Peaceful Saturday Afternoon…

Deeming ourselves “festival” people, Chris and I stopped by the POWER TO THE PEACEFUL festival out at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park yesterday afternoon. Started in 1999 in support of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, the festival shows support for all prisoners on death row, and after the attacks of 9/11, now serves as a day of remembrance for lives lost in the tragedy as well as a call to end war around the world. Through music, dance, and art, P2tP reminds us that “the path to a less violent world starts from within.” Michael Franti of Spearhead sums it up nicely: "We can't change the world over night, but we can be a drop in the river that moves a mountain."

It was a wonderful way to spend the day. We skipped the morning yoga (they had free yoga classes from 9-11AM) but made it for the free outdoor concert, headlined by Spearhead. We also heard New Monsoon & Blackalicious, as well as speakers Rabbi Michael Lerner & 2004 presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. Although it was a cold, wet day, we stayed in the park for a few hours, sampling the raw food selection the festival offered (it is a good day when you can go to a festival and get raw pizza and raw sushi) as well as the solar-powered organic snow-cones (honest!). There were also many people in costumes so we enjoyed people-watching while dancing to the music (people-watching in San Francisco is generally interesting). Most of all, we enjoyed watching the little hippie children running around with huge smiles on their faces, saying hello to everyone they passed.

All in all, a peaceful Saturday afternoon…