My Visit to the 1969 Woodstock Festival Site

I've been to the site of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York, a few times...each time was awesome. If you know the importance & cultural significance of that concert, then you'll be thrilled to visit. Some of my pictures are seen below.

One of the times I went, the museum at the top of the hill was displaying the bed that John Lennon & Yoko Ono used for their "Bed-in For Peace" in 1969. When the guard wasn't looking, I was able to bounce on it a few times...

They tried to revive it in 1994 with a bland concert that bore little resemblance to the original. Then they tried to do a 50th anniversary concert, and that was canceled. They were able to snag a few of the original 1969 performers, along with a crop of recent ones like Jay-Z and Miley Cyrus and a whole long list of unknowns. Little by little, the bands started to drop out: the original ones as well as the newer and unheard-of ones.

The backer pooped out as well; try as hard as they did, the organizers couldn't make it happen and the whole thing was canceled, and all that promotion money—advertising, posters, etc.—is down the drain.

I'm kinda glad they did cancel it because you cannot repeat the vibe, mindset and atmosphere of the original. You just can't. It's a two-three-four generation difference, and the original experience is only felt by the ones who were there or were between the ages of 14 - 30 at the time.

But for those who appreciate what the 1969 event was, you can still re-live it or attempt to understand what it was all about. Go visit the site in Bethel, which was part of Max Yasgur's farm in 1969. Better yet, watch the Woodstock movie—all 4 hours of it—then go. If you have any interest in Woodstock at all, or love Rock 'n Roll, you'll understand once you get there.

Now take a look below at some photos from my visits.