Bethel, New York, found itself at the epicenter of popular culture when 400,000 people attended a concert on the grounds of a dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur 47 years ago. Woodstock was widely considered the climax of 1960’s culture and inspired generations of musicians thanks to performances by Jimi Hendrix and The Who, considered by many today as some of the most memorable in rock and roll history. There have been attempts to recreate the magic and love that grew from those three days in August 1969 through 25th and 30th anniversary concerts (although in different New York state locations). However, a true way to honor and memorialize the original Woodstock and the land which it was held never really came together.
Yasgur sold his farm two years after Woodstock and moved to Florida where he died in early 1973. Over the decades that followed, the farm served primarily as a farm, as opposed to a concert venue (with the exception of the widely forgotten Woodstock ‘89). However, given the long lasting impact of the original concert, some people looked for ways to memorialize the land and keep the memory of Woodstock alive. 27 years after the concert ended, major strides were made to make this a reality.
In 1996, the land formerly known as Yasgur’s farm was purchased by Alan Gerry, who made a small fortune as a leader in the cable television industry around New York (most notably from founding Cablevision Industries Corporation). Gerry embarked on a project to keep the spirit and music from the original 1969 concert alive. In 2004, Gerry’s team officially broke ground on what would eventually become the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and amphitheater.
The amphitheater opened on July 1, 2006, with a performance by the New York Philharmonic before welcoming Ashlee Simpson one week later.
As the years have gone by, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has hosted such musical legends as Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Tony Bennett. In 2009, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival, the Center for the Arts put on a music festival appropriately named “Bethel Woods Music Festival starring Heroes of Woodstock”, which featured Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Country Joe McDonald along with a number of other original Woodstock performers.
Perhaps more important than the artists that have come to visit Bethel Woods Center has been the music education and outreach programming that have introduced the spirit of Woodstock to people from all backgrounds and ages through movies, classes, live performances, and a Woodstock museum which opened to the public in 2008.
The museum is a tribute to the 1960’s and the era that created Woodstock by focusing on social, political, and cultural events. The museum “embodies the key ideals of the era we interpret--peace, respect, cooperation, creativity, engagement, and a connection to the planet we live on and all the people who inhabit it.”
In 2019, Woodstock will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Chances are high that someone will organize “Woodstock 50” and sell tickets for extraordinary prices to go with bottled water for $9 on the festival grounds. The coverage of the event will be critical and people will say the spirit of the original Woodstock has been corporatized while peace and love has taken its inevitable place below the almighty dollar. Sure, this is all likely. But it will also be shortsighted. For the spirit of Woodstock isn’t sponsored by Pepsi, nor does it live on through $400 eTickets on your smartphone. Woodstock is alive and well in the same place it has been for the last 47 years, in Bethel, New York.
On your next trip to New York, take some time and make the trip to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Take a look at their schedule and see a concert or take in an interactive film. Whether you attended the original concert or are unfamiliar with the cultural revolution of the 1960s, there is something here for you. So throw a flower in your hair; Woodstock is alive and well at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.