Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival |
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Festival ad with scheduled performers
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| Genre | Pop music, Rock music |
| Dates | June 10–11, 1967 |
| Location(s) | Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Marin County, California |
| Years active | 1967 |
| Founded by | KFRC 610 / Tom Rounds |
The Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival was a big music event. It happened on June 10 and 11, 1967. The festival took place at the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Marin County, California. This outdoor theater is high up on Mount Tamalpais.
About 20,000 tickets were sold for the festival. But many more people, maybe up to 40,000, actually came to the two-day concert! This festival was one of the first big events of the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It was inspired by the popular Renaissance Pleasure Faire. The Fantasy Fair helped create the idea for large outdoor rock music events, which we now call rock festivals.
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What Was the Festival Like?
The festival organizers arranged school buses to take people and musicians up the mountain. The main road was closed to cars. If you missed the bus, you could sometimes get a ride on a motorcycle!
Tickets to the festival cost only $2.00. All the money raised went to the Hunters Point Child Care Center in San Francisco. The festival was first planned for June 3 and 4. But bad weather made them delay it for one week. Some bands couldn't play on the new dates.
The radio station KFRC 610 helped organize the event. This station was very popular in San Francisco. Its program director, Tom Rounds, helped bring together many famous musicians.
Who Performed at the Festival?
Many popular bands played at the Fantasy Fair. These included Canned Heat, Dionne Warwick, The Seeds, Country Joe and the Fish, and Jefferson Airplane. The Byrds also played with Hugh Masekela on trumpet.
It was also The Doors' first really big show. Their song "Light My Fire" was becoming a huge hit at the time.
Art and Atmosphere
An artist named Stanley Mouse designed one of the posters for the event. He was famous for his concert posters.
People parked their cars in different lots in Mill Valley. Then, buses took them up the mountain. When they arrived, a giant Buddha balloon greeted them! The buses were jokingly called "Trans-Love Bus Lines." This name came from a line in a song by Donovan.
There were two stages for performances. Many vendors sold posters, crafts, and food from booths. These booths were set up in the woods around the amphitheater. The festival also had a large dome covered in black plastic. Inside, there was a cool light and sound show.
People who wrote about the festival said it was very safe. There were no fights or problems. At the end of each day, people put their trash in or near garbage cans. The crowd left Mount Tamalpais clean, just as they had found it.
Why Was This Festival Important?
This festival was very important for music history. Some people say it was the first time that members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club helped with security. They were not officially hired, but they did help keep order.
The Fantasy Fair showed a big change in music for young people in the Bay Area. It was a time when the hippie culture really grew. Many of the bands that played were part of the psychedelic rock scene.
The Monterey International Pop Festival is often remembered as the most important event of the 1967 Summer of Love. However, the KFRC Festival happened one week before Monterey. Because of this, the Fantasy Fair is considered to be America's — and maybe the world's — first true rock festival.
Performances
Saturday, June 10
- The Charlatans
- Mount Rushmore
- Rodger Collins
- Dionne Warwick
- The Doors
- The Lamp of Childhood
- Canned Heat
- Jim Kweskin Jug Band
- Spanky and Our Gang
- Blackburn & Snow
- The Sparrows
- Every Mother's Son
- Kaleidoscope
- The Chocolate Watchband
- The Mojo Men
- The Merry-Go-Round
Sunday, June 11
- Jefferson Airplane
- The Byrds w/ Hugh Masekela
- P. F. Sloan
- Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
- The Seeds
- The Grass Roots
- The Loading Zone
- Tim Buckley
- Every Mother's Son
- Steve Miller Blues Band
- Country Joe and the Fish
- Sons of Champlin
- The 5th Dimension
- The Lamp of Childhood
- The Mystery Trend
- Penny Nichols
- The Merry-Go-Round
- New Salvation Army Band
