August began with our 2nd 3-day Institute on The World As It Could Be curriculum, presented in collaboration with the University of San Francisco. A filled class of 25 avidly took in the presented material to lea rn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and experience applying music, visual arts,  spoken word, performance arts and movement to express their personal connection to human rights issues.  The photo here shows the class members rehearsing for their culminating presentation.  The video of the culminating presentation helps demonstrate the intensely moving experience of working with the curriculum.  We are excited to know that the work done August 2-3 is now being applied in classrooms and communities in the Bay Area, as well as Milwaukee, WI!

On August 10th, we were privileged to experience a very special night of story telling by Bob Weir, Carolyn Garcia, John Perry Barlow, and Mickey Hart about Rex and other reflections, led by Bill Walton, and held at Bob's new TRI Studios. We'll soon have the video of the evening available.

As to Rex Musical Caravan events, the SF Giants made August 9th another great tribute to Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, and once again generously included the Rex Foundation as a recipient of charitable proceeds.   Adding to this already positive energy is the enthusiastic support reflected in the following upcoming Caravan events:

• Be part of the special project by Fan Mosaics, LLC, where 2,500 Jerry Garcia fans have the opportunity to include their photos in an officially licensed mosaic print of the Grateful Dead legend based on the noted photo taken by world-famous photographer Herb Greene. Here are the participation details.
  
• Blair Babcock and the Blurry Pickers are donating half the proceeds of the download sales of their song "Fairlee Well" to Rex. Click here to read Blair Babcock's story about the song and hear "Fairlee Well."
  
• On Saturday, September 10th, the Kind Buds once again perform in support of Rex at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northhampton, MA, as described in more detail here.
• The Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson of Dark Star Orchestra, along with Particle, headline the Third Annual Pink Moon Music and Arts Festival September 15-18, 2011 in Rock Camp WV.  We were very pleased to learn that the impetus to support local area schools came from the Rex Jam at the All Good Festival. Check out the details of the festival and how Rex is generously supported.
  
• Ann Arbor's own Macpodz are heading East and hopping on board the Rex Musical Caravan with a concert at the Brooklyn Bowl September 27. Here are the details.
  

Thanks to contributors like you who donate $5 or more, initiate Caravan events, support our program work, and take part in Rex benefits, we are able to carry out The World As It Could Be initiative, keep making our grants and generate positive community connections along the way.  Check out the list of outstanding 2011 beneficiaries so far, and see, as you explore our website, everything else that your support makes possible

Jerry Garcia would be turning 69 years young today.  You're incredibly missed!

Some of my personal favorite in-person Jerry moments:

1) 9/18/87 -- My first deadshow -- I saw Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead within weeks of each other.. talk about two amazing bands (granted this was Pink Floyd without Roger Waters.. but still amazing) -- the difference in the crowd's reaction could not have been more different.. bare in mind I was 16 years old -- The Floyd crowd could not move from their seats, whereas the dead crowd could not sit still. Both concerts were incredible and from the moment forward, i was hooked!  -- set 2!  Most amazing Dew of the 80's!  Good Lovin > La Bamba > Good Lovin! -- So much fun!

2) 3/29/90 -- Everyone has heard the stellar Eyes of the World with Branford Marsalis -- but being at the show with my high school gf, the immediate chemistry between Garcia and Marsalis, and just the energy in that crowd during set 2 -- something I'll never forget.

3) 6/25/91 -- I've seen Jerry having a good time on stage, but I've never seen him boogying down like he did this night --  Having killer seats helped -- normally I've been stuck seeing Jerry look more like an ant at Giants Stadium, but at this show I was in the 10th row, center stage, and I could actually see Jerry's smiles and he was dancing up a storm.  Good stuff!

4) 6/28/92 -- A crummy year for the Dead, Jerry had to take time off (remember the entire east coast Sept fall tour was canceled), he was really heavy, looked horrible -- but I will say we lucked out this night at Deer Creek -- Great setlist, as much energy as you'll find at any show in '92, and of course the killer Casey Jones encore.. at least I got to hear the tune once live!

5) 5/16/93 -- The entire weekend in Vegas was a blast!  Kimock was playing late night sets at the Alladin -- the weather was just so crazy and fun (storms, crazy winds, rainbows, you name it) -- set 2, particularly pre-space/drums -- killer!  Samson, Help-slip-Franklins (best Franklins of the 90's) and a killer Looks Like Rain -- The rest of the set was good, but not quite as good -- the Elvis-filled space was pretty out-there.

6) 6/15/95  -- Highgate, VT -- the show sucked!  Dylan blew the dead away! -- But... 100,000 deadheads in Vermont still cannot be un-fun!  -- The scene was HUGE --  Never felt more like a herd of cattle than when 100K moved an inch a minute (took about 3 hours -- or at least felt like it) to make it back to their campsites.  Sadly I saw only two more shows after this.. both at Giants and both crummy as well... but I am still incredibly thankful for the time I got to spend in the same halls as you, Mr. Jerry Garcia.

Some other great ones.. JGB at the Warfield!  It was like seeing Jerry in your living room!

