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Happy hippie dreams in Laguna Woods

July 9, 2023

A trio in neo-hippie garb with tie-dye and fringe shimmied to the music, laughing and taking selfies.

One of them was Donna Valenti, who said she was a hippie back in the day but never made it to Woodstock, that iconic 1969 music festival in upstate New York.

“I actually lived in a cave in Maui for a while. All I wanted from life was to spread sunshine and make people happy,” she recalled of her time in 1973.

Valenti and her friends Bonnie Lodes and Nancy Waldowski were reinventing the ’60s at Laguna Woodstock, put on by the Laguna Woods Boomers Club on June 24 at Clubhouse 2.

The much anticipated annual party once again drew a joyous crowd – more than 1,000 by one estimate – dressed in hippie-inspired clothes, yards of hair in at least 40 shades of gray and, as a reminder that this is 2023 and not 1969, one set of long hot pink tresses.

People dance to the music of the Tricia Freeman Band during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on June 24, 2023. People dressed in their best 1960s and 70s attire, danced to the live music and picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Tricia Freeman of the Tricia Freeman Band sings during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Linda Jones, left, takes a selfie as a group of friends pose in their 1960’s and 70’s attire at the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Bands played as people picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A group of friends dressed in their 1960’s and 70’s attire play with bubbles during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Bands played as people picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Bonnie and Howard Fox show off their 1970’s attire during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Bands played as people picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A sign hangs on a pop-up shade at the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Bands played as people picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Monica Courtney wears her festive glasses during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. People dressed in their best 1960’s and 70’s attire, danced to the live music and picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Alan Weiner, left, takes a photo of CC Crabtree posing in a cutout of a bus at the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Bands played as people picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A colorful peace sign decorates the back of a vest at the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Susie Swain has fun with bubbles at the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. People dressed in their best 1960’s and 70’s attire, danced to the live music and picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Cindy Pham, left, Angela Gregory, center, and Joyce Richards, right, pose at their space on the lawn during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. People dressed in their best 1960’s and 70’s attire, danced to the live music and picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Tricia Freeman Band plays during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. People dressed in their best 1960’s and 70’s attire, danced to the live music and picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Wearing their 1960’s and 70’s attire, friends dance to the live music of the Tricia Freeman Band during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Wearing their 1960’s and 70’s attire, people listen to and dance to the live music of the Tricia Freeman Band during the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Darlene Marvin, left, Susie Swain, center, and Susan Schneider, right, have fun with the bubbles at the annual Laguna Woodstock music festival held at Clubhouse 2 in Laguna Woods on Saturday, June 24, 2023. People dressed in their best 1960’s and 70’s attire, danced to the live music and picnicked on the lawn during the annual event. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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A canopy city had sprung up on the lawn in front of the clubhouse, filled with revelers enjoying food, drink and whatever else they felt like consuming. Vendors selling tie-dye clothing, fancy soaps, jewelry, candles and more set up shop inside the building, and food booths were out back.

On the front patio, partygoers rocked to the music of five bands over nearly eight hours, dancing to favorite songs from the ’60s and ’70s.

Elliot and Sharon Freedman had been to at least 12 Laguna Woodstocks, they said.

A music aficionado, Elliot Freedman said he’s been to more than 1,000 concerts since high school. He didn’t make it to the original Woodstock, he said, but he went to that other iconic 1969 festival, the one in California.

“I was at Altamont for the Rolling Stones concert. Grace Slick was singing when those shots were fired,” he recalled, his voice drifting off into the surrounding din.

Steven Hall almost made it to Woodstock in ’69, he said, but he faced time restrictions imposed by the Army. He was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, after serving in Vietnam from 1967-68.

“My buddies and I had heard about Woodstock and wanted to go, but we had to work,” he recalled. “We figured that even if we left on Saturday, we couldn’t be back by Monday and would have been considered AWOL.”

But Hall has made up for having missed out. “This is my sixth or seventh Woodstock in the Village. I like the nostalgia, and this is a gathering of a tribe – everyone is in a good mood.”

Nadine Asner did make it to the real deal. Her parents had a vacation home in the Catskills, not too far from Max Yasgur’s farm where the 1969 festival was held, so the high schooler was allowed to go.

“We were socially conscious then – that whole era galvanized a generation,” Asner said. “Over that weekend in Woodstock, I saw more than I had ever seen in my life. When the rains came, everyone helped everyone out. People shared everything – food, drugs, there were babies born. Everything had a happy spirit.

“My only regret was getting there and missing Jimi Hendrix.”

But at Laguna Woodstock, Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” brought the rockers to the dance floor. Songs by Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Who – all of whom played at the original Woodstock – filled the air for a party fueled by nostalgia and filled with good vibes.

Perhaps Hal and Shari Horne summed up the day best.

“I feel like I woke up in a twilight zone,” Shari Horne said. “Like I had fallen asleep in 1969, and when I woke up, everyone was much older.”

Orange County Register

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Happy hippie dreams in Laguna Woods

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