Mark's PCT hike for the S.F. Venue Coalition

I am dedicating my upcoming border to border hike on the world renowned Pacific Crest Trail to raising awareness and funds for the San Francisco Venue Coalition.  The city's finest independent music venues have banded together in fighting to save our last remaining San Francisco stages and therefore our local music scene at large.  Independent music has long been the core of the San Fransisco arts scene and is now in grave danger of being annihilated completely from S.F. culture. 

This must not happen!!

Our music venues were the first businesses to be shut down last spring, will be the last to re-open, and have been largely left out of any major relief packages.  Their bills have been stacking up for over a year now with zero income, the workers are all out of work, and the local musicians have nowhere to share their art and interact with live audiences.

This is indeed a tragedy. 

So much of our personal and communal wellbeing is dependent on the type of environment and interaction that these venues provide.  They should be fully recognized for their integral role in San Francisco's cultural diversity and under no circumstances should be forced to close permanently.

Contact the San Francisco Venue Coalition at sfvenuecoalition.com/get-in-touch  to see how you can help directly.

I am both a local musician and certified massage therapist whose life and livelihood have been severely impacted by the events of the past year.  It has been a struggle, but a beautiful one at that.  Life is all about perspective and with so much time off I had plenty of time for walking and pondering... 

Life is in essence temporal and unpredictable.  Safety and security are illusions in  which we far too often find ourselves trapped as our dreams drift further and further from realization.  The universe suggested I put my life on hold and take a long hike to experience these truths for myself.  I accepted, and take the first steps on trail towards realizing my 2,660+ mile goal come the first new moon of spring. 

Learn more about the Pacific Crest Trail at pcta.org

20% of your donations will help support my PCT journey and 80% will aid the S.F. Venue Coalition's San Francisco Music & Entertainment Recovery Fund.   I will post the donation receipt on my Instagram account: @produceadventures to ensure transparency and accountability.  This will also be the place you can follow my hike that begins on April 11.

Thank you so much for your caring assistance, and for doing your part to help raise awareness about the S.F. Venue Coalition and their fight to save San Francisco live performance spaces!!

Love All Ways,

Mark Joseph