Where Are the Really Great Parties? Free, Wonderful Events. The Date and Location is Provided for Fun, Fun, Fun for the Whole Family... Please Add Your Favorites in the Comments Section...

I like to Promote Worthy Events. For Example: The Rainbow Gathering, Kinetic Sculpture Race, North Country Fair and Humboldt Folklife Festival. Please Share Info and I'll Blog Your Suggestions. Email me... gregvan[at]yahoo[dot]com Thanks....
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Here is the Latest List of FREE and Wonderful Events!
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North Country Fair in Arcata, California. In September Every Year... All Species Parade, Samba Parade and free live Bands... Official Website: http://www.sameoldpeople.org/
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Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens, Los Angeles, CA 3500 Adams. they are open for visits from 1AM-3PM Tuesday - Friday.
http://www.peacelabyrinth.org/
Find a Labrynth near you...
www.labyrinthlocator.com
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Link to The Rainbow Gathering:
http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/sites/annual-site.html
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Kinetic Sculpture Race: Bicycle powered ART Vehicles. Arcata to Eureka to Ferndale over land, sea and sand. Free to attend. Bring your bicycle to ride along.
http://kineticgrandchampionship.com/
http://www.kineticsculpturelab.com/
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Humboldt Folklife Festival: A Free outdoors Concert in Blue Lake, California with about 20 folk bands...
http://www.humboldtfolklife.org/
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Nimbin Mardi Grass: May 4th 2013 in Australia
http://www.nimbinmardigrass.com/
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Mayday... Mayday! Global Celebration of Spring... also International Workers of the World Unite Day... also... Happening in your own town 5/1 every year... Just before Sinko de Mayo.
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An alert reader suggests:
The Burning of Zozobra [old man gloom] in Santa Fe, New Mexico. September 2013. It is a giant paper effigy of a man symbolizing worry. People bring papers with their troubles written on them to the puppet and all papers are added to the pyre. Once your troubles have been burned, participants feel relief.
Alert Reader said: "I always had mixed feelings about being in a crowd of people shouting, "Burn him, burn him!" But I did like the symbolism. My then husband donated paper from his recycling center at least one year to help construct Zozobra."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zozobra
Fiestas de Santa Fe has been held since 1712.
http://www.santafefiesta.org/

The same basic concept as "Burning Man" in the Nevada Desert near Reno.
They burn a statue of an MAN symbolizing whatever you want it to symbolize.
http://www.burningman.com/
The same basic concept as "Bohemian Grove" in the Sonoma County, California.
They burn a statue of an OWL symbolizing cares.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Grove
The URL {website address] who.ru would be a great name... 
If you liked The Who's Music and lived in the former Soviet Union...
http://www.zazzle.com/gregvan/green%20leaf
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An alert reader recommends:
Mardi Gras in New Orleans on February 12th 2013
http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/
The Parades and Costumes are Superb.
Many drum and dance troops compete to be the best.
The Inspiration for the song "Aiko-Aiko".
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An alert reader recommends:
The Bay to Breakers Footrace in San Francisco, California. May 19th 2013
People dress up in whimsical costumes and run, walk or roll from the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Except for the "Salmon" who swim upstream by running the course from the ocean to the bay...
http://baytobreakers.com/
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"HanfParade" Legalization of Hemp Parade in Berlin.  Last year it was 11th August. A yearly Event: The demonstration started at 1 p.m. on Alexanderplatz, "World Time Clock" next to Station Alexanderplatz with the motto "Freiheit, Gesundheit, Gerechtigkeit" (Freedom, Prosperity, Justice).
http://en.hanfparade.de/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanfparade
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SXSW Festival March 8th-17th Austin Texas.
Music and Seminars. A unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies.
http://sxsw.com/
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Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena, California April 27th, 2013
Farcical and Flamboyant!
http://pasadenadoodahparade.info/
Truckin, Like the Doo-Dah Man... Lyric from The Grateful Dead...
http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/truckin.html
A reference to the song "Camptown Races" by Steven Foster... or... maybe a tip of the hat to the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band who experienced DADA in their performances...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band
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Bristol Festival of Nature in England. 15th and 16th June 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Festival_of_Nature
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The Great Reno Balloon Race is a hot-air balloon race held each September in Reno, Nevada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Reno_Balloon_Race
http://renoballoon.com/
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Free Entrance Days in the National Parks
America's Best Idea - the national parks - is even better when it's free!
Mark your calendar for these entrance fee-free dates in 2013:
January 21 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
April 22-26 five days during National Park Week
August 25 National Park Service Birthday
September 28 National Public Lands Day
November 9-11 Veterans Day weekend
http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm
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SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE FESTIVAL: 6/29 - 6/30
While the parade is the historical highlight of Pride, it's the parties surrounding this weekend that truly capture the SF spirit.
http://sfpride.org/
http://www.metrowize.com/san-francisco-festivals-guide
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The Peace and Love Festival is located in Borlänge, Sweden 25th-29th June
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Smithsonian Folklife Festival Washington DC June 26–June 30 and July 3–July 7 - every year... 
An international exposition of living cultural heritage annually produced outdoors on the National Mall of the United States in Washington, D.C., by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
http://www.festival.si.edu/
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Truckers Christmas Parade, Eureka California
On the second Saturday evening of every December, thousands of people line the streets of Eureka and delight at the spectacle of huge trucks adorned in holiday lights.
http://www.redwoods.info/showrecord.asp?id=3710
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Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival San Jose California May 5th. Celebration on Mexican Culture and Heritage. There is always a Carlos Santana Tribute Band. Yes, THAT is Mexican Culture. So is Jerry Garcia. Mariachi!
http://www.sanjose.com/attractions/festivals/
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Chinese New Year Parade San Francisco February 23rd.
Dancing Dragons and firecrackers...
http://www.chineseparade.com/
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Earth Day: Celebration in Every City Worldwide.
If NOT celebrated in your city, get busy and make it so.
April 22nd.
http://www.earthday.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day
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Swimming in the Chico Creek at the "One Mile" Pool. in California

