The lovely Blanca Sapetto, a talented gymnast turned modern vaudevillian performing the role of Sapetto in the long-running hit Teatro Zinzanni, graces our cover. Teatro Zinzanni is a frivolous funfest melding breathtakingly talented vaudevillians from around the world with a remarkably good dining experience.

Teatro Zinzanni revives a long tradition of colorful performers along the San Francisco waterfront. Here, an excerpt from the last word in ferryboat history, Of Walking Beams and Paddle Wheels, by Harlan Fisher:

What other building so typifies an era of transportation to this very day so much as the Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street? And say, has anyone seen Peg-Leg Pete, the one-legged seagull lately? He, like John, the beloved vendor of nickel bags of peanuts from time out of mind, hasn’t been seen for far too long.

And what about "the Caruso of the ferries," that operatic-voiced young deckhand who delighted passengers with selections while mooring? Then there was the one-armed deaf-mute who carried a large supply of lavender packed in envelopes.

The world-class performers of Teatro Zinzanni mustn’t be equated with deckhand singers, but one hopes the success of this wonderful troupe is a harbinger of equally wonderful things to come – indeed, return – to the San Francisco waterfront. With the phased "rolling" opening of the newly and lovingly restored Ferry Building such hopes look to be rewarded. Indeed, early indications are most promising; the Farmer’s Market, already in residence at the Ferry Building, reports business has surged 30 percent.