Mimi Farina Biography

A musical philanthropist who attempted to bring live performances to the less-fortunate through her Bread and Roses organization, Mimi Farina served as an integral component of the San Francisco's Bay Area folk music scene of the 1960s and courted such popular industry figures as sister Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, and Peter, Paul and Mary to perform at her more than 500 annual free Bread and Roses concerts. Recording several popular tunes in the 1960s with husband Richard Farina and many others during her time as a key figure in the Bay Area folk scene, Mimi conceived the Bread and Roses organization in 1974 and soon began bringing music to centers for abused and neglected children, correctional facilities, senior centers, and rehabilitation facilities. Farina's seminal role in the Bay Area folk scene was recently recounted in the book Positively 4th Street. Mimi Farina died of cancer at her Mill Valley, CA, home in July of 2001. She was 56. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi