Exhibit / December 6, 2016
Object Name: Advertisement for the 3rd Festival for Mind Body Spirit
Maker and Year: Unknown, 1979
Object Type: Print advertisement
Description: (Richard McKenna)
This advertisement for the 3rd Festival for Mind Body Spirit appeared in Alpha magazine (subtitled “Probes the Paranormal”) in 1979. Its promise of “Psychic phenomena, UFO’s [sic], Earth Mysteries and more” was a slight shift in emphasis from the event’s official poster, which touted astrology, Earth mysteries, health & healing, yoga, dance, natural living, sports, crafts, and a “rainbow dome” featuring ambient music specially recorded for the event by Steve Hillage. The festival was founded in 1977 by Graham Wilson, a “new consciousness entrepreneur,” and Terry Ellis (possibly the same Terry Ellis whose tenure as head of London’s “child-centred” William Tyndale Junior School caused a national scandal that informed subsequent UK education policy) with the aim of promoting the relationship between religion, personal growth, the paranormal, spirituality, natural healing, and consciousness. The festival is still active today, albeit under different management.
The venue—the London Olympia, with a capacity of 4,000-10,000 people—had been a temporary civil prison camp for German nationals during the First World War and a civilian internment camp during the Second, as well as home to the first British Electronic Computer Exhibition in 1958.
Hey, the graphic from the Pioneer plaque is on that poster above the convention center! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque
Nice. Public domain, 1970s style. Why am I not surprised that you caught that?
Because while other kids were idolizing athletes and actors and musicians, I was writing to Carl Sagan? 🙂
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I went then – and met Steve Hillage in the dome!
The 3rd MBS Festival was the most successful at Olympia but went on to greater success at the RHH.
Having founded the show in 1977 I sold it after 25 years in 2001.
The designer of the 1979 poster was the late Rob Thomas.