Here's some of the stories that people have shared on their experiences at Woodstock. Take a moment to read these and enjoy!

Early summer 1969 - Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY -

I was the least likely person to end up at Woodstock.  I was almost 23, not into drugs at all, just beginning to get into the types of music which would be heard at Woodstock, and definitely not into nature, free love, or camping out.  My boyfriend of 4 years was the reason I ended up at Max Yasgur's farm.  He bought the tickets for $18.00 for each of us for the 3-days of the festival and asked me to go.  I didn't want to disappoint him so I agreed.

Planning ahead, we drove up to "the country" in July and found a room in what today would be called a Bed and Breakfast but then was just a decent room in an old farmhouse.  We considered ourselves lucky to find a room only 5 miles away from the festival site.  Five minutes by car....WOW - what a great score!  Early on "Woodstock Friday" we again made the trip "upstate".  The traffic was beginning to come to a crawl but we made it to our room in late afternoon.  We changed into casual clothes and headed for the car to make the 5 minute/5 mile trip to the Farm.  SURPRISE!  Driving would be impossible!

Well, this young lady, who thought it was a long walk to the supermarket, ended up walking the entire way to the Festival.  It may sound silly, but I was proud of the way I "sucked it up" and got into the whole experience of that trek.  The people we met from all over the country, the oranges and water that were offered to us during the walk, the peacefulness that existed, and, of course, the rain.

Looking back, I have some clear visuals.....walking that long stretch of land from the road to the stage site, total acceptance by total strangers who offered a place on their blankets, and fabulous music.  We stayed until early Sunday and then our logical brains convinced us if we wanted to be at work on Monday, we'd better start the trip home.  Besides, we knew our parents were crazed as they watched this unbelievable event unfold on national TV.!

 I am happy to tell you that I have momentos of Woodstock....our tickets and a festival program.  Over the years, I have lost and found the tickets at least ten times.  They are now in a safe place.  I plan to frame each set and give one each to my children when I am confident they will not misplace them.  These tickets are the only things that prove to my kids that we actually may have had lives "back in the day".  Some day I hope to hear my grandchildren say, "Wow, Gram, you and Grandpa were at Woodstock! That is so cool (or whatever the word for "cool" is in the new century!)."

- City Girl at a Country Fair

I was 15 years old and the first time away from home with out my parents, The first thing I remember was my sisters boyfriend telling me that even a pimpled skinny fairskined kid like me might even get lucky here. Well as it turned out I didn't;  I must have been the only one though!!!

I was amazed at the sights and have not heard of most of the bands there at the time but I had a great time (the first day).  I became bored , tired and very hungry the next day. My sister had brought food, but we had to leave in the car because we could not carry everything with us. I bought $10 cash with me thinking I would be really cool, boy did I learn fast !!!

If I had to do it again I would have to think about for a while, then most likely go for it !!!

Mike B
New Orleans

My name is Craig Jonas.  I was born in 1971 so I didn't go, but my dad did. If you watch the movie there is a scene were some people are on a wall...the one wearing the air force jacket is my dad.  He had finished his time in the air force in Vietnam and would not have missed it. I went to the second one and it sucked.  It just wasn't the same. From hendrix to The Who, Ten Years After, Country Joe and The Fish, the music back then was a lot better than today. I wish my dad was alive today so I could  hear more about Woodstock and the 60's.

Well I was only 7 at the time but we went to a bungalow colony that was right down the road.  I remember my mom letting all the kids use the bathroom , shower , etc.  We gave out a whole lot of Soda & Hawaiian Punch.  We actually made stands out of our red wagons up on the road. Lots of fun - flashing peace signs at all the "hippies".  What a weekend - will never be duplicated.  Was fortunate enough to save some memories - pictures , poster , & tickets.  Have a web site of my own devoted to my bungalow colony that includes a page  solely devoted to the Woodstock concert.  It has some cool pictures.  Please visit it & sign the guest book.  You can get there at http://members.aol.com/mbcskitch/page/index.htm.

