Kim Epifano’s Epiphany Productions celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the FREE SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES

Saturday and Sunday, October 19–20, 2013

Tours every 45 minutes, 11AM to 2:45pm
Starting at The Market Street Railway Museum at 77 Steuart Street at Don Chee Way just south of the Embarcadero Plaza. 

Trains K,L,M or the F line
www.epiphanydance.org

Media Contact: DP&A, Inc. / David Perry (415) 693-0583 / news@davidperry.com

10 June 2013 — San Francisco: This Fall, Kim Epifano’s Epiphany Productions celebrates the 10th Anniversary of SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES, with rolling performance tours along Market Street trolley routes on Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2013. SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES 2013 marks ten years of dance in transit in this urban trolley tour all for the price of a MUNI ticket. For information, visit www.epiphanydance.org

“This particular kind of site-specific project, one that incorporates dance, music, and theatrical elements in untraditional ways, has brought special meaning to the artists and communities that have participated in it over the last 10 years,” says Kim Epifano, Artistic Director of Epiphany Productions and organizer of the annual event, which has become a highlight of the Fall arts season. “It really is ‘Art for Citizens’ because it is free, of high quality, and it makes people fall in love with the city again, or for the first time, if they’ve never been here before.”

Voted Best Transit Ballet by SF Weekly, SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES 2013 offers an unparalleled opportunity to see dancers up close performing site-specific work in surprising and spectacular venues. SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES 2013 will include performances by a wide variety of dancers and dance groups. Performers announced to date include: Inkboat, Lizz Romann and Dancers, Epiphany Productions Sonic Dance Theater, and Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater. Additional performers will be confirmed by the end of June 2013.

On Saturday and Sunday, October 19-20, audiences will join tours of the performances on selected MUNI trolley lines along the Market Street corridor, beginning at The Market Street Railway Museum, 77 Steuart Street at Don Chee Way, just south of Embarcadero Plaza, across from the Ferry Building. The audience will board trolleys with SFTD tour guide to take the F, K, L or M MUNI trolley lines, riding up Market Street to Church Street, with dance performances en route.

Audience members can take the full tour or see one or two events along the way, at their own pace. Performances are accessible to passersby at no cost, or for those who choose to arrive by car, foot, or bicycle to each site. Bicyclists can make use of a do-it-yourself-bike route map to each location, available at the event’s starting point, end point, and online. All sites are wheelchair accessible (wheelchair accessibility for the full trolley tour is at 11am Saturday and Sunday).

Tours depart from the Market Street Museum at the foot of Market Street every 45 minutes, beginning at 11:00 am and continuing to 2:45 pm (11:00 am, 11:45 am, 12:30 pm, 1:15 pm, 2:00 pm, 2:45 pm). Tickets are regular MUNI fare: $2 general, $.75 for children, seniors and persons with disabilities. Tours will be on a first come, first serve basis. Spaces are limited.

Epiphany Productions gratefully acknowledges collaborative support from the SFMTA / Muni and Intersection for the Arts, which for over 45 years has created opportunities to “imagine new cultural experiments that aim to transform our world.”

CALENDAR LISTING
Please note: high-res jpegs are available at: www.epiphanydance.org/trolley-dances-2013-press/

WHAT:
Epiphany Production’s 10th Anniversary San Francisco TROLLEY DANCES 2013
WHO:
Epiphany Productions Sonic Dance Theater, Inkboat, Lizz Roman and Dancers, Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater, Tezkatlipoka Aztek Dance and Drum, Keith Terry & Corposonic, Maru Dojo: Akido/BJJ and more TBA
WHERE:
Guided tours leave from the Market Street Museum, 77 Steuart Street at Don Chee Way—just south of Embarcadero Plaza, across from the Ferry Building—on the F, K, L or M MUNI trolley lines.
WHEN:
Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2013 Tours leave every 45 minutes from 11:00 am to 2:45 pm (11:00 am, 11:45 am, 12:30 pm, 1:15 pm, 2:00 pm, 2:45 pm)
COST:
FREE with regular Muni fare of $2 (Youth and Seniors $.75)
INFO: (415) 226-1139 / www.epiphanydance.org (information is in English) ###

Iconic Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf and Madame Tussauds: A Partnership 50 Years in the Making

Media Contacts:
Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf: David Perry, DP&A, Inc. / (415) 693-0583 / news@davidperry.com

MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS: Sally Ann Wilkinson / ++ 44 20 8899 6110 / saw@thefirmcomms.com

www.waxmuseum.com

30 May 2013 – San Francisco, CA: After 50 years at the center of Fisherman’s Wharf, a new chapter has begun for San Francisco’s famed Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf (www.waxmuseum.com) guaranteeing the continuation of a Wax Museum attraction as part of the City’s tourist landscape. Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, has signed a lease with the Wax Museum building to open both a world famous Madame Tussauds San Francisco wax attraction, and The San Francisco Dungeon at Fisherman’s Wharf. Both of these exciting new attractions are scheduled to open in Summer 2014, as part of a $35 Million investment by Merlin.

