My Journey to The Rainbow Gathering in Pennsylvania in the 1980's... Autobiography... and EPCOT in Florida, Niagara Falls, Canada...

This event really started at the Spectrum Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at a three day Grateful Dead concert. That's When I Got an Invitation to The gathering. A Card given to me by a Guy Who Believed I Was Worthy.

Free Clipart - Infinite Rainbow - gvan42


It eventually turned out to be a five month vacation traveling from Washington DC to Key West, Florida to Niagara Falls, Canada looking for the best beach on the East Coast. IMHO... It's Fernandina Beach In Florida Near the Northern Border. 

I drove up from Washington DC and camped out in the Spectrum parking lot in my car. During the daytime, we were able to swim at a public pool across the street. The local residents had the lifeguards pull a rope across the pool so we swam on one side of the pool and they enjoyed the other... sort of like segregation except the black people were the ones that wanted us over on the other side of the rope...

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - 180 degree circle pattern
Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42
180 degree circle pattern



One afternoon I ran into a fellow from Manassas, Virginia that called himself "Lumpy the Biker". He asked if he could rest by sitting in the front seat of my car. He had injured his leg in a motorcycle accident and had trouble standing. So we were relaxing in the car and he told me that he didn't really LIKE the Grateful Dead and did not have a ticket. He was just here to have fun at the parking lot party and to score some acid for resale back home in Virginia. By this time I had already eaten a dose...

I decided to wander over to look at the railroad tracks and admire the trains. They were underneath of some freeways and reminded me of an Escher Drawing.
When I got back I found out that "Lumpy" had been dealing out of my car. He was selling bottles of Visine LSD: Each drop of water had one dose in it. Somehow, someone had started the rumor that since he was dealing out of my car, that I must be his supplier... Therefore, later that night at the concert, people came up to me and thanked me for the excellent quality of the acid. Then they asked if I wanted any and I stuck out my hand, they squeezed a couple of drops and I licked my hand... many times...
this was a classic case of an unknown large dose...

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - 180 degree circle pattern



I ended up dancing in the concourse area where the refreshments were sold. There were many flashing lights on the advertising billboards for the Atlantic City Casinos. Many other Deadheads encircled me to tell me stupid jokes because they Just KNEW that I would laugh... A friend wrote in the dirt on the back window of my car "Mush Brain"... I got his address and visited him in New jersey later that summer. He was a teenager that had built a shack way out in the woods for a party house. I have quite a bit of admiration for creative construction like that! At some time during those three days, someone gave me a card with an invitation to the Rainbow Gathering to be held at an undisclosed location somewhere in Pennsylvania July 4th. I put the card on the dashboard of my car and forgot about it...
Read More:



As luck would have it, I got fired from my job that week for lack of attendance. I just did not show up for work and a couple of days later my boss knocked on my door and told me to not come in... He was not amused... So, there I was, time on my hands and money in the bank... I had been working steady for about six years and had been throwing my loose change in a dresser drawer for the whole time. So, I pulled the drawer out and put it in the trunk of my car and headed towards Florida. As I headed down the road, I picked up some hitchhikers and they informed me of the location of the Rainbow Gathering. I had no Idea what it was but from their description, it sounded like fun. I dropped them off and went to Epcot Center and Disney World.

I ended up staying there for five days. I found a campground and every day woke up early, went to EPCOT for a few hours, went back to the campground when it got hot and took a nap, then went back to EPCOT near sunset. The place is totally different at night. The most impressive spot is at a lake near the big sphere. They project LASER light that looks like the planet Earth... Outlines of the continents... and then animate the globe to give the impression that it is revolving... at the same time, they have fountains dancing in colored lights, fireworks and loud classical music. Specifically, the Russians: Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky... Quite the sensory overload. Everyone had told me that the best ride was Space Mountain but it's only good the first time when it has the element of surprise... So, for the first day at EPCOT, I took LSD and pretended that I was a secret agent with a goal of climbing space mountain... handy to remember that while tripping in public it's a good idea to maintain one's composure or the Munchkins would throw you out of the park! Space Mountain was excellent but standing in line for a half an hour was difficult while the faces of the people were distorting... Yes, it was an astounding ride.
I also rode the Monorail over to the hotel and went to the top roof and admired the fine view from 10 stories up of Florida... Remember that when tripping, it is not a good idea to wear a t-shirt with a physics joke on it... The "straights" won't understand the joke and will ask you to explain... I made that mistake... I had a shirt with the picture of Einstein wearing a policeman's hat with the saying "186,000 miles per hour, not just a good idea, IT'S THE LAW!"