I had a blast..even w/all the mud. I was in the New York daily news (centerfold) an I still have pics an my original patch. Since I've gotten on the net, I've been looking for the friend I went with but no luck so far. Peace, linda

It was1969.  I had just graduated from High School, we were all wearing bell bottoms, dashikis, afros, beads, peace signs, and we were playing music on the beach in New Jersey.  We also, my friends and I, each had someone we knew in Viet Nam, as a matter of fact all the guys I went to school with, we were all visited by the armed services to be classified for induction to the Army or different branches.

We also were all into alot of free love, the beginning of drugs being filtered into out communities, concern about the war overseas and the war in our own backyards---the system trying to divide the races---remember we are all teenagers. Yet one day my friend's father came to see us at the beach, and told us he had just heard on the radio, that an outdoor concert in upstate New York had been sold out, and was being declared the largest concert ever attended in history!!

My friends father had a Volkswagon bus, and wanted to know if we wanted to go---he was gonna drive us to the concert---but we being so into our own little world, decided not to go...can you believe that!!!!hahaha, but to this day I have been inspired by the music and the times of that era, and there will never be a concert like Woodstock!!! Thankyou...Peace Y

I wish I could say that I was at Woodstock but unfortunately I was only an egg in my mother's body 12 years from being born in 1969. I have grown up hearing the stories of the 60's and the meaning of Woodstock. My mother, Judy Winters, one of the most rad people on earth, took the trip there as she had done to marches on Washington and Montreal to protest the greatest evil I know. I would like to say that my father accompanied her there but he was busy risking his lifein a small village outside of Chu Chi.

He was lucky to come back alive and in somewhat good shape. He is a great man and I have more repect for him then anyone in the world but I have seen what Vietnam and America did to him. It was a terrible time. That is what Woodstock was for. I am fortunate enough to live in the same town as John Roberts, one of the organizers of Woodstock. I have talked with him and listened to his speeches on the event many times. He saw an  opportunity to bring together people, human beings, to practice what we were put on Earth to do, live life to the fullest. Not only a celebration of music and peace, it was a celebration of life and the victory of a new Generation. It upsets me at times to think that my generation does not have the spirit as that of my parents.

I almost wish we had reason to rebel to such an extent and in the process, discover our amazing powers as human beings. Although I was not present at Woodstock, this is my vision and my praise of a group of  people that appreciate what they are alive for.

I was 19 when I went to Woodstock. Our car stopped miles from the site I walked from about 1am Friday morning and got to the festival about 8am. The next 3 days I lived without hardly any food or sleep or shelter. At one point I was probably more wet than I ever was in my life. Yet with all these discomforts looking back now I see that it was probably one of the most spiritually and emotionaly positive experiences I ever had in my life. The events of Woodstock are forever imprinted upon my soul. At 48 I wonder how I could have ever endured such hardships that were there and yet have such positive feelings about the whole experience. The older I get I realize I was part of something with far reaching historical significance. I think it was no coincidence that only less than 1 month before human beings landed on the moon. The whole time then reflected something of great almost Biblical Significance.

From Duane:

I was 6 at the time so I really don't remember much except playing in the mud and all those people feeding each other. I also remember seeing people run around nude so i did it too!

Duane Richardson- Columbus Ohio

I was 3 and a half months old, and taken to woodstock by my hippie parents. My mother was 18, my father was 19. They had disgraced their family by having an infant, and decided to run away. As they traveled around, going no where, in my dad's 1966 chevelle, they remembered that woodstock festival. It was in a couple days!

So they hauled ass to New York and made it in time to get in. There, they met a lot of people, did a little weed (OH, NO! WITH THE BABY AROUND?!?), and met a lot of cool people. Oh, yeah, and the music was pretty cool, too. Thats the thing, they said that the atmosphere was the best. I obviously don't remember anything, but there are a lot of pictures of me there. In one, I'm being held by some 15-year-old girl they met there.

