/a>, spans the life and work of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10436300/celebrating-the-life-of-artist-and-curator-susan-omalley-1976-2015\">Susan O’Malley\u003c/a>. The average person may mostly know O’Malley from her inspirational phrases presented on colorful backgrounds, thanks to very public displays (along Market Street, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) of her series \u003cem>Advice From My 80 Year-Old Self\u003c/em>. Indeed, one of these is the book’s cover.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1586\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover.jpg 1586w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover-160x202.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover-768x968.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover-1218x1536.jpg 1218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine,’ by Christina Amini. (Susan O’Malley/Chronicle Books)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But as \u003cem>It Will Be More Beautiful\u003c/em> makes clear, over the course of 23 essays by friends and colleagues, O’Malley’s life work was so much more than uplifting, corporate breakroom-ready signage. Optimism was a constant for O’Malley, but, as just one example, it took the form of rearranging items on people’s lawns in her well-off San José neighborhood to make the world a little more interesting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organizing a “Pep Talk Squad.” Listening to grandmothers. Sending files to a photocopy store in Houston to print and hang in the front window. These projects of O’Malley’s fell under the then-newish rubric of social practice, which centers the surrounding environment and its people, and which O’Malley furthered in her work as one of the first graduates of the Social Practice program at CCA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"609\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991957\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_-768x468.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘What Is Your Secret Hope and Dream?,’ a 2004–05 project for which Susan O’Malley asked participants to write down their secret hopes and dreams, and then photograph her holding them. (Susan O’Malley/Chronicle Books)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A sad coda from the present day is that CCA is now shutting down, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991866/cca-vanderbilt-nvidia-jensen-huang-new-art-school\">the seventh-wealthiest man in the world has just pledged millions\u003c/a> toward a plan to replace the school with one geared toward art, design, AI and technology. It’s safe to say that O’Malley’s work, which has been revered, and inspired similar projects around the world, would find no home there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a new visual artist working in an untraversed field like O’Malley were to come along in 2026, their work would find a suitable soundtrack in the electronic music of \u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/\">Daria Lourd\u003c/a>. The Oakland-based producer’s work may be more obscure than O’Malley’s, both in visibility and method, but it’s just as welcoming for those open to its embrace.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991959\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Daria Lourd’s ‘Spiritual Surveillance’ EP. (Cone Shape Top)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Released in an edition of 100 at the SF Art Book Fair, Lourd’s new 12” EP, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-surveillance\">Spiritual Surveillance\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, conjures very human scenes. Opener “Backburner” cuts up synths over a bugged-out beat, as if someone handed the Invisibl Skratch Piklz an Enya record mid-set. “I Wasn’t Invited” is the sound of new age composer Ray Lynch and a Motown bassist hopping onstage during a 2000s London warehouse party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The EP, complete with a hand-sewn fabric cover, marks an evolution for Lourd, who’s releasing \u003cem>Spiritual Surveillance\u003c/em> under her own name instead of her longtime moniker Bored Lord. Marking 10 years of living in Oakland after an upbringing in Memphis, it’s also the latest in a discography spanning more than two dozen releases, including the exhilarating EP \u003cem>For The New Moon On November 30th 2024\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=496891789/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=1794945397/transparent=true/\" seamless=\"\">\u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-surveillance\">Spiritual Surveillance by Daria Lourd\u003c/a>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lourd’s record is released by \u003ca href=\"https://coneshapetop.com/\">Cone Shape Top\u003c/a>, an Oakland storefront and distributor decidedly more renegade and grassroots than Chronicle Books, and which reflects the underground with a passionate, robust spirit. Of the Bay Area’s legacy of similar collectives, radio stations and DIY spaces, Lourd once \u003ca href=\"https://whitecrate.org/in-the-bay-its-up-to-people-who-really-care-interview-with-daria-lourd-aka-bored-lord/\">told an interviewer\u003c/a> that “no matter how hard people try to change that, it always lives on in between the cracks.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For a glimpse into those exciting, active cracks, the SF Art Book Fair is a sterling place to start.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A signing and launch of ‘It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine’ takes place during the SF Art Book Fair, each day from Friday–Sunday, from 12 p.m.–2 p.m. A record-release performance for ‘Spiritual Surveillance’ takes place Saturday, July 25, from 7–10 p.m. Both events are held in the warehouse at 1201 Minnesota Street, San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The SF Art Book Fair can be a little overwhelming. Books, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/zines\">zines\u003c/a>, stickers and prints blanket folding tables as far as the eye can see, if one is not looking instead at a giant crowd of people. As the annual event takes over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/minnesota-street-project\">Minnesota Street Project\u003c/a> this weekend, two of the literal thousands of items for sale illustrate the diversity of the fair’s wares.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One is a major publisher’s retrospective of a well-known artist. Christina Amini’s \u003cem>It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine\u003c/em>, published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13401706/born-in-the-summer-of-love-chronicle-books-celebrates-50-years\">Chronicle Books\u003c/a>, spans the life and work of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10436300/celebrating-the-life-of-artist-and-curator-susan-omalley-1976-2015\">Susan O’Malley\u003c/a>. The average person may mostly know O’Malley from her inspirational phrases presented on colorful backgrounds, thanks to very public displays (along Market Street, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) of her series \u003cem>Advice From My 80 Year-Old Self\u003c/em>. Indeed, one of these is the book’s cover.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But as \u003cem>It Will Be More Beautiful\u003c/em> makes clear, over the course of 23 essays by friends and colleagues, O’Malley’s life work was so much more than uplifting, corporate breakroom-ready signage. Optimism was a constant for O’Malley, but, as just one example, it took the form of rearranging items on people’s lawns in her well-off San José neighborhood to make the world a little more interesting. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Organizing a “Pep Talk Squad.” Listening to grandmothers. Sending files to a photocopy store in Houston to print and hang in the front window. These projects of O’Malley’s fell under the then-newish rubric of social practice, which centers the surrounding environment and its people, and which O’Malley furthered in her work as one of the first graduates of the Social Practice program at CCA.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Organizing a “Pep Talk Squad.” Listening to grandmothers. Sending files to a photocopy store in Houston to print and hang in the front window. These projects of O’Malley’s fell under the then-newish rubric of social practice, which centers the surrounding environment and its people, and which O’Malley furthered in her work as one of the first graduates of the Social Practice program at CCA.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991957\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_-768x468.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘What Is Your Secret Hope and Dream?,’ a 2004–05 project for which Susan O’Malley asked participants to write down their secret hopes and dreams, and then photograph her holding them.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Released in an edition of 100 at the SF Art Book Fair, Lourd’s new 12” EP, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-surveillance\">Spiritual Surveillance\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, conjures very human scenes. Opener “Backburner” cuts up synths over a bugged-out beat, as if someone handed the Invisibl Skratch Piklz an Enya record mid-set. “I Wasn’t Invited” is the sound of new age composer Ray Lynch and a Motown bassist hopping onstage during a 2000s London warehouse party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A signing and launch of ‘It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine’ takes place during the SF Art Book Fair, each day from Friday–Sunday, from 12 p.m.–2 p.m. A record-release performance for ‘Spiritual Surveillance’ takes place Saturday, July 25, from 7–10 p.m. Both events are held in the warehouse at 1201 Minnesota Street, San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The SF Art Book Fair can be a little overwhelming. Books, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/zines\">zines\u003c/a>, stickers and prints blanket folding tables as far as the eye can see, if one is not looking instead at a giant crowd of people. As the annual event takes over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/minnesota-street-project\">Minnesota Street Project\u003c/a> this weekend, two of the literal thousands of items for sale illustrate the diversity of the fair’s wares.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One is a major publisher’s retrospective of a well-known artist. Christina Amini’s \u003cem>It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine\u003c/em>, published by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13401706/born-in-the-summer-of-love-chronicle-books-celebrates-50-years\">Chronicle Books\u003c/a>, spans the life and work of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10436300/celebrating-the-life-of-artist-and-curator-susan-omalley-1976-2015\">Susan O’Malley\u003c/a>. The average person may mostly know O’Malley from her inspirational phrases presented on colorful backgrounds, thanks to very public displays (along Market Street, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) of her series \u003cem>Advice From My 80 Year-Old Self\u003c/em>. Indeed, one of these is the book’s cover.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1586\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991958\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover.jpg 1586w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover-160x202.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover-768x968.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/It-Will-Be-More-Beautiful-Than-You-Could-Ever-Imagine-front-cover-1218x1536.jpg 1218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1586px) 100vw, 1586px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine,’ by Christina Amini. (Susan O’Malley/Chronicle Books)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But as \u003cem>It Will Be More Beautiful\u003c/em> makes clear, over the course of 23 essays by friends and colleagues, O’Malley’s life work was so much more than uplifting, corporate breakroom-ready signage. Optimism was a constant for O’Malley, but, as just one example, it took the form of rearranging items on people’s lawns in her well-off San José neighborhood to make the world a little more interesting. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organizing a “Pep Talk Squad.” Listening to grandmothers. Sending files to a photocopy store in Houston to print and hang in the front window. These projects of O’Malley’s fell under the then-newish rubric of social practice, which centers the surrounding environment and its people, and which O’Malley furthered in her work as one of the first graduates of the Social Practice program at CCA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"609\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991957\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Omalley.Msgs_-768x468.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘What Is Your Secret Hope and Dream?,’ a 2004–05 project for which Susan O’Malley asked participants to write down their secret hopes and dreams, and then photograph her holding them. (Susan O’Malley/Chronicle Books)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A sad coda from the present day is that CCA is now shutting down, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991866/cca-vanderbilt-nvidia-jensen-huang-new-art-school\">the seventh-wealthiest man in the world has just pledged millions\u003c/a> toward a plan to replace the school with one geared toward art, design, AI and technology. It’s safe to say that O’Malley’s work, which has been revered, and inspired similar projects around the world, would find no home there. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a new visual artist working in an untraversed field like O’Malley were to come along in 2026, their work would find a suitable soundtrack in the electronic music of \u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/\">Daria Lourd\u003c/a>. The Oakland-based producer’s work may be more obscure than O’Malley’s, both in visibility and method, but it’s just as welcoming for those open to its embrace.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991959\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/DariaLoard-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Daria Lourd’s ‘Spiritual Surveillance’ EP. (Cone Shape Top)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Released in an edition of 100 at the SF Art Book Fair, Lourd’s new 12” EP, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-surveillance\">Spiritual Surveillance\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, conjures very human scenes. Opener “Backburner” cuts up synths over a bugged-out beat, as if someone handed the Invisibl Skratch Piklz an Enya record mid-set. “I Wasn’t Invited” is the sound of new age composer Ray Lynch and a Motown bassist hopping onstage during a 2000s London warehouse party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The EP, complete with a hand-sewn fabric cover, marks an evolution for Lourd, who’s releasing \u003cem>Spiritual Surveillance\u003c/em> under her own name instead of her longtime moniker Bored Lord. Marking 10 years of living in Oakland after an upbringing in Memphis, it’s also the latest in a discography spanning more than two dozen releases, including the exhilarating EP \u003cem>For The New Moon On November 30th 2024\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=496891789/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=1794945397/transparent=true/\" seamless=\"\">\u003ca href=\"https://boredlord.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-surveillance\">Spiritual Surveillance by Daria Lourd\u003c/a>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lourd’s record is released by \u003ca href=\"https://coneshapetop.com/\">Cone Shape Top\u003c/a>, an Oakland storefront and distributor decidedly more renegade and grassroots than Chronicle Books, and which reflects the underground with a passionate, robust spirit. Of the Bay Area’s legacy of similar collectives, radio stations and DIY spaces, Lourd once \u003ca href=\"https://whitecrate.org/in-the-bay-its-up-to-people-who-really-care-interview-with-daria-lourd-aka-bored-lord/\">told an interviewer\u003c/a> that “no matter how hard people try to change that, it always lives on in between the cracks.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For a glimpse into those exciting, active cracks, the SF Art Book Fair is a sterling place to start.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A signing and launch of ‘It Will Be More Beautiful Than You Could Ever Imagine’ takes place during the SF Art Book Fair, each day from Friday–Sunday, from 12 p.m.–2 p.m. A record-release performance for ‘Spiritual Surveillance’ takes place Saturday, July 25, from 7–10 p.m. Both events are held in the warehouse at 1201 Minnesota Street, San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Nvidia Founder Pledges $75 Million to Replace CCA With Another Art School",
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"content": "\u003cp>In January, when California College of the Arts \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985359/california-college-of-the-arts-closing-vanderbilt-university\">announced it would close\u003c/a> at the end of the 2026–27 school year, little was known about the fate of the recently expanded campus beyond the fact that Vanderbilt University had purchased it. Now, a \u003ca href=\"https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2026/07/21/generous-gift-establishes-flagship-for-vanderbilts-san-francisco-campus/\">$75 million matching donation\u003c/a> looks to establish a new art college on the same site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang College of Art, Architecture and Design, funded by the Nvidia founder’s family foundation, plans to open in fall 2027, pending accreditation and state approval. A job search for the college’s \u003ca href=\"https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2026/07/21/national-search-launched-for-founding-dean-of-vanderbilts-proposed-san-francisco-college/\">founding dean\u003c/a> is currently underway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This college, together with additional academic programming under development, will prepare creative leaders to shape culture, industries and communities in San Francisco’s thriving economy, nationally and around the world,” said Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier in today’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Curriculum at the new college would take a tech-forward approach to art, promising to focus on engineering, entrepreneurship and design.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vanderbilt plans to enroll about 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students on the San Francisco campus, which opened a 82,300 square-foot, $123 million expansion in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CCA, founded in 1907, will graduate its final class in spring of 2027. Continuing students are not guaranteed admission to Vanderbilt; CCA has reached \u003ca href=\"https://portal.cca.edu/transition/students/teach-out-resources/\">teach-out agreements\u003c/a> with seven other institutions across the country to help students complete their degrees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Current CCA faculty and staff also are not guaranteed positions at Vanderbilt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Huangs’ donation has so far led to more than $25 million in additional donations, including gifts from Vanderbilt alums. This is not the first time the Huangs have made donations to the site: in February 2025 their foundation contributed $22.5 million in matching gifts to CCA. Later that year, the school announced a partnership with Nvidia, as well as a $20 million one-time grant from the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All that was not enough to save CCA from financial collapse. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In today’s announcement, Vanderbilt reaffirmed its commitment to building on CCA’s legacy by “preserving and advancing CCA’s traditions of experimentation, collaboration and remaining deeply connected to the cultural life of San Francisco and the broader Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This college, together with additional academic programming under development, will prepare creative leaders to shape culture, industries and communities in San Francisco’s thriving economy, nationally and around the world,” said Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier in today’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>CCA, founded in 1907, will graduate its final class in spring of 2027. Continuing students are not guaranteed admission to Vanderbilt; CCA has reached \u003ca href=\"https://portal.cca.edu/transition/students/teach-out-resources/\">teach-out agreements\u003c/a> with seven other institutions across the country to help students complete their degrees.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Huangs’ donation has so far led to more than $25 million in additional donations, including gifts from Vanderbilt alums. This is not the first time the Huangs have made donations to the site: in February 2025 their foundation contributed $22.5 million in matching gifts to CCA. Later that year, the school announced a partnership with Nvidia, as well as a $20 million one-time grant from the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "Nvidia Founder Pledges $75 Million to Replace CCA With Another Art School",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In January, when California College of the Arts \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985359/california-college-of-the-arts-closing-vanderbilt-university\">announced it would close\u003c/a> at the end of the 2026–27 school year, little was known about the fate of the recently expanded campus beyond the fact that Vanderbilt University had purchased it. Now, a \u003ca href=\"https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2026/07/21/generous-gift-establishes-flagship-for-vanderbilts-san-francisco-campus/\">$75 million matching donation\u003c/a> looks to establish a new art college on the same site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang College of Art, Architecture and Design, funded by the Nvidia founder’s family foundation, plans to open in fall 2027, pending accreditation and state approval. A job search for the college’s \u003ca href=\"https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2026/07/21/national-search-launched-for-founding-dean-of-vanderbilts-proposed-san-francisco-college/\">founding dean\u003c/a> is currently underway.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This college, together with additional academic programming under development, will prepare creative leaders to shape culture, industries and communities in San Francisco’s thriving economy, nationally and around the world,” said Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier in today’s announcement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Curriculum at the new college would take a tech-forward approach to art, promising to focus on engineering, entrepreneurship and design.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vanderbilt plans to enroll about 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students on the San Francisco campus, which opened a 82,300 square-foot, $123 million expansion in October 2024.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CCA, founded in 1907, will graduate its final class in spring of 2027. Continuing students are not guaranteed admission to Vanderbilt; CCA has reached \u003ca href=\"https://portal.cca.edu/transition/students/teach-out-resources/\">teach-out agreements\u003c/a> with seven other institutions across the country to help students complete their degrees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Current CCA faculty and staff also are not guaranteed positions at Vanderbilt.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Huangs’ donation has so far led to more than $25 million in additional donations, including gifts from Vanderbilt alums. This is not the first time the Huangs have made donations to the site: in February 2025 their foundation contributed $22.5 million in matching gifts to CCA. Later that year, the school announced a partnership with Nvidia, as well as a $20 million one-time grant from the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All that was not enough to save CCA from financial collapse. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In today’s announcement, Vanderbilt reaffirmed its commitment to building on CCA’s legacy by “preserving and advancing CCA’s traditions of experimentation, collaboration and remaining deeply connected to the cultural life of San Francisco and the broader Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "mosswood-meltdown-2026-review-photos-oakland-punk-festival",