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - 180 degree circle pattern


I also liked the Kraft Foods singing and dancing fruits and vegetables show. They had a giant refrigerator onstage and food came out and did song and dance numbers... Just like in ZAP COMIX by Robert Crumb.

and the Carousel of Progress will stay with me my whole lifetime...
especially the SONG!

"Now is the time, now is the best time,
now is the best time of your life!
Right here and now, you've got it made...
The world's forward marching and you're in the parade!"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel_of_Progress

originally, the General Electric Display at the New York World's Fair, it shows the same happy family and their technology thru time... A diorama shows them in the 1800's using oil lamps, then we sing the song and the Audience rotates to view the next era... electric lights! The song was written by the same fellows that did "It's a Small World" and most of the other Disney classics... The Sherman brothers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Brothers

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - Energy - wind - electricity - Question Authority


My hitchhikers said the Gathering was at the intersection of 6 and 666 in Pennsylvania.  I drove there by myself and was greeted by a man that said "Welcome Home, Brother".  I parked and walked in carrying a backpack and sleeping bag... no tent... so the entire time I was sleeping in random different locations... When I arrived at the main campfire circle I noticed that the Gathering was located on a creek and so I wandered downstream to find a nude swimming hole... There by the creekside was a sweat lodge and a group of  bathers. I went swimming and waited for the opportunity to go into the lodge. By this time I had been approached by someone's child who recommended that I not smoke tobacco during my time at the Gathering... I took that advice and soon was feeling the withdrawal symptoms from my addiction... A group left the sweat lodge and I went in... a person asked me to leave as there were two couples that wanted a private sweat and I was a fifth wheel... I got angry because I had no knowledge of a queue waiting for the sweat lodge... and I was freaking from the tobacco "JONES"... I left after arguing a bit and later got to sweat with many other men... The sweat was very therapeutic and helped with my nicotine anxiety. I wandered up to the main circle and met a fellow that manufactured plate glass xylophones and wooden marimbas. I borrowed one and played at the main circle. Then went over to a stage near the entrance and joined a group performing there. I was not wearing any clothes... It's the one time in my entire life that I have performed on stage nude... We mostly played songs like "JINGO" by Santana... that classic beat... And the song "Infinite Sun"

Lyrics:
We are all one 'neath the Infinite Sun,
forever, forever, forever...
I will never forget you,
I will never forsake you,
forever, forever, forever...

Later that day I met some women and retired to their blanketed campsite for a back rub... One was named Terri and we became friends... Traded phone numbers... She decided to leave the Gathering Early because she wanted to go to the Bob Dylan and The Dead concert at RFK Stadium in Washington DC. I selected to not go because the Gathering was a better event... In my opinion...

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - 180 degree swirl



On July 4th at the main circle I found a bowl of Peyote unattended... It had a sign saying Sacrament, Help Yourself... and I did... For the entire day I ate small bits of Peyote... Just a small amount and then wait a half an hour, then another small amount and wait... after about 12 hours I had eaten a LOT and truly got the Mescaline High without barfing. The flavor of Peyote is quite bitter and many people find it to be so bad that they barf... I prefer the slow, steady approach.

I wandered over to a stage made out of hay bales and enjoyed the music. There was a cable slide built into a tree and I rode that often. How it worked: there was a steel cable leading from a platform about 15 feet up in a tree scratched taughtly to a stake in the ground... A person sat in a leather seat that was attached to the cable by a free spinning wheel and chain... Jump off the platform and ride the cable to the ground... whee! swing the seat back up the cable for the next rider... That was an amazing ride, home made by Rainbow Gatherers just for our own amusement... Thanks!!!

Then I started dancing with a lady that had coarse brown hair... we became friends and were kissing on the ground when she suggested we go on stage and sing for the rest of the tribe. By this time I was very high on Peyote. She gave me a choice of three songs to perform... the names of the first two songs were incomprehensible so I selected Kumbayah, the third choice. We did go onto the stage and sang for the rest of the tribe... by that time she selected to go to her campsite and we parted ways... I located my sleeping bag and found that another lady was in it... I told her to not worry or leave and we slept together like spoons...

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - love and hearts

My Autobiography: Growing Up in Los Gatos, California in the 1960s by Gregory Vanderlaan and Living in San Jose, Washington DC, Chico, Eureka and Orangevale, CA. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

In my reading about the Native American Church, one of the things that happens is that a person high on peyote meets Mescalito and is taught their song... then they perform it for the tribe... My experience was similar... I felt as if the woman with the coarse brown hair was Mescalita and we did perform my song...

