Sep 2, 2007: This Sunday, Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park plays host to the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary event. The concert is ** FREE ** and boasts a huge line-up of musicians.
The Summer of Love party has its genesis, obviously, in the real Summer of Love -- 1967 in San Francisco. It was the year the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic was born . . . the year the Grateful Dead was busted at 710 Ashbury . . . the year the rest of the country tuned into the concept of hippie counterculture . . . LSD and Timothy Leary . . . and the peace and civil rights movements that would change our landscape forever.
Both the San Francisco Chronicle and Rolling Stone this year ran a series of pieces on the Summer of Love -- well worth reading for those who weren't there, and perhaps somewhat nostalgic for those who were.
Among the many performers filling the airwaves between 10a and 6p:
- Country Joe McDonald
- Taj Mahal
- Moby Grape (reunion)
- Jessie Collin Young
- Essra Mohawk (from Mothers of Invention & Jerry Garcia Band)
- Michael McClure, Rob Wasserman, Jay Lane & Ray Manzarek (from the Doors)
The Summer of Love 40th Anniversary website has the full line-up, with the possibility of additional artists not pre-announced.
If you can't make it to Golden Gate Park, you can listen to a live stream of the concert beginning at 10a on Sunday.
Speedway Meadow at Golden Gate Park - 10a to 6p
Map of Golden Gate Park - from San Francisco Recreation & Parks
Use Hop Stop to map out your itinerary to the park.
If you're new to San Francisco, check out the Guide to Muni and BART for help in navigating public transit.The San Francisco Bay Bridge is closed for the entire Labor Day Weekend (2007). BART will be running 24 hours all weekend, from 14 different stations.
The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park is featuring a Peter Max and the Summer of Love exhibit, opening on August 31 and running through October 28.
If you're visiting or new to the city and want to learn more about Haight Ashbury, the Summer of Love, and history related to that era in San Francisco, consider the Flower Power Walking Tour (Item #6) for a two-hour foot tour of the neighborhood and its colorful past.