On Thursday December 9th, Banyen Books will hold a 40th birthday celebration at the Ridge Theatre with a special live “skype-in” with Ram Dass from Maui, a new short film of Ram Dass, a rare screening of Saint Misbehavin’: The Wavy Gravy Movie and a book signing of Ram Dass’s new book Be Love Now by its co-author Rameshwar Das.
Banyen Books, the spiritual book and music store at 3608 West 4th Avenue, is a West Coast institution. With typical compassion, Banyen Books’ owner, Kolin Lymworth, is turning the celebration into a fundraising benefit for Seva Canada’s sight restoration and blindness prevention programs in the developing world.
“Be Love Now / Saint Misbehavin’ will be a one-of-a-kind evening celebrating spiritual activist heroes past and present who show us how we can enjoy life while making a difference with our actions. Both Wavy and Ram Dass are deeply seasoned, huge-hearted “teachers” helping us to open our own hearts more fully,” says Lymworth.
The evening is a unique opportunity to connect with Ram Dass, author of the seminal book Be Here Now, who lives in Hawaii and was debilitated by a stroke in 1997. Before he was named Ram Dass by his Indian guru, he was known as Dr. Richard Alpert, an eminent Harvard psychologist and psychedelic pioneer with Dr.Timothy Leary. Ram Dass will “skype-in” live from Maui.
Saint Misbehavin’ is an award-winning new full-length documentary film about Wavy Gravy (born Hugh Romney), a lifelong activist described as “the illegitimate son of Harpo Marx and Mother Teresa, conceived one starry night on a spiritual whoopie cushion.”
Christened Wavy Gravy by none other than blues legend B.B. King, Wavy’s adventures have included traveling with Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters in the infamous psychedelic bus. He was truly immortalized when he took to the stage at Woodstock, offering 400,000 people “breakfast in bed.”
Seva was founded over 30 years ago by a group of eminent doctors and visionaries, among them Ram Dass, Wavy Gravy and Dr Larry Brilliant.
THURSDAY, DEC. 9, 2010 ~ 7pm $20
Ridge Theatre, 16th & Arbutus
Tickets at Banyen 604-737-8858, the Ridge box office and on-line at festivalcinemas.ca