“It’s hard not to wax nostalgic about our half-century mark,” says Rodney Fong, 47, representing the third generation of Fong family ownership. “Without exaggeration, the Fong family and the Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf helped create the tourist industry along our waterfront. Now, the wax mold is being passed to a new generation.”

“The Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf will be a hard act to follow but we believe we can build on its success, and complement and enhance all the other amazing things on offer here,” said Merlin’s Midway Managing Director Glenn Earlam, noting that Fong and his team had made a very compelling case for them to come to San Francisco. “Like all Merlin’s attractions both Madame Tussauds San Francisco and the San Francisco Dungeon will be unlike any others, reflecting the unique culture and excitement of the City, each in its own special way representing the true ‘face of the place’.”

The Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf was opened by Thomas Fong in 1963, in a renovated grain warehouse across the street from the handful of shops, crab pots and restaurants which then comprised Fisherman’s Wharf. With remarkable vision, Thomas Fong saw the potential of his site to lure San Franciscans and visitors alike to the waterfront and to see it as a place to spend the day, rather than just passing through for lunch. Inspired by the wax figures at the Seattle World’s Fair, he decided to open a Wax Museum. The museum started with 75 life-sized figures in front of black curtains on the first floor and opened as the largest wax museum in North America.

In the 1960s, the museum grew to four floors of exhibits with over 200 figures in elaborately staged scenes, with costumes, props and lighting, carefully constructed to authenticate people at the peak of their fame. Many scenes were designed and sculpted by Thomas Fong’s son Ronald, who co-directed the family business in partnership with his father from its inception. Ron continued to add new elements to the museum over the years, also adding a collection of gift shops and new attractions. This group of Fong operations was known as the Wax Museum Entertainment Complex and at one time included four attractions, four gift shops and an arcade, as well as a Galleria of rental shops, which were leased to independent specialty retailers. In September 1998, the historic 100-year-old San Francisco landmark that was The Wax Museum Entertainment Complex for 35 years, was torn down to make way for the current 100,000 square foot building.

MADAME TUSSAUDS is world’s best known wax attraction. Every figure is the result of 200 years of expertise and painstaking research and takes Madame Tussauds’ gifted sculptors a minimum of three months to make. Most contemporary figures are also produced following sittings with the celebrities themselves and are the result of hundreds of separate measurements, and hours matching skin tone, eye and hair colour – with every individual hair inserted separately. Underlining the close relationship Madame Tussauds has with its celebrities – they and their film studio wardrobe departments often even supply clothing for their figures, or designers will reproduce significant or iconic outfits as exact replicas, only for Madame Tussauds. www.madametussauds.com

THE SAN FRANCISCO DUNGEON will be the ultimate thrill-filled journey through the dark parts of San Francisco’s past. The black comedy of attractions, The Dungeons use a combination of theatrical storytelling by skilled actors, comedy, special effects, rides, jumps and edge of your seat surprises to really involve visitors, and bring history alive in a way that makes you laugh and shiver in equal parts. www.thedungeons.com

Maria Eitz to Be First Female Catholic Priest Ordained in San Francisco

Media Advisory / Request for onsite coverage: SUNDAY, MAY 26

WHEN: Sunday, May 26 – 3:30pm

WHERE:
Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran, 678 Portola Drive, San Francisco

WEB:
www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org
www.sophiaintrinity.org

History will be made in San Francisco on Sunday, May 26 when the first ordination of a Roman Catholic woman priest in the San Francisco Archdiocese takes place. The Most Reverend Olivia Doko, Bishop of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, Western Region, will preside at the ordination of Maria Eitz, who was ordained as a deacon last year. The liturgical rite will be held at a local Lutheran church because the Catholic hierarchy does not recognize the ordination of women.

Eitz is a member of Sophia in Trinity, a local Catholic community where the Reverend Victoria Rue, a Roman Catholic woman priest ordained in 2005, presides at the bi-monthly Mass. The Sophia in Trinity community confirms the call of Eitz to priesthood and fully supports her ministry. More than 100 worshippers are expected to celebrate the ordination.

“Faithful Catholic women who experience a call to priestly service are not waiting for the male-only Catholic hierarchy to ‘allow’ women to be ordained,” says Rue. “Polls indicate and my own experience confirms that people in the pews are ready for this change.” Rue points out that women held priestly office from the earliest days of the church. “Abundant archaeological and documentary evidence exists that proves women were deacons, presbyters and even bishops right up until the first official code of canon law was promulgated by Pope Gregory IX in the 11th century.”

The modern renewal movement to reclaim the tradition of women clergy in the Catholic Church began in 2002, when a male bishop ordained seven women on a boat on the Danube River. Subsequent ordinations (including Rue’s in 2005, Doko’s as a priest in 2006 and then as a bishop in 2010) have produced more than 150 women ordained in apostolic succession as deacons, priests and bishops around the world, including more than 100 in North America.

