Summer of Love 40th anniversary in San Francisco

San Francisco is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love this year. On Sunday the 2nd, there was a free concert in Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park, the same location that the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival uses.

Lots of people showed up. (Well, of course lots of people showed up! It was a free concert, man!)

Ice cream was available. I didn't try it. It must have been good, though, because there was a long line. Dove ice cream was also available for the less vegan and less adventurous.

A teepee greeted concert-goers at the entrance. I was never sure what it's purpose was. It looked like somebody was selling flowers. Or giving them away, maybe.

But it was a cool teepee. (Dude, who cares what it was for? It was, like, a real teepee!)

There were a (to me) surprising number of twentysomethings there, with people of ages up to the septuagenarian or so. Quite a few people wore retro-sixties clothes, like tie-dyed clothes for guys and sixties-style casual dresses for women. I didn't take any close-ups of interesting costumes, but this photo (not from the concert) gives an idea:

I'm sure that's a vegan Pepsi she's carrying.

Not all the music was played on the stage.

It wouldn't have been complete with these folks showing a presence:

The San Francisco Chronicle reporter in the article linked at the end seemed to perceive a lot of cannabis being smoked. But I hardly saw anybody smoking anything, hand-rolled or otherwise. The Chron reporter may have mistaken the incense from the Hare Krishna post at the entrance and the smoke from the barbecue stands for pot smoke.

People were playing with hula-hoops. I can't remember the last time I saw people using hula-hoops! (Hey, man, just what do you do with a hula-hoop? I mean, you know, do you, like, play with? Or dance with it? Or, oh, far out: maybe you hula-hoop with it! Wow, that's pretty far out, I've never thought of that before.)

A Mississippi connection appeared in the crowd. (Dude, how'd you, like, get all the way here from Mississippi?)

Flags were visible.

This guy is actually a well-known figure in downtown San Francisco. He has been walking around the financial district during the day for about 15 years carrying this sign or ones like it. After a few years, downtown businesses started taking out ads with him, which he displays on the back side of the sign. (I'm not making this up!) At Halloween parties downtown, people will dress up as this guy.

Someone had set up this colorful, uh, I'm not quite sure what it is. But it was definitely worth a photo. (Hey, it's a greenhouse bus, man!)

Oh, yeah, they had music and stuff on the stage, too. Geezer rockers playing old tunes, mainly. See the story by pop music critic Joel Selvin for more details, Summer of Love bands and fans jam in Golden Gate Park San Francisco Chronicle 09/03/07. The Chronicle also has twelve photos from the concert.

And food. Lots of food booths. I had fried artichoke hearts. I'm pretty sure for the first time in my life. Fried, I mean. I've eaten artichokes, just not fried ones.

But all good things must end:

So, everybody back on the bus!

Tags: hippies, san francisco, summer of love 40th anniversary