The Picklewater Free Circus Festival

The Picklewater Free Circus Festival brings back free circus to Bay Area Families through August and September at San Francisco's Union Square.

Presented by Jewels in the Square, The Picklewater Free Circus Festival returns for its third year at Union Square. The PickleWater Free Circus Festival is a free festival of circus arts featuring some of the best in Circus Arts from around the bay area, the festival will entertain and inspire bay area families while celebrating the rich tradition of circus in San Francisco and aroudn the bay.

Presented Sundays June 19, July 10th, July 17th and July 24th.
Picklewater Free Circus Festival returns to Union Square. Offering a mix of professional and student performers, free circus lessons and spectacular shows filled with danger, excitement, laughter and awe, the festival celebrates the long rich
tradition of Circus Arts in the bay area.

San Francisco has along rich tradition of circus arts, producing some of the greatest circus artists in the world today, with hundreds of performers living and studying here in the bay area. The Picklewater Free Circus Festival, was founded 4 years ago by Abraham Dover, local clown  and circus producer, who wanted to celebrate the history and future of circus around the Bay, while providing free and low cost entertainment to Bay Area families.

The Festival is sponsored by MJM Management Group, San Francisco Parks Trust, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, and Picklewater Circus.
The Picklewater Free Circus Festival will be presented as part of the 2011 Jewels in the Square concert season at 2 pm on the Union Square main stage.

Admission to all shows is free and free circus skills lessons will
also be given for attendees.

The Festival Program follows;

June 19th
2:00 pm
Performers from Circus Bella
Circus Finelli
Pi, The Physical Comedy Troupe

July 10th
2:00 pm
The Family Sardine
Judy and Punchy
The Family Sardine

July 17th
2:00 pm
The Family Sardine
Jamie Conventry and Friends
The Family Sardine

July 24th
2:00 pm
Jamie Convetry and Friends
Thomas Truman John
The Family Sardine

 

Picklewater Circus at Hallidie Plaza

This Fall Picklewater Circus, presented by Union Square Bid, brings a variety of fresh, inspiring, and amazing new performers to Hallidie plaza for a series of free shows running from July through December. Pooling some of the best circus and street performance artist in the bay area, will bring a broad variety of entertainers the San Francisco’s  Circus Community to San Francisco’s streets in a ground breaking new collaboration with Union Square BID.

For three years the Picklewater Circus has created astonishing circus shows that entertain families around the bay area, including Union Square’s Picklewater Free Circus Festival and their new traiditonal “turn of the century” circus  extravaganza “Circus Americana”. This fall Picklewater Cirucs will present preformers of all stripes, for audiences young and old at both Union Square and San Francisco’s Hallidie Plaza.

The Hallidie Plaza Performance series consists of the following Picklewater Circus performers.

Thomas Truman John is a world class juggler, clown and street performer who has played for us at Hallidie Plaza and Union Square in the past. Thomas John is the creator of the Bay Area's only Children's Show for Adults. A blend of humor, skill, and wit that will leave you laughing and wondering if that was meant for adults, or the kids.

With explosive performances, built on Juggling, Clown, Audience Participation, and circus apparatus, Thomas John regularly entertains crowds at Pier 39, in his own production "The Red Suitcase Show" and most recently as the lead in Monkey King, a circus interpretation of Journey to the West directed by Cirque Du Soleil’s Jeff Raz.

Luz Gaxiola is a clown and musical prodigy. Luz is also is one of the founders and stars of Circus Finelli who can be seen every other week at Stage Werx theatre. She is a multi instrumentalist who's performance consists of high energy clown, playing music on multiple instruments, signing, and assorted circus apparatus. Playing trombone, accordion, percussion and a variety children's toy instruments, often all at the same time, Luz is engaging, mischievous, hilarious, awe-inspiring and absolutely not to be missed.

Jan Damm is a multi-talented performer and circus artist based in San Francisco.  He has studied clowning with some of the modern masters including Avner Eisenberg, Julie Goell, Jeff Raz, John Gilkey, and Master Lu Yi.  Jan has performed with Circus Bella, LA Circus in Japan, Circus Zoppe, The New Pickle Circus, and Cirque Magnifique in Houston.  He is recently returned from 'MoistureFest' variety festival in Seattle. Jan Damm is currently one of the stars of Circus Bella, and mixes traditional circus apparatus like rolla bolla and diabolo, with acrobatics and clown.

Mahsa Matin, Mustard the Clown, offers a one-of-a-kind circus comedy experience featuring music and slapstick clowning. Matin is a graduate of the San Francisco Clown Conservatory, a 5 foot unicycle extraordinaire, and master musician specializing in trombone, trumpet, guitar, and percussion instruments. As the worlds most talented multitasker, Mustard dazzles audiences with her stupefying ability to merge all her talents simultaneously.
Mahsa Matin has made it her mission to make people laugh and has performed her physical comedy rooted in the ancient art of silliness throughout the U.S., China, and New Zealand.
Matin has performed in the original circus adaptation of Alice In Wonderland, directed by Jeff Raz, Cirque du Soleil performer.  The International Cultural Parade of Beijing invited Matin to represent contemporary circus stilt walking of the United States.  Currently Matin performs with Circus Finelli,  San Francisco’s all-women clown troupe directed by San Francisco Mime Troupe director Michael Gene Sullivan.

For more information please mail us at gherkin@picklewater.com