Despite excommunication by the Vatican or local bishops upon their ordination, the women continue their ministry as part of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, an organization formed in 2004 to bring about the full equality of women in the Roman Catholic Church.

The San Francisco candidate for priesthood, Maria Eitz, has devoted her personal life and her career to improving the lives of children both locally and internationally. As a young woman, she led children to safety and freedom out of East Germany during the Cold War. She also is the founder and director of Medical Volunteers International and has extensive experience creating human rights programs in Asia and Africa for children and parents rendered vulnerable because of wars, natural disasters and famine. Her book Desert Tales is a collection of stories from her time spent living with the Hadendoa, a nomadic tribe in East Africa, where Eitz led a mission of medical volunteers during a terrible drought.

Locally, Eitz founded Respite Care, a service providing free child care, early assessment and interventions for at-risk children, as well as support for their parents. She ran the San Francisco program for more than 35 years until her retirement last year. Eitz also is known in the Bay Area for organizing the Orphan Air Lift that brought children out of Vietnam at the end of that war. Subsequently she adopted four children, including two from Vietnam, and raised numerous foster children. Her book Dark Rice chronicles the experience of adopting her first two children.

Eitz was born and educated in Germany but has lived in America since the early 1960s. A convert to Catholicism, she entered the Church during the Second Vatican Council and was deeply influenced by the noted Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, one of the prime architects of the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Rahner took a personal interest in her, guiding her course of studies, and she earned a master’s degree in theology from Marquette University.

Numerous organizations have recognized Eitz for her humanitarian work. She received a Local Hero award from KQED during Women’s History Month in 2010 to honor her outstanding contributions to the local community. In 1981, she received a Humanitarian Award from the Rosicrucians.

The ordination will take place at 3:30 p.m. May 26 at Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran, 678 Portola Drive in San Francisco.

Media Contact: Susan Fox / susanfox@ix.netcom.com, cell: (415) 516-1170 / office: (415) 752-0766 ####

A hero’s journey into the world of dreams and fears…

Grey Gate Media, LLC Releases Edward G. Kardos’ latest book 
”Elias and the Legend of Sirok”

17 May 2013 — CONCORD, NH: Grey Gate Media, LLC has released “Elias and the Legend of Sirok”. Edward G. Kardos presents an inspiring tale of a young artist, who is at odds with his life on his father’s farm, and is forced to make a decision about his future. His grandmother prepares him for a journey of discovery that takes him from his Hungarian village into a supernatural world. Here he faces powers and mystical beings—some that he strives to understand, while others he is forced to battle. With help from a wise man, he finally confronts his fears as they are personified by a dragon that changes shape at whim and will. Will Elias triumph over the dark powers around him? If he survives, what will he learn—about life and himself?

“Ed Kardos is a soul searcher. He writes from the head and heart, finding true meaning in the vagaries of life,” said Dean King, bestselling author of Skeletons on the Zahara about Kardos and his book. “An excellent novel for your pre-teen reader!” said Naomi Blackburn in her Amazon post. Blackburn is a book reviewer currently on Goodreads as the number 15 top reviewer in the U.S. and 20th globally. www.abookandareview.blogspot.com

“This story for the young and the young at heart, after all, I’m fifty-three and love these kinds of stories,” said Kardos when asked about who would enjoy the story.

As the story unfolds, Elias confronts conformity, guilt and fear and learns to believe in himself and to follow his heart.

“This story is hero’s journey similar to the classics but written for our time,” said publisher, Jason Reilly. “Kardos takes us on an inward journey and we, along with Elias, begin to believe in ourselves and feel good about who we are.”

Lectures, guest appearances, interviews and review copies are available by contacting Jason Reilly – jason.reilly@greygatemedia.com.

About the Author: 
Edward G. Kardos is the author of several books. Daniel Pink, bestselling author of “A Whole New Mind”, said this about “Zen Master Next Door”, Kardos’ last book—“What an inspiring way to learn about our very soul. These modern day parables…are compelling and left me wanting more.” Inspiration for his writing comes from the beauty that surrounds him both in the people he meets and the places he visits. He and his wife have four children and live in Richmond, Virginia. www.edwardgkardos.com Grey Gate Media, LLC is a publishing and media company located in Concord, New Hampshire. Founded with the mission to provide quality entertainment for friends, families, and anyone passionate about reading or gaming. www.greygatemedia.com

“Elias and the Legend of Sirok” (9781618070807) is published in paperback by Vermillion Pencil Press an imprint of Grey Gate Media, 142 pages, retail price $11.99. Also available as an e-book (9781618070821) and retails at $3.99.

Contact: Jason S. Reilly, (603) 801-2208; jason.reilly@greygatemedia.com ####