About Us


The San Francisco Free Folk Festival was conceived in 1976 by the San Francisco Folk Music Club, which staged it for the first two years at the Hall of Flowers. It then moved to Fort Mason, where it remained for 13 years, before moving to the John Adams campus of City College until that venue became too small. Several years ago, the festival moved to its current home at Roosevelt Middle School. Last year, between 2,000 and 3,000 people attended the event. It takes about 200 volunteers to stage the Festival.

The festival was co-sponsored for many years by the San Francisco Folk Music Center / Plowshares Acoustic Music Center. We are also grateful for the support of our friends as KALW.

While the festival would be a special event under any circumstances, what makes it unique is the fact that it is an all-volunteer effort. Not only do members of the sponsoring organization - the San Francisco Folk Music Club –serve as volunteer organizers, but all performers and workshop leaders donate their time and talents to the festival as well.

Detailed planning for the festival begins several months in advance. The committee this year included:


Art Peterson
—Doug Debs
—Garry Wiegand
—Ruth Mikusko
Jazelle Lieske

—Doug Jones
—Karen Imperial
—Tirtza Rosenberg
—Cheryl MacDonald
—Melisse Leib


—Jim Saxe
Michael Jones
—Robin Cohen
—Joe Cadora

The festival would not be possible without the help of many people over the weekend, as well as in the months before.

In particular, the committee would like to thank the many performers and workshop leaders, all of whom donate their time to the festival for free.

The weekend itself relies upon hundreds of volunteers to help setup, instrument check, parking, front desk, etc. Thank you.

Last, but not least, are various folks working behind the scenes to make the festival a success:

Festival Director - Michael Jones
Family Concerts & Activities - Melisse Leib
Craft Table Coordinator - Lorraine Kostka & Anita Farley
Family Craft Table - SF Girl Scouts Troop 207
Volunteer Coordinator - Jazelle Lieske
Volunteer Recruitment Team - Miriam Kaplan & Larry Joba
Music and Song Workshop Coordinator - Melisse Leib
Dance Workshop Coordinator - Tirtza Rosenberg
Main Stage Coordinator - Cheryl MacDonald
Café Cabaret Coordinator - Karen Imperial & Richard Rice
Sound Technicians - Doug Jones, Hali Hammer, Pete Soyer & Mike Bechler
Sound Equipment & Lighting Donations - Ed Sherry, Doug Jones, Marty Brenneis, Art Peterson & Vince French
Café Cabaret Stage - Art Peterson, Vince French
Vendors - Charlotte Patterson
Stage Manager - Jerry Michaels
Site Setup/Teardown Coordinator - Doug Debs
Parking Czar - James Benney
Publicity - Ruth Mikusko, Joe Cadora, Cheryl MacDonald, Tirtza Rosenberg
Evening Dance Coordinator - Jim Saxe
Program Cover - Jilly Mandeson
T-Shirts & Buttons - John Gregorin
Folk Club Info & Product Table - Robin Cohen
Food Concessions - Redmond O’Colonies
Program Design - Cheryl MacDonald, Garry Weigand
Web Master - Michael Jones
Main Stage Emcee - Gil Stancourt & Marian Gade
Open Mic Coordinator - Bobbie Raymond
Folk Club Treasurer - Melissa Sarenac

SFFFF 2004: