By Bruce B. Brugmann

Literally, as I was polishing up my blog for tonight's Human Be-In,
I got a call from Michael Bowen, a key organizer with Allen Cohen of the original Human Be-In on January 14, l967.
He is now living in a house ten minutes out of Stockholm, Sweden.

Bowen had lots to say about the Be-In and the era but he noted there was one key piece of information that has not been published and remains unknown: the issue of how the hippie group got a permit to put on the event in Golden Gate Park. He told me the story, yet another San Francisco classic, and I asked him to write it up for me and send it to me in time for the event tonight. The teaser: the permit read a "Birthday Party for Mel Belli and friends on the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park."
Here's Bowen's account:

Getting the "Human Be-in" permit.

The original "Human Be-in."

The name.

The poster.