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{{Short description|Peaceful public gathering}}
{{For|the album|Love-In}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2008}}
A '''love-in''' is a peaceful public gathering focused on [[meditation]], [[love]], [[music]], [[human sexual behavior|sex]] and/or use of [[recreational drug]]s. The term was coined by Los Angeles radio comedian [[Peter Bergman (comedian)|Peter Bergman]], creator of comedy group [[The Firesign Theater]], who also hosted the first such event on [[List of dates for Easter|Easter]], 26 March 1967 in [[Elysian Park]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lofty.com/products/rare-elysian-park-love-in-poster-1-18p4aa|title=Rare Elysian Park Love-In Poster|website=Lofty Marketplace}}</ref>

[[File:Love In at Mardi Gras Fountain New Orleans 1969 poster.png|thumb|Poster for a Love-In in [[New Orleans]], 1969]]

== The term ==
The term '''love-in''' has been interpreted in varying manners, but is often connected to [[civil disobedience|protest]]ing local, social or [[Environmental movement|environmental]] issues.<ref>
[http://www.bookoflife.org/history/usa/GUS06.htm Book of Life] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103001341/http://bookoflife.org/history/usa/GUS06.htm |date=2017-01-03 }} reference to early love-ins</ref><ref>A [[Houston]]-area "[http://ultimateheights.com/stories/236393-love-in-protest-today-seeks-to-save-love-elementary Love In] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312100328/http://ultimateheights.com/stories/236393-love-in-protest-today-seeks-to-save-love-elementary |date=2011-03-12 }}" -- a flash mob gathering to save Love Elementary School from being shut down, in March 2011.</ref> Such protests were often held in opposition to the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/qt/v/19670505a.html |title=Newsreel |publisher=History.sandiego.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-09-01}}</ref> As such, love-ins are largely considered a staple of the 1960s [[hippie]] [[counterculture]].

More recently the term is occasionally used figuratively to describe a situation in which people shower praise on one another in excess.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/love-in | title=Meaning of "love-in" in English | publisher=Cambridge University Press | work=[[Cambridge English Dictionary]]: [[Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus]] | accessdate=September 10, 2019}}</ref>

== Background ==
The First ''Love-in'' was preceded by the ''Heavenly Happening'', at midnight, on November 16, 1966, on the [[Sheep Meadow]] in [[Central Park]], organized by [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|New York Parks Commissioner]], [[Thomas Hoving]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Warsh |first1=Marie |title=Happenings: Art, Play, and Urban Revitalization in 1960s Central Park |url=https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/happenings-art-play-and-urban-revitalization-in-1960s-central-park |website=The Gotham Center for New York City History |date=21 February 2019 |access-date=7 December 2021}}</ref> 

==January 1967 Human Be-In==
The [[Human Be-In]] at the [[Polo Fields]] in [[San Francisco]]'s [[Golden Gate Park]] on January&nbsp;14,&nbsp;1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/love/program/love_02_wm_lo.html|title=American Experience Summer of Love|publisher=PBS|access-date=2017-08-31|archive-date=2015-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154214/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/love/program/love_02_wm_lo.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldberg |first1=Danny |title=All the Human Be-In Was Saying 50 Years Ago, Was Give Peace a Chance |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/all-the-human-be-in-was-saying-50-years-ago-was-give-peace-a-chance/ |website=[[The Nation]] |access-date=12 January 2021 |date=13 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Palmer |first1=Steven |title=The Human Be-In Teach-In |url=http://oralhistory.columbia.edu/human-be-in |website=Oral History Masters of Arts |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=12 January 2021}}</ref>

