Out There :: Flower (+ Piano) Power

Heads up for an amazing 12-day public piano project called "Flower Piano," which is set to return this July 7-18 to the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park. Event organizers Sunset Piano transform the Garden into an outdoor concert hall with 12 fully-tuned pianos tucked into its many flower-filled gardens, all available to play by the general public, free with regular admission (or totally free for SF residents).

Out There happened to be wandering through the Garden last year, and came upon the pianos by chance. It was one of those magical moments in Golden Gate Park, with or without medical marijuana! Most of the time during the event the pianos will be available for the public to play, but at specific times on the weekends there will be professional performers at the keys, including classical powerhouses Allison Lovejoy and Serene Han, composer Alex Conde, the slightly naughty Kitten on the Keys, and new music specialist Sarah Cahill, who will be accompanied by violinist Kate Stenberg. Bonus points as well for the 80-piece Awesome Orchestra, a sing-along choir, piano duets, and family-friendly activities with costumed performers. You can find a full list of performances at sunsetpiano.com/flowerpiano/ and at sfbotanicalgarden.org/flowerpiano/. Go forth and play piano!

More Flowers

Robin Flower and Libby McLaren will be performing their annual concert at the Freight & Salvage on Sat., June 18 at 8 p.m. With Flower on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and strumstick, and McLaren on piano and accordion, both of them sharing vocals, this duo create their own blend of Celtic and American roots music.

Flower and McLaren have been partners musically and in life for almost 30 years. Both had successful musical careers when they first met in 1987. At that time, McLaren was playing piano and singing harmonies with The Roches, and Flower had played and recorded with Holy Near's band on her first CD More Than Friends. In 1987 they met when Flower hired McLaren to help produce the vocals on her album Babies with Glasses. A professional musical partnership and eventual romantic one developed. The Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse is at 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. Info: thefreight.org.

Sweetie Darlings

Local Absolutely Fabulous impersonators and Bestie winners Christian Heppinstall and Terry McLaughlin have been chosen by Fox Searchlight, the studio handling the new AbFab film coming out this summer, to promote the film. They were in Sacramento last weekend for their Pride Parade, in which they rode in a convertible as the indefatigable Edina & Patsy. This coming weekend they will be in LA to do the same for that Pride Parade on Sunday. Our ersatz "Eddy" and "Patsy" will ride in the SF LGBTQ Pride Parade this month as well. Then, in July, they'll do two film premiere promotional events in SF. All of which aims at promoting their own 15th & 16th episodes of AbFab, coming to the Exit Theatre Oct. 27-Nov. 19, their first four-weekend run of 8 p.m. primetime shows. Look for the episodes Sex and Small Opening.

Heppinstall told Out There about getting the gig of all these promotional appearances, "This news is shocking, to say the least. London reached out to us out of the blue. But sometimes the meek do inherit!"

Night Moves

Foggy night in the old cowtown last week. Pepi & OT are high upon Nob Hill, invited to a cocktail party at the Ritz-Carlton to celebrate the opening of the first Wellendorff boutique in North America. For 123 years, the Wellendorff Jewellery Manufactory has created handcrafted 18-karat gold jewelry. Fourth-generation managing director Christoph Wellendorff was in SF to unveil the commemorative white gold San Francisco Ring, a limited edition piece that features an elaborate silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pepi & OT were also entranced by the Wellendorff Golden Belt, a hand-woven masterpiece of 18-karat gold. Rarely shown in North America, the Golden Belt is a 33-inch belt designed with the signature Wellendorff Rope, intricately crafted in Germany using four miles of 18-karat gold filament. Safe to say we were bedazzled.

Heading down California St., Pepi took a flyer when the slick soles of his urban cowboy boots slipped on a metal grate. Fortunately, after years of dance classes, he knew how to fall. Next stop was CBS SF headquarters on Battery St., where KPIX 5, CBS Radio SF staff (Alice 93.7, 99.7 , KCBS AM & FM Radio , Live 105), and CBS-TV, in collaboration with the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA ), Northern California chapter, celebrated the kick-off to LGBTQ Pride month. We were happy to put back a few with our friends in broadcast journalism. Bring on the Pride!