The 1969 Woodstock Festival remembered

On the weekend of August 15th 1969, an estimated 500,000 people from all over America gathered for a three day event of peace and music - the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York. Known as the Woodstock Festival, it stands as an icon of the 1960s hippie counterculture. Minds were open, drugs were plenty, love was free, and for three days the people lived as a community in peace. Despite heavy rain, the danger of electrical shock, and one of the worst traffic jams ever, there was social harmony. With legendary performances by Santana, Janis Joplin, The Who, Joe Cocker, and Jimi Hendrix among others, the Woodstock Festival was the greatest rock concert in music history.

The idea for the Woodstock Festival started with Michael Lang and Artie Kornfeld. Michael Lang was inspired by the outdoor concerts held on a meadow off a windy road just up the mountain from the Town of Woodstock, New York. Experiencing music in nature under the open sky, surrounded by rolling hills, farmland, and meandering streams, was the original vision for the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Together, they decided to do something really big and the concept of the Woodstock Festival was born.

Investors John Roberts and Joel Rosenman joined Michael Lang and Artie Kornfeld and together they formed a partnership called Woodstock Ventures. They agreed on naming their creation “An Aquarian Exposition: The Woodstock Music and Art Fair”. The event would include music, art, dance, and theater. At the heart of the Festival, was the vision for people to come together in peace to celebrate the coming of a new age. Contrary to the conflict and violence happening across the country in colleges and ghettos, the Woodstock Festival was about understanding, accepting and having sympathy for each other.

The 840 acre Winston Farm in Saugerties, New York, a few miles from the Village of Woodstock, was the first possible site for the Festival. The farm had beautiful sloping hills with trees and open fields, and was a great location right off the New York State Thruway. Although no agreement had been reached to rent the site, the organizers decided the dates for the festival to be August 15th-17th. By late March, Woodstock Ventures was informed that the Winston Farm would not be available after all. The producers started to get concerned since they had already started to book talent, and now were without a festival site. As the search for a new location began, they started to look at areas farther from Woodstock. The name for the Festival would remain Woodstock regardless of where it was held.

Along Route 17 in the township of Wallkill, New York, a new site was found. In contrast to the Winston Farm, the Mills Industrial Park was flat and bulldozed land, which was missing the natural beauty and calm environment originally envisioned for the Woodstock Festival. Under time pressure, the producers decided the 200 acre Industrial Park could be transformed into an acceptable site. The Wallkill Zoning Board had no objections to their plans, and crews started to work immediately. Initial meetings with local authorities seemed to go well, and newspapers were informed about the Festival plans. By late May, an anti-Woodstock movement started to form. The Town of Wallkill did not want a bunch of drugged-out hippies, as they called them, coming to their town. Just six weeks before the Festival, the Town of Wallkill passed a law that prohibited the concert from their area. Panic spread amongst everyone involved with the Woodstock Festival. Ticket sales came to a standstill as stores refused to sell them, and there was a concern that people who had already purchased tickets would want a refund. With only weeks left before the event, a new location had to be found.

Two weeks later, Max Yasgur agreed to rent part of his dairy farm in Bethel, New York to Woodstock Ventures for the Festival. Bethel is about 45 miles southwest of the Town of Woodstock. 600 acres of the Yasgur Dairy Farm became the final site for the Woodstock Festival. The beautiful country site with rolling hills, open fields, and a lake nearby, was the perfect setting for what was to become a historical event. Notably, without Max Yasgur there would have been no Woodstock Festival.

As the Wallkill episode made national news, Woodstock Ventures used the opportunity to place ads in the New York Times and other papers announcing their new location in Bethel near White Lake, New York. The buzz about the Festival grew, and the estimated 50,000 attendees was raised to 200,000. This created new problems as more food, water, and toilets were needed. The last minute change of venue caused many challenges. New permits had to be acquired and plans for the stage, parking lots, and roads needed to be drawn up. A final blow came as off-duty police officers were banned from working at the Festival. The Hog Farmers were hired as peace keepers, and the off-duty New York police officers were intended for security. The New York State Police decided not to help, and refused to implement the traffic plan that included keeping some roads open for emergency and supply vehicles.

Little time was left, and everybody jumped into high gear. What seemed to be an impossible list of things to do was accomplished. Heavy rain further delayed progress, and the ticket booths and gates did not get finished in time for the early arrival of people. By Monday, people started to show up and an estimated 50,000 attendees arrived by Wednesday and set up camp. Many gathered near the stage, and the organizers realized that they could not move these people outside the fence to purchase tickets and then allow them back in. The fence was cut the night before the event, and it was announced that the Woodstock Festival would be free.

Many groups of people showed up to help with the Festival although they were not employed by Woodstock Ventures. The Hog Farm consisted of several hundred people who helped with preparing the camp grounds, and also set up a free kitchen for those without supplies or means. A special tent was set up for people suffering from bad drug experiences. On Thursday the day before the event, 276 New York cops showed up to work. Last calls were made to suppliers and staff who had not showed up yet, urging them to hurry before they got stuck in traffic. That night, the Food for Love people who were hired for the food concessions demanded more money than previously agreed. Outraged, the producers had to agree. As more people arrived, it became necessary to order more medical supplies and additional helicopters. Many local residents helped with food and water, while others did not welcome the event.

Reporters started to arrive wanting to know if this was going to be three days of peace and music, or chaos and violence. Nobody could answer that. There were no gates, no fences, no plans for traffic, and no blueprint to follow. This was a first. Yet in the hearts of the producers, and the many people helping to bring this event to life, was a vision of peace. Unquestionably, the Woodstock Festival was done by the counterculture for the counterculture. Peace was in the air.

Even though nobody was prepared for a crowd of this size, or the enormous traffic jam that prevented many more from attending, the Woodstock Festival started at 5pm on Friday August 15th, 1969.

Richie Havens was the first on stage and after a great set of tunes improvised the famous Freedom song that set the vibe for the event. As people claped their hands in unison to this great song, the magic of the Woodstock Festival began. Swami Satchidananda, an Indian spiritual teacher took the stage next. As he spoke to the crowd, many felt a wave of peace and acceptance. Three days of peace and music was well on its way. Jimi Hendrix was the last to play early Monday morning to a crowd of about 35,000 people. There were 32 acts who performed, and approximately 500,000 people attended. Even with heavy rain, thunder, and a tone of mud, the Woodstock Festival was one of the greatest moments in popular music history. Today people are still mesmerized by the magic of the Woodstock Festival, and also inspired by the quality of music that was performed.