Lots of Love,

The Grateful Web

41 MORE DAYS TO GO until the 2011 Grateful Garcia Gathering! "YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS 3 BIG UNFORGETTABLE NIGHTS AT JERRY GARCIA'S 69th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS! MELVIN SEALS of the "JERRY GARCIA BAND", w/ THE SCHWAG~DEAD AHEAD featuring guitarist Dave A'Bear! "GERONIMO BLACK", will rock your soul! Limited $40 Tickets Online now! Aug 4th-7th Black River Falls, Wi. Saturday August 6th Single Day Pass $35 (cash or credit at the gate) good though Sunday 5pm. Ages 18+ (~);}

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Like every good Deadhead, sometimes I’ve tried to imagine what it must have been like back in 1964 when Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions played at the Top of the Tangent coffee house in Palo Alto.  As most Deadheads know, it was Mother McCree’s, a band steeped in traditional folk and bluegrass influence, that birthed the band we’ve come to know as the Grateful Dead.  Back then, I don’t think anyone could have imagined that the sprawling lawns of the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, blanketed in dancing rainbows and Coconut Bliss, would be the setting for a day and evening that would have made Jerry Garcia proud.

So there was a certain poetic symmetry at the Harmony Festival on Friday afternoon, June 10 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds (California) when David Nelson and Jesse McReynolds, an American bluegrass legend, took the stage as part of a tribute to Jerry Garcia and Owsley “Bear” Stanley.

After a rousing opening set by David Nelson, longtime friend of the Dead and front man for the New Riders of the Purple Sage, he called Jesse to the stage.  Jesse McReyonlds is a master mandolin player, a Grand Ole Opry member for more than 45 years, and multiple Grammy award nominee and winner.  Nelson told us that Jesse “invented McReynolds picking, which has made its way around the world.”  And it was easy to see why.

Jesse opened his set with a sweet rendition of Ripple, one of the songs from his newly released album, Songs of the Grateful Dead: A Tribute to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter (Jesse McReynolds & Friends, with David Nelson and Stu Allen on Woodstock Records).  It didn’t take long to realize why Jesse is a lauded treasure and legend.  It was as though Ripple were written for the exquisite twang of his mandolin.  Likewise, Jesse’s vocal rendition would have made Jerry smile.  After more than 45 years performing, Jesse’s voice is strong and clear, rich and melodic, transcending genre.  From Ripple, he went into a gutsy, earthy rendition of Deep Elem Blues, another song that stands as a highlight on the recorded album.  He mentioned that the next song he got from David Grisman, and we instantly recognized the opening chime of Franklin’s Tower.

And suddenly, it was a though we really hadn’t strayed that far at all from the Top of the Tangent Coffee House, another time’s forgotten space.  One thing for sure, though, Jesse McReynolds’ renditions of Dead songs won’t ever be forgotten.

Check out a few more photos from Harmony Festival.

The Rex Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting distinctive arts, environmental and social services programs through grassroots giving, is pleased to announce the recipient of the Jerry Garcia Award, along with other new grantees.

Arts for Humanity! is the recipient of the Rex Foundation's Jerry Garcia Award in memory of Grateful Dead guitarist and founding Rex Board member Jerry Garcia.  This award honors and supports individuals and groups that work to encourage creativity in young people. We believe the work of Arts for Humanity! (AH!) is just what the Jerry Garcia Award is about.  AH! celebrates humanity through the arts with programs that cultivate creativity and empower people with developmental disabilities, at-risk youth, the elderly and others in partnership with local artists and the Santa Barbara community. AH!'s performing and visual arts programs benefit individuals and build community by giving a voice to the underserved through the power and beauty of the arts.

We made four additional grants to grassroots non-profit organizations doing outstanding work.  In connection with the generous support of the Sacramento Kings that resulted from the February and March, 2011 Grateful Dead Tribute games, the following two local area programs received Rex grants:

• Sacramento Blues Society Blues In The Schools (BITS) program, which gives Sacramento-area youth an opportunity to participate in a dynamic interactive musical experience with professional musicians. The Blues In The Schools program brings students together with musicians, educators, storytellers, and other performers in a synergistic environment, creating a free flowing exchange of the Blues experience and facilitating a lifelong passion for learning.
• The Yolo County Children's Alliance, which was established in 2002 as an essential services program at Alyce Norman Center in West Sacramento to address a number of concerns that impacted children and families.  The Rex grant helps support the Children and Families' Access to Food program that provides 150 low-income families with fresh fruits and vegetables and other food items each week. This program, threatened by recent state budget cuts, not only provides essential food and nutrition education, but also enables the Alliance to reach more families with additional support services.

The two other Rex grant recipients are:

• The Tiburon Salmon Institute (TSI), an organization that teaches school-age youth about salmon, steelhead, and the stream, river and ocean habitats that we share with them, with the overall mission to "Empower Today's Youth To Save Tomorrow's Salmon."  The Rex grant of $5,000 both supports this vital work and helped make possible a matched grant from the Belevedere Community Foundation, thereby significantly boosting the ability of TSI to advance its program.
• The Bolinas Stinson Summer Camp provides all local West Marin children with equal access to memorable summer camp experiences. Although camp fees are kept to a third the cost of similar camps, many area families are unable to pay even part.  The Rex grant provides funding for The Music Project for the Bolinas Stinson Summer Camp to provide additional activities in the form of music education for the campers, with emphasis on building community through music, especially through the rhythms of drumming.

Click here to learn more about each of these great Rex grantees.

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About the Rex Foundation:

Furthering what Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead started 27 years ago, the Rex Foundation endeavors to fund grassroots programs that are often under the radar of larger funding entities, yet work in bold, innovative ways to carry out essential work toward a healthy environment, promotion of the arts, protection of indigenous cultures, assisting others less fortunate, building strong communities, and educating children and adults.  The Rex Foundation has distributed $8.6 million in grants to over 1,000 programs across the U.S. and internationally, while also carrying out fundraising initiatives that foster creativity and positive community connections.  Visit www.rexfoundation.org for a complete list of grantees and information about current initiatives.