>> i am going to read 2 or 3 paragraphs, my last farewell, our national hero. and in english.

fair farewell to a stranger who brightens my well. farewell to all who i love to die is to rest. >> thank you. [applause]. [ foreign speaking ]

[singing].

[applause] thank you very much.

>> the san francisco arts

commission held celebrates -- helps celebrate, and we do that with many festivals throughout the city. one of those festivals is celebrated in december by the filipino community. joining me today to talk about this festival is the coordinator of that festival. you work with the cultural center, do you not? >> yes. >> in 2003, you helped to establish this in san francisco. >> that is correct. >> what motivated you? >> i come from a town where this is rich and very much popular in our hometown, so we important the tradition and we can do it in san francisco. >> this is -- and rekindled it

in san francisco. >> there is the story of inactivity -- >> here in san francisco, many different community groups come together to create things for the festival, is that correct? >> yes, that is correct. it is coming from different villages. it is only during before christmas where they show all of their lanterns, and then they have the competition among the different villages, and the villages will determine which of those will be the man turn of the year -- the lantern of the

year. >> i know you worked earlier for the festival. >> yes, september -- i know you work earlier. >> yes, september. this is so they can see for themselves what kind of lantern they will do. >> and can you describe to me who comes to these workshops? >> during the first year, because there are very, very few, but everybody in the neighborhood came to the workshop, children, seniors, different areas, and they do the lantern festival in their area, but they do not have the technology.

if you go to a place where you have a filipino household, chances are, they have the lanterns, because that is a symbol of hope and blessings, so, therefore, filipinos identified with the lanterns -- identifiey with the lanterns. it is a great collaboration. they are more connected with this community, but then to showcase them and their performance, their profession, the festival, and the most prestigious award of the year -- >> i want to thank you so much for sharing this insight with us here on "culture wire" and

bringing this cultural tradition to san francisco. >> a thank you. >> the bards commission has played a leading role -- >> thank you. >> the bards communication has played a leading role. ®ñdcommis sion has played a leading role. thank you for joining us. how did your organization, but being part of the parole festival? >> it is a way to organize communities -- how did your organization come to being part of the parole festival? >> it is a way to mobilize the communities. there is a lot of warmth, and a lot of the younger generation, a

lot who are born here, second and third generation filipinos, they also really appreciate having this kind of event. >> you have a unique perspective begins you have been part of the festival from the very beginning. -- because you and part of the festival from the very beginning. -- you have been part of the festival. >> there have been many changes. aspect of it, based on performance production, the presentation, so we were able to bring in sort of like scheduling different ways of making sure that we were organizing the five letter people that were going to be coming in, and most of the time with the festival, that basically ends up in the church. last year, in preparation, we were able to secure st.

patrick's church to do a program there. it is a year round thing for the workshops, so folks can come. the website, check it out. we have a lot of things that the people do not know about. come on down. we are also working here. >> thank you so much for sharing your insights with us here on "culture wire" and for helping to make san francisco such a diverse community. >> thank you.

>> welcome to culture wire.

did you know the city of san francisco has an art collection consisting of 3500 objects? the collection ranges from painting and public buildings to murals, and from bronze busts in city halls, to cite specific structures. at this time, many of the large works are in desperate need of repair, and a long-term innovative solution is needed to make sure these public treasures will be cared for. >> the story of the arts commission program begins with ruth fromstein. 2010 marks her 50th year as an art dealer. at the helm of the county, she

had represented some of the most notable of bay area artists, and continues to look for new talent. >> the artists that i represent, what do i choose them, if asked to do with a background of what the gallery is about. i love the idea of finding new guys and watching them grow. it is the old fashioned way of having a nunnery, which is having a stable. what you have is loyalty to them, artists are loyal to you. the philosophy behind that, my philosophy, has not changed since i started 49 years ago. i take care of you and you take care of me. it has been that way ever since. >> ruth represents the estate of the world renowned sculptor

peter focused. in 1971, he created and the love the untitled public work cited at seventh and bryant. like many other public works of art, this is in need of repair. ruth began conversations with the director of cultural affairs, a andart care was born. >> we look at all of the local pieces and decided which one needed the most repair, to bring it back to where it was before. that is what i am after. if you drive by right now, you cannot see it coming down seventh street. you can only see it as you come up to it. >> one's culture outside of the hall of justice was one of the first pieces commissioned after

the 1969 ordinance. it is significant that we are planning to treat it as part of the art care program. the program intends to take care of the bronze sculpture located in very park, a monument to the korean community of san francisco. it has been in the park for over 20 years, has become a bit of a magnet for vandalism. we are also looking at several sculptures from henry more, one in front of the symphony building. we are also looking at yen and yang, a much loved peace -- piece. but the team has been damaged over time, so we need to treat -- patina has been damaged over time, so we need to treat it. >> roof and was given a lifetime award for her contributions to

and influence over the bay area artist community. >> the lifetime achievement award -- it is embarrassing to me but i have to learn to accept it. this is the way it is. also, everybody here is good things happening about them after they are dead. i have the opportunity to see this happen while i am still lives. i look at this award as an opportunity for me to find a place for my craft and keep the art program going. >> the director of the program address the crowd and ask for each member to consider donating funds to help save some of san francisco's most important neighborhood landmarks. >> as one of san francisco's living treasures, we respect you and, frankly, we are in off --

awe of your 50 years of tireless effort as an early art on from for north. >> i would like to be perhaps the first donation to our care and present you with a check to get the ball rolling. >> because i know that the arts commission is very sincere about this, i'm going to make a personal commitment of $10,000. [applause] >> what is significant about the program is the way it is set out allows us to treat the artworks that have the most need, the ones that our conservative have pointed out as the most vulnerable as opposed to ones that might be the most popular were the most miserable -- the most visible. >> it is an opportunity for the public to get involved with these art works located in their backyard and ultimately belong to them. >> i want to do something for the community, just giving back

what the community has done for me. it is corny to say, but it is true. it really is what it is. that i would be able to see more pieces cleanup. >>" will check back in the future and see the fruits of conservation and revitalization efforts. if you would find out more or donate to the art carethe donate to the art carethe artsfartcommission.org.