"title": "Mosswood Meltdown, the Music Festival for People Who Hate Music Festivals",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1334\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991788\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg 1334w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1334px) 100vw, 1334px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Walker pushes his 5-year-old daughter, Wynonna Walker, on a swing during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. The family traveled from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991768\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Karly Hartzman of Wednesday performs on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Spits perform at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991805\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">B. Gallagher (right) and Jamie Ridener (center) cheer from the front row during Bikini Kill’s closing set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991803\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musician H.P. Mendoza of Peaches Christ’s Punk Pride poses for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Festivalgoers browse vendor booths during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991774\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991789\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Raquel, left, and Lorna take a smoke break during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans react during The Spits’ performance at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991792\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Curator Kai Wada Roath offers $1 palm readings during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nico Banuelos of Richmond waits near the Field Stage before Wednesday’s performance during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Banuelos said the band was the reason they bought a ticket. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mannequin Pussy performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991791\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Graaciella E., left, and DJaune A. pose for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. They traveled from Southern California. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991767\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cyrus Kayhan, left, and Akeylah Hernandez pose in the grass during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991798\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A fan crowd surfs during The Dead Milkmen’s set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mosswood-meltdown\">Mosswood Meltdown\u003c/a> is for the diehards. The people who heard that you’re supposed to stop caring about new music at age 30 and rolled their eyes. They don’t want distractions like a silent disco, a culinary stage or a “Chocolands,” and they sure as hell don’t need Vitamin B12 infusions. They sweat out their hangovers like they always have: in the pit while their new favorite band plays. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was clear this past weekend at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a>’s Mosswood Park, where the opening acts, 20 in all, were sometimes celebrated more actively than headliners Pavement, Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill. On Sunday, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna even saluted the bands that hadn’t formed yet, but would after attending the festival: “I can’t wait,” she said, “to open for \u003cem>you\u003c/em> in 10 years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991806\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_115-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Or consider the scene Friday afternoon, when Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus emerged from his tour bus, a few feet away from the long line of fans along MacArthur Boulevard. No one so much as twitched. Instead, they filed into the park and held aloft a Rasputin-looking septuagenarian crowdsurfer while Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman erupted in otherworldly screams, which she dedicated to those dead from the wars promoted by recently deceased Republican senator Lindsey Graham.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the Dirtbombs slayed the concrete amphitheater and Otoboke Beaver, from Kyoto, won over new recruits with their frenetic energy. Oakland’s Bitchfit played a furious stageless set on Sunday, and drag queen Kochina Rude performed as Pee-Wee Herman singing the Germs’ “Lexicon Devil.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991783\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_056-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For annual music festivals, this sort of renegade authenticity is all too easy to lose after a few years. A festival will have some success, organizers decide to maximize their investment, and slowly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911699/cory-doctorow-on-why-the-internet-got-so-terrible-so-fast-and-what-to-do-about-it\">enshittification\u003c/a> creeps in: more branding, more advertising, more “experiences” and more pandering to people with money. Somehow the Foo Fighters are always involved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mosswood has grown plenty in its various iterations over the past 17 years. It’s now large enough to attract Pavement, who amusingly covered part of “Stairway to Heaven”; Iggy Pop, who proved that one can still embody rock ‘n’ roll at 79; and Bikini Kill, who brought out Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney for “Rebel Girl.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991809\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_027_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, a completed renovation of Mosswood Park also meant a more spacious layout. Newly situated at the north end of the park, the once-modest main stage was replaced by a more standard festival-issue truss stage, complete with a giant LED screen and tall scaffolding.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But wouldn’t you know it? It only took two days for a band, Snooper, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbBaMjeByT2/\">climb high up the scaffolding\u003c/a>. As for sponsors and branding, when representatives of a tequila company sponsoring the festival gave their onstage product spiel before Pavement’s set, the crowd responded with jeering and scattered boos. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_095-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iggy Pop performs during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One could scoff at this as Gen-X groupthink, of sheep in different clothing. (To be sure, there is something of a uniform coalescing among this cohort. For the men, black zip-up hoodies, mesh caps, jeans and a beard. For the women, either a Nooworks jumpsuit or black skirt, denim jacket, nice-but-orthopedic shoes and a bob.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But really, who likes advertising? Who wants to download some app? Who genuinely wants to go to a Verizon tent and talk about data plans? Who wants to stand in front of a plastic foliage wall with pink, faux-neon cursive, brought to you by some “artisanal” snack company actually owned by Nestle?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not the grandparents and teenagers alike that flock to Mosswood each year, and not the organizers either, thank goodness.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991807\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_097_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Dead Milkmen perform during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Take the set finale of the Dead Milkmen, who played classics like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Life Is Shit” to a massive crowd that took over the small amphitheatre’s fences and trees on Sunday. (Sample improvised lyric: “Hey Stephen Miller! / I don’t wanna see ya / I think you’re the cause / of explosive diarrhea!”)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the wings, Mosswood cofounder Marc Ribak stood watch, singing along and simultaneously trying in vain to curtail the steady flow of stagedivers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But by the last song? Ribak said the hell with it, stood atop the monitors — and then leapt with abandon into the tattooed arms of the crowd.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>More photos below.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726Mosswood-Meltdown_GH_003_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Waters introduces indie rock band Wednesday on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Waters returns as host for his 12th year at the annual punk music festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_051-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1334\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991788\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED.jpg 1334w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_066-KQED-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1334px) 100vw, 1334px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Walker pushes his 5-year-old daughter, Wynonna Walker, on a swing during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. The family traveled from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991768\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_015-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Karly Hartzman of Wednesday performs on the Field Stage during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_037-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Spits perform at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991805\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_112-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">B. Gallagher (right) and Jamie Ridener (center) cheer from the front row during Bikini Kill’s closing set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991803\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_107-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill perform during the closing set of Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991799\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_100-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Musician H.P. Mendoza of Peaches Christ’s Punk Pride poses for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_047-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Festivalgoers browse vendor booths during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991774\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_033-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pavement headlines the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991789\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_067-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Raquel, left, and Lorna take a smoke break during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991776\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_036-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans react during The Spits’ performance at the amphitheater stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991792\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED.jpg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_076-KQED-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Curator Kai Wada Roath offers $1 palm readings during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nico Banuelos of Richmond waits near the Field Stage before Wednesday’s performance during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. Banuelos said the band was the reason they bought a ticket. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_042-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mannequin Pussy performs on the Field Stage during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991791\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071826MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_071-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends Graaciella E., left, and DJaune A. pose for a portrait during Mosswood Meltdown on July 18, 2026, in Oakland. They traveled from Southern California. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991767\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071726MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cyrus Kayhan, left, and Akeylah Hernandez pose in the grass during the Mosswood Meltdown pre-party on July 17, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991798\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/071926MOSSWOOD-MELTDOWN_GH_098-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A fan crowd surfs during The Dead Milkmen’s set at Mosswood Meltdown on July 19, 2026, in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "oasis-san-francisco-drag-club-reopens-grand-reveal",
"title": "Oasis, San Francisco’s Premier Drag Destination, Is Ready for Its Second Act",
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"headTitle": "Oasis, San Francisco’s Premier Drag Destination, Is Ready for Its Second Act | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Near the end of 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950030/san-francisco-names-the-nations-first-drag-laureate\">D’Arcy Drollinger\u003c/a> thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/drag\">drag\u003c/a> venues, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/\">Oasis\u003c/a> was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after seven months of renovations and long-term financial planning, Oasis will reopen its doors on July 17. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yes, Oasis has gotten a facelift. Gold tiles now sparkle around the ticketbooth, and pink ruffled stage curtains exude the allure of a Broadway diva’s boudoir. Upstairs, faux crocodile wallpaper completes this 8,000-square-foot shrine to all things camp and glamor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991739\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D’Arcy Drollinger and Greg Sottolano pose for a portrait at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em> winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Evan Favela, also known as Evian, touches up a mural at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Favela is the club’s interior designer. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/out-abt-a-queer-dance-party-tickets-1993210277596?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Out & Abt\u003c/a>, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dore-2026-tickets-1993210518316?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Dore Alley\u003c/a>. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shit-champagne-tickets-1993179732234?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Shit & Champagne\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Near the end of 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950030/san-francisco-names-the-nations-first-drag-laureate\">D’Arcy Drollinger\u003c/a> thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/drag\">drag\u003c/a> venues, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/\">Oasis\u003c/a> was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Near the end of 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950030/san-francisco-names-the-nations-first-drag-laureate\">D’Arcy Drollinger\u003c/a> thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/drag\">drag\u003c/a> venues, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/\">Oasis\u003c/a> was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, after seven months of renovations and long-term financial planning, Oasis will reopen its doors on July 17. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yes, Oasis has gotten a facelift. Gold tiles now sparkle around the ticketbooth, and pink ruffled stage curtains exude the allure of a Broadway diva’s boudoir. Upstairs, faux crocodile wallpaper completes this 8,000-square-foot shrine to all things camp and glamor. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991739\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D’Arcy Drollinger and Greg Sottolano pose for a portrait at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em> winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/out-abt-a-queer-dance-party-tickets-1993210277596?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Out & Abt\u003c/a>, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dore-2026-tickets-1993210518316?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Dore Alley\u003c/a>. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shit-champagne-tickets-1993179732234?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Shit & Champagne\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Near the end of 2025, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950030/san-francisco-names-the-nations-first-drag-laureate\">D’Arcy Drollinger\u003c/a> thought she’d have to close her nightclub for good. Despite an 11-year run as one of San Francisco’s top \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/drag\">drag\u003c/a> venues, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/\">Oasis\u003c/a> was barely scraping by, forcing Drollinger to dip into her personal retirement savings to keep the club afloat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Grief swept through the Bay Area’s queer community when Drollinger announced the impending closure last summer. But a surprise multi-million-dollar donation saved Oasis at the 11th hour. Silicon Valley philanthropists Mark and Mary Stevens, whose son, Sky, is an Oasis regular, stepped in to help secure Oasis’ future just days before its final show on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after seven months of renovations and long-term financial planning, Oasis will reopen its doors on July 17. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[We] get to not only survive, but build something that I hope becomes a legacy,” Drollinger tells KQED on a recent visit to the club.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less than 36 hours before Oasis’ grand reopening, all hands are on deck. Drollinger and Greg Sottolano, the new executive director of the club’s nonprofit arm, give interviews. Production manager Justin Denburg polishes disco balls. Designer Evan Favela applies final touch-ups to the black and gold murals on the walls. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991741\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-02_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Production manager Justin Denburg polishes a disco ball at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Oasis is set to reopen on July 17 after months of renovation. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yes, Oasis has gotten a facelift. Gold tiles now sparkle around the ticketbooth, and pink ruffled stage curtains exude the allure of a Broadway diva’s boudoir. Upstairs, faux crocodile wallpaper completes this 8,000-square-foot shrine to all things camp and glamor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such attention to detail is fitting for the only American nightclub of its size created for drag artists, by drag artists. It shows not only in the decor, but in Oasis’ spacious, well-lit dressing rooms (a luxury for queens who’ve had to apply wig glue in electrical closets). Its technical capabilities — including a light-up runway, 4K video wall and Steinway baby grand piano — allow artists to create the “wow” moments that send audiences’ jaws to the floor and dollar bills flying through the air. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“From cabaret to drag shows to theater, there is no limit,” Drollinger says. “I’ve seen some people make some really incredible work here, and more than anything, it’s the team to support them that really counts.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its cosmetic makeover, Oasis has also done some internal restructuring. Sottolano now handles business administration so Drollinger can focus on her role as artistic director. She’s already firing off ambitious ideas, including a film incubator program, an oral-history project for elders and rotating murals by queer visual artists. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The truth is that we have a responsibility, and it’s also an opportunity to create the world we want to live in,” Drollinger says. “And if we want to live in a world full of arts, then you have to support the artists.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991739\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-03_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">D’Arcy Drollinger and Greg Sottolano pose for a portrait at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sottolano has hired a director of development to beef up fundraising efforts, and the nonprofit is in the process of purchasing its building. “Truthfully we’re one of the lucky ones. There’s a lot of venues in San Francisco and, frankly, across the country who haven’t had the same opportunity that we’ve gotten,” Sottolano says. “We take that responsibility really seriously, not just for the community that we serve here in San Francisco and the artists themselves, but also to hopefully be a beacon, a beacon of inspiration and a beacon of knowledge for other organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis had hosted its share of celebrities, including countless \u003cem>RuPaul’s Drag Race\u003c/em> winners and pop stars like Doja Cat, who threw a surprise album release party at the club last year. It’s also nurtured local artists who’ve ascended to bigger stages at Outside Lands and the Pink Block pride party.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s a hub for people who have initiative and talent, and want to be on stage or behind the camera or making props,” says Favela, who in addition to upgrading the club’s interior also performs there regularly as Evian. “I started six years ago as a waiter and now I’m a full-time designer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260716-OasisReopening-JY-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Evan Favela, also known as Evian, touches up a mural at Oasis in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Favela is the club’s interior designer. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Oasis’ calendar is already filling up with programming after its sold-out \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-grand-reveal-tickets-1992034519873?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Grand Reveal \u003c/a>party on July 17. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/princess-homecoming-w-julie-j-tickets-1992034859890?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Princess\u003c/a>, the ultra-popular Saturday-night drag show, returns on July 18 with New York drag star Julie J, San Francisco collective Clutch the Pearls and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/out-abt-a-queer-dance-party-tickets-1993210277596?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Out & Abt\u003c/a>, a lesbian-forward dance party, is back on July 24. On July 26, kinksters have a place to go for drinks during the leather and fetish celebration \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dore-2026-tickets-1993210518316?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Dore Alley\u003c/a>. And on July 30, Drollinger will screen her film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shit-champagne-tickets-1993179732234?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\">Shit & Champagne\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, based on the inaugural stage show she put on at Oasis when it opened in 2014. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tito Soto, a drag artist and the producer of Princess, says he’s excited for his party to return to its home venue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s a very special venue to the whole city,” Soto says. “And the whole city was mourning its closure, and we get a second chance at this. I think it’s a good reminder to everybody that we all need to pitch in to keep our queer spaces alive.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oasis (298 11th Street, San Francisco) celebrates its Grand Reveal on July 17.\u003c/em> \u003cem>For the club’s full schedule of events, visit its\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoasis.com/events\"> calendar\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "wood-street-oakland-documentary-caron-creighton",
"title": "In ‘Wood Street,’ Encampment Residents Fight to Remain",
