2021 Festival Opening Day
Friday, September 10 | 12:00 - 4:00 PM (Festival Programming); 4:00- 7:00 PM (Live DJ)
Spreckels Temple of Music / Concourse, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Free + open to the public
Kick off the 18th Annual Architecture + the City Festival in this open-air celebration! Meet some of AIA San Francisco’s committees and partake in a variety of architecture-inspired activities including a historical walking tour of the Concourse and try out Augmented Reality Goggles, thanks to our friends at Geopogo and Magic Leap. This program is in collaboration with Feldman Architecture, Illuminate, Western Neighborhoods Project, San Francisco Recreation & Parks and the following AIASF committees: Architectural Licensing Committee, Design Technology, International Practice Committee, Urban Design + Infrastructure, LatinX in Architecture (LiA), Mentorship Committee.
Visit San Francisco’s COVID-19 resources for attending events at https://sf.gov/topics/coronavirus-covid-19
For parking information please visit GoldenGatePark.com or check out this Interactive Map.
12:00 - 4:00 PM | All-day Activities
AIASF Committees + acoustic music by Michael Waters Schillaci
12:00 - 1:30 PM | Golden Gate Park Music Concourse History Walk
Meeting Point: King Leonidas Statue in front of the De Young Museum
RSVP Closed; limited to 30 attendees
Update:
This tour's RSVP list has reached max capacity but we welcome you to join us on-site based on space availability.
Join historian John Martini and Western Neighborhoods Project Executive Director Nicole Meldahl for a guided tour of the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park. Few people know that Golden Gate Park once hosted a World's Fair: the nearly forgotten "1894 California Mid-Winter Exposition.” On this walking tour around the park’s Music Concourse, we visit many of the locations of the exotic but short-lived Fair, including scattered surviving remnants of the Exposition from 125 years ago. RSVP attendees should arrive at least 10 minutes early.
The meeting spot for the start of the History Walk is marked with a star on the map.
1:30 - 2:30 PM | Panel Discussion
Huddle beneath the resplendent Spreckels Temple of Music bandshell for this talk featuring Nick Polansky, Project Designer, Feldman Architecture; Ben Davis, Founder/President/CEO, Illuminate; Lydia So, AIA, LEEP AP, Principal, SOLYD Architecture. Hear how this collaboration comprised of an interdisciplinary team of lighting designers, audio engineers, structural engineers, and SF Parks & Recreation collaborated to amplify and beautify the Temple in celebration of Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020.
3:15 - 4:00 PM | Opening Remarks / Special Announcements / Poetry + Spoken Word
Let the festivities begin! Join us for our launch ceremony featuring Stacy Williams, Executive Director, AIA San Francisco and Center for Architecture + Design; Vas Kiniris, Director of Business Development, NextSF; Tyra Fennell, Mayor's Office - Director of Commissions and Community Liaison for some exciting announcements!
Powerful poetry and spoken word featuring:
Monica Mody, author of Kala Pani, the forthcoming Bright Parallel, and three chapbooks including Ordinary Annals. She has been a recipient of the Sparks Prize Fellowship (Notre Dame), the Zora Neale Hurston Award (Naropa), and a Toto Award for Creative Writing.
Russell Reza-Khaliq Gonzaga, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Lake County (2012-2014). As an Arts Educator, he has worked with several organizations including YouthSpeaks and WritersCorps. He is also the recipient of the Certificate of Honor from the Board of Supervisors and a Mayor's declaration of Russell Gonzaga Day in San Francisco.
4:00 - 7:00 PM | Live DJ
Be sure to stay for the live evening show presented by Illuminate featuring San Francisco’s Sweater Funk DJ crew, the city’s most dedicated purveyors of the funky subgenre known as Boogie since the summer of 2008. Their vision to bring original boogie on vinyl to the masses has earned them a diehard following who have packed the dance floor at their parties for over a decade. They’ve won SF Weekly’s Best new club 2009, hosted artists such as Leroy Burgess, Howard Johnson, Steve Arrington, Dam Funk, Daz-I-Kue, DJ Spinna, Mayer Hawthorne, Peanut Butter Wolf, Kon and Amir, Onra, Benedek, Myron & E, XL Middleton & Moniquea, Brian Ellis and The Groove Merchant's Cool Chris.