The Rainbow Family was created out of the Vortex I gathering at Milo McIver State Park in Estacada , Oregon ( 30 miles south of Portland , Oregon ) , from August 28 to September 3 , 1970 . Inspired in large part by the first Woodstock Festival , two attendees at Vortex , Barry " Plunker " Adams and Garrick Beck , are both considered among the founders of the Rainbow Family . Adams emerged from the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco and is the author of '' Where Have All the Flower Children Gone ? '' Beck is the son of Julian Beck , founder of The Living Theatre , known for their production '' Paradise Now ! '' The first official Rainbow Family Gathering was held at the Strawberry Lake , Colorado , on the Continental Divide , in 1972 . Use of this site was offered by Paul Geisendorfer , a local developer , after a court order was issued against their gathering at the original location on nearby Table Mountains
Vortex I
Vortex I
Rainbow Family