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"headTitle": "In ‘Wood Street,’ Encampment Residents Fight to Remain | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>For years, when Oakland police kicked people out of encampments, they’d tell them to go to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/wood-street\">Wood Street\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, the Caltrans- and city-owned lot in West Oakland grew into Northern California’s largest community of unhoused people, with 300 residents at its peak during the pandemic. They laid bricks, hammered plywood and planted flowers. They cobbled together makeshift homes and two community centers with showers, bathrooms and a free store. For many struggling with mental health and addiction, the shelter and resources they built for themselves became a lifeline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Filmmaker Caron Creighton first got to know these residents as a multimedia producer at the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>. When the Wood Street encampment received an eviction notice in 2022, she quit her job and spent nearly a year following them with her camera, documenting their efforts to stop the sweeps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just thought it was really powerful,” she says, “people really taking their power back and fighting for what they believed in.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Creighton’s new documentary, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.woodstmovie.com/\">Wood Street\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, premieres in Oakland this week with screenings at the New Parkway (July 14, 6:30 p.m.) and the Grand Lake Theatre (July 15, 7:30 p.m.). The film follows two Wood Street residents, John Janosko and LaMonté Ford, as they rally their community to defend their home. With the help of lawyers and advocates, Wood Street residents eventually sue the city and state to attempt to stop the evictions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All this stuff, these resources, these connections, these people, this caring, this love — that took time,” Janosko said in a 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949327/the-end-of-wood-street-inside-the-struggle-for-stability-housing-on-the-margins-of-the-bay-area\">KQED interview \u003c/a>about the encampment. “It takes time to be able to get to a point where you’re able to take care of yourself, and also help take care of your community.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout the film, many residents explain that they’ve settled at Wood Street because there’s a lack of dignified housing alternatives. In order to access temporary shelter beds, unhoused people must abandon their pets and belongings, only to be sent back on the street shortly after. At tiny home sites, residents say they are left to fend for themselves amid a lack of resources and outbreaks of violence. And neither shelters nor tiny home communities have enough space to accommodate Oakland’s estimated \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/19/oakland-pit-count-homeless-drop-20-percent/\">4,410 homeless residents\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color.jpg\" alt='A sign outside the Wood Street encampment reads: \"Permanent and supportive housing, public land for public good, resident advisory board, moratorium on all evictions, meet with the mayor and city officials.\"' class=\"wp-image-13991610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wood Street residents’ demands to the city of Oakland. (Bad Name Media/Caron Creighton)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Notably, \u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> doesn’t feature interviews with politicians or other talking heads. Nor does it portray its protagonists merely as victims. In Janosko’s phone footage of community meals and clean-ups, we see imperfect people making a way despite dismal circumstances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As I was a reporter covering homelessness, it felt like you always had to have an outside expert talking about it, but a homeless person’s experience isn’t necessarily considered an expertise,” Creighton says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With the documentary, she set out to change that. Creighton captures the psychological toll of the looming eviction as residents relapse into addiction, struggle with mental health and lose the tenuous sense of stability they’d managed to build. Strong personalities emerge, and tensions run high.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to show how all of these processes move to impact an individual. They impact people’s mental health in such a negative way,” Creighton says. “A lot of people are struggling with addiction, and the stress of an encampment sweep isn’t going to help them get clean.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A still from ’Wood Street.’ The new documentary follows unhoused residents of a makeshift community as they attempt to fight their eviction. (Bad Name Media/Caron Creighton)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> comes to a tear-jerking crescendo when bulldozers finally arrive to crush people’s homes and belongings. City officials justify the eviction by citing a new affordable housing development slated for the site. That building is now open, and with rents starting at $1,845 for a studio apartment, it’s out of reach for many low-income workers. The encampment site itself is now a parking lot. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The word ‘affordable,’ I think, is incredibly misleading,” Creighton says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Wood Street was cleared out in 2023, many of the residents moved into a tiny home site, which the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047641/oakland-built-a-shelter-for-unhoused-residents-of-wood-street-now-its-evicting-them\">city of Oakland also later evicted\u003c/a>. Only a fraction of them made it into permanent housing. The rest have scattered to encampments around the area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046259/how-grants-pass-ruling-affected-homeless-enforcement-in-california\">ramped up encampment sweeps\u003c/a> after the Supreme Court’s 2024 Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling. For many homeless people, each sweep means losing irreplaceable documents, possessions and support systems. These life disruptions can have dire consequences, \u003ca href=\"https://nhchc.org/study-shows-involuntary-displacement-of-people-experiencing-homelessness-may-cause-significant-spikes-in-mortality-overdoses-and-hospitalizations/\">including increased chances of overdose and even death\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a better way, there has to be,” Creighton says. “We don’t have to be traumatizing people in order to get them off the street.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Wood Street’ screens on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thenewparkway.com/upcomingevents/calendar/\">\u003cem>New Parkway\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> (474 24th St., Oakland), and on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m., at the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancerialto.com/directions.php\">\u003cem>Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> (3200 Grand Ave., Oakland). Sold out online; limited tickets available at the door.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eventually, the Caltrans- and city-owned lot in West Oakland grew into Northern California’s largest community of unhoused people, with 300 residents at its peak during the pandemic. They laid bricks, hammered plywood and planted flowers. They cobbled together makeshift homes and two community centers with showers, bathrooms and a free store. For many struggling with mental health and addiction, the shelter and resources they built for themselves became a lifeline.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Filmmaker Caron Creighton first got to know these residents as a multimedia producer at the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>. When the Wood Street encampment received an eviction notice in 2022, she quit her job and spent nearly a year following them with her camera, documenting their efforts to stop the sweeps.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I just thought it was really powerful,” she says, “people really taking their power back and fighting for what they believed in.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Creighton’s new documentary, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.woodstmovie.com/\">Wood Street\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, premieres in Oakland this week with screenings at the New Parkway (July 14, 6:30 p.m.) and the Grand Lake Theatre (July 15, 7:30 p.m.). The film follows two Wood Street residents, John Janosko and LaMonté Ford, as they rally their community to defend their home. With the help of lawyers and advocates, Wood Street residents eventually sue the city and state to attempt to stop the evictions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Creighton’s new documentary, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.woodstmovie.com/\">Wood Street\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, premieres in Oakland this week with screenings at the New Parkway (July 14, 6:30 p.m.) and the Grand Lake Theatre (July 15, 7:30 p.m.). The film follows two Wood Street residents, John Janosko and LaMonté Ford, as they rally their community to defend their home. With the help of lawyers and advocates, Wood Street residents eventually sue the city and state to attempt to stop the evictions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“All this stuff, these resources, these connections, these people, this caring, this love — that took time,” Janosko said in a 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949327/the-end-of-wood-street-inside-the-struggle-for-stability-housing-on-the-margins-of-the-bay-area\">KQED interview \u003c/a>about the encampment. “It takes time to be able to get to a point where you’re able to take care of yourself, and also help take care of your community.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“All this stuff, these resources, these connections, these people, this caring, this love — that took time,” Janosko said in a 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949327/the-end-of-wood-street-inside-the-struggle-for-stability-housing-on-the-margins-of-the-bay-area\">KQED interview \u003c/a>about the encampment. “It takes time to be able to get to a point where you’re able to take care of yourself, and also help take care of your community.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Throughout the film, many residents explain that they’ve settled at Wood Street because there’s a lack of dignified housing alternatives. In order to access temporary shelter beds, unhoused people must abandon their pets and belongings, only to be sent back on the street shortly after. At tiny home sites, residents say they are left to fend for themselves amid a lack of resources and outbreaks of violence. And neither shelters nor tiny home communities have enough space to accommodate Oakland’s estimated \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/19/oakland-pit-count-homeless-drop-20-percent/\">4,410 homeless residents\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Throughout the film, many residents explain that they’ve settled at Wood Street because there’s a lack of dignified housing alternatives. In order to access temporary shelter beds, unhoused people must abandon their pets and belongings, only to be sent back on the street shortly after. At tiny home sites, residents say they are left to fend for themselves amid a lack of resources and outbreaks of violence. And neither shelters nor tiny home communities have enough space to accommodate Oakland’s estimated \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/19/oakland-pit-count-homeless-drop-20-percent/\">4,410 homeless residents\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color.jpg\" alt=\"A sign outside the Wood Street encampment reads: "Permanent and supportive housing, public land for public good, resident advisory board, moratorium on all evictions, meet with the mayor and city officials."\" class=\"wp-image-13991610\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wood Street residents’ demands to the city of Oakland. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Notably, \u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> doesn’t feature interviews with politicians or other talking heads. Nor does it portray its protagonists merely as victims. In Janosko’s phone footage of community meals and clean-ups, we see imperfect people making a way despite dismal circumstances. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Notably, \u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> doesn’t feature interviews with politicians or other talking heads. Nor does it portray its protagonists merely as victims. In Janosko’s phone footage of community meals and clean-ups, we see imperfect people making a way despite dismal circumstances. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As I was a reporter covering homelessness, it felt like you always had to have an outside expert talking about it, but a homeless person’s experience isn’t necessarily considered an expertise,” Creighton says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As I was a reporter covering homelessness, it felt like you always had to have an outside expert talking about it, but a homeless person’s experience isn’t necessarily considered an expertise,” Creighton says. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With the documentary, she set out to change that. Creighton captures the psychological toll of the looming eviction as residents relapse into addiction, struggle with mental health and lose the tenuous sense of stability they’d managed to build. Strong personalities emerge, and tensions run high.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With the documentary, she set out to change that. Creighton captures the psychological toll of the looming eviction as residents relapse into addiction, struggle with mental health and lose the tenuous sense of stability they’d managed to build. Strong personalities emerge, and tensions run high.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wanted to show how all of these processes move to impact an individual. They impact people’s mental health in such a negative way,” Creighton says. “A lot of people are struggling with addiction, and the stress of an encampment sweep isn’t going to help them get clean.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I wanted to show how all of these processes move to impact an individual. They impact people’s mental health in such a negative way,” Creighton says. “A lot of people are struggling with addiction, and the stress of an encampment sweep isn’t going to help them get clean.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991609\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A still from ’Wood Street.’ The new documentary follows unhoused residents of a makeshift community as they attempt to fight their eviction. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> comes to a tear-jerking crescendo when bulldozers finally arrive to crush people’s homes and belongings. City officials justify the eviction by citing a new affordable housing development slated for the site. That building is now open, and with rents starting at $1,845 for a studio apartment, it’s out of reach for many low-income workers. The encampment site itself is now a parking lot. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> comes to a tear-jerking crescendo when bulldozers finally arrive to crush people’s homes and belongings. City officials justify the eviction by citing a new affordable housing development slated for the site. That building is now open, and with rents starting at $1,845 for a studio apartment, it’s out of reach for many low-income workers. The encampment site itself is now a parking lot. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The word ‘affordable,’ I think, is incredibly misleading,” Creighton says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Wood Street was cleared out in 2023, many of the residents moved into a tiny home site, which the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047641/oakland-built-a-shelter-for-unhoused-residents-of-wood-street-now-its-evicting-them\">city of Oakland also later evicted\u003c/a>. Only a fraction of them made it into permanent housing. The rest have scattered to encampments around the area. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After Wood Street was cleared out in 2023, many of the residents moved into a tiny home site, which the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047641/oakland-built-a-shelter-for-unhoused-residents-of-wood-street-now-its-evicting-them\">city of Oakland also later evicted\u003c/a>. Only a fraction of them made it into permanent housing. The rest have scattered to encampments around the area. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046259/how-grants-pass-ruling-affected-homeless-enforcement-in-california\">ramped up encampment sweeps\u003c/a> after the Supreme Court’s 2024 Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling. For many homeless people, each sweep means losing irreplaceable documents, possessions and support systems. These life disruptions can have dire consequences, \u003ca href=\"https://nhchc.org/study-shows-involuntary-displacement-of-people-experiencing-homelessness-may-cause-significant-spikes-in-mortality-overdoses-and-hospitalizations/\">including increased chances of overdose and even death\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046259/how-grants-pass-ruling-affected-homeless-enforcement-in-california\">ramped up encampment sweeps\u003c/a> after the Supreme Court’s 2024 Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling. For many homeless people, each sweep means losing irreplaceable documents, possessions and support systems. These life disruptions can have dire consequences, \u003ca href=\"https://nhchc.org/study-shows-involuntary-displacement-of-people-experiencing-homelessness-may-cause-significant-spikes-in-mortality-overdoses-and-hospitalizations/\">including increased chances of overdose and even death\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s a better way, there has to be,” Creighton says. “We don’t have to be traumatizing people in order to get them off the street.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s a better way, there has to be,” Creighton says. “We don’t have to be traumatizing people in order to get them off the street.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Wood Street’ screens on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thenewparkway.com/upcomingevents/calendar/\">\u003cem>New Parkway\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> (474 24th St., Oakland), and on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m., at the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancerialto.com/directions.php\">\u003cem>Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> (3200 Grand Ave., Oakland). Sold out online; limited tickets available at the door.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For years, when Oakland police kicked people out of encampments, they’d tell them to go to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/wood-street\">Wood Street\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, the Caltrans- and city-owned lot in West Oakland grew into Northern California’s largest community of unhoused people, with 300 residents at its peak during the pandemic. They laid bricks, hammered plywood and planted flowers. They cobbled together makeshift homes and two community centers with showers, bathrooms and a free store. For many struggling with mental health and addiction, the shelter and resources they built for themselves became a lifeline.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Filmmaker Caron Creighton first got to know these residents as a multimedia producer at the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>. When the Wood Street encampment received an eviction notice in 2022, she quit her job and spent nearly a year following them with her camera, documenting their efforts to stop the sweeps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just thought it was really powerful,” she says, “people really taking their power back and fighting for what they believed in.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Creighton’s new documentary, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.woodstmovie.com/\">Wood Street\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, premieres in Oakland this week with screenings at the New Parkway (July 14, 6:30 p.m.) and the Grand Lake Theatre (July 15, 7:30 p.m.). The film follows two Wood Street residents, John Janosko and LaMonté Ford, as they rally their community to defend their home. With the help of lawyers and advocates, Wood Street residents eventually sue the city and state to attempt to stop the evictions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All this stuff, these resources, these connections, these people, this caring, this love — that took time,” Janosko said in a 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949327/the-end-of-wood-street-inside-the-struggle-for-stability-housing-on-the-margins-of-the-bay-area\">KQED interview \u003c/a>about the encampment. “It takes time to be able to get to a point where you’re able to take care of yourself, and also help take care of your community.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout the film, many residents explain that they’ve settled at Wood Street because there’s a lack of dignified housing alternatives. In order to access temporary shelter beds, unhoused people must abandon their pets and belongings, only to be sent back on the street shortly after. At tiny home sites, residents say they are left to fend for themselves amid a lack of resources and outbreaks of violence. And neither shelters nor tiny home communities have enough space to accommodate Oakland’s estimated \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/19/oakland-pit-count-homeless-drop-20-percent/\">4,410 homeless residents\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color.jpg\" alt='A sign outside the Wood Street encampment reads: \"Permanent and supportive housing, public land for public good, resident advisory board, moratorium on all evictions, meet with the mayor and city officials.\"' class=\"wp-image-13991610\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/shot-of-demands-sign-and-community-in-the-background-color-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wood Street residents’ demands to the city of Oakland. (Bad Name Media/Caron Creighton)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Notably, \u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> doesn’t feature interviews with politicians or other talking heads. Nor does it portray its protagonists merely as victims. In Janosko’s phone footage of community meals and clean-ups, we see imperfect people making a way despite dismal circumstances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As I was a reporter covering homelessness, it felt like you always had to have an outside expert talking about it, but a homeless person’s experience isn’t necessarily considered an expertise,” Creighton says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With the documentary, she set out to change that. Creighton captures the psychological toll of the looming eviction as residents relapse into addiction, struggle with mental health and lose the tenuous sense of stability they’d managed to build. Strong personalities emerge, and tensions run high.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wanted to show how all of these processes move to impact an individual. They impact people’s mental health in such a negative way,” Creighton says. “A lot of people are struggling with addiction, and the stress of an encampment sweep isn’t going to help them get clean.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991609\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Wood-Street-crushing-flowers-1-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A still from ’Wood Street.’ The new documentary follows unhoused residents of a makeshift community as they attempt to fight their eviction. (Bad Name Media/Caron Creighton)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wood Street\u003c/em> comes to a tear-jerking crescendo when bulldozers finally arrive to crush people’s homes and belongings. City officials justify the eviction by citing a new affordable housing development slated for the site. That building is now open, and with rents starting at $1,845 for a studio apartment, it’s out of reach for many low-income workers. The encampment site itself is now a parking lot. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The word ‘affordable,’ I think, is incredibly misleading,” Creighton says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Wood Street was cleared out in 2023, many of the residents moved into a tiny home site, which the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047641/oakland-built-a-shelter-for-unhoused-residents-of-wood-street-now-its-evicting-them\">city of Oakland also later evicted\u003c/a>. Only a fraction of them made it into permanent housing. The rest have scattered to encampments around the area. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12046259/how-grants-pass-ruling-affected-homeless-enforcement-in-california\">ramped up encampment sweeps\u003c/a> after the Supreme Court’s 2024 Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling. For many homeless people, each sweep means losing irreplaceable documents, possessions and support systems. These life disruptions can have dire consequences, \u003ca href=\"https://nhchc.org/study-shows-involuntary-displacement-of-people-experiencing-homelessness-may-cause-significant-spikes-in-mortality-overdoses-and-hospitalizations/\">including increased chances of overdose and even death\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a better way, there has to be,” Creighton says. “We don’t have to be traumatizing people in order to get them off the street.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Wood Street’ screens on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.thenewparkway.com/upcomingevents/calendar/\">\u003cem>New Parkway\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> (474 24th St., Oakland), and on Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m., at the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancerialto.com/directions.php\">\u003cem>Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> (3200 Grand Ave., Oakland). Sold out online; limited tickets available at the door.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "jollof-rice-festival-west-africa-oakland",
