Central NY
Bethel NY
My eldest son celebrated his 26th Birthday on April 1st. We had a family dinner the following week at Scotch and Sirloin. He works so hard. Its nice to see that he gets a break every once in a while.
On Saturday my girlfriend Kelly and I got up early and headed east towards a little town called Bethel NY. If you have any awareness of what this town is known for then you also know that it is the 50th anniversary this year. It is also the 50th year of my life. If you are still trying to guess...It is the site of Woodstock 1969. A visit where some of the best musicians of the 60's play together to come as a force of peace and unity has always been on my bucket list. Fitting was that this is also my 50th year of life.
On our way we had a very yummy breakfast at Denny's. It was nearly a three hour drive.
How awesome is it that when I was walking back to my car I looked up to see whose farm I happened to be on.....
If you know the story of Woodstock, then this name should surly be familiar. It was Max Yasgur who agreed to be the host location for the infamous three day event.
If Max had not offered his dairy farm to host the event, it is questionable if it ever would have happened. The finding of this location was just under s month before the event was to take place.
Right around the corner from the farm is the site of Woodstock. Below is at the base of the big hill looking up. The rocked area was where the stage once stood. In fact two other locations had been intended to be used for the event. Sagerties NY and Walkill NY. Walkill changed the rules for the show just weeks before and it became a scramble to find a new location.
If you are at all interested in the story of how the event unfolded I recommend the movie Talking Woodstock. Our tour guide informed us that there are multiple reports of how these events unfolded, but the movie offered a pretty good indication of how it all went down. Of course if you want to get a full scope of the music, the movie Woodstock is recommended.
As the story unfolds, Woodstock Ventures (This is where the name of the event came from) invested in a three day art and music festival for the purpose of making money while also connecting with the youth of America. Four men, Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, John Roberts and Joel Rosenman coined the event a three day festival of music and peace.
Below is the site where the stage once sat. Looking upward into the mass number of people must have been incredible. The stage was constructed of wood planks and quickly put together, as were the fences to surround the area intended for the show. The construction would not be completed before the opening day and as a result the $18- a ticket (in advance) show became free. The tiny area of Bethel could not accommodate the number of people who attended the show. Streets were backed up for miles and resembled parking lots.
This is the 50th Anniversary year of Woodstock, perhaps you have heard (they are planning two concerts to be held over the actual weekend Aug. 15-17 one at Woodstock and one in Watkins Glen.) in celebration of the 50th they have a special exhibit called We are Golden.
- Friday, August 15 to Saturday, August 16
- 2Saturday, August 16 to Sunday, August 17
- 3Sunday, August 17 to Monday, August 18
As you can imagine the people of Bethel were not big supporters of thousands of "hippies" coming into their town and quite a protest transpired. Many people refused to purchase Max's dairy products. Below is an original sign indicating the local's view of the event.
The museum offered several enjoyable hands on attractions like this Psychedelic room complete with bean bag chairs.
It is estimated that 400,000 people were at Woodstock. At least one birth and two deaths. (one was an overdose and another was accidentally run over by a tractor.) It is also an event where despite the number of people, there was not one incident of violence. Our tour guide (also an original attender of the event) informed us that every cent that was loaned/given from the supporters during those three days (medial providers/food vendors etc) were paid back in full.
Jimi Hendricks was the featured performer and his sign on actually prompted some of the other bands. In his contract it was stated no performers would follow him. He played the very last set on Monday morning (a day after the event ended) at 9am. Several thousands of the attendees had left before his infamous Star Spangle banner performance.
Crosby Stills, Nash and Young were little known before Woodstock. The live show was one of the first times the band had actually played together. Below is one of the outfits worn in the 60's.
Jefferson Airplane is also one of the bands identified as having a poor set. The band was scheduled to play the last set on Saturday evening. Instead they were the breakfast crew Sunday morning. Hung over and tired, Grace Slick sang Don't you want somebody to Love and White Rabbit poorly. Even the Who acknowledged that their performance was not one of their best.
Santana, on the other hand, was a fairly unknown band at the time, provided an amazing performance sending their popularity to shore.
Did you know there really is a MAGIC Bus??? Here's one located in the museum. Did you also know that the Merry Pranksters would tour around in a bus like this and offer Electric Kool aid full of LSD? Posters asking if you could pass the ACID test (as printed on this bus) lead to concerts featuring often The Grateful Dead.
