Summer of Love 50th Anniversary

Break out your bell bottoms and come join the party celebrating the Summer of Love at our FREE July 8 event, 2-5 p.m., at the Museum of Ventura County.

Groove to the music of the ’60s with a live DJ, cruise the VW car show, and experience the significance of the times through the community-based “Tune in, Turn On, Drop Out” pop-up exhibit featuring memorabilia from across Ventura County, including a special collection of cubbies curated by local individuals, each expressing a unique experience of the era. It’s a fun time for all with kid-friendly crafts, tie-dye T-shirt station, food trucks and vendors.

The cubbies in the exhibit are 14 inches wide by 12 inches high and 8 inches deep. Community curators can explore these themes: Peace, Love, Freedom; social movements such as Anti-war, Environmental, Free Speech, Black Power, Women’s Movement, Gay Rights, Sexual Revolution, Farm Workers, Student Movement, etc; anti-establishment attitudes; hippies and flower children; psychedelia; 1967 bands and music; pop art; fiber art incorporating tie-dye, macramé, embroidery or beading; poster art; and artwork utilizing fonts popular in that era. Help us recreate and celebrate the amazing revolution that changed the world forever.

There are 25 cubbies and they are available on a first come, first serve basis. To curate a cubby, please email Anna Bermudez, Curator of Collections and Exhibits at: abermudez@venturamuseum.org.

Also opening July 8 is the exhibit, “Coping Mechanism: Skateboarding in Ventura County.” Museum-goers of all ages will enjoy learning about our local influence on the evolution of this thrilling sport.

The second exhibit, “Suddenly That Summer: Charles Manson and the Crime of the Century,” details two sets of grisly murders that happened two years after the Summer of Love, just a short distance away in Los Angeles. The montage of photographs and newspaper accounts tracks the events that led up to the Tate-LaBianca slayings at the hands of the Manson Family on Aug. 9 and 10, 1969, law enforcement’s extensive search for the culprits, as well as the family’s connection to Ventura County. Regular museum admission rates apply.

And the fun continues in August:

August 6: Free First Sunday Flower Power

Aug. 10: Bringing the Heat: Legendary drummer, Fito de la Parra, from the band, Canned Heat, is featured speaker for this month’s “Speaking Of” lecture series, 7–9 p.m. De la Parra shares highlights from his life in rock ‘n roll, from his start as a house drummer at the Tom Cat Club in Torrance to joining the up-and-coming blues band Canned Heat, known for a number of songs that became anthems for the Woodstock generation. Admission is FREE/members, $5/non-members. No-host bar available.

Aug. 17: Ventura County Poet Laureate, Phil Taggert, will perform readings from the works of writer Charles Bukowski, at a special showing of “Born Into This,” the documentary chronicling the life of Bukowski, who is as well known for his drinking binges as for his poetry and prose. The event is from 6:30-9 p.m. Admission is FREE/members, $5/non-members. No-host bar available.

August 26: Attention Deadheads! Enjoy a blast from the past as Grateful Dead Tribute Band Cubensis recreates the era’s unique and eclectic styles of rock, psychedelia and experimental music. Doors open at 4 p.m. The concert runs from 5-8 p.m. Admission is $15/members, $20/non-members. No-host bar available.

August Appreciation Weekends:
August 6: Free First Sunday
August 12-13: Free admission to Health Care Workers
August 26-27: Free admission if you live in the 93036 zip code

Visit venturamuseum.org for a full schedule of events and exhibits