"title": "West African Flavors Do Battle as Jollof Festival Returns to Oakland",
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"headTitle": "West African Flavors Do Battle as Jollof Festival Returns to Oakland | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ishmael Osekre wanted to settle the debates once and for all. Amid the everlasting argument over which West African country makes the best Jollof rice, in 2017, Osekre launched a competition that involved actually tasting the food instead of “trying to insult each other’s mama,” he says today, with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Saturday, July 18, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ebps&utm_campaign=PSNB_CUAL_PMK_PDO_0_US_0_BAU_0_GA01-DSA-Page-Feed-High-Value&utm_term=&aff=ebmkmxperformance&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23357619767&gbraid=0AAAAAo0IdU2Z3ZGhY8ySz3F3yR2yhL_GG&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr4jSBhCSARIsAOX1E-I-xYqlUiipNLtcoIVbgoaCFh6rgODwElxLc_Ce1Kkw7h_rHuf_97waAtGbEALw_wcB\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> returns to Oakland. Along with flavorful rice, the annual event includes live dance performances, an interactive kids zone, and handmade goods, in addition to the inevitable disputes about proper Jollof preparation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the inaugural Jollof Festival in Washington D.C. and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41053424\">a BBC article\u003c/a> that swirled around the internet, other regions demanded local iterations of the festival. The community interest, enthusiasm and passion behind the “Jollof wars,” Osekre says on a recent phone call, encouraged him to take the show on the road in hopes of “properly preventing the next world war.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"702\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg\" alt=\"Customers eating jollof rice out of black plastic takeout containers.\" class=\"wp-image-13960583\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Customers with Jollof Kitchen’s Nigerian-style jollof rice. Owner Kemi Tijaniqudus won the Oakland edition of Jollof Festival in 2021 and 2023. (Courtesy of Jollof Kitchen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In its most common form, Jollof rice is made with a combination of rice, meat, tomatoes and spices. Though said to \u003ca href=\"https://www.trtafrika.com/article/17657471?_rt=1\">originate in Senegal\u003c/a>, nearly every country in West Africa has its own variety. And here in the Bay Area, the African diaspora is steadfast about repping their homeland through food.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area shows its unapologetic appreciation, interest and curiosity of African culture, African food,” Osekre says. In one of the most diverse places on earth, it isn’t lost on Osekre that the Black community is deeply connected with their southern roots and African heritage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theesoulfulone/\">Quiana Webster\u003c/a>, co-producer of the festival, adds that “Oakland is the model.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Webster may be slightly biased — she’s an Oakland kid herself — but she’s done her homework, having traveled with the festival and witnessed it in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and other places.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In every state, no matter what, this rice is something that everybody wants,” she says. “They want to taste it, they want to vote about it, they want to argue and they want to come together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2447\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt='A woman holding a yellow box of food that reads \"Jollof Festival\" on the top of it.' class=\"wp-image-13991492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-160x196.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-768x940.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-1255x1536.jpg 1255w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-1674x2048.jpg 1674w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jollof rice, from West Africa, is a precursor and cousin to jambalaya, from Louisiana. (Courtesy Jollof Festival)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Working the Jollof Festival helped Webster expand her resources and branch off into catering as the owner of local catering business \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/symplysoul_/\">Symply Soul\u003c/a>. It’s also pushed Osekre to grow as a student of the culinary arts. During the pandemic, he says, he spent his downtime learning to cook so he could better articulate the details of the dishes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The festival’s format will be similar to past years. The competition is a blind tasting with “one little twist,” says Osekre. “We are introducing software that will actually tie the ticket that you bought to your vote.” (While in the past, there had been issues with Google forms and QR codes, this development will ensure one person, per vote.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even still, despite Osekre’s mediation efforts, the debate is sure to continue. It’s a part of the culture.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The 2026 \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> takes place Saturday, July 18, at 811 Oakland (811 Washington Street, Oakland). Admission is available in multiple tiers, including a non-voting general entry ticket and a five-country “sample pack” voting ticket. \u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190%20%E2%86%97\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ishmael Osekre wanted to settle the debates once and for all. Amid the everlasting argument over which West African country makes the best Jollof rice, in 2017, Osekre launched a competition that involved actually tasting the food instead of “trying to insult each other’s mama,” he says today, with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Saturday, July 18, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ebps&utm_campaign=PSNB_CUAL_PMK_PDO_0_US_0_BAU_0_GA01-DSA-Page-Feed-High-Value&utm_term=&aff=ebmkmxperformance&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23357619767&gbraid=0AAAAAo0IdU2Z3ZGhY8ySz3F3yR2yhL_GG&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr4jSBhCSARIsAOX1E-I-xYqlUiipNLtcoIVbgoaCFh6rgODwElxLc_Ce1Kkw7h_rHuf_97waAtGbEALw_wcB\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> returns to Oakland. Along with flavorful rice, the annual event includes live dance performances, an interactive kids zone, and handmade goods, in addition to the inevitable disputes about proper Jollof preparation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Saturday, July 18, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ebps&utm_campaign=PSNB_CUAL_PMK_PDO_0_US_0_BAU_0_GA01-DSA-Page-Feed-High-Value&utm_term=&aff=ebmkmxperformance&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23357619767&gbraid=0AAAAAo0IdU2Z3ZGhY8ySz3F3yR2yhL_GG&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr4jSBhCSARIsAOX1E-I-xYqlUiipNLtcoIVbgoaCFh6rgODwElxLc_Ce1Kkw7h_rHuf_97waAtGbEALw_wcB\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> returns to Oakland. Along with flavorful rice, the annual event includes live dance performances, an interactive kids zone, and handmade goods, in addition to the inevitable disputes about proper Jollof preparation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After the inaugural Jollof Festival in Washington D.C. and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41053424\">a BBC article\u003c/a> that swirled around the internet, other regions demanded local iterations of the festival. The community interest, enthusiasm and passion behind the “Jollof wars,” Osekre says on a recent phone call, encouraged him to take the show on the road in hopes of “properly preventing the next world war.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After the inaugural Jollof Festival in Washington D.C. and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41053424\">a BBC article\u003c/a> that swirled around the internet, other regions demanded local iterations of the festival. The community interest, enthusiasm and passion behind the “Jollof wars,” Osekre says on a recent phone call, encouraged him to take the show on the road in hopes of “properly preventing the next world war.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg\" alt=\"Customers eating jollof rice out of black plastic takeout containers.\" class=\"wp-image-13960583\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Customers with Jollof Kitchen’s Nigerian-style jollof rice. Owner Kemi Tijaniqudus won the Oakland edition of Jollof Festival in 2021 and 2023.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In its most common form, Jollof rice is made with a combination of rice, meat, tomatoes and spices. Though said to \u003ca href=\"https://www.trtafrika.com/article/17657471?_rt=1\">originate in Senegal\u003c/a>, nearly every country in West Africa has its own variety. And here in the Bay Area, the African diaspora is steadfast about repping their homeland through food.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area shows its unapologetic appreciation, interest and curiosity of African culture, African food,” Osekre says. In one of the most diverse places on earth, it isn’t lost on Osekre that the Black community is deeply connected with their southern roots and African heritage. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theesoulfulone/\">Quiana Webster\u003c/a>, co-producer of the festival, adds that “Oakland is the model.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theesoulfulone/\">Quiana Webster\u003c/a>, co-producer of the festival, adds that “Oakland is the model.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Webster may be slightly biased — she’s an Oakland kid herself — but she’s done her homework, having traveled with the festival and witnessed it in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and other places.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Webster may be slightly biased — she’s an Oakland kid herself — but she’s done her homework, having traveled with the festival and witnessed it in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and other places.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In every state, no matter what, this rice is something that everybody wants,” she says. “They want to taste it, they want to vote about it, they want to argue and they want to come together.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In every state, no matter what, this rice is something that everybody wants,” she says. “They want to taste it, they want to vote about it, they want to argue and they want to come together.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt=\"A woman holding a yellow box of food that reads "Jollof Festival" on the top of it.\" class=\"wp-image-13991492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-160x196.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-768x940.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-1255x1536.jpg 1255w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-1674x2048.jpg 1674w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jollof rice, from West Africa, is a precursor and cousin to jambalaya, from Louisiana. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Working the Jollof Festival helped Webster expand her resources and branch off into catering as the owner of local catering business \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/symplysoul_/\">Symply Soul\u003c/a>. It’s also pushed Osekre to grow as a student of the culinary arts. During the pandemic, he says, he spent his downtime learning to cook so he could better articulate the details of the dishes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The festival’s format will be similar to past years. The competition is a blind tasting with “one little twist,” says Osekre. “We are introducing software that will actually tie the ticket that you bought to your vote.” (While in the past, there had been issues with Google forms and QR codes, this development will ensure one person, per vote.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The festival’s format will be similar to past years. The competition is a blind tasting with “one little twist,” says Osekre. “We are introducing software that will actually tie the ticket that you bought to your vote.” (While in the past, there had been issues with Google forms and QR codes, this development will ensure one person, per vote.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even still, despite Osekre’s mediation efforts, the debate is sure to continue. It’s a part of the culture.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The 2026 \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> takes place Saturday, July 18, at 811 Oakland (811 Washington Street, Oakland). Admission is available in multiple tiers, including a non-voting general entry ticket and a five-country “sample pack” voting ticket. \u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190 ↗\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The annual festival aims to mediate long-running disputes about cuisine and tradition.",
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"title": "West African Flavors Do Battle as Jollof Festival Returns to Oakland | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ishmael Osekre wanted to settle the debates once and for all. Amid the everlasting argument over which West African country makes the best Jollof rice, in 2017, Osekre launched a competition that involved actually tasting the food instead of “trying to insult each other’s mama,” he says today, with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Saturday, July 18, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ebps&utm_campaign=PSNB_CUAL_PMK_PDO_0_US_0_BAU_0_GA01-DSA-Page-Feed-High-Value&utm_term=&aff=ebmkmxperformance&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23357619767&gbraid=0AAAAAo0IdU2Z3ZGhY8ySz3F3yR2yhL_GG&gclid=Cj0KCQjwr4jSBhCSARIsAOX1E-I-xYqlUiipNLtcoIVbgoaCFh6rgODwElxLc_Ce1Kkw7h_rHuf_97waAtGbEALw_wcB\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> returns to Oakland. Along with flavorful rice, the annual event includes live dance performances, an interactive kids zone, and handmade goods, in addition to the inevitable disputes about proper Jollof preparation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the inaugural Jollof Festival in Washington D.C. and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-41053424\">a BBC article\u003c/a> that swirled around the internet, other regions demanded local iterations of the festival. The community interest, enthusiasm and passion behind the “Jollof wars,” Osekre says on a recent phone call, encouraged him to take the show on the road in hopes of “properly preventing the next world war.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"702\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg\" alt=\"Customers eating jollof rice out of black plastic takeout containers.\" class=\"wp-image-13960583\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1020x702.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/jollof-kitchen-crop.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Customers with Jollof Kitchen’s Nigerian-style jollof rice. Owner Kemi Tijaniqudus won the Oakland edition of Jollof Festival in 2021 and 2023. (Courtesy of Jollof Kitchen)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In its most common form, Jollof rice is made with a combination of rice, meat, tomatoes and spices. Though said to \u003ca href=\"https://www.trtafrika.com/article/17657471?_rt=1\">originate in Senegal\u003c/a>, nearly every country in West Africa has its own variety. And here in the Bay Area, the African diaspora is steadfast about repping their homeland through food.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area shows its unapologetic appreciation, interest and curiosity of African culture, African food,” Osekre says. In one of the most diverse places on earth, it isn’t lost on Osekre that the Black community is deeply connected with their southern roots and African heritage. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/theesoulfulone/\">Quiana Webster\u003c/a>, co-producer of the festival, adds that “Oakland is the model.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Webster may be slightly biased — she’s an Oakland kid herself — but she’s done her homework, having traveled with the festival and witnessed it in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and other places.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In every state, no matter what, this rice is something that everybody wants,” she says. “They want to taste it, they want to vote about it, they want to argue and they want to come together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2447\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4.jpg\" alt='A woman holding a yellow box of food that reads \"Jollof Festival\" on the top of it.' class=\"wp-image-13991492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-160x196.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-768x940.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-1255x1536.jpg 1255w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/unnamed-4-1674x2048.jpg 1674w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jollof rice, from West Africa, is a precursor and cousin to jambalaya, from Louisiana. (Courtesy Jollof Festival)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Working the Jollof Festival helped Webster expand her resources and branch off into catering as the owner of local catering business \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/symplysoul_/\">Symply Soul\u003c/a>. It’s also pushed Osekre to grow as a student of the culinary arts. During the pandemic, he says, he spent his downtime learning to cook so he could better articulate the details of the dishes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The festival’s format will be similar to past years. The competition is a blind tasting with “one little twist,” says Osekre. “We are introducing software that will actually tie the ticket that you bought to your vote.” (While in the past, there had been issues with Google forms and QR codes, this development will ensure one person, per vote.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even still, despite Osekre’s mediation efforts, the debate is sure to continue. It’s a part of the culture.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The 2026 \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190\">Jollof Festival\u003c/a> takes place Saturday, July 18, at 811 Oakland (811 Washington Street, Oakland). Admission is available in multiple tiers, including a non-voting general entry ticket and a five-country “sample pack” voting ticket. \u003ca href=\"http://eventbrite.com/e/jollof-festival-oakland-26-tickets-1988023963190%20%E2%86%97\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-fillmore-district-heritage-center-reopening",
"title": "San Francisco’s Fillmore District Looks Toward Its Next Heyday",
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"headTitle": "San Francisco’s Fillmore District Looks Toward Its Next Heyday | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The sun was out in San Francisco on the Fourth of July, and the corner of Fillmore and Eddy was alive. People danced in the street as DJs spun; the Church of St. John Coltrane Band filled the air with spiritual jazz; and vendors lined the block.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Inside the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/a>, a sound healing session, film screening and a fireside chat about building bridges across race unfolded simultaneously. Volunteers kept everything moving. Ace Washington, the Fillmore’s longtime corridor ambassador, worked the crowd, moving between the street and the building. Entrepreneur and community organizer Linda Parker Pennington greeted guests as they arrived. It felt less like a reopening and more like a family reunion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Austyn Johnson, 20, right, and brother Ashton Johnson, 15, do the Cupid Shuffle during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. The pair flew in from Tennessee with their family for the festival. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some people brought lawn chairs, and you don’t bring a lawn chair to a ribbon-cutting. You bring one to a place you intend to stay a while. For the first time in years, the Fillmore Heritage Center wasn’t simply open. It seemed to belong to the neighborhood again, if only for an afternoon. On a corridor where so much has been lost, the Fillmore’s Black community was unmistakably still present.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The weekend marked a new phase in the Heritage Center’s reactivation. The July 4 programming was not a one-off, nor was it a permanent reopening. It was part of a temporary activation period: Through December, community organizations and artists will be invited to propose public-facing events as the city assesses the building and develops options for its long-term future. What remains unsettled is who will shape what comes next.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fillmore’s deep cultural legacy\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Fillmore has had an outsized impact on San Francisco’s culture, but the neighborhood has also faced major challenges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ask anyone who has loved the Fillmore long enough, and they’ll name a different heyday: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West years\u003c/a>, when Billie Holiday and John Coltrane performed in its jazz clubs; the 1990s, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/for-s-f-rappers-another-dream-deferred-2560404.php\">“Fillmoe” artists\u003c/a> like San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Rappin’ 4-Tay \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895586/a-salute-to-san-francisco-rap\">built a hip-hop legacy\u003c/a>; or the 2000s, when Yoshi’s and 1300 on Fillmore made the corridor buzz with concert- and restaurant-goers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The danger is letting those memories become a ceiling, turning a neighborhood into a museum instead of a community. The advocates working to bring the Heritage Center back aren’t trying to recreate 1958, 1998 or 2008. They’re trying to build a version of the Fillmore that they hope will one day become someone else’s favorite era.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fernay McPherson, chef and owner of Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, said she wants to see the city implement community input for the Fillmore Heritage Center “so that residents … don’t feel let down.