Fans flock to concert site

BETHEL, N.Y. (AP) >> Tie-dyed pilgrims and white-haired Woodstock festival veterans converged at the generation-defining site to celebrate its 50th anniversary, while Arlo Guthrie came back to sing — what else? — “The Times They Are aChangin’.”

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts hosted a series of events Thursday through Sunday at the bucolic 1969 concert site, 80miles northwest of New York City.

Guthrie, an original Woodstock performer, played an evening set atop the famous hill, but said he also wanted to play at least one song near where the 1969 stage was located. Picking up a guitar, he sang the Bob Dylan classic for a group of reporters gathered on the grass under the wilting afternoon sun.

“It was a great time,” Guthrie told reporters, his long white hair f lowing from a straw hat. “For me, the Woodstock festival was a celebratory end of an era. It was not the beginning of anything. It was the end of something, and it was an end of a very turbulent time that was also very wonderful.”

An estimated 400,000 people showed up for the original festival on upstate New York farmland Aug. 1518, 1969.

“This is like a pilgrimage. Coming back to the holy land,” said Glenn Radman, a 67-year-old New Milford, Connecticut, resident stopping by the monument with his friend.

Radman was at the festival 50 years ago, as was 75-year-old Roger Dennis, an Ithaca, New York, resident who was making his first visit since that famous weekend.

“I was here 50 years ago right on this day, and it was one of themost powerful experiences of my life. And I just had to be back here,” Dennis said, standing by the monument.

Dennis went to the concert with his brother and turned 26 years old that Sunday. His brother died years ago, which made the visit Thursday a bit melancholy.

“But the memories the energies of this festival were just unbelievable,” he said. “And I feel that.”

Guthrie’s evening performance drew a crowd heavy on baby boomers, manywith psychedelic-print shirts. In contrast to the 1969 show, there were plenty of seats and well-stocked vendors selling food, wine and beer.

Photographers like Henry Diltz exhibited their festival shots for the anniversary and other places hostedmusical performances, but this site holds a special place for many music fans.

“Being here reminds me of what it’s like to feel differently,” said Helen Rothberg, “to live in a community, to feel joy.”

SETH WENIG - ASSOCIATED PRESS People enjoy a concert by Arlo Guthrie at a Woodstock 50th anniversary event in Bethel, N.Y., on Thursday. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is hosting a series of events Thursday through Sunday at the bucolic 1969concert site, 80miles northwest of New York City.

SETH WENIG - ASSOCIATED PRESS The Lescinski sisters, Kristi, 19, right, Jaime, 17, center, and Emily, 13, sing together in the parking lot while while waiting for the gates to open at a Woodstock 50th anniversary event in Bethel, N.Y., on Thursday.

SETH WENIG - ASSOCIATED PRESS A man who calls himself “Run-A-Way Bill” stands in front of a Volkswagen bus while waiting for the gates to open at a Woodstock 50th anniversary event in Bethel, N.Y.

SETH WENIG - ASSOCIATED PRESS Woodstock veteran Arlo Guthrie plays a song at the original site of the 1969Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, N.Y., on Thursday.

SETH WENIG - ASSOCIATED PRESS People hold hands in a circle around a large, illuminated peace sign on the original site of the 1969Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in Bethel, N.Y., on Thursday.