Fantasy Fair Festival

June 10 – 11, 1967

Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Marin County, California

For the benefit of the Hunter’s Point Child Care Center

The Sons of Champlin, “Freedom” Recorded Live: 8/16/1968, San Francisco, CA

Whether the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 was the greatest festival ever held is open to debate. Perhaps.

Whether it was the most important festival ever held?

Likely.

Woodstock not the first

It certainly wasn’t the first rock festival. 

Indoor multi-day rock events began in the 50s, but it wasn’t until the late 60s that the multi-day outdoor rock festival, featuring more than just a series short sets by musicians playing their big hits, happened.

Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival

Usually the Monterey International Pop Music Festival gets the nod for being the first of the later type, but the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival occurred a week before. The line-up for the KFRC-sponsored event looks pretty good, too.

Day 1 (Saturday 10 June) 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 Sparrow Every Mother’s Son Kaleidoscope The Chocolate Watchband The Mojo Men The Merry-Go-Round

Day 2 (Sunday 11 June) Sons of Champlin 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 The 5th Dimension The Lamp of Childhood The Mystery Trend Penny Nichols The Merry-Go-Round New Salvation Army Band

While I will admit ignorance of many of the names themselves and of those bands whose names I do recognize that I am not familiar with any of their particular songs of their

A few are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’ve underlined those who would play at Woodstock.

Fantasy Fair Festival

Little documentation

Unfortunately for the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival (and like so many other festivals), no worthwhile recordings of the music or the event apparently exist. There is a silent blurry hand-held camera film of the Doors performing (whose name does not appear on the poster), but little else.

There is an interesting connection between the Fantasy Fair and Woodstock. Mel Lawrence was Fantasy’s co-producer and he became Woodstock’s operation manager.

Charitable festival

You will also have noticed that the event was for the benefit of the Hunter’s Point Child Care Center, thus preceding George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s Concert for Bangladesh by four years.

The Hells Angels “volunteered” to be security and with some reluctance the organizers approved their “request.” Fortunately, their presence worked out OK and without any incident. You can see some of their bikes parked in the following picture:

Here is a link to a 2014 Rolling Stone magazine article on the event. RS interviewed many of the attendees, performers, and organizers

Drew Willis

Drew Willis via Facebook:  I still have the flyer, map, that was given out. Lists all of the performers with a layout of the surrounding attractions up there on Tam.

Fantasy Fair Festival