Where were you in the Summer of '69? Did you make it to Woodstock? The closest I got to the Woodstock Festival of Music & Art: I can boast that I once slept in a sleeping bag that was at Woodstock. It belonged to a room-mate who had loaned it to a friend who went to the festival and actually remembered to bring the sleeping bag home! For those too young to remember Woodstock, here's your background info.Over this past weekend spent in New York state, I eagerly accepted an invitation to head for Bethel Woods to see the site of the original concert. I was visiting a fellow U of Akron theatre alum with whom I did a lot of work back in the times just after Woodstock. We took a long drive through the beautiful Hudson Valley, catching up on our latest theatrical adventures on the way.
It was a very cold day, but the views were spectacular. Above, you see Ron beside the monument pointing down the hillside toward the actual 1969 concert site. The monument lists the participants, a most impressive list indeed:
Ron told me Woodstock the concert did not take place in Woodstock, the artist colony, but rather in this remote location known as Bethel Woods. The site, happily, was never sold for development of McMansions and starter castles. Instead, it has been transformed into the Bethel Woods Center for the Performing Arts. During the summer, the outdoor pavilion Blossom-style venue attracts thousands of patrons.
Along the drive bordering the site, I was pleased to notice solar powered street lights. Why can't we have them in Akron, was my immediate thought?
A museum about the concert and its historical significance within the context of the times is going to open this spring. They are seeking first hand accounts and artifacts:
The Museum at Bethel Woods
Do you have a Woodstock experience/artifact to contribute?
Email: museum@bethelwoodslive.org
Phone: (845) 295-2443
