Media Contact:
DP&A, Inc, David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperrycom

SanFranDISCO Roller Rink Outside SF City Hall Extended!

Holiday Music Joins Mix

Popular Venue Featuring World Class Skate Experience Open Through January 31, 2023

Initiative Sponsored by San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed, SF Office of Economic & Workforce Development and Civic Center CBD

www.SkateSanFranDisco.com

20 December 2022 – San Francisco, CA:  Buoyed by enthusiastic eight-wheelers — veterans and new initiates to the family-friendly, open-air experience – SanFranDISCO(www.SkateSanFranDISCO.com) has extended its initial Holiday Season schedule for another month, through January 31, 2023.  Initially opened in mid-October, the newly constructed 5000 square foot roller rink has enlivened the Civic Center’s Fulton Plaza under the tutelage of legendary skate master David Miles, Jr. founder of the City’s popular “Church of 8 Eight Wheels” located in Western Addition.

San FranDISCO is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 8pn. Youth under 18 years can skate for $5, and people 18 and up for $15 (admission fees cover entrance and skate rental). With offerings for everyone, the rink is a welcomed new outdoor entertainment amenity for residents and visitors alike to enjoy. 

From now through New Year’s, Holiday Music will be part of the roller tunes mix every hour.

“I’m happy our families, kids, and residents are going to be able to come down to roller skate right across from City Hall at Fulton Plaza,” said Mayor London Breed, herself an avid roller skater with “The Church of 8 Wheels” when the Rink opened in October. “Bringing our City back is going to require everyone in our community working together on ideas like this rink that get people excited about San Francisco. I want to thank Civic Center Community Benefits District for their support of this project and we are proud to partner with Church of 8 Wheels, a San Francisco institution.” 

San FranDISCO is one of many new concepts derived from the City’s Economic Recovery plan to prioritize the City’s downtown area by bringing families, residents, and visitors back to San Francisco public spaces and businesses. 

“Bringing families, workers, residents and visitors here to San FranDISCO is the goal of the events and activities the City is hosting as part of our economic recovery,” said Kate Sofis, Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “Transforming our public spaces for unique activities such as a roller rink speaks to the fun and spirit of San Francisco and we look forward to having many more events that bring people together and support our local businesses over the next few months.” 

In addition to the high-quality rink flooring protected from the elements with a roof canopy, the rink facility features restrooms, a skate rental kiosk, and ample public seating areas where anyone can enjoy watching skaters in action. Instructors will offer 90 minute skating sessions at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm and a two-hour session from 6pm to 8pm evenings Wednesdays through Sunday. 

Programming at the rink will complement and support other initiatives in the area as part of the Civic Center Initiative, such as the re-opening of the Café Kiosk in Civic Center Plaza, now operated by Assembly Café; the addition of new weekday musical performances and food trucks to Civic Center Plaza; the enhanced seasonal produce offerings at the long-standing Heart of the City Farmers Market happening Wednesdays and Sundays in UN Plaza.

“The rink is truly a bright spot and an indication of where people are with returning to public life. People need people, and they want to do fun things with others in unique and interesting places,” said Tracy Everwine, Executive Director of the Civic Center Community Benefit District. 

“It’s a new day for outdoor skating in San Francisco and the entire Bay Area skate community is buzzing.” said Church of 8 Wheels founder David Miles. “This downtown rink, which is opening during National Roller-Skating month, is new, fresh, very San Francisco and will connect even more people to our City’s skate culture and one another.” 

San FranDISCO Fulton Plaza Roller Rink is sponsored by Mayor London N. Breed, the City of San Francisco and OEWD, and in partnership with the Church of 8 Wheels, the Civic Center Community Benefit District, the San Francisco Public Library, and the Asian Art Museum.  For more information, please visit www.skatesanfrandisco.com. 

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media contact: DP&A, Inc. / David Perry /  (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 

December 31^th is Deadline for Submission to 20^th Anniversary
International Ocean Film Festival

February 13 is Student Submissions Deadlines

Global Filmmakers encouraged to submit works that inspire people to appreciate & care for the ocean by revealing its wonders through independent films.

20th annual celebration of features films about marine life, the ocean, coastal cultures and conservation takes place in San Francisco April 13 – 16, 2022

www.intloceanfilmfest.org 

16 December 2022- San Francisco, CA:  San Francisco’s International Ocean Film Festival is gearing up for its signature 20^th annual Festival, April 13 – 16. Filmmakers around the world are encouraged to submit their films for consideration by December 31. The deadline for student filmmakers is February 13. Open to middle and high school students internationally, the student filmmaker contest offers prizes of up to $500 per category.  Entry details for both competitions may be found online at www.intloceanfilmfest.org. 

“For two decades, we have been saving our oceans one film at a time,” said Ana Blanco, Executive Director for the International Ocean Film Festival. “The artistry we have experienced over 20 years is sublime. The education and environmental activism, priceless. It’s been an honor for us to be a champion for the ocean for global audiences of all ages.”

