A rented house a on a large property in Soquel called "The Spread" was the location of what became known as the very first "Acid Test." Today, the Silver Spur restaurant sits kitty corner to the long gone Spread. This took place in November of 1965. Last week, this event and what transpired after was celebrated 50 years later by some of the original participants. Geoffrey Dunn wrote a Good times
cover story that is well worth reading for anyone wanting to dive in a little deeper. Here are my photos from a fine evening in Felton celebrating the birth of the West Coast psychedelic counterculture.
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Original Prankster Ken Babbs |
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Carolyn Garcia aka Mountain Girl |
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Carolyn with daughters Sunshine & Annabelle |
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Annabelle Garcia |
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Sunshine Kesey |
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Julius Karpen |
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Denise Kaufman aka Mary Microgram, Lee Quarnstrom, Julius Karpen and famaily |
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Denise & Roy Sebern |
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Roy Sebern |
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with even host John Leopold |
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George Walker, Denise, Roy, Babbs, author Geoffrey Dunn, Jami Cassady and John Leopold |
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Happy 80th to Julius! |
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Neal Cassady's daughter Jami |
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Merry Pranksters ~ left to right: Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Garcia, Jami Cassady, Lee Quarnstrom, Roy Sebern, Julius Karpen,George Walker, Denise Kaufman, Linda Breen and Ken Babbs |
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Santa Cruz County Supervisor & event host John Leopold |
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Slugs & Roses |
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UCSC Grateful Dead Archive curator Nicholas Meriwether |
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George Walker |
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Roy Sebern |
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George flipping Neal Cassady's hammer and wearing his original Acid Test pants! |
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presenting Neal's hammer to daughter Jami Cassady |
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Soquel Ave bus stop unveling |