Friday Night Music in the Park. Chico. Local Bands play Every Week in the Summer. Starts May 17th. Chico is in the Central Valley of California a hundred miles North of Sacramento. It is a remote College town and truly it's own world.
http://www.downtownchico.net/events/dcbaevents/fnc
https://www.facebook.com/fridaynightconcerts
The Series usually Starts with Jeff Pershing Band. World Beat/Positive Message.
Video of "Dancing Beneath the Stars"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f6EotzN45s
Listening makes a person happy... Conga Line Dance.
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Chico Velo Bicycle Race. Wildflower Tour April 28th. Chico California
http://www.chicovelo.org/main/
The terrain of Chico is completely flat and is ideal for bicycles. Most college students prefer to not own a car as parking near CSUC is expensive and annoying. Most sidewalks have ramps to ease bicycle traffic. Everything is within bicycling distance. The town has Chico Creek bisecting it and Bidwell Park was donated to provide an open green space forever by the founders of the town.
http://bidwellpark.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidwell_Park
The Park is open 24 hours a day and has a giant swimming pool made by erecting a dam across Chico Creek. In the Summer, daytime temperatures often exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit and swimming at night is a blessing.
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Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk. Free Galleries, bands, refreshments... About 5PM on the second Thursday of each month, local artists are invited to display their work inside many of the businesses and buildings along Spring and Main Streets in Los Angeles between 4th and 6th streets.
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Maritizi Sirbu: THE SUMMER SOLSTICE PARADE, SANTA BARBARA, CA, USA, JUNE 21 EVERY YEAR THAT IS THE DAY OF SUMMER SOLSTICE

Maritizi Sirbu: EARTH DAY, SANTA BARBARA, CA, USA, IT STARTED IN SANTA BARBARA, CA, USA, OVER AN OIL SPILL IN 1969
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Thanks, I added your events to my blog post. Earth day is special here also... for years, we had a Sustainable Living Fair at Humboldt State University. Sadly, it was stopped by funding cuts.
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Who said: "I KNEW there was something they weren't teaching us in school" attributed to Jerry Garcia about his first LSD Experience?

At the end of the movie "Orange Sunshine" there was a lot of interviews with the members of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love...

