San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Botanical Garden replants annual crop of pianos
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If it seems a bit odd at first — the sight of pianos scattered throughout the San Francisco Botanical Garden — the feeling doesn’t last. The pianos, in different shapes, sizes and lacquered woods, quickly start to fit the place, even more so when somebody has begun to play and the chords join up with the sounds of geese and children.
This will be the fifth year that the Garden, alongside Sunset Piano, places 12 pianos around the sprawling grounds for 12 days. Visitors are welcome to sit and play for all the plants and animals and visitors. Sometimes a crowd begins to form.
The event, Flower Piano, has grown quite large since 2015, the first year the Botanical Garden did this. Now the program includes a number of events.
On the evenings of July 18, 19 and 20, Flower Piano at Night invites several master musicians to play, while the garden sets up food trucks and outdoor bars and lights its paths for visitors. For a more familyfriendly version, there’s Flower Piano at Sunset, where they have music classes for toddlers and opportunities for younger talents to play. Food and drinks are on hand and picnicking is also encouraged. (Both events require separate tickets.)
If you don’t want to pay for those tickets, you can always plan your visit from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, or July 20, when all pianos will be in use at the same time by musicians selected by the organizers.
Flower Piano:
Thursday, July 11 through Monday, July 22. Flower Piano is free with admission to the gardens, $9 for adults; $2 for children, and subject to normal operating hours, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 Ninth Ave., S.F.