The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, marking its 40th anniversary this year, didn’t actually take place in Woodstock, N.Y. It happened in nearby Bethel, N.Y.
About an hour and a half apart, the towns are on opposite sides of the Catskill Mountains.
Max Yasgur, a dairy farmer, rented his farm for the concert after town officials pulled the plug on two other sites. A half a million people attended, more than twice what had been expected.
What’s the legacy of Woodstock? It was a huge gathering where those attending became, for the most part, a large community. It was peace, love, and cooperation.
And the baby boomers who attended – caught up in peace, justice, equality, and environmental movements – thought this spirit of cooperation among so many was a sign of better things to come in the future in the larger society.
But the significant changes they would liked to have seen didn’t emerged.
Forty years later, we’re still working on many of the same issues: environmental quality, health care reform, and equal rights for all.
See these articles for opinions on the meaning of the Woodstock phenomena.
“Woodstock in Photos and Video – 40 Years Later” – The Boomer Chronicles
“Woodstock – Peace, Music, and Memories” – Boomer Café
“Woodstock at 40: Everywhere a Song and a Celebration” – USA Today
“The Woodstock 40th Anniversary Survey” – Baby boomer [Knowledge Center]
My next post will be on “How Many People Remember Woodstock?”
My mom went to college with a farmer who was approached to be the site of Woodstock before Max was. I think he was glad he passed on the opportunity.
Hi Rhea,
Living on the West Coast, I didn’t attend Woodstock, but I heard a lot about it.
I was disappointed when the counterculture movement ended and hippies became yuppies. I think that was the beginning of the baby boomer slide into materialism.
Rita