The massive event drew national media attention. In turn, the media attention drew thousands of hippies from around the country to the streets of San Francisco. When school let out for the spring break of 1967, students began flocking to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The local government, in an attempt to warn hippies to stay away from the city, unintentionally brought even more attention to the hippie haven. Soon, local residents responded by taking action to form the Council of the Summer of Love, establishing a name for the phenomenon. The Council was comprised of members of The Family Dog, The Straight Theatre, The Diggers, The San Francisco Oracle, and more locals, who anticipated problems stemming from the massive influx of people and hoped to help alleviate them. The Council established housing, sanitation, music and arts events, a free clinic for medical treatment and even a free store providing basic needs for the neighborhood visitors.
Throughout the summer, drugs ran rampant through the neighborhood. LSD was commonly used, advocated by the likes of Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey, in addition to marijuana, frequently advocated by the more organic-loving hippies for its natural high.
Funeral flyer | © Diggers/Switchboard
As drug-ridden people crowded into the neighborhood, the Haight-Ashbury began to deteriorate. The district became overcrowded, the streets filled with the hungry and the homeless, and crime rates soared. By the end of the summer, many people left to return to their schooling, bringing the Summer of Love out of its prime. In the wake of the event, those left in the neighborhood staged a mock funeral to commemorate the summer. The funeral, held on October 6, 1967, the funeral was titled ‘The Death of the Hippie.’
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Source link : https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/articles/what-was-san-franciscos-summer-of-love
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Publish date : 2016-09-02 03:00:00
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