Celebrate Woodstock on sacred ground; why Bethel Woods is succeeding while Woodstock 50 failed

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BETHEL – You won’t see Miley Cyrus or Jay-Z at Bethel Woods later this week.  They were to perform at the giant Woodstock 50 commemoration, first scheduled for a racetrack in upstate New York, then moved to a smaller venue in Maryland, before falling apart in disarray.

Not to worry.  You can relive the memories, if you are old enough, or create some new ones, with legendary performers, for four days beginning this Thursday, where the original Woodstock festival happened in 1969, on a hillside in Sullivan County.

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts CEO Darlene Fedun said this has been a work in progress.

“We waited a long time for this.  I’ve been working at Bethel Woods for 14 years, so all directed toward this one day and what would happen and what it would look like.”

Fedun: “They were two different visions I think from the start”

Fedun told MidHudsonNews.Com it is easy to see why Woodstock Anniversary Weekend is succeeding where Woodstock 50 failed.

“They were two different visions I think from the start.  If you look at the performers we have on our stages and the demographic they would attract, it’s a very different audience, I think, than what Woodstock 50 was planning and it’s much smaller and more intimate.”

The Anniversary Weekend lineup of talent will bring back memories for those old enough to remember, or even be at the original.  Santana and John Fogerty are among original Woodstock veterans who will take the stage this week, along with former Beatle Ringo Starr.

For those who don’t have tickets, you should move quickly.  Many of the specific concerts, including Ringo Starr, have only “verified resale” tickets available, according to Ticketmaster and they are likely to be at a much higher than original price.  A fifth-row center ticket for Starr was listed at $992 as of Friday afternoon.  Some prime Santana tickets were going for over $1,200.

Detailed information about obtaining tickets and travel passes, required for those planning to drive to the event, is available HERE. Organizers say driving to Bethel Woods Thursday through Sunday will be a challenge.  Shuttle buses will be available at Monticello Raceway and White Lake.




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