Summer of Love in March?
“Be sure to wear a flower in your hair”, was the opening of the SF Chronicle Datebook article titled, “Summer of Love Far Out in S.F.”. The article shared that starting on Sunday, March 12th, there will be a celebration of the events, which took place in San Francisco in the summer of 1967. That “Summer of Love”, as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people dressed in hippie fashions gathered in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
These young people, who were sometimes called flower children, were suspicious of the government, rejected consumerist values, and opposed the Vietnam War. It was also a time when a large number of hippies traveled to California to hear their favorite bands such as The Who, The Grateful Dead, the Animals, Jefferson Airplane and others. Musician John Phillips of the band The Mamas & The Papas wrote the song, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).”
We were not yet in San Francisco at that time. In 1967 we lived in Riga, Latvia. I was twenty, and my summer of love was with my soon-to-be wife, Elfa. We got married in August, 1967. Nevertheless, since it was our generation, the waves of the “dissidents”, according to the Soviet authorities, the hippie movement reached our shores as well; especially through contraband music records. Reading the article in the paper raised my hopes that, though I missed it fifty years ago, I will have a chance to participate in the celebration of the begotten era. What surprised me is that the event was planned to take place on Valencia Street. From my previous story on September 9th, 2016, you might remember that Valencia Street had very interesting history, but it has quite a distance from the center of the hippie movement in the Haight-Asbury.
The celebration of Summer of Love was hosted by the non-profit, It’s Your District and Sunday Street SF and was the first event in the series of celebrations through October 1st in other neighborhoods.
When I got there, I found that ten blocks of Valencia Street were closed from 16th to 26th Street. San Francisco knows how to celebrate, but this was not what I had expected. A lot of young people just strolled along the street gravitating to the shady side, since it was beautiful warm 70°F afternoon. Here and there, bands played rhythmic music, and some people danced. There were a multitude of children, dogs and a well-behaved crowd. A few policemen just strolled along, or were giving children police star stickers. Vendors who tried to sell hot dogs were not very busy, since all the local cafés and restaurants were filled. The owner of the local ice cream store Xanath Ice Cream was giving away free cones with the frozen yogurt to children and seniors (I got one). I only saw a few people of my generation (I photographed one, probably a former hippie, riding naked on a bicycle). It seems that for the new generation, the events that happened fifty years ago, are not relevant any more. The clothing style and taste of music has changed, and the generation of the former hippies probably got wise enough to know that “you cannot step into the same river twice”, which was coined by Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who was born in 544 B.C.
Enjoy and Share.
P.S. I encountered a few people who wore a flower in their hair. Some of them were dressed up in elaborate costumes (except for the naked guy with a flower). I picked up four images to share with you.
Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!
Cheers,
