This month ushers in the 56th anniversary of the Human Be-In, Gathering of the Tribes at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park, 1967. It is our hope that tuning in to the spirit of that once-in-a-lifetime day will help wash away some of the chaos and pain of recent years, and inspire a brighter path ahead.
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“Saturday’s gathering was an affirmation, not a protest. A statement of life, not of death, and a promise of good, not of evil … This is truly something new and not the least of it is that it is asking for a new dimension to peace, not just an end to shooting, for the reality of love and a great Nest for all humans.”
— Ralph J. Gleason, SF Chronicle, 1967, days after the Be-In
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“In 2023, I feel the vibe in the Haight and SF, in art and culture, in the young and new. A renaissance is happening.”
— Michael Xavier, executive director, Haight-Ashbury Street Fair
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“We’re lost. There’s hope, the tribe vibe is still there, but we’ve got to realize it.”
— Dago, local character in a big-rig truck
“All I really remember is: a sunny (California) winter day in GG Park, lotta bands, and bein’ surprised that I was knocked-out by the poetry readings; I had been thinkin’ I would just have to wait ‘em out, but they really grabbed me.”
— Bobby Weir, Grateful Dead
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“While covid kept our tribe from gathering these past few years, we’re still alive and thriving as evidenced by Burning Man. While sadly we’re losing many of our elders in the community, I meet new young hippies in my store almost every day.”
— Jimmy Siegel, owner, Distractions on Haight
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“The imprint of The Human Be-In gave us an Aquarian communal vision. This year, let’s dance the apocalypso and end the Piscean Age once and for all!”
— Magick, at the Be-In at 16 years old;
Tarot reader at Twisted Thistle Apothecary on Haight
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“We’re on our way back!”
— Cheryl Fahrner, at the Be-In in her early 20s, good friend of George Hunter of the Charlatans