One man made that statement... I can't find any verification on the internet using Google Search...
Maybe it was said by someone else... It's possible that the man interviewed was simply confused about history...

http://www.orangesunshinemovie.com/

https://www.relix.com/articles/detail/q-a-with-jerry-garcia-portrait-of-an-artist-as-a-tripper

For me it was a profoundly life changing experience. It has a lot to do with where I am now and why I’m here and why I do what I do and it all fits in and it was all happening as I was making the decisions to become who I am, you know what I mean? So it all steered me directly into this place. - Quote from Jerry Garcia


The last thing I want to ask you about, this is sort of an odd question but it’s a simple one: Why are you giving me this interview?
I want to be able to say to people in this time, with the big “Just Say No” where everybody is so roundly against drugs, that, hey, not all drug experiences are negative. I would like for that minority voice to be heard. Some drug experiences are quite positive and can be life-enhancing and can be pleasant and can be not dangerous and don’t necessarily promote criminal activity.
One of the quotes that I read was that you realized there was more than we’d been allowed to believe.
Yeah.
Who allows us?
That’s what I wonder. Who is the guy, where does it say, even in the ten commandments, “Thou shalt not get high. Thou shalt not change your consciousness” ? Who says? The way I understood it, it was helpful to change your consciousness sometimes.


Read more: https://www.relix.com/articles/detail/q-a-with-jerry-garcia-portrait-of-an-artist-as-a-tripper#ixzz58QzrA276

A Million Trips Later, What was LSD All About? Was it a Recreational Drug? OR Was it More Like a Telephone that Allowed People to Call GOD DIRECTLY?

Was it a Significant Event in The History of The World or as Trivial as a Roller Coaster Ride? We Did Get a Lot of Excellent Rock Music Songs. Is it Even Possible to Buy a "Stairway to Heaven" anymore? 

My Opinion: It Awakened Me to The POSSIBILITY of True Enlightenment. I Realized That There Were WORTHY Goals in Life... and That I Ought To Put Some Effort into...

Creating Art, Writing Music, Writing Fiction and Publishing a Political Opinion Blog... Marching in Anti-War Protest Marches... Campaigning Against Evil Political Candidates... and IN GENERAL... Living a Moral Life... Not Doing Evil... That SOUNDS OBVIOUS But... So Many "Corporate-Corporate" Greed Freaks DID NOT TAKE A TRIP AND DID NOT GRASP THESE SIMPLE CONCEPTS... SAD... 

I Took Jobs That Made a Difference... I Did Work That Made the World a Better Place to Live EVEN THOUGH Doing Evil Paid More Money! For Example: Early in My Career as a Draftsman, I Designed Weapons for the US Air Force... but... After I Got Laid Off, I Chose to Design Mail Sorting Machines for the United States Postal Service... AND WAS MUCH HAPPIER! Doing Evil All Day Every Day is NOT A Great Way To Live... 

I Have Noticed that People Who Had the Psychedelic Experience Turned Out to BE NICE, KIND and HAPPY.
Sadly, CORPORATE GREED FREAKS Missed Out on "The Sixties..." 

The CIA Project MKULTRA Concluded that LSD Had No Value as a "Weapon of War." Does it Have a Value as a "Weapon of PEACE?" In General, Populations that Took LSD Turned Out To Be LESS VIOLENT than Similar Groups... Acidheads are often interested in Art, Music, Poetry, Organic Farming, Love, Peace, Ecology... GEE, What If Everyone Was Like That? 

We are Seeing a Movement to Legalize Magic Mushrooms... What About LSD and Peyote? What IF We Legalize Medicinal Psychedelics FIRST and then Recreational Psychedelics Later. The Main Advantage to Legalization is there Would Not Be the FEAR of Getting Arrested as a Setting for Your Trip. I Have Experienced that Tripping WAY OUT IN THE WOODS has a FREEDOM aspect to it. On Occasions where My Friends and I Were the Only People for Miles Around... We were More Relaxed than Tripping in Public. 

ANOTHER Massive Advantage is that the Chemical Fabrication of LSD Would be Better Quality. Often, Illegal Chemists Make a Substandard Product OR Sell an Entirely Different Chemical (DOM) and Call it "ACID" - I Have Spoken with People that Took DOM (sometimes called STP) and their Three Day Trip was Frightening and Awful. We Would Certainly Reduce the Number of Trips to the Emergency Room with Quality Control. 

What about all the recent talk about embracing Death? 
Will We Be Grateful?


Peace Cube - Illustration - gvan42 - Gregory Vanderlaan


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