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Back to the Garden: reliving Woodstock

by on Aug. 13, 2009, under Arts, Life

woodstock-croppedI’m going down to Yasgur’s farm . . . I mean the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, August 15, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock at the KXCI concert because I missed it the first time. I lived in Woodstock in the 60′s but I moved to Denver right before the festival (it wasn’t in Woodstock anyway) so I decided to have a belated experience, hopefully without the traffic jams.

The 3 day festival was billed as an Aquarian Exposition of peace and music but it was so much more.  It defined a generation.  It changed lives and it has generated a wealth of memories and stories.

Take this opportunity to share your stories with your friends and family (that may even include grandchildren!)  If you were too young, what did you hear from your parents about that historical era?

Write me a comment about your story!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Arts, Life. Tags for this post: , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • http://www.lifeworktransitions.com deb knox

    I missed it too, but am enjoying the “anniversary” opportunities.  I just returned from a visit to New England, and lots of the performers then are lined up locally prior to heading up there. Richie Havens is performing tonight I think.  This is definite worth the celebration.  Hope to see you there.

  • leftfield

     I was not at Woodstock,  but I was at plenty of other similar celebrations and certainly would have fit right in at the time.  It puzzles me why there is still so much interest and fascination about the event forty years later.  I’m not cynical about it in the least; nor do I believe people shouldn’t be interested in it, just puzzled by why people find it so fascinating.

    • Penelope

      I think one reason Woodstock is such a strong symbol is that we’ve strayed so far from the original message of Peace and Love.  Not to say that the 60′s didn’t have their share of war and protest, but I think there was an idealism that’s been chipped away at over the years that people are nostalgic about.

  • radmax

    I think Woodstock endures because everybody under the age of thirty(and many over) wanted to be there! The experience of a lifetime. Didn’t turn out so well for many, still,I would be proud to say I was there. Looking forward to saturday night.

  • karynzoldan

    There are certain events of our generation that define it — Vietnam War, the assisinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, the Beatles, and Woodstock.

    The Rialto sounds like a fun event but I have a previous engagment. Come back and tell us about it. I’ll be around for the 50th anniversary.

    There’s also that Ang Lee movie at the Loft about Woodstock. I plan to see it.

  • leftfield

    And yet, at the time, the authorities generally considered us as “dangerous, dirty, violent and young” (to steal a phrase from the Jefferson Airplane).  What was once revolutionary and threatening has been tamed and transformed into a marketing opportunity.

    • radmax

      Lefty…kids get in free…look at the price of any other concert ticket. If this local talent is half as good as the originals, I bet even Fidel wouldn’t miss it…

      • leftfield

        BTW – it is Fidel’s 83rd birthday today.  Did you send a card?

        • azmouse

          I was right! I mentioned that to you, leftfield about Fidel’s Birthday and age….can’t believe I knew that. What’s happening to me?!?

          • leftfield

            Did you wear red, sport a fake beard and smoke cigars all day?  If not, I wouldn’t worry. 

        • radmax

          Yup, and a cigar, just make sure no kids are around when he lights up…

  • Denise

    I didn’t go to Woodstock but my husband did before I met him. He took tons of really good black and white pictures of the crowd and kept them in a  big cardboard box.  I was 18 when we were married and I had absolutely no  idea how enduring that concert was going to be. When we moved into our new apartment, to save space, I threw out all the pictures of people that we didn’t know.    Looking back, I can’t believe he didn’t kill me.  He probably would have if he’d known I’d divorce him 5 years later.

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