Bill Cohen hosted the 39th annual “Spirit of the ‘60s Coffeehouse” event last Friday. Using music, memorabilia, trivia and a rustic candle-lit church basement, he attempted to bring the ‘60s back to life (for those that remember the decade) and to teach younger people about the importance of the messages the ‘60s delivered.
Each year, Cohen hosts a night of remembrance for the ‘60s ideals about civil and women’s rights, anti-war marches, the generation gap and political assassinations — ideals that are all too relevant to today’s landscape.
Cohen explained how this wasn’t just a night of music but rather a year-by-year journey through the era to convey the bittersweet story of the ‘60s in a single night:
“We use the songs, plus other kinds of memorabilia, posters, iconic photographs, some old grainy black and white video.”
While Cohen has reinforced that this time period is a serious and bittersweet story, they also want to have fun with the evening.
”We ask trivia questions about the lighter things that happened during the decade: the weird trends, the weird fashions, the weird popular celebrities … [P]eople who lived through the ‘60s and who may have worn some of those things … get a big chuckle out of that, as is true with any generation.”
This event is a commemoration of the time for the youth of the ‘60s, but it is also a chance for younger people of today to find meaning in the messages of the time, the most important of which is to “stand up for your beliefs,” Cohen said. “”Perhaps take some chances in expressing [your] beliefs and acting on those beliefs, and that is one of the [main] kernels of our democracy.”
Although most of the attendees were older people, Cohen said, “It’s refreshing when someone younger takes an interest. I mean, I remember when I was young, I didn’t care that much … I was born in 1948, and I didn’t have a big interest in the history of the ‘40s, but as I grew older, I did … What was the world I was born into like?”
The event has been raising money for the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for the past 25 years, a food bank that supplies food pantries all around Columbus and Ohio, and this year is no different.
Cohen and his wife put together the entire event by themselves but were joined by some guest performers such as Paisha Thomas, Ann Fisher, Joanne Blum and Joe Lambert.
“This is a homemade music production,” Cohen said. “Randy and I plan the whole thing and work a long time during the year to put it together.”
As Cohen sang Bob Dylan’s classic “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” the crowd chanted along, proudly representing a distant time in American history — a time that, as different as it was, feels all too similar in many ways.
