Folk legend Peter Yarrow to perform twice in Gainesville

August 18, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Peter Yarrow – of Peter, Paul and Mary fame – heads to Gainesville for a pair of performances Sept. 1 and 2 at the intimate Squitieri Studio Theatre, located inside the Phillips Center for Performing Arts.

As a founding member of the multi-platinum and gold-selling trio Peter, Paul and Mary, Yarrow’s gift for songwriting produced some of the group’s biggest hits, including “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” “Day is Done,” “Light One Candle” and “The Great Mandala.”

Peter, Paul and Mary won five Grammys, landed six top 10 hits and earned the Songwriters Hall Of Fame’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. Their cover of John Denver’s classic, “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” reached the top of the charts in 1969.

Aside from his musical prowess, Yarrow produced three animated TV specials based on “Puff the Magic Dragon,” garnering an Emmy nomination. An accomplished storyteller, two of his children’s books reached Publishers Weekly’s No. 1 spot.

Yarrow has long used music as an instrument for social change, committing his time to various issues, including equal rights, the environment, gender equality, homelessness, hospice care and education.

He participated in the civil rights movement, which brought Peter, Paul and Mary to Washington in 1963 to sing for the historic march led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1999, Yarrow founded Operation Respect, a nonprofit organization working to prevent bullying, ridicule and violence in schools.

Tickets are on sale and available for both of Yarrow’s shows. Call 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll free within Florida) or visit www.performingarts.ufl.edu for more information.