Reprinted from the SF Chronicle:
Arts & Entertainment
S.F.’s Fillmore Jazz Festival draws thousands after financial rescue, but uncertainty remains
Megan Fan Munce – Reporter
Thousands carted around lawn chairs and squatted down on curbs for the first day of the Fillmore Jazz Festival on Saturday — a feat possible only due to an emergency funding rescue three months ago.
The San Francisco festival, founded in 1986, was nearly canceled this year due to insurmountable operating costs. Each year it takes about $400,000 to put on the two-day free event, and by this April, the Fillmore Merchants Association was still in debt from last year, according to President Tim Omi.
That month, the association announced it would be canceling this year’s festival due to lack of funding. But just a few days later, Omi received a call from Avenue Greenlight, a nonprofit founded by crypto billionaire Chris Larsen that funds free community events in San Francisco.
An undisclosed grant from Avenue Greenlight, plus support from District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill and District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, made it possible to hold this year’s event, Omi said.
Full story on SF Chronicle
