This is, among other things, your information kit for The Big Party in May celebrating Life, Love and the fact we’re all still here, but also remembering those who are not. Stash it in your rucksack or your cell phone and keep it for further reference. Share it with your less fortunate friends, if you will. Our bandwidth is narrow and we need all the help we can get putting out the word. Early May in Gainesville is luxurious, the temperatures kind and the skies are not cloudy all day.
Despite one Richard Parker’s pleas to the contrary, this is indeed the last tango. The management is getting old and rickety, the customers less mobile and our doctors less tolerant of our drug intake. Sometimes the bands forget to show up or they absolutely refuse to play Light My Fire. Even though the admonition Don’t Take Your Snakes To Town, Will is tatooed on his chest, yesterday elderly William Thacker forgot and was arrested for illegal trafficking of varmints. Did somebody say “assisted living?”
But that will be then, this is now. Wake the town and tell the people the final installment of the Hippie Olympics is on the way. If you have any, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
‘Twas The Day Before Blissout
The natives were buzzing with nary a frown;
The reefer was stashed in the glove box with care
To welcome the visitors soon to be there.
While visions of ancient friends danced in their heads;
And she with her Afro and I in my shag
Dug through the closet to find a peace flag.
We knew that Wil Maring must just have barged in.
We raced to the porch in the blink of an eye
And heard Robert Bowlin make his old fiddle cry.
Now Cathy DeWitt and her five buckaroos,
Now the grand Couch Messiahs with a sackful of tunes.
Now the wild Chasing Rabbits, all gaily festooned.
As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly
So the guitars rang out and the mandolins, too,
And the banjos, the bass and the drums fairly flew.
The crowd was awash with both laughter and tears,
Old lovers embraced, lost friends reappeared,
Recalling the glories when last they were here.
Ishmael Schwartz got down on one knee
Moonbeam McGonigal took him to bed.
The sweet scent of cannabis flicked through the crowd.
So the old hippies rose and saluted their friends;
“We’ll all meet again,” they lied to each other,
Touched by the moment, sister and brother.
When, Where & Why
Location: Heartwood Soundstage, 619 South Main Street, Gainesville
Dates: May 1 & 2, 2026
Hours: May 1---7-9 p.m. (inside stage). May 2---Noon to 8 p.m. (outside)
Performers: May 1---Mike Boulware to open, followed by Wil Maring & Robert Bowlin
May 2---In order: Chasing Rabbits…Patchwork & Friends…Couch Messiahs…Nancy Luca Band…Uncle John’s Band
Closing: Auld Lang Syne by Don David and you
Tickets: May 1---$47.60….May 2---Free. If you have a Friday ticket, it is ALL ACCESS, and you don’t need another one for Saturday.
All performances will require a ticket from Heartwood, free or charged. The link is:
https://heartwoodsoundstage.com/shows/the-grand-finale-01-may
Disa & Data
While The Grand Finale is primarily a reunion for old Gainesvillians from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, everyone over 15 is welcome. Sorry, no pets. There will be food available from on-site restaurants and drink from Heartwood’s jaunty quaffing crew. We will have a doctor on the grounds in case you fall down and a minister for impromptu marriages (please tip your minister). If you become overwhelmed with emotion, Judi Cain will read you calming sonnets by William Wordsworth. If you are sad, Lily Van Halen will tickle your feet. If you are naked, we’ll sell you a lovely Finale t-shirt which will last you several decades for a piffling $30. Bring your own condoms.
Why We’re Going:
I am going to The Grand Finale because it is there, the Mount Everest of Reunions. I am going to The Grand Finale because I was at the Last Tango In Gainesville and it was one of the best days of my life. I am going to The Grand Finale because a Bill Killeen event never lets you down. At the Last Tango, I laughed, I cried, I was hypnotized with emotion. I was the last one hanging around the grounds, the Heartwood people had to ask me to leave so they could close up. I went out and sat in my car for a half-hour, gobsmacked by the events and emotions of the day. You think you’re going to a reunion and you wind up in an unreal cosmic circus with acrobats, clowns and dancing bears. I suppose I was more affected than many because I’d been struggling with a long-time relationship and was trying to find my way. And I did, thanks to what greeted me that priceless day in Gainesville.---Arthur King, Charlotte, N.C.
I guess I have become cynical in my old age because I don’t get out and visit as much as I used to. These days you have to skirt touchy political issues, contend with unreliable air travel and hope to God you can find a place to park somewhere near your destination. So call me a grouch if you like but I’ll counter with this; I AM going to The Grand Finale in Gainesville on May 1 and 2. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. You see, I was one of the lucky ones who took a chance on the Last Tango in Gainesville and that was like an impossible dream and I know I’ll never see its equal. But I’ll be satisfied with anything close, and I see Nancy Luca and Cathy DeWitt are back again, so that’s a good start. What I”m really going for is the ambiance of the crowd, the incredible good feelings generated in that atmosphere, the Love Potion Number 9. See you soon. I’ll be the one in the tie-dyed skirt, haha.---Betty LaMont, Scottsdale, Arizona
I’ll be there if they’ll have me. You see, I don’t smoke dope any more (bad lungs), incense makes me wheeze and I discovered I’m allergic to patchouli oil. I used to play music myself but now I have a tiny tremor than makes me shy away from any venue that is not my bedroom. Despite all that, I have not lost my interest in the ladies, especially ladies like Myra who I met at The Last Tango in ‘22. We had a whomping big day at the Tango but Myra was still attached, so that was that. I’m hoping that the attachment might have frayed by now or that there is a second Myra in the woodwork looking for fun in all the wrong places.---Teddy Sapienza, Naples, Fla.
I am a person who has always valued community, sisterhood, multiple friendships. I probably would have been a good candidate for commune life, but at the ones I visited egos always got in the way. I had a small family, but valued and stayed in close touch with all my family members as long as they were alive. Incomprehensibly, I now find myself alone in a small city in conservative Iowa, devoid of local friends and amicable neighbors. I did not go to The Last Tango because my husband’s health was failing (he’s since passed), but you can bet your life I’ll be at The Grand Finale. I went to school for two years in Gainesville and lived there another four years and I recognize a lot of names in the Finale bulletins and comments. I have a feeling there are a LOT of people in the same boat as I find myself and an event like this is a Godsend for us. See you all at the party!---Mary Callahan, Davenport, Iowa
Oh, but now old friends, they’re acting strange. They shake their heads, tell me I’ve changed. Well, something’s lost, but something’s gained in living every day.
I used to think you could move almost anywhere and make friends, watch sunset on a prairie, find a place on every corner to listen to music, ally yourself with idealists to fight for a worthy cause. Not so. Since leaving Gainesville, I have lived in half a dozen okay places with all the frills an outsider might be impressed by, safe little cities and towns with reasonable people and no outstanding deficits. The trouble is, every one of them lacks soul, that indescribable mist that hangs over a place and gives it a unique style, a singular camaraderie of spirit and ethics and appreciation of the arts. They say you can’t go home again, but I’m going to try it on May 1 and 2 to see if the phantom vibe is still there, waiting for me at a table outside Lillian’s. See you at The Grand Finale!---Della Foster, New Braunfels, Texas
See you soon, Della. As the event shirts says, “here comes the sun.”
That’s all, folks….
