Topanga's Citizen Kane Produces Earth Festival

Jackie Kane just finished producing the Tenth Annual First Americans in the Arts Award,

and before she had cleaned off her desk from that production she was head first into the

beginning stages of producing the  Whole Earth Festival, April 20 - 21st at Lake Balboa in

the Valley presented by Whole Foods Market.  With names like names like Michelle

Shocked, John Tesh, Richard Thompson, Quetzal, Walea (featuring Rita Coolidge), Kenny

Wayne Shepherd and more, plus a list of celebrity guests that already include Esai Morales,

Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Wendie Malick, Max Gail, Amy

Smart and others, it is sure to be one of the largest Earth Day celebrations in the Nation if

not the world.  I paid visit to talk to her about her years as a producer.
 

Jackie calls her company Jacalyn Kane Productions (Kane Productions.com), and has

some 15 years of experience in the "biz."   She began her career of becoming a producer

in 1986, when she created and produced the legendary Vineyard Peace Concert '86 on

Martha's Vineyard, where the show featured Carly Simon, The Band and Jesse Colin

Young.  She in fact went back to Martha's Vineyard in 1999 and produced Dwight

Yoakam's "Last Chance For A Thousand Years" show at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs.

It was interesting seeing her scrap book as we talked about her years producing.
 

To follow Jackie's career we see a cornucopia of events, concerts and films.  U.S. Senator

John F. Kerry noted, Jacalyn Kane proved her ability to do "tremendous work" early in her

career, while coordinating logistics and scheduling for Senator Ted Kennedy's family during

his Campaign for President.  Her work on the campaign resulted in her production of a

documentary entitled, Kennedy '80, a case study in media and political use and abuse.

Seems that most of her career she has directed much of her energy producing events that

show her commitment to social and political causes.
 

Through the years her work has had her working on projects with folks like Sen. Edward

M. Kennedy, Governor Dukakis, Walter Cronkite, President William J. Clinton, Ruben

Blades, U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and many of the other

names that you see in this article.  We see some of Jackie's strong political beliefs with the

production of Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament Ball honoring Sally Field and Jane

Alexander, a documentary she produced called, Let Me Say This...Reflections on Living

in the Nuclear Age featuring Joanne Woodward and Meryl Streep.
 

In 1998, Jackie went back east to Martha's Vineyard where she produced The Boston Pops

at the Tabernacle.  The event raised more than $92,000 that went to the Tabernacle

Restoration Fund and the Martha's Vineyard Hospital.  With a total budget of $166,650 Jackie

had many responsibilities that brought in the record amount of money for the event.  Keith

Lockhart, Conductor of The Boston Pops said, "The production details for the concert have

never been more professionally arranged than this past year with Jackie Kane and her com-

pany as producers.  We greatly enjoyed the collaboration."  The Vineyard Gazette said,

"Everything was perfect: the food, the wine and, of course, the music."
 

We first saw her in action as producer of the 9th Annual First Americans In the Arts

Awards (The Native American Film & TV Awards), where Jackie handled many of the

details of this very "Hollywood Native Style" event, from the creation and editing of the video

tributes, to the teleprompters, lights, sound, stage design to sending a live feed to the

webcast producers at the StudioClub.com and Yahoo,  where the event was webcast live

world wide from the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills.  Seems that the Native Americans

were so happy with her work that they brought on Jacalyn Kane Productions to not only

produce, but also direct The 10th Annual FAITA Awards from the Century Plaza Hotel in

2002.  Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman said it was the best show in the ten year history.
 

As I talked with Jackie about her background, which also includes production of the

The Annual Topanga County Fair, The City of Los Angeles Pershing Square Concerts

in the Park, to the Whole Foods Market 20th Anniversary Food & Wine Tasting Gala,

I asked her what is the ratio is, of gigs that she produces are ones she dreamed up vs. the

gigs that she is a hired gun to produce and/or direct the event.  Jackie said, "Sometimes I

bid on a job and then carry out my clients vision.  Once the trust is built, I'm usually given

more freedom to create or collaborate on ideas.  Then there are the shows that - I dream up-

as you have said, and those can take anywhere from months to years to come to fruition.

I must have dreamed about creating a world music gathering for our planet, that would bring

all kinds of people together for peace over ten years ago.  I guess the Whole Earth Festival

comes pretty close to that vision...I find that if I am patient, that which is closest to my heart

eventually comes full circle.  It takes a lot of patience, perseverance and passion."
 

As mentioned, Jackie is presently producing the Whole Earth Festival in concert with

Whole Foods Market on April 20 & 21.  "Protect Our Home, Protect Our Future” is the

theme of this year’s FREE Whole Earth Festival  and at the San Fernando Valley’s Lake

Balboa.  The two day event seems to be a huge undertaking with many headline acts,

speakers, workshops, Whole Foods Market Food Fest, Children's Earth Village and

many other activities.  I asked Jackie, "When you are producing an event like this, what

are some of your main areas of concern?  She replied, "First the dates and the location

then the talent, diversity, name recognition that reaches across various genres, creating

a great experience for people once they are at the show, publicity and getting the word

out, and details, details, details..."  She is also coordinating the website for the festival

and you can find at: wholeearthfestival.net Jackie has a site at Kaneproductions.com
 

I went up to Topanga Canyon, where she has lived for years and produced  the music for the

Earth Day Celebration 2000 in the Canyon, and from 1994 through 1998 she produced the

Topanga Country Fair. Topanga Canyon has a rich music history.  In the geophysical sense

this was a important place in the history of the music business itself.  Places like the Will

Geer Theater,  where he lived and did weekly music events and festivals and now hosts a

season of outdoor theatrical events.  Stories go back to the 1940's, when Woody Guthrie

lived in the canyon.  Many might remember the Topanga Corral where Canned Heat, Big Joe

Turner, Spirit, Neil Young, Jonie Mitchelle and The Eagles all played.  The Byrds' "Notorious

Byrd Brothers" album cover was shot on a Topanga horse trail. History will look back and

see this Topanga girl as part of that Topanga music story.  She is in fact dreaming up a

Topanga show that she told us to keep under our hats.
 

Besides working in the event and concert business she produced a variety of TV com-

mercials and industrial films for corporate clients including Polaroid Corp. and Digital Com-

puters and developed tour sponsorships with corporate giants such as Miller Brewing

Nickelodeon, Proctor and Gamble and Warner Lamert.  I asked her what brought her to

Hollywood and she said, "I first moved out to Hollywood to be an actress--I guess I still

am one, but I don't peruse it as a career.  I studied in New York City, did bit parts on

films and soaps.  When I moved to Los Angeles I joined Group Repertoire Theatre and it

was a great experience.  I got the chance to learn from seasoned film character actors,

and I took classes, wrote and produced a play there...it was fun.  I miss acting, but this

path I've taken producing events is all consuming.  I would like to find a little more

balance some day...when I find the time.

By Buffalo Benford ---- 323-850-8919----benford333@yahoo.com