The San Francisco Travel Association plans to sponsor a two-week citywide celebration of the life and cultural influence of longtime Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia, beginning Monday, Aug. 1, which would have been his 80th birthday.
Events planned include Jerry Garcia Night on Tuesday, Aug. 2, during a game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park; an Aug. 12 panel discussion at Manny’s in the Mission with Garcia collaborators Steve Parish and David Nelson; and a monthlong exhibit at the Excelsior Branch of the San Francisco Public Library, near Garcia’s childhood home.
This month will also see the 20thanniversary ofJerry Day, an annual day of festivities devoted to celebrating Garcia’s music and influence. This iteration, scheduled for Aug. 13 at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre in McLaren Park, marks the event’sfirst live occurrenceafter a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The live events conclude Aug. 14 with an appearance at theStern Grove Festivalby Garcia’s Grateful Dead bandmate Phil Lesh — the musician’s first admission-free appearance in San Francisco in more than 30 years. (Tickets are free but require a reservation viawww.sterngrove.org.)
“Jerry Garcia was born in San Francisco to immigrant parents and went on to become a cultural figure all over the world, connecting people through the power of music,” his daughter Trixie said in a statement. “The Jerry Garcia family is honored that our father is being honored by the city of San Francisco on the year of his 80th birthday. May the music never stop!”
Garcia, who died in 1995 at age 53, has been recognized for his contributions to cultural life in the Bay Area and beyond in a variety of ways. Last Octoberhe was inauguratedinto the California Hall of Fame; in August 2020, he was the focus of anine-day live stream eventtitled “Daze Between.”
Other cities, too, are taking the occasion to observe what would have been Garcia’s 80thbirthday. In New York City, the lights atop the Empire State Building is expected to be colored in a tie-dyed pattern in his honor.
For more information on the San Francisco festivities, visitwww.jerrygarcia.com.