From the SF Recreation and Park Department

Humanitarian Relief Concert For Ukraine set for Saturday Afternoon in Golden Gate Park

#SF4Ukraine event seeks to raise $20,000 to provide desperately needed relief for the nearly 2 million refugees fleeing Ukraine

A coalition of organizations led by Sunset Piano, Illuminate, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council will host an extraordinary event called “Slava Ukraini!” (Glory to Ukraine!) at the Golden Gate Bandshell on 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 https://donate.wck.org/SF4Ukraine

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 CWK and Ukrainian relief. 

“San Francisco has been profoundly enriched by its Ukrainian community, and we are grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the advancement of peace during this challenging time. We stand in support of Ukraine’s democracy and the safety of all of its citizens,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

“We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and we are honored to activate the Bandshell in support of this effort,” said SF Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “We’re hopeful people will come out to enjoy both the music and the park in support of a good cause.”

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.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to use the power of music and culture to help bring humanitarian relief in this time of crisis” said Dean Mermell, of Sunset Piano.

Illuminate is hosting more than 100 free live concerts at the Bandshell throughout 2022, but the March shows have now taken on extreme significance.

“It’s an unimaginable situation and our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people,” said Illuminate CEO Ben Davis. “We are committed to creating and activating our community, through the power of live music, to help end this suffering.”

A full calendar of Bandshell events, including details on all #SF4Ukraine shows, can be found at goldengatebandshell.org