The weather in San Francisco is beautiful today and that gets me thinking about spending the day in Golden Gate Park.  This urban paradise is HUGE and it offers so much for both locals and travelers.  I’m always bragging about the fact that I live in a city which has enough respect for nature to maintain such a large park inside of what is a geographically small area of city.  And so, it’s appropriate to celebrate Earth Day out at Golden Gate Park and what better way to do that then with free music?

             Green Apple Music Festival is a multi-city Earth Day celebration.  The residents of Chicago, New York and here at home all gather together to listen to bands which are both local and national as well as to share education and information in support of treating the environment well.  The big events take place on Sunday at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park, but there are shows happening all throughout the city starting tonight and continuing on until the free stuff starts on Sunday.

             The number of venues interested in supporting this festival throughout San Francisco is stunning.  They include big ones like The Fillmore and The Independent, neighborhood favorites like Elbo Room and The Makeout Room in The Mission and even random small spots like the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.  With so many venues, there are lots of different bands to choose from.  Many of these are Bay Area bands, but the shows include lots of big names including The Greyboy Allstars and Stephen Marley. Tickets to the shows that aren’t free can be bought online or on-site to shows that aren’t sold out and range in price from $3 to $20.

             Earth Day is an important day everywhere but it’s particularly poignant in San Francisco, a city which

is actually fairly good at being green.  More people here take public transportation than almost anywhere else in the country. And there isn’t a day – even one with bad weather – when that huge famous park in our city isn’t filled with at least a few people.  We’re lucky to have that here and we should take the chance to go out and celebrate it!