The whole aspect of it is awesome. Especially when you consider how screwed up this world is now. When I get a little down about something, I just look at that picture of me and that girl, who has a big smile on her face. Everyone in the background is happy. And I am happy.

Luv,
McKenzie

Woodstock. Its amazing that a single word could mean so much. I didnt attend the concert but i love every part of it. 500,000 people coming together for three days of peace love and music.  People learned what the words share and respect mean.

Nothing like woodstock has happened since  but perhaps it will happen again on day. Its too hard though, everyone isn't  into the same music and the  laws are to difficult . I wish someday there could be 500,000 hippies together jaming to the grates, I would be one of them.

Woodstock was one of the best get together's of all time and I hope it is remembered forever. To the people of the future, never let go of it because it is something that needs to be remembered.

And, remember Woodstock can never be duplicated. It was way too unplanned. Woodstock '94' was groovy, but it wasn't the same. Even though I wasn't at the orignal (but I was at the '94' concert) I know it wasn't any better.

Anywayz, Gotta Fly. PEACE OUT.

Wow!  This site is great.  As an Australian, I've not had much, well not as much as you guys, exposure to Woodstock, but I through listening to the CD have had a chance to feel  not only the togetherness and peace but the happines and freeness that was Woodstock.  I'm very glad that this spirit is still alive in this generation (I'm 20) and my hope is that Woodstock will continue to live forever.
-Urszula

People keep saying all this shit about "no violence at woodstock" but they are full of shit!  Me and my friends got car jacked about a mile away from the  place, and one of my friends got beat so bad, that he was in a coma for 3 months afterwards. And we still dont have the car back.

[Editors Note}
While the concert was free of violence, and showed the masses that peace really could work, it appears that there are some dark elements in the world at work, even at Woosdstock in 1969.

I wasn't at Woodstock, in fact I was born in a completely different generation.  But, I am interested in woodstock and how it came to be such a huge event.  I am doing a huge research paper on Woodstock and would
love for people to e-mail me their experiences at Woodstock.  This will help me get a better idea of what the whole thing was actually about.   Thanks!

-Joy
findlajo@martin.luther.edu

I was 19 years old then and stationed at Griffiss AFB, NY. Four other buddies and I left for Woodstock around 10:00 on Friday. We had tickets for all three days and weren't going to miss any of it.   At about 10:00 that night we finally made it to within 500 yards of the stage, sans one of our group "Jimmy". He bummed a ride with a couple from California and their two daughters. We never saw him again until sometime on Sunday evening back at the base.

As for the rest of the weekend, we slept in the car Friday night, slogged through the mud on Saturday on empty stomachs, and left sometime on Saturday afternoon. Although the music was great, none of us, except perhaps Jimmy and Tom were into the drugs. If we had been, we probably wouldn't have returned so early. We were just so darned miserable and hungry. It was the first time I realized I have a fear of crowds. Everytime I attend a crowded event I have to zone out just to get through it. Almost makes me a zombie.   For almost 30 years now I have kept with me the original tickets. The stub is missing and they are in good condition. I wonder how many other people out there have theirs? I'd be curious to find out.
Nick "Katman"

I am 14 years old, and (obviously) wasn't at the festival. Yet I am totally obsessed with Woodsstock and I probably know more about it then my parents. I've seen the movie more times than I can count. I love Santana and Country Joe and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Love, Peace and Happiness forever. 

From a WEBTV user:

In 1969 I had just moved to NYC from Long Island and was 21 years old. My friends were talking about going but no one had bought tickets. At the last minute we decided to go. Driving there was a party. It seemed that all the cars on Rt 17 were headed there and the partying began. Things got passed back and forth between cars - drinks and joints. Oh boy, were we going to have fun. When we got ther (there were four of us), we parked and then realized we would have to walk for miles to get near the festival. So we did. What a sight! Hippies as far as the eye could see. Part of the time we were walking through Amish country and people were coming out of there houses to watch us trudge by.