== First Love-in on Easter in Elysian Park ==
The First ''Love-in'' started before dawn.<ref name="laist">{{cite web |title=The Elysian Park Love-In Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary This Sunday |url=https://laist.com/news/elysian-park-love-in-50 |website=[[LAist]] |access-date=7 December 2021 |language=en |date=14 April 2017}}</ref> The ''[[Los Angeles Free Press]]'' promoted the event.<ref name="laist"/> 15,000 people<ref>
*https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e7tQs0vAAu0
*https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-e5iUK1tjP0
</ref> crowded in a natural amphitheater in Elysian Park, and listened to the [[psychedelic rock]] bands [[Strawberry Alarm Clock]], [[The Peanut Butter Conspiracy]], [[Clear Light]], and the [[Flamin' Groovies]].<ref name="amontheradio">{{cite web |title=Elysian Park Love-in, March 26, 1967 |url=https://www.amontheradio.com/2017/01/elysian-park-love-in-march-26-1967.html |website=am on the radio |access-date=7 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Elysian Park Love-In Los Angeles 1967 Gary Grimshaw AOR 3.53 Event Poster |url=https://concertposterauction.com/Listing/Details/429750/Elysian-Park-LoveIn-Los-Angeles-1967-Gary-Grimshaw-AOR-353-Event-Poster |website=Concert Poster Auction |access-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023061810/https://concertposterauction.com/Listing/Details/429750/Elysian-Park-LoveIn-Los-Angeles-1967-Gary-Grimshaw-AOR-353-Event-Poster |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |quote=Original 1st printing 17&3/8 x 22&3/8" concert/event poster for the 3/26/1967 Easter Sunday Love-In, an all-day happening held at Elysian Park in Los Angeles, CA......... by Gary Grimshaw, image is featured in the Art of Rock book on page 270 (plate 3.53). |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="gettyimages-1158432091">{{cite web |last1=Magnuson |first1=Sulfiati |title=This first Love-In for L.A. held in Griffith Park's Elysian Field on Easter Sunday, 1967 |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-first-love-in-for-l-a-held-in-griffith-parks-elysian-news-photo/1158432091 |website=Getty Images |date=26 June 2019 |access-date=7 December 2021 |language=en-us |quote=It wasn't just self-identified hippies who attended, but bikers, the "straight" ones, the curious ones, singles and families, and self-proclaimed clans ("families" created by choice) flying home-made banners. And, yes, many were high, openly flaunting the laws. at the 1st Elysian Park Love-In on March 26, 1967 in Los Angeles, California}}</ref>

== 1967 New York Easter Be-in ==
The New York Easter 1967<ref>{{cite news |last1=Holson |first1=Laura M. |title=When a 'Be In' in Central Park Was Front-Page News |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/style/central-park-be-in-history.html |access-date=7 December 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=25 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37yTkaZM_u4 | title=BE-IN - 1967 - Central Park, New York - the Lost Ektachrome Footage - Easter Sunday | website=[[YouTube]] | date=25 August 2015 }}</ref> be-in was organized by [[Jim Fouratt]], an actor; Paul Williams, editor of ''[[Crawdaddy!]]'' magazine; Susan Hartnett, head of the [[Experiments in Art and Technology]] organization; and Chilean poet and playwright Claudio Badal.<ref name="VoiceEaster">{{cite web | url = https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/02/05/the-1967-central-park-be-in-a-medieval-pageant/ | title = Central Park Rite is Medieval Pageant | first = Don | last = McNeil | author-link = | publisher = Village Voice | date = March 30, 1967}}</ref>

==1967 Cambridge Common Concerts==
Founded in 1967 at Harvard Square by J. Robert “Bob” Gordon, it recurred for nearly eight years, until 1975.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mmone.org/cambridge-common-concerts/ | title=Cambridge Common Concerts | date=29 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ce3uDtbOJg | title=1967 Stoned Hippies Tell All to a Film Crew. Early Reality TV | website=[[YouTube]] | date=5 July 2023 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Central Park be-in]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* Sulfiati Magnuson. (1967) [https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/Elysian-Park-Love-In-1967-Sulfiati-Magnuson Elysian Park Love-In] - [[Getty Images]]
* [[Michael Ochs]]. (1967) [https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/Elysian-Park-Love-In-1967-Michael-Ochs Elysian Park Love-In] - [[Getty Images]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love-In}}
[[Category:Hippie movement]]
[[Category:Anti-war movement]]
[[Category:Civil disobedience]]
[[Category:Counterculture of the 1960s]]
[[Category:Drug culture]]
[[Category:Environmental movements]]
[[Category:Human sexuality]]
[[Category:Love]]
[[Category:Meditation]]
[[Category:Nonviolence]]
[[Category:Nonviolent resistance movements]]
[[Category:Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Peace]]
[[Category:Protest tactics]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1967]]
[[Category:Sexology]]

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