Peace, Love & Drugs: Inside the Rainbow Gathering | Fringes

Last July, thousands of hippies convened in a remote Colorado forest for the 50th annual Rainbow Family Gathering. It started as a counterculture movement whose mission was to establish a utopian society that would last thousands of years. But 50 years later…things have deviated from that plan. In recent times, the Rainbow Family has been plagued with crime, sexual assault allegations, and even suspicious deaths. So which is it—a prayer for peace, or a refuge for vagrants with no oversight? VICE’s Erica Matson trekked out to Routt County National Forest to attend the week-long gathering to see if peace is real, or if it’s just an acid trip. 00:00 Intro 03:31 How Does the Rainbow Gathering Work? 05:43 The People & The Food 08:56 Getting Kicked Out of Dinner Circle 10:03 Alcohol Camp (A Camp) 11:27 “It’s Not an Event I’d Take My Kids To” 14:11 Why So Many White People? 16:10 Prayer for Peace 17:58 The Younger Generation 20:24 What is the Point? Click here to sub