By the time we got there, Susan and I had lost the two guys we came with. There were people everywhere. There were people dancing, there were bikers trying to do some kind of crowd control - ha - there were little booths set up in the woods selling all kinds of things, drugs, teeshirts, the gambit of things. It was three days of unadulterated freedom and experiences. I ran into all my friends who said they weren't going (which was amazing considering the amount of people who were there). At one point I fell asleep under someone's American flag and woke up to Country Joe and the fish singing give me an F - give me a U - give me a C - give me a K - What does it spell? Resounding over the hills as far as the eye could see people were yelling the word. I started crying I was so moved.

Susan and I stayed there a week. We were having so much fun we just stayed with the straglers and there were more than a few. Hearing the music, Jimi Hendrix during a rain storm, went to the Hog Farm and sat next to Joan Baez and had somekind of rice and raisin dish.

The thing that moved me the most was that when you looked around you could tell that this could be a very dangerous event or a spectacular one. THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING. I think we all had the spirit of love in us and wanted to make a powerful, peaceful statement to the world. It is one of the greatest memories I have.

From an America Online user:

I actually bought tickets ahead of time for Woodstock. I saved them for years after, and then somewhere along the way the disappeared. I have since purchased others, as collectibles, but I sure wish do miss my originals. I was fortunate enough to experience Woodstock without any rain. I arrived on Saturday afternoon and we left around noon on Sunday. We saw all the shows on Saturday night, never slept. There was no way we would because the bands were all our favorites.

An amazing story is the fact that I met up with friends who arrived on Friday. We arranged ahead to meet at the main gate. Little did we know there would be no such thing. When I walked in on Saturday, after having parked miles away, I just started walking around the outer ring of people, and walked right into one of my friends!! Not a bad coincidence in the crowd of 400,000. Unfortunately, the size of the crowd was so intimidating to me that I barely left the spot we were sitting in the entire time I was there, for fear of losing my friends and my ride home. The other guy I drove up with was freaked out and took our car right back home after we got to the field. So I missed everything that was going on outside the festival site. But, at least I go to see it in the movie.

I now collect memorabilia from Woodstock. I would love to hear from anyone else who does. You can email me at MaxYasgur@aol.com. (I still can't believe I was able to get that email address.) Thanks for keeping the Woodstock spirit alive with this web site. Woodstock was a wonderful experience that could happen again, in spite of the incredible hassles that one must go through today to stage any sizeable event. Don't give up hope. Just keep your eyes open. No one expected Woodstock to be what it became. Look for the unexpected.

From Bob Rowell
South Jersey Clinic Defense Coalition:

I was a frustrated 12 year old who did not succeed in talking any of the older baby-boomers in my area to take me to the festival. I was already a music fanatic and freaked when told that Janis, Jimi, Santana, Airplane, Sly, and so many others would be at the same event. Consequently, I spent the weekend glued to the television awaiting each blurb about the massive festival. Due primarily to age, my experience was limited to TV and the film (which I loved). Additionally, I thought the first Woodstock album, and Abbie Hoffman's book WOODSTOCK NATION, were among the best things to come out of the festival. Hopefully, the feelings and ideals of the counterculture will live on, as we try to survive in this world of greed, bigorty, theocracy, and injustice.

From Roger:

There won’t be another Elvis, and neither will there be another Woodstock. Not only are there too many laws and local ordinances nowadays, but consider the times: a social consciousness united behind a common cause that filtered it’s way into the arts, and a country divided over whether we should or shouldn’t be in Vietnam. One top of all that, Woodstock was planned to a degree, but a large part of it “just happened”. The timing was right for a lot of attendees, and there were tons of kids on summer vacation looking for something to do, and they found it.

