If you are in the Bay Area at time of posting this AMOEBLOG (noon Saturday September 8th) there is still time to head out to enjoy most of today's big free event in San Francisco, the Michael Franti overseen 9th Annual 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival celebrating music and arts and taking place at Speedway Meadow til 5PM-ish today today Golden Gate Park. Scheduled to have started earlier this morning (9AM) the big festival which might draw up to 70,000 people will include free music (including Michael Franti and his band Spearhead, the Indigo Girls all on the main stage and DJ Spooky along with other spinmasters in the DJ tent), as well as an open-air art gallery, a healing arts tent, kid's zone, bike coalition, eco village,   environmental and political organizations disseminating information, and vendors selling food and drink.

Performers for the rest of the day include Quannum label hip-hoppers Lifsavas (who are scheduled to  perform until 1:20PM), DJ Spooky at 2PM spinning for an hour followed by Bassnectar in the DJ tent, the Indigo Girls on the main stage approx 3PM followed by Franti and Spearhead. 

Started in 1998, the free, outdoor 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival has been steadily growing. That first year, which took place in a neighborhood park,  drew an estimated 6,000 people but has grown to draw in excess of 60,000 people to Golden Gate Park's Speedway Meadow  where past performers  and spokes-persons have included KRS-One, Digital Underground, Woody Harrelson, Angela Davis, Blackalicious, The Coup, Saul WIlliams,  Alice Walker, and Talib Kweli.

Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco is located near 25th Ave and Fulton St.

For more information about today's big event plus the after party tonite and other releated events www.powertothepeaceful.org