Happy Birthday, Jerry

If all those medicinal marijuana places are running low in supplies this weekend, it's because this Sunday, the 7th, is Jerry Day. Uh, that being Jerry Garcia, of course, the man who inspired a thousand bong hits. You gotta love a city that has a day in honor of someone who's nickname was Captain Trips, and not because he went on a lot of vacations. In his honor, there will be a concert at the recently named Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in MacLaren Park. The bands playing, include Mystery Cats, Grapefruit Ed (hah!), Harmony Grits, and Seth Augustus and there will be arts and crafts booths and food (we're guessing there'll be lots of veggie organic tofu burritos there). The event will be free so everyone will have a miracle ticket.

This is the third year of the event and is celebrated in honor of Jerry's birthday, which was August 1st. Why the party in the Excelsior is because it's where Jerry grew up and as a child dreamed of one day becoming a famous musician, counter cultural figure, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor. To help honor him, a movement is afoot to declare the home where he lived with his grandmother, on 87 Harrington Street, to be a landmark and marked with a plaque. For those wanting to read what it was like to be a young Jerry, a book he wrote about his experiences growing up there, Harrington Street, was published after his death.

And no, we've never been to a Dead show. Ever! And if we did, it was only a phase! We swear! We're over it now!