The event was greater than peace, love, happiness, music and getting back to the country. Each participant shared in and contributed to that almost intangible essence of Woodstock. We were in communion with one another, to greater or lessor degree in sharing the experience, the hopes, the desires, the hedonism and whatever else.

And, ironically or inevitably, the vast majority of the Woodstock audience has since then joined “the establishment”, willingly or unwillingly inorder to survive. But, the Woodstock country, those smells of fresh cut hay, weeds, wildflowers and fresh air etc., still bring back warm memories and even a claim to fame. Ask anyone who’s been there and you’re bound to see them smile.

Woodstock was incredible, it was exhilarating, exciting, “Groovy!”, “Far out!”, “Heavy!”, “Dig it!”, “Like, WOW, man!” and much more. These phrases sound so air-headed and trite today, and have been made fun of and parodied, but they were the fashionable lingo of their day. It was also commonplace to hear “Peace, brother” with the hand held up holding fingers in the shape of ‘V’ (upside down peace sign commonly seen on T-shirts) and return the signal. This modern greeting became the equivalent of a handshake. It was a way to signal to someone else that your were ‘hip’ and on the same wavelength.

There was quite a variety of people. There were those trying to be socially responsible for the direction their country was heading and wake up fellow citizens, others were hedonistically irresponsible with drug consumption. Vietnam Vets, artists, craftsmen, campers, long hairs, short hairs, bikers, young children and babies (few), high schoolers, college kids, college grads, hippies, conservatives, etc., variety galore. “Like, wow, man!”

I went with 3 other people. We encountered horrendous traffic about 10 miles away from the site. We eventually arrived and couldn’t find any parking, but were able to park on a resident’s front yard with their permission, for no charge. It was about a 15 minute walk on the road to the concert area. We passed by some roadside stands, and instead of .05 cent glasses of lemonade, a local resident was selling glasses of water for $5.00. Capitalism at work or gouging the public? You decide. Anyway, all the townspeople we met were friendly. With all the people that were there, I don’t think anyone wanted to start trouble.

As we neared the concert area, we saw people tearing down a partially built fence to the left of the stage (looking at it from the road). There were supposedly too many people, the fence hadn’t been completed so admission was now free. When I first heard that, I wished I hadn’t purchased the tickets, but now after all this time I still have them with the original envelopes and program brochures and wonder how valuable there are or how valuable they might become to another collector.

Looking at the stage from the audience, we had parked our butts on the left side near the top of the hillside, with some bicycles we’d brought by mistake (and took back to the car as soon as possible). From our vantage point you could see quite a vista: lots and lots of people, spread out on blankets, eating food, drinking assorted beverages, making their way slowly through the audience crowds, others still trekking back and forth like a stream of ants on the road. Lots of long hairs, a fair number of conservative folks too. Vietnam vets, and other hawkish looking people, everyone there to enjoy the music and dig the scene. Several food stands were above the hill behind the crowds, and it took us about 20 minutes round trip making your way to and fro just to get a drink or a burger because you had to weave your way around everyone in chairs or on blankets.

Being relatively conservative, we got to see freaks and hippies “pushing the limit”, ostentatiously showing off by being different in dress and behavior, i.e. walking bare naked down the street in broad daylight. There were some real characters there, and a lot of them drove from thousands of miles away to get there. Lots of tie-dyed shirts, bell bottoms, beads, embroidery, American flags on clothes, peace symbols sewn on jackets, hats, pants, etc. “Groovy!”

It was very exciting seeing all the performers. You knew you’d have lots of stories to tell your friends afterwards. Between performers, an announcer would grab the mike and go on and on about stopping the music until the audience members who climbed up on the speaker scaffolding for a better view came back down. Too much weight up there and the whole thing would come crashing down. Luckily, there were no catastrophes like that.

