5 Things Michiganders Need to Know About Attending a 50th Anniversary Woodstock Event
Even though the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock is more than two years away (as this is written in 2017), here are 5 things Michigan residents should know for planning on celebrating Woodstock's golden anniversary.
While there are no official plans for a Woodstock 2019, there is lots of specuation on how the date might be honored.
Possible Venue Locations
Don't expect to be back at Yasgur's Farm for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. One possible location for the concert would be Hunter Mountain. The Hudson Valley ski resort is in the same region of New York as the original Woodstock and hosts concerts each summer. Most notably Taste of Country and Mountain Jam.
How Long Will it Take to Get There?
Don't expect long back-ups on two lane roads that traverse Upstate New York like pilgrims to the original Woodstock (and even worse traffic jams coming to Summer Jam at Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes in '73) had to deal with. Today the Woodstock region is about a 12 hour drive from Michigan and almost a straight shot down Interstate 80 through Ohio and Pennsylvania and a turn onto I-84 at Scranton east to the Hudson Valley.
What's at Woodstock Now?
It's a well known piece of trivia that Woodstock didn't actually happen in the small town of Woodstock, New York - rather down the road a way in Bethel. Today the site of the original festival is home to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
More Than Just Woodstock '19
Even though event organizers haven't yet planned a Woodstock '19, there are already plans to make a Woodstock revival an annual event like Lollapalooza, Burning Man and Bonnaroo with festival creator Michael Lang telling the Poughkeepsie Journal,
"Woodstock is the original and most famous festival brand. With the prevalence of festivals out there, and all the excitement about them, maybe it’s time for that,” referring to an annual concert driven by the Woodstock name.
Don't Expect a Repeat of Woodstock '99
By just about everyone's account, Woodstock '99 was a total disaster. Held much further upstate in New York in Rome on the grounds of the former Griffiss Air Force Base, the festival which drew an estimated 200,000 revelers was "marred by violence, rape and fires."