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chef and business owner Fernay McPherson, who runs Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement and serves on the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan committee\u003c/a>, sees that future already taking shape. “We are definitely working on the new heyday, and it will happen,” she said. “I’m not going to say what was here, because we’re still here. We’re just fighting to make our presence known.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Fillmore Heritage Center opened in 2007 as an attempt at restitution in concrete and steel. The complex, which cost more than $80 million, was built on land shaped by urban renewal, which displaced thousands of Black residents and hundreds of businesses beginning in the 1960s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991343\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk past the Fillmore Heritage Center on Fillmore Street in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For a moment, it was the cultural and economic anchor the neighborhood had been promised. Then the unraveling came in stages: Yoshi’s San Francisco filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 2012 and closed in 2014. Its replacement, The Addition, closed within months of opening — and the city took over the building’s commercial spaces in 2015, after developer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973221/fillmore-heritage-center-michael-johnson-settlement\">Michael Johnson\u003c/a> defaulted on a $5.5 million city loan. By 2017, 1300 on Fillmore, the last holdout, was gone too — tenants worn down by the building’s high operating costs and the weight of a neighborhood’s expectations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years afterward, the building sat at the center of a long, unresolved dispute. A 2017 attempt to sell it collapsed when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Panel-unimpressed-by-visions-rejects-bidders-12328294.php\">no bidder met the community standards\u003c/a> attached to the sale. Proposals came and went, and COVID consumed what remained of the momentum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Bringing life back to the Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This June, the Heritage Center’s doors began to crack open during Juneteenth celebrations, offering festival support space and a venue for the Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards honoring Black community leaders. Then, over the Fourth of July weekend, came the Dream Center — the first full weekend of public-facing programming in the building’s current activation period.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organized by Linda Parker Pennington, an early investor in Yoshi’s and former board chair of the Jazz Heritage Center nonprofit, the weekend brought together wellness workshops, art, youth media, a reparations panel, a genealogy workshop and a screening of filmmaker Jalila Bell’s documentary \u003cem>Culture Connects Us\u003c/em>. “I want people to walk in and feel like they’ve arrived at an oasis,” she said. “Regardless of their background. Regardless of their age.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Linda Parker Pennington speaks during the Power of Interracial Sisterhood workshop at the Fillmore Heritage Center in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the community stakeholders who have consistently stepped up to steward the building’s future is Fillmore Rising, a collective co-led by Majeid Crawford, executive director of the New Community Leadership Foundation, and Ericka Scott, the founder of Honey Art Studio who grew up in the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group’s vision wasn’t drafted in a city office. It grew out of weekly community mapping sessions at Third Baptist Church, where local leaders dreamt up ideas for the space: a curated gallery, an African diaspora restaurant, a 39-seat screening room for independent film and youth programming and a sliding-scale rental model designed to give local event organizers a real path into the building for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is an opportunity for us to see this space again, filled with life,” Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crawford has spent years working to bring vibrancy back to the building. After watching proposal after proposal fall apart, he said he has been explicit with the city about what community stewardship requires: a transparent, open application process, not one where proximity to power determines who gets through the door first.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If a fair, open process cannot be established for all,” Crawford said, “then no one should have access to avoid the appearance of favoritism.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City leaders have said they are listening. On May 28, Mayor Daniel Lurie joined Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and community leaders at the Heritage Center to announce a package of new investments in the Fillmore, including $230,000 in SF Thrives grants for 23 small businesses in the area. The ribbon-cutting came days after the launch of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fillmore-after-dark-night-market-sf-bites-blues-bingo-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark\u003c/a>, a new yearlong night market series. And over Fourth of July weekend, the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/now-the-fillmore-has-its-own-boozy-entertainment-zone-where-to-go-cocktails-are-good-to-go/\">Lower Fillmore Entertainment Zone\u003c/a> allowed participating businesses to sell alcoholic beverages to-go during the Fillmore Jazz Festival.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991349\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Niecey Livingsingle performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Diana Ponce de León, acting director of workforce development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), acknowledged in an interview that many residents remain skeptical after decades of stalled promises.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The desire has always been there,” she said. “We are just restarting that process again.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She was equally clear about where the current momentum originated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t come up with these at all,” she said of the first activations. “The community did, and they’re leveraging their partnerships.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OEWD is preparing a formal application process for public-facing, one-day events, with availability for up to eight activations a month through December. For now, programming is limited to the lobby, screening room and gallery while the city assesses the building’s condition, needed repairs and possible future uses. By the end of the calendar year, staff will use that work and ongoing community input to develop options for the Fillmore Heritage Center’s next steps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thousands of people line the streets during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A community that refuses to give up\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The question of who shapes what comes next surfaced in nearly every conversation on the corridor. Not everyone is ready to call this a resurgence, including some of the people doing the work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ashley Smiley, senior programs coordinator at the African American Art & Culture Complex, sees the Fillmore Heritage Center’s reopening with both optimism and caution. As one Black cultural institution begins a new chapter, another is preparing to pause its own. The African American Art & Culture Complex is expected to suspend programming this fall while its building undergoes a seismic retrofit, and Smiley still doesn’t know where the organization will land in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Black spaces are very fractured right now,” she said. “I’m 100% optimistic that it can be done. But in that optimism, I also want to acknowledge the things that can be adjusted, because we want sustainability.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ashley Smiley poses for a portrait outside of the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Smiley, the Heritage Center’s reopening matters because it represents more than a single building. San Francisco’s future, she argues, depends on investing in the neighborhoods where culture is created, not simply where it is presented.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The art and culture of the city that makes it important isn’t just downtown,” she said. “It grows here. It grows in the Fillmore, it grows in the Bayview, it grows in the Mission.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The stakes beneath her warning are demographic as much as cultural. San Francisco’s Black population has declined from 13.5% in 1970 to roughly 5% today, according to census data. Yet in interviews, many residents reached instinctively for an even smaller number: “3%.” It wasn’t a statistic so much as a feeling, shorthand for what many believe the neighborhood has lost.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991344\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cherronda G performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paulette Brown has spent years advocating for families affected by violence, work shaped by the loss of her son, Aubrey Abrakasa Jr., in 2006. On Saturday, she was back at 1330 Fillmore, still showing up for the community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Look at the Heritage Center,” she said. “It’s open. People are having hope again. We’re coming together and sticking together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Asked why she keeps showing up, she answered simply.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I believe hope will prevail,” she said. “And we will all come together as one, and help each other and love on each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The people who filled this building in its first life built a neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The people filling it now are building one too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For updates on the Fillmore Heritage Center, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan website\u003c/a>.\u003c/em> \u003cem>The next \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hot-august-nights-fillmore-carshow-blues-bingo-casino-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark \u003c/a>night market takes place Aug. 14.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The sun was out in San Francisco on the Fourth of July, and the corner of Fillmore and Eddy was alive. People danced in the street as DJs spun; the Church of St. John Coltrane Band filled the air with spiritual jazz; and vendors lined the block.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The sun was out in San Francisco on the Fourth of July, and the corner of Fillmore and Eddy was alive. People danced in the street as DJs spun; the Church of St. John Coltrane Band filled the air with spiritual jazz; and vendors lined the block.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Inside the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/a>, a sound healing session, film screening and a fireside chat about building bridges across race unfolded simultaneously. Volunteers kept everything moving. Ace Washington, the Fillmore’s longtime corridor ambassador, worked the crowd, moving between the street and the building. Entrepreneur and community organizer Linda Parker Pennington greeted guests as they arrived. It felt less like a reopening and more like a family reunion.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Inside the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/a>, a sound healing session, film screening and a fireside chat about building bridges across race unfolded simultaneously. Volunteers kept everything moving. Ace Washington, the Fillmore’s longtime corridor ambassador, worked the crowd, moving between the street and the building. Entrepreneur and community organizer Linda Parker Pennington greeted guests as they arrived. It felt less like a reopening and more like a family reunion.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Austyn Johnson, 20, right, and brother Ashton Johnson, 15, do the Cupid Shuffle during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. The pair flew in from Tennessee with their family for the festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991352\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Austyn Johnson, 20, right, and brother Ashton Johnson, 15, do the Cupid Shuffle during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. The pair flew in from Tennessee with their family for the festival.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Some people brought lawn chairs, and you don’t bring a lawn chair to a ribbon-cutting. You bring one to a place you intend to stay a while. For the first time in years, the Fillmore Heritage Center wasn’t simply open. It seemed to belong to the neighborhood again, if only for an afternoon. On a corridor where so much has been lost, the Fillmore’s Black community was unmistakably still present.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Some people brought lawn chairs, and you don’t bring a lawn chair to a ribbon-cutting. You bring one to a place you intend to stay a while. For the first time in years, the Fillmore Heritage Center wasn’t simply open. It seemed to belong to the neighborhood again, if only for an afternoon. On a corridor where so much has been lost, the Fillmore’s Black community was unmistakably still present.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The weekend marked a new phase in the Heritage Center’s reactivation. The July 4 programming was not a one-off, nor was it a permanent reopening. It was part of a temporary activation period: Through December, community organizations and artists will be invited to propose public-facing events as the city assesses the building and develops options for its long-term future. What remains unsettled is who will shape what comes next.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The weekend marked a new phase in the Heritage Center’s reactivation. The July 4 programming was not a one-off, nor was it a permanent reopening. It was part of a temporary activation period: Through December, community organizations and artists will be invited to propose public-facing events as the city assesses the building and develops options for its long-term future. What remains unsettled is who will shape what comes next.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "The Fillmore’s deep cultural legacy",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fillmore’s deep cultural legacy\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fillmore’s deep cultural legacy\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Fillmore has had an outsized impact on San Francisco’s culture, but the neighborhood has also faced major challenges. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Fillmore has had an outsized impact on San Francisco’s culture, but the neighborhood has also faced major challenges. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ask anyone who has loved the Fillmore long enough, and they’ll name a different heyday: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West years\u003c/a>, when Billie Holiday and John Coltrane performed in its jazz clubs; the 1990s, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/for-s-f-rappers-another-dream-deferred-2560404.php\">“Fillmoe” artists\u003c/a> like San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Rappin’ 4-Tay \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895586/a-salute-to-san-francisco-rap\">built a hip-hop legacy\u003c/a>; or the 2000s, when Yoshi’s and 1300 on Fillmore made the corridor buzz with concert- and restaurant-goers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ask anyone who has loved the Fillmore long enough, and they’ll name a different heyday: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West years\u003c/a>, when Billie Holiday and John Coltrane performed in its jazz clubs; the 1990s, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/for-s-f-rappers-another-dream-deferred-2560404.php\">“Fillmoe” artists\u003c/a> like San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Rappin’ 4-Tay \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895586/a-salute-to-san-francisco-rap\">built a hip-hop legacy\u003c/a>; or the 2000s, when Yoshi’s and 1300 on Fillmore made the corridor buzz with concert- and restaurant-goers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The danger is letting those memories become a ceiling, turning a neighborhood into a museum instead of a community. The advocates working to bring the Heritage Center back aren’t trying to recreate 1958, 1998 or 2008. They’re trying to build a version of the Fillmore that they hope will one day become someone else’s favorite era.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The danger is letting those memories become a ceiling, turning a neighborhood into a museum instead of a community. The advocates working to bring the Heritage Center back aren’t trying to recreate 1958, 1998 or 2008. They’re trying to build a version of the Fillmore that they hope will one day become someone else’s favorite era.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fernay McPherson, chef and owner of Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, said she wants to see the city implement community input for the Fillmore Heritage Center “so that residents … don’t feel let down.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991372\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fernay McPherson, chef and owner of Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, said she wants to see the city implement community input for the Fillmore Heritage Center “so that residents … don’t feel let down.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chef and business owner Fernay McPherson, who runs Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement and serves on the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan committee\u003c/a>, sees that future already taking shape. “We are definitely working on the new heyday, and it will happen,” she said. “I’m not going to say what was here, because we’re still here. We’re just fighting to make our presence known.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chef and business owner Fernay McPherson, who runs Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement and serves on the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan committee\u003c/a>, sees that future already taking shape. “We are definitely working on the new heyday, and it will happen,” she said. “I’m not going to say what was here, because we’re still here. We’re just fighting to make our presence known.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Fillmore Heritage Center opened in 2007 as an attempt at restitution in concrete and steel. The complex, which cost more than $80 million, was built on land shaped by urban renewal, which displaced thousands of Black residents and hundreds of businesses beginning in the 1960s.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Fillmore Heritage Center opened in 2007 as an attempt at restitution in concrete and steel. The complex, which cost more than $80 million, was built on land shaped by urban renewal, which displaced thousands of Black residents and hundreds of businesses beginning in the 1960s.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991343\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk past the Fillmore Heritage Center on Fillmore Street in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991343\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk past the Fillmore Heritage Center on Fillmore Street in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For a moment, it was the cultural and economic anchor the neighborhood had been promised. Then the unraveling came in stages: Yoshi’s San Francisco filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 2012 and closed in 2014. Its replacement, The Addition, closed within months of opening — and the city took over the building’s commercial spaces in 2015, after developer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973221/fillmore-heritage-center-michael-johnson-settlement\">Michael Johnson\u003c/a> defaulted on a $5.5 million city loan. By 2017, 1300 on Fillmore, the last holdout, was gone too — tenants worn down by the building’s high operating costs and the weight of a neighborhood’s expectations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For a moment, it was the cultural and economic anchor the neighborhood had been promised. Then the unraveling came in stages: Yoshi’s San Francisco filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 2012 and closed in 2014. Its replacement, The Addition, closed within months of opening — and the city took over the building’s commercial spaces in 2015, after developer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973221/fillmore-heritage-center-michael-johnson-settlement\">Michael Johnson\u003c/a> defaulted on a $5.5 million city loan. By 2017, 1300 on Fillmore, the last holdout, was gone too — tenants worn down by the building’s high operating costs and the weight of a neighborhood’s expectations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For years afterward, the building sat at the center of a long, unresolved dispute. A 2017 attempt to sell it collapsed when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Panel-unimpressed-by-visions-rejects-bidders-12328294.php\">no bidder met the community standards\u003c/a> attached to the sale. Proposals came and went, and COVID consumed what remained of the momentum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For years afterward, the building sat at the center of a long, unresolved dispute. A 2017 attempt to sell it collapsed when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Panel-unimpressed-by-visions-rejects-bidders-12328294.php\">no bidder met the community standards\u003c/a> attached to the sale. Proposals came and went, and COVID consumed what remained of the momentum.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Bringing life back to the Fillmore Heritage Center",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Bringing life back to the Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Bringing life back to the Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This June, the Heritage Center’s doors began to crack open during Juneteenth celebrations, offering festival support space and a venue for the Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards honoring Black community leaders. Then, over the Fourth of July weekend, came the Dream Center — the first full weekend of public-facing programming in the building’s current activation period.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This June, the Heritage Center’s doors began to crack open during Juneteenth celebrations, offering festival support space and a venue for the Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards honoring Black community leaders. Then, over the Fourth of July weekend, came the Dream Center — the first full weekend of public-facing programming in the building’s current activation period.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Organized by Linda Parker Pennington, an early investor in Yoshi’s and former board chair of the Jazz Heritage Center nonprofit, the weekend brought together wellness workshops, art, youth media, a reparations panel, a genealogy workshop and a screening of filmmaker Jalila Bell’s documentary \u003cem>Culture Connects Us\u003c/em>. “I want people to walk in and feel like they’ve arrived at an oasis,” she said. “Regardless of their background. Regardless of their age.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Organized by Linda Parker Pennington, an early investor in Yoshi’s and former board chair of the Jazz Heritage Center nonprofit, the weekend brought together wellness workshops, art, youth media, a reparations panel, a genealogy workshop and a screening of filmmaker Jalila Bell’s documentary \u003cem>Culture Connects Us\u003c/em>. “I want people to walk in and feel like they’ve arrived at an oasis,” she said. “Regardless of their background. Regardless of their age.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Linda Parker Pennington speaks during the Power of Interracial Sisterhood workshop at the Fillmore Heritage Center in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991374\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Linda Parker Pennington speaks during the Power of Interracial Sisterhood workshop at the Fillmore Heritage Center in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Among the community stakeholders who have consistently stepped up to steward the building’s future is Fillmore Rising, a collective co-led by Majeid Crawford, executive director of the New Community Leadership Foundation, and Ericka Scott, the founder of Honey Art Studio who grew up in the community. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Among the community stakeholders who have consistently stepped up to steward the building’s future is Fillmore Rising, a collective co-led by Majeid Crawford, executive director of the New Community Leadership Foundation, and Ericka Scott, the founder of Honey Art Studio who grew up in the community. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The group’s vision wasn’t drafted in a city office. It grew out of weekly community mapping sessions at Third Baptist Church, where local leaders dreamt up ideas for the space: a curated gallery, an African diaspora restaurant, a 39-seat screening room for independent film and youth programming and a sliding-scale rental model designed to give local event organizers a real path into the building for the first time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The group’s vision wasn’t drafted in a city office. It grew out of weekly community mapping sessions at Third Baptist Church, where local leaders dreamt up ideas for the space: a curated gallery, an African diaspora restaurant, a 39-seat screening room for independent film and youth programming and a sliding-scale rental model designed to give local event organizers a real path into the building for the first time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is an opportunity for us to see this space again, filled with life,” Scott said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This is an opportunity for us to see this space again, filled with life,” Scott said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Crawford has spent years working to bring vibrancy back to the building. After watching proposal after proposal fall apart, he said he has been explicit with the city about what community stewardship requires: a transparent, open application process, not one where proximity to power determines who gets through the door first.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Crawford has spent years working to bring vibrancy back to the building. After watching proposal after proposal fall apart, he said he has been explicit with the city about what community stewardship requires: a transparent, open application process, not one where proximity to power determines who gets through the door first.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If a fair, open process cannot be established for all,” Crawford said, “then no one should have access to avoid the appearance of favoritism.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If a fair, open process cannot be established for all,” Crawford said, “then no one should have access to avoid the appearance of favoritism.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City leaders have said they are listening. On May 28, Mayor Daniel Lurie joined Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and community leaders at the Heritage Center to announce a package of new investments in the Fillmore, including $230,000 in SF Thrives grants for 23 small businesses in the area. The ribbon-cutting came days after the launch of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fillmore-after-dark-night-market-sf-bites-blues-bingo-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark\u003c/a>, a new yearlong night market series. And over Fourth of July weekend, the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/now-the-fillmore-has-its-own-boozy-entertainment-zone-where-to-go-cocktails-are-good-to-go/\">Lower Fillmore Entertainment Zone\u003c/a> allowed participating businesses to sell alcoholic beverages to-go during the Fillmore Jazz Festival.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>City leaders have said they are listening. On May 28, Mayor Daniel Lurie joined Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and community leaders at the Heritage Center to announce a package of new investments in the Fillmore, including $230,000 in SF Thrives grants for 23 small businesses in the area. The ribbon-cutting came days after the launch of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fillmore-after-dark-night-market-sf-bites-blues-bingo-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark\u003c/a>, a new yearlong night market series. And over Fourth of July weekend, the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/now-the-fillmore-has-its-own-boozy-entertainment-zone-where-to-go-cocktails-are-good-to-go/\">Lower Fillmore Entertainment Zone\u003c/a> allowed participating businesses to sell alcoholic beverages to-go during the Fillmore Jazz Festival.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991349\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Niecey Livingsingle performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991349\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Niecey Livingsingle performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Diana Ponce de León, acting director of workforce development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), acknowledged in an interview that many residents remain skeptical after decades of stalled promises.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Diana Ponce de León, acting director of workforce development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), acknowledged in an interview that many residents remain skeptical after decades of stalled promises.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The desire has always been there,” she said. “We are just restarting that process again.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The desire has always been there,” she said. “We are just restarting that process again.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She was equally clear about where the current momentum originated.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She was equally clear about where the current momentum originated.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We didn’t come up with these at all,” she said of the first activations. “The community did, and they’re leveraging their partnerships.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We didn’t come up with these at all,” she said of the first activations. “The community did, and they’re leveraging their partnerships.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>OEWD is preparing a formal application process for public-facing, one-day events, with availability for up to eight activations a month through December. For now, programming is limited to the lobby, screening room and gallery while the city assesses the building’s condition, needed repairs and possible future uses. By the end of the calendar year, staff will use that work and ongoing community input to develop options for the Fillmore Heritage Center’s next steps.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>OEWD is preparing a formal application process for public-facing, one-day events, with availability for up to eight activations a month through December. For now, programming is limited to the lobby, screening room and gallery while the city assesses the building’s condition, needed repairs and possible future uses. By the end of the calendar year, staff will use that work and ongoing community input to develop options for the Fillmore Heritage Center’s next steps.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thousands of people line the streets during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991375\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thousands of people line the streets during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"text": "A community that refuses to give up",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The question of who shapes what comes next surfaced in nearly every conversation on the corridor. Not everyone is ready to call this a resurgence, including some of the people doing the work.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ashley Smiley, senior programs coordinator at the African American Art & Culture Complex, sees the Fillmore Heritage Center’s reopening with both optimism and caution. As one Black cultural institution begins a new chapter, another is preparing to pause its own. The African American Art & Culture Complex is expected to suspend programming this fall while its building undergoes a seismic retrofit, and Smiley still doesn’t know where the organization will land in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ashley Smiley, senior programs coordinator at the African American Art & Culture Complex, sees the Fillmore Heritage Center’s reopening with both optimism and caution. As one Black cultural institution begins a new chapter, another is preparing to pause its own. The African American Art & Culture Complex is expected to suspend programming this fall while its building undergoes a seismic retrofit, and Smiley still doesn’t know where the organization will land in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Black spaces are very fractured right now,” she said. “I’m 100% optimistic that it can be done. But in that optimism, I also want to acknowledge the things that can be adjusted, because we want sustainability.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Black spaces are very fractured right now,” she said. “I’m 100% optimistic that it can be done. But in that optimism, I also want to acknowledge the things that can be adjusted, because we want sustainability.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ashley Smiley poses for a portrait outside of the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Smiley, the Heritage Center’s reopening matters because it represents more than a single building. San Francisco’s future, she argues, depends on investing in the neighborhoods where culture is created, not simply where it is presented.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Smiley, the Heritage Center’s reopening matters because it represents more than a single building. San Francisco’s future, she argues, depends on investing in the neighborhoods where culture is created, not simply where it is presented.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The art and culture of the city that makes it important isn’t just downtown,” she said. “It grows here. It grows in the Fillmore, it grows in the Bayview, it grows in the Mission.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The stakes beneath her warning are demographic as much as cultural. San Francisco’s Black population has declined from 13.5% in 1970 to roughly 5% today, according to census data. Yet in interviews, many residents reached instinctively for an even smaller number: “3%.” It wasn’t a statistic so much as a feeling, shorthand for what many believe the neighborhood has lost.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The stakes beneath her warning are demographic as much as cultural. San Francisco’s Black population has declined from 13.5% in 1970 to roughly 5% today, according to census data. Yet in interviews, many residents reached instinctively for an even smaller number: “3%.” It wasn’t a statistic so much as a feeling, shorthand for what many believe the neighborhood has lost.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991344\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cherronda G performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Paulette Brown has spent years advocating for families affected by violence, work shaped by the loss of her son, Aubrey Abrakasa Jr., in 2006. On Saturday, she was back at 1330 Fillmore, still showing up for the community.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Paulette Brown has spent years advocating for families affected by violence, work shaped by the loss of her son, Aubrey Abrakasa Jr., in 2006. On Saturday, she was back at 1330 Fillmore, still showing up for the community.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Look at the Heritage Center,” she said. “It’s open. People are having hope again. We’re coming together and sticking together.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Asked why she keeps showing up, she answered simply.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I believe hope will prevail,” she said. “And we will all come together as one, and help each other and love on each other.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The people who filled this building in its first life built a neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For updates on the Fillmore Heritage Center, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan website\u003c/a>.\u003c/em> \u003cem>The next \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hot-august-nights-fillmore-carshow-blues-bingo-casino-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark \u003c/a>night market takes place Aug. 14.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For updates on the Fillmore Heritage Center, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan website\u003c/a>.\u003c/em> \u003cem>The next \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hot-august-nights-fillmore-carshow-blues-bingo-casino-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark \u003c/a>night market takes place Aug. 14.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "The Fillmore Heritage Center sat mostly dark for years. Its return to public use belongs to a community that refused to walk away.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The sun was out in San Francisco on the Fourth of July, and the corner of Fillmore and Eddy was alive. People danced in the street as DJs spun; the Church of St. John Coltrane Band filled the air with spiritual jazz; and vendors lined the block.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Inside the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/a>, a sound healing session, film screening and a fireside chat about building bridges across race unfolded simultaneously. Volunteers kept everything moving. Ace Washington, the Fillmore’s longtime corridor ambassador, worked the crowd, moving between the street and the building. Entrepreneur and community organizer Linda Parker Pennington greeted guests as they arrived. It felt less like a reopening and more like a family reunion.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_49_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Austyn Johnson, 20, right, and brother Ashton Johnson, 15, do the Cupid Shuffle during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. The pair flew in from Tennessee with their family for the festival. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some people brought lawn chairs, and you don’t bring a lawn chair to a ribbon-cutting. You bring one to a place you intend to stay a while. For the first time in years, the Fillmore Heritage Center wasn’t simply open. It seemed to belong to the neighborhood again, if only for an afternoon. On a corridor where so much has been lost, the Fillmore’s Black community was unmistakably still present.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The weekend marked a new phase in the Heritage Center’s reactivation. The July 4 programming was not a one-off, nor was it a permanent reopening. It was part of a temporary activation period: Through December, community organizations and artists will be invited to propose public-facing events as the city assesses the building and develops options for its long-term future. What remains unsettled is who will shape what comes next.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fillmore’s deep cultural legacy\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Fillmore has had an outsized impact on San Francisco’s culture, but the neighborhood has also faced major challenges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ask anyone who has loved the Fillmore long enough, and they’ll name a different heyday: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957757/why-san-franciscos-fillmore-district-is-no-longer-the-harlem-of-the-west\">Harlem of the West years\u003c/a>, when Billie Holiday and John Coltrane performed in its jazz clubs; the 1990s, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/for-s-f-rappers-another-dream-deferred-2560404.php\">“Fillmoe” artists\u003c/a> like San Quinn, JT the Bigga Figga and Rappin’ 4-Tay \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895586/a-salute-to-san-francisco-rap\">built a hip-hop legacy\u003c/a>; or the 2000s, when Yoshi’s and 1300 on Fillmore made the corridor buzz with concert- and restaurant-goers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The danger is letting those memories become a ceiling, turning a neighborhood into a museum instead of a community. The advocates working to bring the Heritage Center back aren’t trying to recreate 1958, 1998 or 2008. They’re trying to build a version of the Fillmore that they hope will one day become someone else’s favorite era.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991372\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_13_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fernay McPherson, chef and owner of Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, said she wants to see the city implement community input for the Fillmore Heritage Center “so that residents … don’t feel let down.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chef and business owner Fernay McPherson, who runs Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement and serves on the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan committee\u003c/a>, sees that future already taking shape. “We are definitely working on the new heyday, and it will happen,” she said. “I’m not going to say what was here, because we’re still here. We’re just fighting to make our presence known.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Fillmore Heritage Center opened in 2007 as an attempt at restitution in concrete and steel. The complex, which cost more than $80 million, was built on land shaped by urban renewal, which displaced thousands of Black residents and hundreds of businesses beginning in the 1960s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991343\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_04_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People walk past the Fillmore Heritage Center on Fillmore Street in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For a moment, it was the cultural and economic anchor the neighborhood had been promised. Then the unraveling came in stages: Yoshi’s San Francisco filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 2012 and closed in 2014. Its replacement, The Addition, closed within months of opening — and the city took over the building’s commercial spaces in 2015, after developer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973221/fillmore-heritage-center-michael-johnson-settlement\">Michael Johnson\u003c/a> defaulted on a $5.5 million city loan. By 2017, 1300 on Fillmore, the last holdout, was gone too — tenants worn down by the building’s high operating costs and the weight of a neighborhood’s expectations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years afterward, the building sat at the center of a long, unresolved dispute. A 2017 attempt to sell it collapsed when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Panel-unimpressed-by-visions-rejects-bidders-12328294.php\">no bidder met the community standards\u003c/a> attached to the sale. Proposals came and went, and COVID consumed what remained of the momentum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Bringing life back to the Fillmore Heritage Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This June, the Heritage Center’s doors began to crack open during Juneteenth celebrations, offering festival support space and a venue for the Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards honoring Black community leaders. Then, over the Fourth of July weekend, came the Dream Center — the first full weekend of public-facing programming in the building’s current activation period.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Organized by Linda Parker Pennington, an early investor in Yoshi’s and former board chair of the Jazz Heritage Center nonprofit, the weekend brought together wellness workshops, art, youth media, a reparations panel, a genealogy workshop and a screening of filmmaker Jalila Bell’s documentary \u003cem>Culture Connects Us\u003c/em>. “I want people to walk in and feel like they’ve arrived at an oasis,” she said. “Regardless of their background. Regardless of their age.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_27_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Linda Parker Pennington speaks during the Power of Interracial Sisterhood workshop at the Fillmore Heritage Center in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Among the community stakeholders who have consistently stepped up to steward the building’s future is Fillmore Rising, a collective co-led by Majeid Crawford, executive director of the New Community Leadership Foundation, and Ericka Scott, the founder of Honey Art Studio who grew up in the community. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The group’s vision wasn’t drafted in a city office. It grew out of weekly community mapping sessions at Third Baptist Church, where local leaders dreamt up ideas for the space: a curated gallery, an African diaspora restaurant, a 39-seat screening room for independent film and youth programming and a sliding-scale rental model designed to give local event organizers a real path into the building for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is an opportunity for us to see this space again, filled with life,” Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Crawford has spent years working to bring vibrancy back to the building. After watching proposal after proposal fall apart, he said he has been explicit with the city about what community stewardship requires: a transparent, open application process, not one where proximity to power determines who gets through the door first.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If a fair, open process cannot be established for all,” Crawford said, “then no one should have access to avoid the appearance of favoritism.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City leaders have said they are listening. On May 28, Mayor Daniel Lurie joined Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and community leaders at the Heritage Center to announce a package of new investments in the Fillmore, including $230,000 in SF Thrives grants for 23 small businesses in the area. The ribbon-cutting came days after the launch of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fillmore-after-dark-night-market-sf-bites-blues-bingo-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark\u003c/a>, a new yearlong night market series. And over Fourth of July weekend, the new \u003ca href=\"https://sfist.com/2025/11/18/now-the-fillmore-has-its-own-boozy-entertainment-zone-where-to-go-cocktails-are-good-to-go/\">Lower Fillmore Entertainment Zone\u003c/a> allowed participating businesses to sell alcoholic beverages to-go during the Fillmore Jazz Festival.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991349\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_37_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Niecey Livingsingle performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Diana Ponce de León, acting director of workforce development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), acknowledged in an interview that many residents remain skeptical after decades of stalled promises.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The desire has always been there,” she said. “We are just restarting that process again.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She was equally clear about where the current momentum originated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t come up with these at all,” she said of the first activations. “The community did, and they’re leveraging their partnerships.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>OEWD is preparing a formal application process for public-facing, one-day events, with availability for up to eight activations a month through December. For now, programming is limited to the lobby, screening room and gallery while the city assesses the building’s condition, needed repairs and possible future uses. By the end of the calendar year, staff will use that work and ongoing community input to develop options for the Fillmore Heritage Center’s next steps.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991375\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_48_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thousands of people line the streets during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A community that refuses to give up\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The question of who shapes what comes next surfaced in nearly every conversation on the corridor. Not everyone is ready to call this a resurgence, including some of the people doing the work.