The Festival accepts films of all genres that focus on any of the varied aspects of our big, blue ocean. Subject matter ranges from, but is not limited to, marine wildlife, conservation efforts, ocean environments, coastal cultures, ocean sports and exploration, ocean heroes, and innovative technology designed to help protect the ocean. Films can be documentaries, narratives, shorts, animation, and full-length films from around the world. A number of finalists from the main film festival program will be selected to participate in the world-renowned International Ocean Film Festival Traveling Program. This year’s film categories include Environmental, Marine Sciences/Wildlife, Exploration & Ocean Sports, Coastal Island Culture. Animation, Conservation, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, Shorts and Female Directors.

Since its launch in 2004, the San Francisco-based International Ocean Film Festival has attracted thousands of spectators of all ages from around the world, including film enthusiasts, sea athletes, educators, and environmental supporters. Since then, the Festival has presented over 815 films from 40 different countries and featured post-film Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers, special panel discussions with content experts, and the Annual Free Student Education Program. It was the first event of its kind in North America, inspired by the well-established ocean festival in Toulon, France, which has continued to draw large audiences for more than 40 years.

The 20th International Ocean Film Festival runs April 13 – 16 at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. The International Ocean Film Festival is a 501(c) 3 non-profit. 

• www.intloceanfilmfest.org 
• https://www.facebook.com/intloceanfilmfest
• Twitter @oceanfilmfest
• Instagram @intloceanfilmfest

 media contact:  David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Drama Desk and Obie Award Winning Dark Comedy by Samuel D. Hunter
A BRIGHT NEW BOISE continues 15^th Season for Dezart Performs
January 13 – 22

30 November 2022 – Palm Springs: Acclaimed playwright Samuel D. Hunter’s “humorous and touching exploration of faith and family” (NYTheatre.com) A BRIGHT NEW BOISE continues the historic 15^th season for Dezart Performs of Palm Springs  (www.dezartperforms.org). “This clear-eyed comedy (that) will lift your heart” (Time Out New York) runs January 13 – 22 at the Pearl McManus Theatre in downtown Palm Springs.

In A BRIGHT NEW BOISE, we find ourselves in the bleak, corporate break room of a craft store in Idaho. Will (Eric Patrick Harper), who has fled his rural hometown after a scandal at his Evangelical church, comes to the Hobby Lobby, not only for employment, but also to rekindle a relationship with Alex (Jacob Cherry), his brooding teenage son, whom he gave up for adoption several years ago. Alex works there along with Leroy (Austin Minard), his adopted brother and protector, and Anna (Lea Madda), a hapless young woman who reads bland fiction but hopes for dramatic endings. As their manager, foul-mouthed Pauline (Nicole Delsack), tries ceaselessly to find order (and profit) in the chaos of small business, these lost souls of the Hobby Lobby confront an unyielding world through the beige-tinted impossibility of modern faith.

“This is a play that I’ve long wanted to bring to the Valley and now felt like the right time,” said Dezart Performs founding artistic director Michael Shaw who is directing A BRIGHT NEW BOISE which runs for 90 minutes without intermission. “It deals with playwright Hunter’s recurring themes of familiar alienation, physical challenge, and how faith is exposed in the secular, corporate world.”

The recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called “Genius Award”, Hunter is also a writer and producer for the hit television show BASKETS.  Premiered at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, the movie WHALE starring Brendan Fraser and based on Hunter’s play of the same name, is scheduled for wide screen release December 9.

“[Samuel D. Hunter] is one of the finest playwrights at work today” (The Wall Street Journal). His writing “brings humanity and humility to his repressed characters as they struggle to connect and find a means of self-expression”  (Theatermania) and  “Hunter’s sense of place is richer and more peculiar than any other American playwright working today” (The New York Times).

Following A BRIGHT NEW BOISE, Dezart Performscontinues its season with the critically-acclaimed comedy with perhaps theatre’s longest title ever, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY (March 3 – 12). The season closes out with the acclaimed new buddy comedy THE GARBOLOGISTS (April 14 – 23).All performances take place at the Pearl McManus Theater (at the historic Palm Springs Woman’s Club) 314 S Cahuilla Road, Downtown Palm Springs. Ticket prices are $39 – $50. Tickets may be purchased online at www.dezartperforms.org, or by calling (760) 322-0179. Showtimes are Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 7:30pm; Sundays at 2pm.

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

15th Dezart Performs’ Season Listing

A BRIGHT NEW BOISE

 January 13 – 22, 2023

Written by Samuel D. Hunter

Dark comedy

2011 Obie Award winner for Playwriting

2011 Drama Desk nominee for Outstanding Play

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A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY UNIT AT THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER OF NEW YORK CITY

March 3 – 12, 2023

Written by Halley Feiffer

Comedy 

“[A FUNNY THING HAPPENED…is] a play that is as deeply felt as its name is long. – The New York Times 

“The play is as defiantly unconventional as its title, but it is also satisfying in traditional ways.” – The Los Angeles Times

“Feiffer again demonstrates a talent for crafting caustically sharp comic dialogue.” – The Hollywood Reporter

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THE GARBOLOGISTS

April 14 – 23, 2023

Written by Lindsay Joelle

New comedy/drama

“THE GARBOLOGISTS takes us on a ride of sadness, joy, anger, disbelief, and understanding.” –Grid Magazine

“Lindsay Joelle’s finely crafted play is laced with wit and wisdom.” – Broadway World

“[THE GARBOLOGISTS] is delightfully intimate, surprising, and profound, filled with sometimes unexpected laughter and even tears..” – onStage Pittsburgh

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