Hey Woodstock was Really at Bethel Woods

listitcafe

listitcafe

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I am very confused. This is the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. The festival was not at the town of Woodstock but at Bethel Woods which is a hour away from Woodstock. Its a very quiet area in New York. It has a Fesitval Museum and a great theater.

My cousin got to play at the anniversary fesitval at the Bethel Theater this weekend. I dont understand why the town of of Woodtock takes credit for the festival.It may have been an inspiration for the festival. But personally I rather see the real site at Bethel Woods. It has none of the bells and wistles.... But it is the site.

People confuse me.

-Chris
 
Hi Chris, I didn't know that! But it's noted in Wikipedia as being held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York. Didn't realise it was an hour away from Woodstock proper!

I was watching a documentary last night that was filmed at the time the festival was being held. The producer was talking to some of the locals who weren't happy at all about their fields being damaged and being unable to milk the cows etc. :)
 
I was there last year. It is a weird area near Monticello NY its is a weird quiet area. I could see the farmer being really mad. The area then and now could not deal with that many people.

It is also located in the Borscht belt of the Catskills. Vacationing middle class Jewish Families probally really loved it. Only one movie I saw covered that aspect of it.

-Chris
 
I didn't realize the festival was an hour from Woodstock either. I've enjoyed NPR interviewing folks who were there. One real surprise... Jimi Hendrix, who famously ended the festival with his rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" was not scheduled to be the closer. Are you ready for this? They had scheduled Gene Autry who was going to perform "Happy Trails to You." How odd is that?
 
Pic of my mom'& her bestfriend at woodstock...

woodstck.jpg
 
I'm not sure about the details without looking them up, but what happened was that the festival was originally planned to be near Woodstock at Saugerties, but there were problems with the town issuing the permits and other legal stuff. The town leaders thought there would be trouble with a rock/hippie event of this nature and did not want it there.

The operation was on a tight budget and some of the promotional material had already been printed calling it the Woodstock Festival, so they changed the venue but not the name. Somehow Max Yasgur offered the family farm to the promoters, and the rest is history.
 
BTW, Yasgur was cool with it; he even addressed the audience and his little speech is part of the Woodstock movie. His neighbors were not so happy and even sued him. He died a few years later.

Anyone who has not seen the Woodstock movie owes it to themselves to put it on their queue asap, if for no other reason than to admire Joe Cocker's boots.

Tiff, how old was your mom? Great photo!
 
She was around 20 1/2. I watched a little docu-drama on VH1 the other night on Woodstock,(They had one on Warhol before it and then another about NYC, 1977 called the summer of hell after it)

Anyhow, they had the couple on, the ones from the album cover in the pink blanket....wow.
 
My parents were too conservative to go... Even though we had a relative playing there.... If I were older I would say lets go. I remember at the time people being afraid of Hippies....

I dont how I turned out like I did I should be an accountant.

-Chris
 
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