Woodstock Festival

Woodstock '69

The Woodstock Festival closed in upstate New York on this date in 1969. Some 450,000 fans attended the three-and-a-half-day rock music celebration, which was held on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, NY. The masses of youth showed up for a music and art fair, which turned out to be a rainy few days filled with music, beer and drugs. Though the festival had been conceived as a money-making event, so many people showed up and the event was so disorganized that most of the attendees were let in for free. The organizers ended up over $1 million in debt and had to pay $100,000 just to restore the site. Some of the performers included Joan Baez, Grateful Dead, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Guthrie, and The Who.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, August 18, 2009