Thursday, July 23, 2009

KFRC Fantasy Faire and Magic Mountain Festival (6-10-67)



On June 10th and 11th in 1967 radio station KFRC put on the "Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Festival" on Mount Tamalpais just north of San Francisco. The Festival was held at the 4,000 seat Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre high on the South face of Mount Tamalpais. According to Wikipedia, over 15,000 people attended. This was the first of several cultural events that came to be known as "The Summer of Love." Admission to the festival was $2 and all proceeds were donated to nearby Hunter's Point Child Care Center in San Francisco. The Festival was originally scheduled for June 3rd and 4th but was rescheduled due to inclement weather. After enjoying a scenic ride up the mountain from points such as the Marin Civic Center and Mill Valley, a giant Buddha balloon greeted attendees when they arrived. Transportation was provided by "Trans Love Bus Lines."
Official Program:

http://mildequator.com/performancehistory/memorabilia/tamalpaisinside1.html

The copy reads: ...A Benefit for the Hunters Point Child Care Centers ....A gathering of beautiful things, created and collected by the artisians and craftsmen of Northern California, and represented by the exhibitors listed on the Fantasy Fair Map...a variety of "happenings." When you arrive at the Fantasy Fair, you will immediately surrounded by color and motion, the good vibrations of thousands of people flowing with the natural beauty of Mt. Tamalpais. The major happening is you, your feeling of good will, and your knowledge that the Fair and the Mountain are a part of you, therefore yours to enjoy. The woods and meadows are an open invitation to wander and enjoy yourself to the limits of your imagination. And because they are yours to enjoy, we hope that you will grove with the surroundings, doing everything you can to keep them in their natural state.... For your enjoyment, The Fantasy Fair staff has prepared the Geodesic Dome Light Chamber. The Dome can accomadate 150 people per 8 minute show. We invite your participation in the wonders of the Dome, and ask that at the end of each show, you move out to make room for others waiting on line. You are also invited to enloy the giant slide, the tree swings (on the way to the valley of dancing), the vast assortment of strolling or sitting musicians (find many of them under trees or rocks), and other suprises prepared by Fantasy Fair volunteers for your pleasure and participation.... Music will be performed hourly in the Amphitheatre from 8am until 6pm. We ask that after each performance the seats be cleared to make way for people that may be waiting for the next performance... The Fantasy Fair wishes to express extreme gratitude to the artists in the performing groups, who have graciously donated their valuable time and exceptional talents, and all the bands performing in the Valley of Dancing.
Performers at the show were:
P.F.Sloan
The Grass Roots
Moby Grape
The 13th Floor Elevator
Spanky and Our Gang
Rodger Collins
Blackburn and Snow
Every Mother's Son
The Sons of Champlain
Jefferson Airplane
The Mojo Men
The Merry Go Round
The Performers for Sunday were:
The Byrds
The Loading Zone
Tim Buckley
The Doors
Every Mother's Son
Wilson Pickett
Hugh Maskela
The Steve Miller Blues Band
The Seeds
Country Joe and the Fish
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
The Doors - Video Mount Tamalpais Outdoor Theater 6-10-1967:


Photos from the show:
http://www.bcx.org/photos/events/concerts/ffair/?file=KFRCFantasyFair19670603_7587SBCX.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenbove/sets/72157603860560629/
http://www.radioismoaning.com/Photographs/main.php?g2_itemId=1935
http://www.sanfranciscoaudio.com/MtTamalpaisMagicMountain.html

7 comments:

24hrdejavu said...

Do you know if any of the music from this event made it to record

Dave Clark said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

The 5th Dimension also played at this event. Would be nice if there was video from it. I've seen pictures showing an audience member filming with an 8mm, that's probably the only filming that was done.

February 24, 2011 9:01 AM

Dan Swetlik said...

I'll never forget a guy parachuting to the stage at the end of the 5th Dimension's finale of This Beautiful Ballon..

Kathleen said...

I was there…heard the man who parachuted down into the crowd was Ken Kesey??? Quite an experience!

Anonymous said...

can anybody provide more info on the parachute guy. I saw doors footage many years ago on youtube. there was no audio but a guy commented that the parachute guy was dropping hits of acid into the crowd on the way down and it ended up being pop or something and people were getting sick. can anybody confirm this story?

Anonymous said...

*pcp not pop