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ashley Smiley, senior programs coordinator at the African American Art & Culture Complex, sees the Fillmore Heritage Center’s reopening with both optimism and caution. As one Black cultural institution begins a new chapter, another is preparing to pause its own. The African American Art & Culture Complex is expected to suspend programming this fall while its building undergoes a seismic retrofit, and Smiley still doesn’t know where the organization will land in the meantime.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Black spaces are very fractured right now,” she said. “I’m 100% optimistic that it can be done. But in that optimism, I also want to acknowledge the things that can be adjusted, because we want sustainability.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_20_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ashley Smiley poses for a portrait outside of the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Smiley, the Heritage Center’s reopening matters because it represents more than a single building. San Francisco’s future, she argues, depends on investing in the neighborhoods where culture is created, not simply where it is presented.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The art and culture of the city that makes it important isn’t just downtown,” she said. “It grows here. It grows in the Fillmore, it grows in the Bayview, it grows in the Mission.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The stakes beneath her warning are demographic as much as cultural. San Francisco’s Black population has declined from 13.5% in 1970 to roughly 5% today, according to census data. Yet in interviews, many residents reached instinctively for an even smaller number: “3%.” It wasn’t a statistic so much as a feeling, shorthand for what many believe the neighborhood has lost.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991344\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/20260704_FillmoreHC_EG_22_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cherronda G performs on the John Coltrane Stage located next to the Fillmore Heritage Center during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paulette Brown has spent years advocating for families affected by violence, work shaped by the loss of her son, Aubrey Abrakasa Jr., in 2006. On Saturday, she was back at 1330 Fillmore, still showing up for the community.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Look at the Heritage Center,” she said. “It’s open. People are having hope again. We’re coming together and sticking together.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Asked why she keeps showing up, she answered simply.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I believe hope will prevail,” she said. “And we will all come together as one, and help each other and love on each other.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The people who filled this building in its first life built a neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The people filling it now are building one too.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For updates on the Fillmore Heritage Center, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://sfplanning.org/fillmore-community-action-plan\">Fillmore Community Action Plan website\u003c/a>.\u003c/em> \u003cem>The next \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hot-august-nights-fillmore-carshow-blues-bingo-casino-rsvp-for-free-tickets-1988574870970\">Fillmore After Dark \u003c/a>night market takes place Aug. 14.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "new-monuments-san-francisco-shaping-legacy-sfac",
"title": "In San Francisco, a Reckoning With Toppled Statues Gives Rise to New Monuments",
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"headTitle": "In San Francisco, a Reckoning With Toppled Statues Gives Rise to New Monuments | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1176\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-1536x706.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2048x941.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A monument to invisible labor\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Memorializing the everyday\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1132\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-160x71.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-768x340.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-1536x679.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2048x906.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026. (Courtesy of Adrián Arias)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Monuments to the future\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-1536x706.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2048x941.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "‘More work to be done’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"id": 13991399,
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"imageCredit": "Beth LaBerge/KQED",
"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w",
"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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{
"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "Memorializing the everyday",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Memorializing the everyday\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Memorializing the everyday\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the weeks of protests following the murder of George Floyd, monuments across the country became the focus of intense, righteous energy. For too long, the demonstrators argued, these representations of oppression and violence — sometimes, of outright sedition — had presided over public spaces, warping our understanding of America’s past.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some instances, the statues had been the subject of years of organizing and petitions for removal, to no avail. So in 2020, people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11824381/historical-figures-reassessed-after-george-floyds-death\">took matters into their own hands\u003c/a>, either tagging the monuments’ pedestals, pouring red paint on them or toppling the statues altogether. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was these actions — and the physical danger to those doing the toppling — that led the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) to preemptively remove the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11825103/san-francisco-removes-controversial-christopher-columbus-statue-on-telegraph-hill\">Christopher Columbus statue\u003c/a> from the base of Coit Tower on June 18, 2020. The following day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11826151/how-do-we-heal-toppling-the-myth-of-junipero-serra\">protesters pulled down three statues\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse: monuments to Francis Scott Key, Junípero Serra and Ulysses S. Grant.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the plinths have stood empty, the SFAC has engaged in an unprecedented effort to truly reckon with the city’s monuments. Over the past six years, the agency has deeply researched all 105 monuments in San Francisco’s Civic Art Collection, holding community meetings and soliciting feedback. In 2025, the SFAC released a \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SL_Audit_Final_Report_Tear_Sheets_Web_05052025.pdf\">521-page audit report\u003c/a>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Now, as its final act, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">Shaping Legacy project\u003c/a> has commissioned five artists and collaboratives to create temporary monuments to subjects of their choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead of nativist leaders or military victories, these artworks celebrate refugees, paleteros, garment and shipyard workers, and families of the Great Migration. Currently playing out as installations and events, and spreading from Civic Center to Hunters Point, these pieces of public art challenge the very notion of what San Francisco’s future monuments can be. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1176\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"man wraps metal scaffolding in gold mylar, group poses on scaffolding\" class=\"wp-image-13991396\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2000x919.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-160x73.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-768x353.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-1536x706.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_Diptych-2048x941.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A team of artist ambassadors works on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in San Francisco’s Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>A monument to invisible labor\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Civic Center is home to nearly a quarter of the city’s monuments, the most prominent of which sits between the main library and the Asian Art Museum. Created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger, the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> tells a selective and glorified story of California’s founding, illustrated by the white Americans (plus a few Spanish and Mexican leaders) who conquered the land and its Indigenous people. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Native American activists called for the removal of one especially offensive component of the monument. \u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> depicted Junípero Serra “converting” a supine Indigenous man (depicted as a Plains Indian). A triumphant vaquero stood by with his arm raised.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2018, after successful lobbying, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13840748/early-days-statue-in-sf-deemed-racist-will-be-removed-following-re-vote\">\u003cem>Early Days\u003c/em> was removed\u003c/a>. Even so, according to a 2023 community survey by the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC, a precursor to the Shaping Legacy project), the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em> remains one of the city’s least-liked monuments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The site’s contentious history provides a rare opportunity for an artist to confront such historical symbols of power. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.calebduarte.org/\">Kaleb Duarte\u003c/a> is up to the task.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Currently, a delicate scaffolding and scrim sits around the center of the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>, obscuring the view of its bronze reliefs. Since early June, Duarte and a team of “artist ambassadors” have been working on site, covering the metal poles of the scaffolding with strips of gold mylar. They are, in effect, gilding the structure. The piece, titled \u003cem>Embassy of the Refuge\u003c/em>e, is part of an ongoing series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The scaffold is an ugly thing that you try to not look at when you’re looking at architecture,” Duarte says on a windy farmers market day, “but I think it represents the worker and the forgotten.” Duarte’s collaborators are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico; the participants have been in the United States anywhere from two to 15 years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg\" alt=\"two people stand on scaffolding beside bronze statue\" class=\"wp-image-13991394\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/KalebDuarte_CourtesyPhotos_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist ambassadors work on ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ in Fulton Plaza. (Courtesy of Kaleb Duarte)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In outdoor workshops, the group has discussed memories of home next to the installation, recording these histories as a way of documenting the Bay Area’s larger immigrant and refugee networks. The gold mylar, which flutters in the plaza’s always-present breeze, references the emergency blankets used at detention centers. Turning “a symbol of potential trauma into something beautiful,” as Duarte says, is one of the piece’s many acts of transformation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In keeping with the idea of a living, active monument, \u003cem>Embassy of the Refugee\u003c/em> will host performances on July 25 by Guatemala-based artists Regina José Galindo and Marilyn Boror Bor (Maya-Kaqchikel), along with Duarte’s frequent collaborator Mia Eve Rollow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within the scaffolding, a ghostly mesh tent echoes both refugee tents and the pediment of City Hall. “The idea of home and house is carried by the body and by memory, not by architecture,” Duarte says, gesturing at the \u003cem>Pioneer Monument\u003c/em>. “Memory is always in movement, rather than these solid structures that force us to remember certain things. They don’t really engage us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>‘More work to be done’\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>By design, most monuments are built to withstand the ravages of time, even as the world shifts radically around them. It takes events like the 2020 topplings to shift a city’s inertia into action. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shortly after the removal of the Golden Gate Park statues, Mayor London Breed called on the SFAC and other city agencies to change the guidelines around monuments “to reflect the values of the city.” In May 2023, the MMAC’s \u003ca href=\"https://media.api.sf.gov/documents/SF_MMAC_Final_Report_2023.pdf\">final report\u003c/a> made recommendations for evaluating the collection further, while noting, hopefully, that “this is the beginning phase of a larger process; there is more work to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The city loves reports,” says Angela Carrier, Shaping Legacy’s senior project manager. Normally, she explains, that MMAC report might have just sat there, inert. But a $3 million \u003ca href=\"https://www.mellon.org/news/monuments-project-giving-exceeds-150-million\">Mellon Foundation grant\u003c/a> meant the city could actually implement some of the MMAC recommendations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg\" alt=\"gold covered metal posts of scaffolding in front of a stone plinth\" class=\"wp-image-13991401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-10-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Embassy of the Refugee’ sits around the ‘Pioneer Monument,’ created in 1894 by sculptor Frank Happersberger and funded by James Lick. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Shaping Legacy’s first step was to truly audit the San Francisco’s 105 monuments: what do they commemorate, who paid for their construction, what was the context of their creation? “‘We don’t know what we don’t know,’ is what my colleague Allison Cummings says often,” Carrier says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The audit found that 41 of the city’s monuments pre-dated the SFAC, which was established by city charter in 1932. Another 46 entered the Civic Art Collection as gifts from wealthy donors or organized civic groups. Only 18 monuments were explicitly commissioned or acquired by the city. A whopping 77% of the city’s monuments were made by male artists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then, the work shifted to the present: “Who’s here now? What’s our new understanding of these monuments and the power and public memory at play?” Carrier says. Partnering with the community organizations Gray Area, 500 Capp Street, the Samoan Community Development Center and the Tenderloin Museum, Shaping Legacy funded artist-led film screenings, walking tours, discussions and performances across the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This year, further collaborations with SOMA Pilipinas, the California Migration Museum and Shaping San Francisco have addressed some of the city’s most contentious sites: the Dewey Monument in Union Square, the now-empty plinth of Christopher Columbus, and the trio of sculptures toppled in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ultimately, the SFAC will make recommendations about the future of these sites, and how the city should consider the removal, relocation or destruction of monuments moving forward. One of the crucial findings from the Shaping Legacy audit is that the public is far more interested in the creation of new work than the removal of existing statues. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“New monuments have the opportunity to tell the complete story of San Francisco by memorializing stories previously untold and marginalized,” the report states. “New monuments can also be an opportunity for community empowerment, celebration and joy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg\" alt=\"man in glasses on stool in painting studio with artworks behind him\" class=\"wp-image-13991399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/070726-StatuesinSFToppled-01-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias sits in his studio in Oakland on July 7, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Memorializing the everyday\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to find something more joyful than \u003ca href=\"https://adrianarias.com/\">Adrián Arias\u003c/a>’ enthusiasm for paletas. The Shaping Legacy grantee has built a roving, multifaceted homage to the paleteros and paleteras who trace a “sweet route” through the Mission District.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A Sweet Route\u003c/em> kicked off during Carnaval with a small army of paleteros handing out free treats, as they rolled down the parade route. At their center was Arias’ sculpture of eight-foot-tall vibrantly painted paleta. “It was a very happy moment for everybody,” he says. “And a very special recognition for immigrant workers.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The celebrations continued on June 20 with a music- and dance-fueled walk from the 24th Street BART Plaza to Parque Niños Unidos, where the Oakland band LoCura and Anaís Azul performed the specially commissioned (and very catchy) song “\u003ca href=\"https://locuramusica.bandcamp.com/track/paleter\">Paleter@\u003c/a>.” A painted wooden monument to two local paleteros now stands in the park, watching over playing children. On Aug. 2, the project will move, with equal fanfare, to Potrero del Sol.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1132\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991397\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2000x885.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-160x71.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-768x340.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-1536x679.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/AdrianArias_CourtesyPhotos_A-Sweet-Route-part1-Paleta-at-carnaval-Diptych-2048x906.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Left: Artist Adrián Arias works on a ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros.’ Right: ‘A Sweet Route’ at the Carnaval parade in San Francisco on May 24, 2026. (Courtesy of Adrián Arias)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Arias is brimming with ideas for even more temporary monuments, particularly for the Mission, which has no permanent city monuments. “I really like the idea of the ephemeral thing that is a temporary monument moving around,” Arias says. He believes ardently in “recognizing our own heroes in our own neighborhoods.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A hallmark of the five Shaping Legacy artists is a drive toward dispersal — to share their own enthusiasm for their chosen subject with as many members of the public and in as many formats as possible. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/sew_frisco/\">Ariana Martinez-Cruz\u003c/a> is currently hard at work on \u003cem>Threaded Histories\u003c/em>, a monument to San Francisco’s garment workers, which will connect the city’s Latino and Chinese immigrant communities through a July 11 mending workshop, a Chinatown-Rose Pak Station information kiosk, a large-scale textile sculpture and the distribution of custom-made patches (among other manifestations).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Martinez-Cruz, a big part of her work is empowering others to see the monumental in their own ordinary actions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I do community workshops, at least three if not more people will come to me and say ‘I remember when my mom sewed like this,’” she says. “And then I’m listening to their stories of their loved things that were mended or made for a special occasion. It’s helping people connect to what they didn’t realize was living history in front of them.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg\" alt=\"brightly painted wooden monument in park with playground behind\" class=\"wp-image-13991403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/260706-StatuesinSFToppled-12-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route: Tribute to Paleteros’ at Parque Niños Unidos in the Mission District of San Francisco on July 6, 2026, honors and celebrates immigrant ice cream vendors. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Monuments to the future\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The many aspects of the Shaping Legacy commissions fill a timeline that stretches well into October, including forthcoming temporary monuments by \u003ca href=\"https://afatasi.com/\">Afatasi the Artist\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.staceycarter.net/home.html\">Stacey Carter\u003c/a> and a team of collaborators, both in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The grant period comes to a close at the end of 2026. Carrier says the project aims to leave the city with real recommendations about the future of its monuments, especially the ones that have been removed from view in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There will be no one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasizes. But so far, public feedback and the current commissions make a very good case for the power of adding even temporary artwork to the city’s so-called “commemorative landscape.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It may take another infusion of non-taxpayer money like the Mellon grant, however, for Shaping Legacy’s final recommendations to be turned into action. The SFAC has limited staffing and funding to continue commissioning temporary artworks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the desire for more monuments to everyday life and ordinary people is palpable. Arias recalls, “Installing the other day at Parque Niños Unidos, a group of nannies came to me and said, ‘Where will be the monument for nannies?’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>For the most up-to-date list of Shaping Legacy artworks and events, \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/shaping-legacy\">\u003cem>click here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Upcoming events include Ariana Martinez-Cruz’s ‘Threaded Histories’ Community Mending Circle at Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (683 Florida St., San Francisco), on July 11, 12–4 p.m. and a ‘Threaded Histories’ Monument patch distribution and celebration at CANA on July 25, 12–4 p.m.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleb Duarte’s ‘Embassy of the Refugee’ will host performances on July 25 at Fulton Plaza. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Adrián Arias’ ‘A Sweet Route’ will be on view at Parque Niños Unidos (23rd and Treat Streets) through July 20 and will move to Potrero del Sol (Potrero Avenue and 25th Street) for a celebration on Aug. 2.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stacey Carter’s ‘CRANE project’ will illuminate the Hunters Point Shipyard Gantry Crane Oct. 9–11 and 16–18.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-jose-jazz-christian-vela-artistic-director-summer-fest",
"title": "In Full-Circle Moment, Christian Vela Is Named Artistic Director of San Jose Jazz",
