Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Woodstock was a statement to the world, “humanity had evolved”, coming together through peace, love and spirituality. An event whose original intent was to make money became the largest FREE event in history. The hip movement had come of age and was recognized by the world. The principles of love swept the country and we had become the ‘Woodstock Nation”.
Hundreds of San Francisco stars and musical luminaries will perform at this October 25, 2009 event to commemorate the original principles of peace, love and spirituality. The Woodstock 40th will begin with a blessing by the American Indigenous People and several Beat Generation poets. There will be many speakers from the Peace Movement, the Free Speech Movement and the Anti-War Movement along with many of the acts who originally performed at Woodstock (to be announced). There will also be an “Eco Friendly Green Village” highlighting the products, services, and information of the emerging green movement.
Event: “West Fest” Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock
Producer: 2b1 Multimedia Inc. and the Council of Light in association with
Artie Kornfeld, the original producer of “Woodstock 1969”
When: October 25, 2009, 9am to 6pm
Where: Speedway Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA USA
Non-Profit: 501-(c) 3
Admission: FREE
Contact: Boots Hughston, 415-861-1520 2b1 Records Home woodstock40sf or woodstock40sf@yahoo.com
Acts confirmed with more to come: Country Joe (Country Joe and the Fish), Denny Laine (of Paul McCartney, Wings, Moody Blues); Lester Chambers (the Chambers Brothers); The Original Lowrider Band (with Lee Oskar); Harvey Mandel and the Snake band; Barry “The Fish” Melton; Alameda All Stars (Gregg Allman’s Band); Michael McClure (Beat Poet) and Ray Manzarek (from the Doors); David Denny (from Steve Miller) with Perry Prince, Diana Mangano (from the Starship), Greg Douglas, Carlos Rios; PF Sloan; Jimmy McCarty (from Detroit Wheels); Peter Kaukonen (from Jefferson Airplane); Terry Haggerty (from the Sons of Champlin); John York (from the Byrds); Leigh Stevens (from Blue Cheer); Michael Narada Waldon; The Great Jeffersonian Tricycle (members of the Original Jefferson Airplane); El Chicano; Cathy Richardson (Starship); David and Linda La Flamme (It’s a Beautiful Day); Lydia Pense and Cold Blood; Lost Creek Gang and the Merry Pranksters with Ken Babbs, George Walker, and Mountain Girl; Jose Neto and Friends; The Mutaytor; Scoop Nisker - KFOG; David Harris – speaker; Ben Fong -Torres (Rolling Stone); David Hilliard - Black Panther Party; Benjeman Hernadez – Harts and Hands; Dennis Banks – AIM Wounded Knee; Dennis Peron and Richard Eastman (Marijuana Initiative); Terrance Hallinan (Former SF DA); Paul “Lobster” Wells (DJ);.
Poster Artists series: Staley Mouse, Arnold Skolnick (original Woodstock 69 poster artist), Chris Shaw, Mike Dolgushkin, Wendy Wright, David Singer, Wes Wilson, Mark Henson, Carlon Ferris, Dave Huckins, Lee Conklin, Bob Masse, Andrew Annenberg, Victor Moscosco, Michael Moss, Thomas Yeats, Chrissy Costello, Gilbert Johnson, Ron Donovin – Fire House Crew.
In honor of Jimi Hendrix, who headlined the festival in 1969, 3,000
guitar players will attempt to break the World's Record for the Largest
Guitar Ensemble playing "Purple Haze" -- all at the same time!
Players are encouraged to register at:
Register
HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT
There are moments in time when a word or thought has such power that it changes history; a generation so involved in the moment it becomes unstoppable and a spiritual awakening so profound that its very conception shatters perceptions, halts the world and makes people from all nations take notice.
It began with a simple four-letter word: LOVE! In the 1960’s, this word became synonymous with a generation and a city call San Francisco. It was a concept, a belief deep in the hearts of all who were there (and those who wished they were). It began with Ken Keasey, the Merry Pranksters, and their bus “Further,” Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the Beat Generation.
They gathered in places like North Beach, Haight Ashbury, Palo Alto, Berkeley, Seattle, Portland, New York, and LA. These pockets of anti-social, anti-establishment individuals questioned authority and their surroundings while searching for the real meaning of life and the deeper truths.
These small communities of like-minded individuals and “families” of communal creativity focused on poetry, art, folk music, jazz and rock ‘n roll, demanding to be free of societal restrictions, restraints, and hang-ups.
Then one summer – it happened! We Were Everywhere. The pureness of thought exploded exponentially and now there were millions of us. This event, this historical moment, which included most of 1967, became known as the ‘SUMMER OF LOVE”.
During this period, the Peace Movement was born with the “Human Be-In’s” in San Francisco and then the “Love-In’s” in New York. Anti-war demonstrations occurred everywhere and college campuses erupted with thousand of people refusing the draft. This startled the government as presidents were impeached, wars were stopped, and an entire generation stood up and said “Hell No.”
Social change was occurring and continued on multiple levels. Out of this orderly chaos came “The Movements”: The Free Speech Movement, the Free Love Movement, the Farm Workers Movement, the Women’s Movement, the Gay Rights Movement, the Environmental Movement, the Ecology Movement, the Animal Rights Movement, the Sexual Revolution, the Spiritual Movement, the Student Movement, the Civil Rights and the Anti-War Movement.
The message was clear – that the world was uniting behind one principle and one thought – LOVE! And its affirmation of PEACE, COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING. The world was brought forth by musicians such as Peter, Paul and Mary, the Mamas and the Papas, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane and then carried on by many of the English musicians like Eric Clapton, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.
Because of this free-thinking environment a renaissance of gifted geniuses occurred with the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison. New concepts and inventions touched every segment of society. The transistor, the calculator, the computer, and the internet all had their inception in the 1960’s. A whole new creative sector of the economy developed within and took hold to become Silicon Valley.
The international community was in awe of this explosion of creativity. Even athletes showed their solidarity by uniting with the winds of change. All of this started with a simple word, a simple thought – LOVE, and a generation of free thinking people willing to stand up and be counted and their willingness to be different.
Woodstock was not just an event, a happening or a concert with 400,000 people; it was a pivotal moment of realization for an entire generation. It marked an epiphany for the entire country. Woodstock was a statement to the world – “humanity had evolved” coming together through peace, love spirituality and rock ‘n roll.
An event originally intended for profit became the largest free event in history. The “Hip Movement” had come of age and was recognized by the world. The principles of love swept the country and we had become the ‘WOODSTOCK NATION”.