The performers were great, some put on better shows than others. Arlo Gutherie was one that was very entertaining, and had a great rapport with the crowd. This was the first time I had been at a concert where people were holding cigarette lighters in communion with one another, and I think it was during Arlo’s performance. For some, it was a soul searching moment (i.e. Why are we fighting in Vietnam when it’s wrong?), for others it was the magical: “Oh wow! Look at all the lights!”

Performers like Joan Baez, Jimmy Hendrix, Arlo Gutherie, Country Joe and the Fish, and others, questioned what we were doing as a nation in the Vietnam War. As the music continued, there were kids that probably came just wanting to have a good time and see a lot of cool bands. But, they could observe the peacefulness of those who were against the war and it gave them pause to think. Vietnam Vets who were against the war were influential. “I mean, like wow! I saw this soldier guy who was in Vietnam and even he’s against it!” Folks undecided on the war effort were probably asking themselves if it were true whether the established culture that sought to enforce conformity and obedience to itself was really just condoning something against God and man, or was it propaganda instigated by the communist influenced SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)? I wonder how many converts there were by the time Woodstock was over. “Power to the people!”

As a comment, the fact that my girlfriend was a dove and vocal about it meant that I would have a better chance with her if I followed her lead and kept my mouth shut and not debate her. Remember the saying that a man will say and do anything to get lucky? “Men are PIGS!” Well, in my case it didn’t make a difference, we were probably the only two people who attended Woodstock that didn’t get high or lucky. I can laugh about it now, but at the time it WASN’T so funny! My parents treated the 18 year old (me) like I was guilty anyway by the time I got home, thanks to the TV news reporters, and my not spontaneously calling home. “Phones? What phones? I didn’t see any phone booths anywhere near the concert area. It was in the middle of a field in the country for Chrissake! I never said that I was going to call you!” The first thing Dear Old Dad wanted to know was if we shacked up in a motel. I’m sure I wasn’t the only kid who had to deal with ‘THE PARENTS’, and given the third degree (interrogation) when they got back.

Anyway, back to the event...

Periodically, we’d get up and move around a bit, and you’d see lots of happy smiling people, just diggin’ it. People were experiencing the joyful feeling of getting back to nature, others were considering dropping out of step in a culture imprisoned by the inertia of it’s own conservatism. Idealism was in the air (besides marijuana smoke), and maybe what was happening at Woodstock would spread and a quiet revolution (evolution) of sorts would take place, disinvolving the US from the unnecessary war in Vietnam. “Oh wow, that’s far out, man! Peace, brother!”

When the rain came, many people had no umbrellas, raincoats or plastic tarps or other protection from it. People shared what makeshift shelter they had left over while others improvised with cardboard. Everything and everybody got wet. Some places with a lot of foot traffic (near the stage) had mud that was a foot deep. Whatever papers or plastic was on the ground in pathways got pushed into the mud. Yasgar was probably finding garbage in his field for years afterwards. With the rain came cooling temperatures. Ain’t nothing like sitting outside at night getting rained on with drizzle while the temperature begins to chill, while your girlfriend ignores any possible clue about what she might want to do to help handle your hormones and glands that are in an uproar, besides piss you off by flirting with other guys. The rain put a damper on things, but like anything else, some managed to turn even that into something fun: mud sliding down the hill.

Drugs were pretty rampant. Lots of pot was smoked. Yasgur probably had plenty of strange new plants growing in his field, besides the corn or whatever he planted.

Between performances, there were frequent announcements over the public address system to be on the lookout for someone who was passing out acid, in ice cubes I think. “Brown Acid. Don’t take it people! It’s bad.” (to paraphrase). The brown clinical acid was bad stuff somehow, and probably about a dozen victims had to be air-lifted out by helicopter medical teams. [Years later, we all heard about the infamous CIA drug experiments on college campuses involving LSD and other drugs, and it makes you wonder if anything like that was going on at Woodstock.]

As the helicopters buzzed by, some were throwing out ‘flowers of peace’, and then landing near the stage to lift out people that were in need of medical attention due to the bad acid or whatever. “Far out!”

