Gearing up for my recent trip to the Sullivan Catskills region of NY, I excitedly started clicking on all the links to the places we were going to be visiting—Bethel Woods Center for the Arts was one of them.
The author was hosted to facilitate this review. All thoughts and options are their own.
I had heard of Bethel Woods, namely in radio advertisements for various concerts. That was pretty much the extent of my knowledge. I quickly learned that Bethel Woods was, in fact, the home to the original Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in 1969. Did anyone else think that the festival was actually held in Woodstock, NY?
I also had the misconception that Woodstock was “just another music festival," but after spending roughly eight hours on the Bethel Woods property, I walked away with a deep understanding—and appreciation— for those four days in history that were truly, so much more.
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Fun Facts About Woodstock:
- Originally slated to be held in Woodstock, NY, the festival was relocated to Wallkill, NY, due to space restrictions. Then, just weeks before the scheduled festival, it moved again to Bethel, NY, as the townspeople of Wallkill made enough complaints against having the festival occur in their town.
- There were roughly 186,000 tickets sold for the festival at an advance price of $18 each. Unexpectedly, nearly half a million people arrived in Bethel to attend the festival, causing traffic delays for 20 miles. Because many of the attendees arrived early, the gates and ticket booths were not ready and the sheer number of people created a logistics problem, resulting in festival organizers having no choice but to turn it into a free concert.
- The original festival was intended to be three days of peace and music, but bad weather and traffic delays from the unexpected amount of people coming into town caused performance delays and the festival continued on for the fourth day. Many of the acts had to be brought in by helicopter due to shutdowns on all of the local roads.
- Santana was one of the least known musicians to perform at Woodstock and was forced onto the bill by his manager, who also managed The Grateful Dead. The festival was a game changer for the artist and catapulted his career.
One of the highlights for me of our tour of Bethel Woods was the 1960s Museum, which explores the unique experience of Woodstock, as well as the cultural transformation of the 60s.
Barbara, one of the docents at the museum, gave us a guided tour and helped to point out some of the key pieces in the exhibit. Barbara’s husband was an attendee at Woodstock and she had some really interesting tidbits of information to share from his experience! In fact, several volunteers at Bethel Woods were at the original festival and bring a unique perspective to what you can learn there.
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We spent about an hour inside the museum and could easily have spent several. There are numerous interactive and immersive exhibits, which we did not have a chance to experience in-depth.
Inside the museum you feel like you were transported back to the 60s. The mix of authentic artifacts, photos, videos, and the music surrounding you, coupled with the artistic renderings, truly give you a sense of what it was like to have been a young adult living in this era. While the museum aims to serve as an educational experience on the history surrounding Woodstock, it is also meant to be a catalyst for intergenerational dialogue on the ideals that still remain relevant today—everyone has the power to change the world!
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BURNING QUESTION: How did so many people find out about Woodstock without social media?
ANSWER: The transistor radio! These tiny, handheld radios have been dubbed “the original social media” and were the main source of information in the 60s. Transistors were popular with teens who could listen to “their kind of music” far away from the prying ears of their parents. While festival promoters took to newspapers and posters to advertise the fair, the airwaves became the main way that people heard about the festival. Add to that the importance and relevance of word-of-mouth promotion and you quickly had hundreds of thousands more people than expected show up for the event.
BURNING QUESTION: With masses of people, how did one reconnect if they got lost?
ANSWER: The message tree! Without various messaging systems in 1969, festival-goers relied on handwritten notes tacked to a tree to find lost friends, ask for a ride home, or find the name and phone number of someone they met at the festival. The tree still stands on the Bethel Woods property today and is being propagated to plant new trees. Many of the original messages are on display inside the museum.
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In addition to touring the 1960s Museum, we also enjoyed a backstage tour of the Bethel Woods Concert Pavilion. Although we did not see a live show, I will definitely be looking at their concert schedule to find a concert to see in the future.
Our day at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts culminated in a short walk through the area known as the Bindy Bazaar, a marketplace and trail system that acted as the heart of Woodstock, connecting two major areas of festival grounds. This area is currently being preserved by a series of archaeological digs that are turning up some incredible finds. On our visit, an activation (the term Bethel Woods uses for any live experience they are able to “activate” on the property) of art and music was happening at an area of the trails now being referred to as The Node.
As a grand finale to our tour, being able to experience the golden hour in this magical spot where so much history took place gave me goosebumps. Words just won’t do it justice, you truly have to go experience Bethel Woods Center for the Arts yourself!
If you are interested in visiting the Sullivan Catskills region of NY, here are some additional recommendations for food, accommodations, and other activities:
The Kartrite Resort and Indoor Waterpark
Villa Roma Resort (they are offering a special 10% discount to Macaroni Kid readers through the end of August: https://reservations.travelclick.com/2864?RatePlanId=5322545&identifier=macaroni) click HERE for one of our other publisher's personal reviews of Villa Roma.
Lander's River Trips - Take in the beautiful Delaware River and spot some Bald Eagles soaring above! Click HERE for another publisher's personal account!
Albella Pizzeria & Restaurant (Get the Martini Chicken!)
Check out this video of some of the highlights of my hosted trip to the Sullivan Catskills!
