San Francisco Symphony - Ellen Magnin Newman Award

About the Award

Named after San Francisco Symphony Life Governor and founder of the All San Francisco concert Ellen Magnin Newman, this award recognizes one outstanding community-based organization each year. Organizations are nominated by the All San Francisco Committee for their service to Bay Area families and individuals—contributions that strengthen the region’s cultural fabric—and efforts to create a more just and equitable society for everyone who lives here.

Recipients of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award are identified by committee vote and approved by honorary chair Ellen Magnin Newman, and celebrated at the All San Francisco Concert. The 2026 Ellen Magnin Newman Award winner is Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (CANA).

About CANA

For more than four decades, Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (CANA) has preserved and celebrated the many traditions of the Latino, Caribbean, and African diasporas in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is accomplished through culturally and linguistically relevant dance, music, and art programming, and by creating spaces for community learning, advocacy, and human services.

Since 1978, CANA has produced Carnaval San Francisco, the largest multicultural festival in California. In May 2026, Carnaval San Francisco was attended by more than 400,000 guests. The free, two–day event covered 17 city blocks, with five main stages, 60 local performing artists, and 300 vendors representing the heritage of countries including Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad, Tobago, Puerto Rico, and beyond. CANA stands as a beacon of hope for the stewardship of cultural traditions and the creation of a new, more inclusive American culture.