It’s been 49 years since more than 400,000 people gathered at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel for “three days of peace and music.”
While there are annual celebrations and events to commemorate the iconic Woodstock Music and Art Fair, 50 years is a milestone that promises to be the biggest yet.
A year out from the golden anniversary, stakeholders throughout Sullivan County are already preparing what should be a yearlong celebration.
“Woodstock is a sort of state of mind now, rather than just an event,” said Darlene Fedun, CEO of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
“Today, it has terrific meaning, not only to the young and old, but to the world.”
As the site of the fabled festival, Bethel Woods has a lot in the works for 2019.
Expected programs include lectures and panel discussions, musical performances from Woodstock alumni, a poster contest, film screenings and a special exhibit in the center’s museum set to debut on March 30.
Most of the events are in the planning stage, according to Fedun.
The state, too, recognizes the significance of the Woodstock anniversary.
In 2017, the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council awarded Bethel Woods $689,063 to “complete a three-day festival attracting tourism and economic growth to the Mid-Hudson region,” according to state documents.
Fedun called the description a “misprint” and said the grant wasn’t for a festival. She declined to say whether one is in the works.
Instead, she said, the grant was to help Bethel Woods market the anniversary, as well as with project management, execution Who Will levitra prices pdxcommercial.com Benefit: Anyone who works with people that impact their ability to perform at work to the best it has to offer. Our brain (in our heads) performs complex computations and rational thinking. pdxcommercial.com viagra cost pdxcommercial.com on line cialis Older males have been the main victims of the sexual condition, which may also hold diabetes, heart problems, and hypertension as underlying cause in order to enhance recovery. It is the good approach cialis australia online for overcoming erectile dysfunction. and production.
“We certainly would like to do one (a festival), but that is a major project and we’ll tell people about it when we are ready to and not before, because we have no idea the size of the scale just yet,” Fedun said.
“There’s a lot that goes into it. I know people are dying to know, but it’s not just something you say we’re doing or not doing.”
A committee with representatives from Bethel, Sullivan County, the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association and Bethel Woods is helping coordinate efforts for 2019.
Sullivan County is focused on the logistics of handling an influx of tourists, such as traffic and security, according to Dan Hust, county spokesman and committee member.
For example, the county worked with the state Department of Transportation to postpone a bridge replacement on Route 17B in Mongaup Valley from 2019 to 2020 to avoid a traffic headache, he said.
Roberta Byron-Lockwood, president and CEO of the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association, said she’s already working to generate interest and excitement in the 50th anniversary with marketing placements and appearances at trade shows.
She will also work with member businesses to prepare for the expected surge of tourists.
The Town of Bethel is organizing a parade, a public art display and an outdoor movie showing, according to Supervisor Daniel Sturm.
He said the town may also put up historical markers and some photos of the festival.
“The most important thing for us is all of our residents and visitors enjoy it and celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we have,” Sturm said.
mnanci@th-record.com