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"headTitle": "In Full-Circle Moment, Christian Vela Is Named Artistic Director of San Jose Jazz | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>As a freewheeling kid growing up in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">East San Jose\u003c/a> in the late 1990s, Christian Vela anticipated each San Jose Jazz Festival with a mounting excitement that he can still recall vividly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was the feeling you get the last day of school, or right before Christmas, then I’d get on my bike and ride down to the festival,” he recalls, still sounding amazed at seeing musicians he loved on the same downtown plaza stage where he’d skateboard. “One year, I ended up getting backstage and took a photo with Poncho Sanchez, who was a hero of mine. I couldn’t believe it!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/8SM3Cqm9xL0?si=kHiiK7v2lH323QWe\">today’s announcement\u003c/a> that Vela will take over as artistic director of that very same festival — now known as \u003ca href=\"https://summerfest.sanjosejazz.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2085391436&gbraid=0AAAAAD_iJiL4JfAucAzI0YPHHUZqS8UDV&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qLSBhDaARIsAFTiVh6rdHAuzfgsaXmd_1I1VarYYWt5M2bCDGwE3cNUQIWhS_t4ds-gRwsaAvNOEALw_wcB\">Summer Fest\u003c/a>, which from Aug. 7–9 brings dozens of jazz, blues, R&B, Latin and soul acts to downtown San José — he’s made a full-circle journey back to the organization that shaped his love of music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vela’s already made an impact since taking over as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose-jazz\">San Jose Jazz\u003c/a>’s production manager in 2024, and his appointment last year as associate artistic director. He steps into the lead curator role in September, filling the big shoes of Bruce Labadie, the pervasively influential South Bay music programmer who’s booked Summer Fest since its inception in 1990.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1339\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in a mustache and colorful sweatshirt poses against a wood paneled wall with a striking Black woman in a tan suit jacket and decorative rings.\" class=\"wp-image-13991321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Jose Jazz founder Bruce Labadie, at right, with singer Nancy Wilson in 1986. (Courtesy San Jose Jazz)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At 45, Vela brings a wealth of experience to the position — and not just from riding his bike to the festival each year as a teenager. He served as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sfjazz\">SFJAZZ\u003c/a>’s senior production manager for 11 years, from 2013-2024, followed by a year-long stint as COO of the Presidio Theatre. After coming back home, he’s spent the past two years under Labadie’s wing at San Jose Jazz.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Christian knows how to work with artists,” says Labadie, whose half-century career encompasses booking three dozen venues and festivals across the state, including last summer’s Monterey Jazz Festival. “He’s involved in all kinds of other things that San Jose Jazz is doing, like the Break Room, but Summer Fest is a different level. I cautioned him, it’s non-stop work.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Judging by his track record at the Break Room, an intimate venue that San Jose Jazz opened during the pandemic, Vela has already brought in a trove of new ideas. A self-described vinylphile, he added artist residencies into the Break Room mix, which includes taking musicians record hunting before they spin albums and discuss their formative influences for an audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991322\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Vela, at left, with the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. (Courtesy San Jose Jazz)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s actually very selfish, bringing together all the things that I like,” Vela says. “My partner and I are into vinyl — she spins as DJ Weekend Girl — and I wanted to think of a unique way to introduce a vinyl night.” Another idea of Vela’s was having the resident artist join an all-ages jam session that takes place on \u003ca href=\"https://www.southfirstfridays.com/\">First Fridays\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of four children born in San José to parents from Ciudad Juárez, Vela got his start as a musician playing guitar in church. When a group of friends at Independence High School gained traction with the ska band Firme, he became their tour manager. As the keeper of the band’s van, he ended up providing transportation for Manu Chao, and struck up a friendship with the polyglot French-Spanish star.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around 2011, Manu Chao’s people dropped his name to the Malian couple Amadou and Mariam, who at the time were seeking a tour manager. Despite speaking rudimentary French, Vela jumped into the role.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I did my homework on the instruments, learning how to set them up and mic them, and did my part in trying to learn French, taking courses on my phone,” Vela says. “I think they saw the effort I put forth, and I toured with them for almost three years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was ready to come off the road and spend some time at home when Amadou and Mariam concluded a long tour with an SFJAZZ performance at Davies Symphony Hall in 2013. “I’m like a roadrunner all over the place, and the SFJAZZ production manager on stage was watching me,” recalls Vela, who ended up signing on with the recently opened SFJAZZ Center. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1411\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles.jpg 1411w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-160x227.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-768x1089.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-1084x1536.jpg 1084w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1411px) 100vw, 1411px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saxophonist Kamasi Washington performs as part of Summer Fest in downtown San José. (Grason Littles)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If he was helping forge a new venue identity at SFJAZZ, he’s taking on a very different role at San Jose Jazz, which for decades has maintained one of the West Coast’s premiere festivals by building upon San José’s downtown resources, like the Tech Museum, Montgomery Theater and expansive plaza.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s one of my favorite festivals, and an advantage Christian has is that Bruce Labadie has given him a runway,” says bassist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/marcus-shelby\">Marcus Shelby\u003c/a> — who, as the artistic director of Healdsburg Jazz since 2020, knows all about taking over programming from a festival’s founder.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the perfect opportunity and situation for him,” Shelby adds. “He’s someone who loves and knows the heartbeat of the city.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a freewheeling kid growing up in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">East San Jose\u003c/a> in the late 1990s, Christian Vela anticipated each San Jose Jazz Festival with a mounting excitement that he can still recall vividly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was the feeling you get the last day of school, or right before Christmas, then I’d get on my bike and ride down to the festival,” he recalls, still sounding amazed at seeing musicians he loved on the same downtown plaza stage where he’d skateboard. “One year, I ended up getting backstage and took a photo with Poncho Sanchez, who was a hero of mine. I couldn’t believe it!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It was the feeling you get the last day of school, or right before Christmas, then I’d get on my bike and ride down to the festival,” he recalls, still sounding amazed at seeing musicians he loved on the same downtown plaza stage where he’d skateboard. “One year, I ended up getting backstage and took a photo with Poncho Sanchez, who was a hero of mine. I couldn’t believe it!”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/8SM3Cqm9xL0?si=kHiiK7v2lH323QWe\">today’s announcement\u003c/a> that Vela will take over as artistic director of that very same festival — now known as \u003ca href=\"https://summerfest.sanjosejazz.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2085391436&gbraid=0AAAAAD_iJiL4JfAucAzI0YPHHUZqS8UDV&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qLSBhDaARIsAFTiVh6rdHAuzfgsaXmd_1I1VarYYWt5M2bCDGwE3cNUQIWhS_t4ds-gRwsaAvNOEALw_wcB\">Summer Fest\u003c/a>, which from Aug. 7–9 brings dozens of jazz, blues, R&B, Latin and soul acts to downtown San José — he’s made a full-circle journey back to the organization that shaped his love of music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/8SM3Cqm9xL0?si=kHiiK7v2lH323QWe\">today’s announcement\u003c/a> that Vela will take over as artistic director of that very same festival — now known as \u003ca href=\"https://summerfest.sanjosejazz.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2085391436&gbraid=0AAAAAD_iJiL4JfAucAzI0YPHHUZqS8UDV&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qLSBhDaARIsAFTiVh6rdHAuzfgsaXmd_1I1VarYYWt5M2bCDGwE3cNUQIWhS_t4ds-gRwsaAvNOEALw_wcB\">Summer Fest\u003c/a>, which from Aug. 7–9 brings dozens of jazz, blues, R&B, Latin and soul acts to downtown San José — he’s made a full-circle journey back to the organization that shaped his love of music.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Vela’s already made an impact since taking over as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose-jazz\">San Jose Jazz\u003c/a>’s production manager in 2024, and his appointment last year as associate artistic director. He steps into the lead curator role in September, filling the big shoes of Bruce Labadie, the pervasively influential South Bay music programmer who’s booked Summer Fest since its inception in 1990.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Vela’s already made an impact since taking over as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose-jazz\">San Jose Jazz\u003c/a>’s production manager in 2024, and his appointment last year as associate artistic director. He steps into the lead curator role in September, filling the big shoes of Bruce Labadie, the pervasively influential South Bay music programmer who’s booked Summer Fest since its inception in 1990.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in a mustache and colorful sweatshirt poses against a wood paneled wall with a striking Black woman in a tan suit jacket and decorative rings.\" class=\"wp-image-13991321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Jose Jazz founder Bruce Labadie, at right, with singer Nancy Wilson in 1986. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in a mustache and colorful sweatshirt poses against a wood paneled wall with a striking Black woman in a tan suit jacket and decorative rings.\" class=\"wp-image-13991321\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Jose Jazz founder Bruce Labadie, at right, with singer Nancy Wilson in 1986. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At 45, Vela brings a wealth of experience to the position — and not just from riding his bike to the festival each year as a teenager. He served as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sfjazz\">SFJAZZ\u003c/a>’s senior production manager for 11 years, from 2013-2024, followed by a year-long stint as COO of the Presidio Theatre. After coming back home, he’s spent the past two years under Labadie’s wing at San Jose Jazz.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At 45, Vela brings a wealth of experience to the position — and not just from riding his bike to the festival each year as a teenager. He served as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sfjazz\">SFJAZZ\u003c/a>’s senior production manager for 11 years, from 2013-2024, followed by a year-long stint as COO of the Presidio Theatre. After coming back home, he’s spent the past two years under Labadie’s wing at San Jose Jazz.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Christian knows how to work with artists,” says Labadie, whose half-century career encompasses booking three dozen venues and festivals across the state, including last summer’s Monterey Jazz Festival. “He’s involved in all kinds of other things that San Jose Jazz is doing, like the Break Room, but Summer Fest is a different level. I cautioned him, it’s non-stop work.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Christian knows how to work with artists,” says Labadie, whose half-century career encompasses booking three dozen venues and festivals across the state, including last summer’s Monterey Jazz Festival. “He’s involved in all kinds of other things that San Jose Jazz is doing, like the Break Room, but Summer Fest is a different level. I cautioned him, it’s non-stop work.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Judging by his track record at the Break Room, an intimate venue that San Jose Jazz opened during the pandemic, Vela has already brought in a trove of new ideas. A self-described vinylphile, he added artist residencies into the Break Room mix, which includes taking musicians record hunting before they spin albums and discuss their formative influences for an audience.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Judging by his track record at the Break Room, an intimate venue that San Jose Jazz opened during the pandemic, Vela has already brought in a trove of new ideas. A self-described vinylphile, he added artist residencies into the Break Room mix, which includes taking musicians record hunting before they spin albums and discuss their formative influences for an audience.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991322\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Vela, at left, with the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s actually very selfish, bringing together all the things that I like,” Vela says. “My partner and I are into vinyl — she spins as DJ Weekend Girl — and I wanted to think of a unique way to introduce a vinyl night.” Another idea of Vela’s was having the resident artist join an all-ages jam session that takes place on \u003ca href=\"https://www.southfirstfridays.com/\">First Fridays\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of four children born in San José to parents from Ciudad Juárez, Vela got his start as a musician playing guitar in church. When a group of friends at Independence High School gained traction with the ska band Firme, he became their tour manager. As the keeper of the band’s van, he ended up providing transportation for Manu Chao, and struck up a friendship with the polyglot French-Spanish star.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of four children born in San José to parents from Ciudad Juárez, Vela got his start as a musician playing guitar in church. When a group of friends at Independence High School gained traction with the ska band Firme, he became their tour manager. As the keeper of the band’s van, he ended up providing transportation for Manu Chao, and struck up a friendship with the polyglot French-Spanish star.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around 2011, Manu Chao’s people dropped his name to the Malian couple Amadou and Mariam, who at the time were seeking a tour manager. Despite speaking rudimentary French, Vela jumped into the role.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I did my homework on the instruments, learning how to set them up and mic them, and did my part in trying to learn French, taking courses on my phone,” Vela says. “I think they saw the effort I put forth, and I toured with them for almost three years.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I did my homework on the instruments, learning how to set them up and mic them, and did my part in trying to learn French, taking courses on my phone,” Vela says. “I think they saw the effort I put forth, and I toured with them for almost three years.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was ready to come off the road and spend some time at home when Amadou and Mariam concluded a long tour with an SFJAZZ performance at Davies Symphony Hall in 2013. “I’m like a roadrunner all over the place, and the SFJAZZ production manager on stage was watching me,” recalls Vela, who ended up signing on with the recently opened SFJAZZ Center. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles.jpg 1411w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-160x227.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-768x1089.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-1084x1536.jpg 1084w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saxophonist Kamasi Washington performs as part of Summer Fest in downtown San José. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If he was helping forge a new venue identity at SFJAZZ, he’s taking on a very different role at San Jose Jazz, which for decades has maintained one of the West Coast’s premiere festivals by building upon San José’s downtown resources, like the Tech Museum, Montgomery Theater and expansive plaza.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The kid who once rode his bike to the downtown jazz festival each year will now run the show.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As a freewheeling kid growing up in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose\">East San Jose\u003c/a> in the late 1990s, Christian Vela anticipated each San Jose Jazz Festival with a mounting excitement that he can still recall vividly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was the feeling you get the last day of school, or right before Christmas, then I’d get on my bike and ride down to the festival,” he recalls, still sounding amazed at seeing musicians he loved on the same downtown plaza stage where he’d skateboard. “One year, I ended up getting backstage and took a photo with Poncho Sanchez, who was a hero of mine. I couldn’t believe it!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/8SM3Cqm9xL0?si=kHiiK7v2lH323QWe\">today’s announcement\u003c/a> that Vela will take over as artistic director of that very same festival — now known as \u003ca href=\"https://summerfest.sanjosejazz.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=2085391436&gbraid=0AAAAAD_iJiL4JfAucAzI0YPHHUZqS8UDV&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3qLSBhDaARIsAFTiVh6rdHAuzfgsaXmd_1I1VarYYWt5M2bCDGwE3cNUQIWhS_t4ds-gRwsaAvNOEALw_wcB\">Summer Fest\u003c/a>, which from Aug. 7–9 brings dozens of jazz, blues, R&B, Latin and soul acts to downtown San José — he’s made a full-circle journey back to the organization that shaped his love of music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vela’s already made an impact since taking over as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/san-jose-jazz\">San Jose Jazz\u003c/a>’s production manager in 2024, and his appointment last year as associate artistic director. He steps into the lead curator role in September, filling the big shoes of Bruce Labadie, the pervasively influential South Bay music programmer who’s booked Summer Fest since its inception in 1990.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1339\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg\" alt=\"A white man in a mustache and colorful sweatshirt poses against a wood paneled wall with a striking Black woman in a tan suit jacket and decorative rings.\" class=\"wp-image-13991321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/1986_Bruce_Labadie_with_Nancy_Wilson-1536x1028.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Jose Jazz founder Bruce Labadie, at right, with singer Nancy Wilson in 1986. (Courtesy San Jose Jazz)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At 45, Vela brings a wealth of experience to the position — and not just from riding his bike to the festival each year as a teenager. He served as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sfjazz\">SFJAZZ\u003c/a>’s senior production manager for 11 years, from 2013-2024, followed by a year-long stint as COO of the Presidio Theatre. After coming back home, he’s spent the past two years under Labadie’s wing at San Jose Jazz.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Christian knows how to work with artists,” says Labadie, whose half-century career encompasses booking three dozen venues and festivals across the state, including last summer’s Monterey Jazz Festival. “He’s involved in all kinds of other things that San Jose Jazz is doing, like the Break Room, but Summer Fest is a different level. I cautioned him, it’s non-stop work.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Judging by his track record at the Break Room, an intimate venue that San Jose Jazz opened during the pandemic, Vela has already brought in a trove of new ideas. A self-described vinylphile, he added artist residencies into the Break Room mix, which includes taking musicians record hunting before they spin albums and discuss their formative influences for an audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991322\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Christian-and-Chucho-1-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Vela, at left, with the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. (Courtesy San Jose Jazz)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s actually very selfish, bringing together all the things that I like,” Vela says. “My partner and I are into vinyl — she spins as DJ Weekend Girl — and I wanted to think of a unique way to introduce a vinyl night.” Another idea of Vela’s was having the resident artist join an all-ages jam session that takes place on \u003ca href=\"https://www.southfirstfridays.com/\">First Fridays\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of four children born in San José to parents from Ciudad Juárez, Vela got his start as a musician playing guitar in church. When a group of friends at Independence High School gained traction with the ska band Firme, he became their tour manager. As the keeper of the band’s van, he ended up providing transportation for Manu Chao, and struck up a friendship with the polyglot French-Spanish star.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around 2011, Manu Chao’s people dropped his name to the Malian couple Amadou and Mariam, who at the time were seeking a tour manager. Despite speaking rudimentary French, Vela jumped into the role.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I did my homework on the instruments, learning how to set them up and mic them, and did my part in trying to learn French, taking courses on my phone,” Vela says. “I think they saw the effort I put forth, and I toured with them for almost three years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was ready to come off the road and spend some time at home when Amadou and Mariam concluded a long tour with an SFJAZZ performance at Davies Symphony Hall in 2013. “I’m like a roadrunner all over the place, and the SFJAZZ production manager on stage was watching me,” recalls Vela, who ended up signing on with the recently opened SFJAZZ Center. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1411\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles.jpg 1411w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-160x227.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-768x1089.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/SJZ-SF_Kamasi-Washington_photo-by-Grason-Littles-1084x1536.jpg 1084w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1411px) 100vw, 1411px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saxophonist Kamasi Washington performs as part of Summer Fest in downtown San José. (Grason Littles)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If he was helping forge a new venue identity at SFJAZZ, he’s taking on a very different role at San Jose Jazz, which for decades has maintained one of the West Coast’s premiere festivals by building upon San José’s downtown resources, like the Tech Museum, Montgomery Theater and expansive plaza.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s one of my favorite festivals, and an advantage Christian has is that Bruce Labadie has given him a runway,” says bassist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/marcus-shelby\">Marcus Shelby\u003c/a> — who, as the artistic director of Healdsburg Jazz since 2020, knows all about taking over programming from a festival’s founder.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the perfect opportunity and situation for him,” Shelby adds. “He’s someone who loves and knows the heartbeat of the city.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"order": 9
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 18
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"morning-edition": {
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"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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"onourwatch": {
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"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"order": 11
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"on-the-media": {
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"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"order": 5
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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