“News reporter is my name, scarring people is my game.” As I mentioned earlier, I later found out that all during the event, news reporters were working overtime to scare and horrify the TV viewers by making it sound much more dangerous than it was. Freaking out parents of kids who went there, including the parents of virgin daughters who probably got some gray hairs worrying about their little ‘angel’.

Idle musings after all these years....In the peace movement, lots of people tried to stop the war from continuing. There was lots of media coverage, but also varying levels of frustration and any successes were always drowned out by more war news, death tolls, offenses, bombing raids, attacks, etc. Maybe some people tried to slow down supporting the government and culture by disabling themselves via self-destruction with drugs, “dropping out” so they contributed less harm as individuals. Other people, were just trying pot out, because it was “cool” and lots of their friends were doing it, or were being rebellious and it was their way of demonstrating they’ve ‘joined the other side’. I dunno, but doesn’t sound any worse than any other theories I’ve come across.

From Jan:

Woodstock was not a concert. This was a coming together. What the Byrds called a Tribal Gathering. We came together in Bethel. Yes like Bethlehem, this was a meeting of the essence of the thing. The music was just the background music of our lives. We were doing what great men like our High Priest Timothy Leary had led us to do.

"All I'm about is empowering individuals to explore with your friends the great wonders and mysteries of life,”...Tim Leary.

Hippies were at that time visually, small groups of people. On the coasts, the cops knew who they were. They would see a few, think it was a squashable problem, and leave us alone. Estimates were that there were about 150,000 hippies world wide. When 500,000 showed up at one place at one time. Exploring with friends the great wonders and mysteries of life. When they saw sympathetic hippies in the bedrooms of there own homes. They freaked. They sold the look to jocks, and watered the stock.

In hind site many people see Woodstock as a concert. The press tried to defuse our religious experience. They made people think that Hippies were a bunch of drug users. It was not true. That is not what it was all about. Not all true spiritual hippies did or do drugs.

The Woodstock movie glorified the music. This was the same music at a half a dozen similar concerts that summer. How could the music have had anything to do with it. Some people never even found the main stage. Without the hippies those groups would have been nothing. Nixon wiped the term LSD out of the press and movies for decades to come. The DEA attacked the peace loving “Dead Heads.” Why? Who had they harmed?

There was something much greater that pulled us all together at Woodstock that day in August. Something unformed, only hinted at in Timothy Leary’s original Psychedelic Prayers. Something Spiritual, unnamable, unseeable, metaorganic.

Many people dropped out, stopped wearing and eating decaying animals, began to respect our setting. This is not the response of people at a concert. These responses were predicted by Tim before Monterey. Why! What really happened here? How were you effected? How are you being effected now?

From condor:

I remember arriving a couple of days before...I had a freind living in the area and about 20 guys from New York City all went with me..We had no problem with the traffic because we arrived early...I remember meeting many people, especially women! I remember the music, the rain, the mud, and just having one hell of a party! I am 50 years old, but it seems like yesterday....I will never forget it...It's really beyond words....I remember losing all 20 of my friends when the crowds started coming in....It's really ashame...The kids today are trying to re-capture those times but no matter how hard they try, they will never know what it was like being there and growing up in the 60's...I miss it all! ----

From Girlemu:

After being in love with music for 95% of my life I acknowledge Woodstock as the biggest music event ever! I was only 13 years old at the time of the concert and was not allowed to attend. I am a huge fan of the spirit of the event and have collected various video and audio tapes from assorted media sources. After visiting the site a couple of years ago I am very confused to the whereabouts of the stage and bearings with respect to the memorial marker on Hurd Road. There was a table with paints on it and a pile of rocks so people could leave some sign that they shared in the spirit of Woodstock without defacing the monument itself. Thank you X a million for providing this web site for us devotees who just can't seem to get enough on this epic event. Thanks again with love and respect, Scotty Wagner, San Diego, CA.

[editors note]
In response to Scotty's question as to where the stage was located... if you're standing in front of the monument, Hurd Road is the road to your right, West Shore Road is behind you, and to your left, over in the corner of the field... where the grass meets the trees, is where the stage once stood. If you're lucky and can still get through the tall grass... you will find large chunks of concrete that were once part of the stage's foundation. Remember standing at the monument? Behind you, across the street, was the performer's pavillion and there was a bridge that linked it to the stage. Hope that helps. ed.

From bcmitch:

Helping unload helicopters which brought in cheese sandwiches, apples and raincoats. Since it was declared a disaster area, people from the surrounding communities prepared these much needed provisions since the the concession stands sold out within afew hours.. It showed that people were working together away from the festival as well.

From a compuserve user:

Woodstock, yes I do remember three of the great days of my life. The traffic jam from one end of the city to the next, the rain, the kind people Not just the concert goers, but the people in the town too. I really didn't see much of the performers. It seemed like every time I got up to where the stage was it started to rain and I went back to the van. But just the experence and the people were enough to make the weekend one I will never forget. While typing this I reach into my desk and take out the only thing I have from the wonderous weekend of August, 1969. An orignal program, and as I glance throuh it like I have many times before I say to myself. There were many of us there and many who say they were there, but looking at the pictures in this program almost takes me back there.

From Jerry Shustrin:

I lived in Kauneonga Lake which was the center of the activities during the weekend program of Woodstock. My family had 300 feet of lake front property on White Lake where we had many friends and other individuals camped out during the days preceeding and following the program. I had a job at the White Lake Dairy where many of the 500,000 attendees ate, bought food and just met their friends and fellow partiers. During the weekend, I attended the program and hiked the 2.5 miles back and forth from my house to the site. At the time, I was 16 going on 17 years old and the experience at Woodstock definitely opened my eyes to a lot more than I was ever exposed to before. I personally knew the Vassmers from Vassmers Grocery, the police from the area, the folks who owned the filling stations, and basically most of the people in the area. The weeks preceeding the festival were filled with the arrival of many hippies from throughout the U.S. and the world. In a nutshell, it was a time in my life that I will never forget!

From lueck:

I was onlt three years old but as I grew I came to love the music of that era. My older siblings would always play CSN and it just grew on me.

From Wayne G:

In August 69 I was 14 and not quite free yet, but in August 96 I was on the site for what was to be a reunion of sorts. We named it Trooperstock 96. The NY State troopers outnumbered us 10 to 1 at times. They blockaded Yasgurs field before 13th and on the 13th the blockaded the roads surrounding the field. (Except briefly when a news team wanted to go to the site) A wedding was held at the Monument after a long hike in. I have pictures of some of these events in Jpeg format if anyone would like to see them.

[editor's note]
If you're interested in contacting Wayne, please send requests care of The Music Festival HomePage. ed.

From El Roger:

This is one of most significant musical things ever. It happened just before I was born(a month) so I feel somewhat related to it.It's just great. I got the album, video and Hendrix at Woodstock. Looking for as much as I can get. It's simply beautiful. Have A Nice Day.

P.S. I think you're site is excellent because the fact that it's here is excellent.

From tpsdodger:

I came to Woodstock from Albany N.Y. It took us about 6 hours to get there.Once we were able to park our car, we walked for miles and miles, it seemed, to get to Woodstock. I remember climbing over a huge hill. And then, coming over the crest of this hill, was the hugest most unbelievable site that I had ever witnessed. People everywhere, in every direction, form East to West, from North to South, just the site was unreal. I thought people were lined up in every conceivable direction. It was the biggest crowd that I ever saw. Once we were able to work our way through the crowd, we found the performance beginning with Ritchie Havens singing. Our way to the stage was full of sights and sounds. It would never be the same for me and my friends. Life was never going to be the way it used to be. My first hours at Woodstock had changed that completely.

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