Cupertino’s free Shakespeare in the Park to return this summer

The curtain will rise once again for Cupertino’s annual Shakespearean performances at Memorial Park.

Organized by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, a nonprofit performing arts group, the 90-minute shows have been free to residents every summer for almost 30 years. But their future was until recently in jeopardy.

This year, because of a major blow to the Cupertino budget, city staff didn’t set aside the usual $30,000 to finance the production. So the nonprofit begin fundraising efforts in October 2023 in a bid to avoid canceling this summer’s production of “The Tempest.”

The festival was able to raise $30,400 by April, confirmed executive director Toby Leavitt.

“It’s really so meaningful to be able to have the community involved,” she said. ” Not only in attending, but in supporting the performances.”

A majority of the donations came from the Cupertino Rotary, Cupertino Library Foundation, San Jose Water District and Cupertino Mayor Sheila Mohan’s Mayoral Fund, a fund within the city budget that the mayor can use for community needs. An additional 27 individual donors made contributions ranging from $25 to $2,000, according to Leavitt.

The performances will take place in Cupertino’s Memorial Park at 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from July 20 through Aug. 4.