A coalition of organizations led by Sunset Piano, Illuminate, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council will host an extraordinary event called “Slava Ukraini!” (Glory to Ukraine!) at the Golden Gate Bandshell in the Music Concourse from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 12.
The free concert seeks donations to benefit World Central Kitchen (WCK), which has been working on the ground throughout Ukraine and surrounding countries to feed displaced persons since the start of the crisis. Donations in support of this effort can be made to SF4Ukraine.org.
Musicians will include Sunset Piano all-stars Allison Lovejoy, Elektra Schmidt, Fabio King’s Tropical Jam, Paulo Sultanum, Kevin Gerzevitz Trio, and Serene. In addition the event will feature Ukrainian singer Anytchka, and Traditional Ukrainian Dance by the Zoloti Maky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble. Poetry by Matt Gonzales, Agneta Falk Hirschman, and Mauro Ffortissimo. The event will be MC’d by Sunset Piano’s Dean Mermell and special guests.
This event will serve as a launch for a series of shows supporting the Ukrainian relief effort. Nearly a dozen shows, featuring almost 40 performers are scheduled for the month of March in the Bandshell and all will raise funds for WCK and Ukrainian relief.
WCK began serving hot, nourishing meals within hours of the initial invasion and are now set up in eight Ukrainian cities including Odessa, Lviv, and Kyiv. WCK teams are also on the ground in Romania, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, will be passed out to the first 500 guests arriving for Saturday’s show.
Illuminate is hosting more than 100 free live concerts at the Bandshell throughout 2022, but the March shows have now taken on extreme significance. For a full calendar of Bandshell events, including details on all #SF4Ukraine shows, click the link below.