Anticipation building for Woodstock’s 50th
The 50th anniversary of the iconic Woodstock festival is beginning to go global.
The 50th anniversary of the iconic Woodstock festival is beginning to go global. That according to Roberta Byron-Lockwood, President/CEO of the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association, who gave an update to the county legislature’s Economic Development Committee on Thursday.
“We’re bringing in a whole group of German journalists here to write all about Woodstock and get a lot of that, so, we’re doing great with that.”
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts will host a three-day festival next August to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock concert, which was held in 1969 on land adjacent to the center.
A lineup for the festival, being promoted by Live Nation, has not yet been announced, though Carlos Santana, who played at the 1969 concert, has said he will perform.
Byron-Lockwood said they are beginning to watch hotel reservations. She said they have a specific plan on where to direct people if Sullivan is booked solid.
“Once we’re completely saturated, within our Catskills, first, thought, we look primarily at Greene County and in Delaware.”
Whether that’s where visitors will look first, with the growing abundance of hotel rooms in closer Orange County, may be wishful thinking.
Sullivan is also attracting some diversity in events.
Sisters on the Fly, a women’s group dedicated to adventure travel, is planning what Byron-Lockwood called “a big event” this summer in Sullivan County. She hopes that becomes an annual happening.
The same weekend as the Bethel Woods event, a 50th anniversary Woodstock festival will be staged this summer in Watkins Glen, N.Y., promoter Michael Lang said last month.
Lang, one of the promoters of the 1969, 1994 and 1999 Woodstock concerts, said this year’s show, dubbed Woodstock 50, will be held Aug. 16 to 18 at the Watkins Glen International racetrack in the Finger Lakes region. The site is a 200-mile drive from Kingston.
Bethel Woods will also be the new home of the Mountain Jam festival this year after 14 years at Hunter Mountain in Greene County, organizers announced Thursday. That festival also is being promoted by Live Nation.