Historical Marker Unveiling to Honor The Birth Of Woodstock Festival The 1968 Miami Pop Festival

June 18, 2012 - PRLog -- Gulfstream Park in co-operation with OLDROCKPHOTO.com announces the dedication and unveiling of a historical marker by Michael Lang and Ric O’Barry on the Fourth of July, 2012. Michael and Ric were the producers of the first Miami Pop Festival on May 18th and 19th of 1968 along with Barry Taran, Marshall Brevitz, James McBarren with Special Thanks to Stan Goldstein .This festival was also the very first in the State of Florida. The marker will honor Gulfstream Park as well as Michael Lang and Ric O’Barry, because THIS IS WHERE THE SEEDS FOR WOODSTOCK WERE SOWN. This will be an all day celebration with vendors selling everything from  T-Shirts, books, photos, and posters related to the original festival. Michael Lang and Ric O’Barry will do a meet and greet with the public for about an hour, also attending presentation and signing his book "A Brothers Story"  will be Leon Hendrix. A live band  performing 8-11 PM will play some songs that were played at the 1968 festival, and the historical marker unveiling ceremony featuring Michael Lang and Ric O’Barry will be followed by a giant fireworks display. This will be an IMPORTANT day in the History of ROCK, as well as the 44th anniversary of the Miami Pop Festival.
    The original Festival in 1968 featured such acts as The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Blue Cheer, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of invention, Chuck Berry backed by NRBQ, John Lee Hooker, and Jimi Hendrix and the Experience, Mitch Mitchell on Drums, and Noel Redding on Bass. This was not a sleep over festival, and the second day it rained so hard that no electric bands could play, leading Jimi Hendrix to write, “Rainy Day, Dream Away”. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown wanted to play on the second day, even in the rain, but the only performer on the second day was John Lee Hooker, an acoustic act.
    Photographer, Ken Davidoff was at the original Miami Pop Festival in 1968, and photographed this event as a self assignment. Four of his photographs are in Michael Lang’s book “The Road to Woodstock”. Producer Jack Connell, and Ken are working on a documentary about the festival based on Ken’s photos. They are the ones who came up with the idea of a historical marker, and the co-organizers of the unveiling ceremony.
    There will be a Press Conference for official media only, with Michael Lang, Ric O’Barry, a representative from Gulfstream Park, along with the co producers, Jack Connell and Ken Davidoff, of OLDROCKPHOTO. This will happen just before the unveiling. It will last approx 30-45 min.
The Gates will open at 4pm, Michael and Ric will be signing books from 8-9pm, The press conference will be at 7pm, no longer than 20 min. 7:30 pm will be the presentation/unveiling,  followed by fireworks.
CONTACT,     David Joseph, Gulfstream Racetrack PR director 954-673-6976