Hippie icon Wavy Gravy holds birthday party to benefit two causes
Wavy Gravy at Woodstock 99 (Photo by Henry Diltz/Corbis via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - He's a hippie icon, a former ice cream flavor and a man whose foundation has provided eye care to over 50 million people - and the public is invited to his birthday party in San Francisco Sunday night.
Wavy Gravy (real name Hugh Romney) is turning 87, and he's having a birthday party and fundraiser to benefit the Seva Foundation and Camp Winnarainbow at the Herbst Theatre.
The Seva Foundation is a Berkeley nonprofit Wavy Gravy co-founded that works to restore and preserve sight among underserved communities. Camp Winnarainbow is a nonprofit circus and performing arts camp in Laytonville, California.
"Wavy Gravy is affectionately called the clown prince," said Kate Moynihan, executive director of Seva Foundation. "Wavy and his wife Jah Romney, and Seva Foundation co-founder Larry Brilliant and his wife Girija toured India and Nepal in a bus long ago, and they came home to the States wanting to do something to help people."
American entertainer and peace activist, Wavy Gravy poses for a portrait during a Benefit for the Vietnam Film Festival on February 5, 1987 at Wolfgang's in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Randy Bachman/Getty Images)
And that's how the Seva Foundation was born.
Steve Earle, Maria Muldaur, David Nelson and Pete Sears are among the host of musicians performing at the party, along with undisclosed surprise guests.
Presumably the birthday boy, who was the emcee at the Woodstock music festival in 1969 and lives in Berkeley (where else?) and Laytonville, will wander about during the event doing his inimitable schtick.
He has been known to entertain by blowing bubbles at public events; however, "we have COVID protocols that prohibit such behavior," Moynihan said.
Still, "There will be red noses," she added. The remark was a reference to the fact that in addition to his other activities, Wavy often performs as a jester. Seva means "selfless service" in Sanskrit, Moynihan said.
Wavy Gravy poses during Laguna Seca Daze at Laguna Seca Racetrack on May 25, 1996 in Monterey, California. (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Since 1978, the nonprofit has worked with local communities in more than 20 countries to develop self-sustaining eye care programs.
Wavy also has the distinction of having an ice cream concoction named after him -Ben & Jerry's Wavy Gravy ice cream with caramel, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnut fudge, and roasted almonds. The concoction was sold from 1993 to 2001, according to the Ben & Jerry's website.
The cost of admission to the benefit is $55, which organizers say is the equivalent of sight-restoring surgery to someone in need. The event is at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave. For more information, visit the Seva Foundation website.