MESCALITA (APACHE INDIAN GOD)

I MET A GIRL NAMED MESCALITA
WITH COARSE BROWN HAIR.
SHE TAUGHT ME A SONG IN A DIFFERENT KEY.
NOW I LIVE THERE.
MESCALITA, MI HIJITA.
YOU SHOWED ME HOW TO LIVE.
MY LIFE WAS FILLED WITH SORROW.
BUT NOW I CAN GIVE.
I USED TO SING IN THE KEY OF "E"
A KEY OF BLUES AND PAIN.
NOW I SING IN THE KEY OF "g"
AND I'LL NEVER GO BACK AGAIN.
MESCALITA,MI AMIGA, YOU SHOWED ME HOW TO DANCE.
MY LIFE WAS FILLED WITH SORROW.
BUT I'LL GIVE LOVE ONE MORE CHANCE.

READ MORE:
https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

My Chevy Luv Mikado Truck with a Heart Painted on the Hood... Like aa American Flag! gvan42
My Chevy Luv Mikado Truck with a Heart
Painted on the Hood...
Like an American Flag! gvan42

Psychedelic Poetry: This was written after attending a Grateful Dead concert in JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was sitting up above the crowd in the bleachers and could see the dancers move more enthusiastically during peaks of the music… less motion during gentle passages… as the dynamics of the improvisation ebbed and flowed, the dancers moved accordingly… like sea anemones moving in the currents of the ocean… I also mention the Spectrum in Philadelphia… It has many blinking advertisements for Atlantic city casinos in the area where refreshments were being served…


OUR MINDS HAVE BEEN FUSED INTO ONE SHIMMERING
COLONIAL ANIMAL…
FLOWING IN THE
CURRENTS OF THE MUSIC…
adrenaline, serotonin, synapses on fire !

IN THE SHADOWS,TORCHES FLICKER IN THE BREEZE.
THE ORACLE BEGINS TO SPEAK,
FEEL THE HEAT…
adrenaline, serotonin, synapses on fire!

WE DANCE OUTSIDE OF THE TRADITIONAL
REALM OF TIME AND SPACE.
THE CROWD ERUPTS IN OUTBURSTS OF FREE-FORM MOTION
AS THE INTENSITY OF THE JAM PEAKS
adrenaline, serotonin, synapses on fire!

MY BODY IS TRANSFORMED INTO A PINBALL AND
I RICCOCHET AROUND THE SPECTRUM
ARENA BOUNCING OFF THE FLASHING LIGHTS.
A CROWD OF DEADHEADS
SURROUND ME INTENT ON TELLING ME STUPID JOKES…
THEY JUST…know… THAT I WILL LAUGH…
adrenaline, serotonin, synapses on fire!

THANK YOU DR. ALBERT HOFMANN!



A Journey to the Rainbow Gathering in California 2004. Photographs and My Story... and Memories of The Gatherings in Idaho, Utah and Pennsylvania...

What IS the Rainbow Gathering? To me, it is Woodstock with amateur musicians and I’m in the band…

Thousands of people go backpacking for a couple of weeks… Every year during the end of June and the beginning of July… The location is different every year but it is always in a National Forest… It’s an intentional temporary village…

This is a description about my trip to The Rainbow Gathering in California 2004… I wrote this to help me remember…
Rainbow Gathering Photograph by Gregory Vanderlaan 2004 California

Thousands of People chant OM. This photo was snapped just before I decided it was time to put away the camera and experience the event… Yes, it’s important to remember to LIVE LIFE instead of DOCUMENTING LIFE.

READ MORE: 

 Eventually, I spent the night playing drums around a campfire there. They had fire dancers performing at night. They had torches doused with camp-fuel (white gas) that they spun around their heads. One performer accidentally set herself on fire and rolled around in the dirt to put it out. During breaks in their show, I did my LED dance of blue-green circles. Same dance as they did, but high tech. I got a positive reaction from the audience. “GO BLACK LIGHT MAN, GO !”
Rainbow Gathering Photograph by Gregory Vanderlaan 2004 California

I spent some time near the “CALM” medicine tent and drew a pen and pencil sketch of it. They provide general medic services for free.
Rainbow Gathering Photograph by Gregory Vanderlaan 2004 California
Photo of the CALM Medic tent…
Rainbow Gathering Photograph by Gregory Vanderlaan 2004 California

Rainbow Gathering Photograph by Gregory Vanderlaan 2004 California

LINKS TO MORE BLOG POSTS:

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Popular Posts

Popular Posts