Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Encyclopedia
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center and museum located at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival
in Bethel, New York
which took place on a parcel of the original Max Yasgur
's Dairy Farm.
Located approximately 90 miles (144.8 km) from New York City, the 15,000-capacity outdoor performing arts venue, intimate 400-seat Event Gallery, and Museum at Bethel Woods are located on a 2000 acres (8.1 km²) campus. Bethel Woods offers a diverse selection of performances, educational and community programs, including the annual Harvest Festival, which covers topics such as history and the arts, community collaboration and outreach.
cable television pioneer (Cablevision Industries Corporation) and philanthropist purchased the original festival field and 1700 acres (6.9 km²) surrounding it, with eventual plans for an arts center. The $100 million project was launched by the Gerry Foundation in 2004. The Museum is designed to preserve the historic site on which the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place.
Site Festival Field can accommodate events up to 30,000 capacities. Other venues at the center include The Event Gallery (small performance/lecture space), Museum Theatre (132 seat capacity), The Market Sheds (event space) and two classrooms.
The inaugural season of 2006 included 9 show days, while in 2010 the center presented 18 main stage performances including Sting with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Dave Matthews Band, Santana, and Brooks & Dunn, plus nine Event Gallery performances held in the spring and fall.
The interactive exhibits consist of audio/visual experiences, informative displays, and a collection of artifacts, and the permanent exhibits include: The Sixties, The Woodstock Festival, Three Days of Peace and Music, Impact of Woodstock & The Sixties.
In addition to information about the music festival, which is about two-thirds of the museum's scope, the museum offers exhibits, personal stories and a multi-media experience about various aspects of the 1960s, including music, fashion and political protest. It focuses on issues such as the baby boom
, Cold War
, Civil Rights Movement
, and the assassinations and riots that occurred during the decade, all of which contribute to the context of Woodstock. The 7000 square feet (650.3 m²) museum includes a 132 seat high-definition
theater and a 4300 square feet (399.5 m²) gallery, as well as classrooms, a cafe, a museum shop, and a patio.
A special exhibit gallery opened in 2009 and has presented special exhibitions including: Old School, Rock Heroes, Give Peace A Chance, Robert Altman's Sixties, Eddie Adams: Vietnam and Collecting Woodstock to date. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts also hosted The Wall That Heals, The Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum in 2010.
Bethel Woods operates the museum and offers programs nine months a year. It was hoped that the opening the center will help revive tourism, which has suffered in the region following the closure of many resorts following the decline of the Borscht Belt
. While Sullivan County has struggled, at times, with the legacy of Woodstock, officials hope the museum will help manage that. Bethel is already benefiting from the opening of the performing arts center in 2006, and has led to increased development in the town, along the Route 17B corridor, and in nearby Kauneonga Lake
(formerly North White Lake), and is seen as one of the county's larger economic development
programs, despite the initial controversy surrounding some of its funding.
, who had helped to secure the funding. Clinton did not speak during the debate on the project, but Schumer strongly defended the Bethel project as a boon for an economically struggling county.
The funding was rescinded in October 2007 following criticism from Republicans
led by John McCain
, although it did not affect the museum's scheduled opening nor the more than $15 million in state
funding.
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in Bethel, New York
Bethel, New York
Bethel is a town in Sullivan County, New York, USA. The population has been estimated at 4,532 in 2007.The town received worldwide fame after it became the host of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, which was originally planned for Wallkill, New York, but was relocated to Bethel after Wallkill withdrew.-...
which took place on a parcel of the original Max Yasgur
Max Yasgur
Max B. Yasgur was an American farmer, best known as the owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York at which the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held between August 15 and August 18, 1969....
's Dairy Farm.
Located approximately 90 miles (144.8 km) from New York City, the 15,000-capacity outdoor performing arts venue, intimate 400-seat Event Gallery, and Museum at Bethel Woods are located on a 2000 acres (8.1 km²) campus. Bethel Woods offers a diverse selection of performances, educational and community programs, including the annual Harvest Festival, which covers topics such as history and the arts, community collaboration and outreach.
History
In 1996, Alan Gerry, a Liberty, New YorkLiberty, New York
Liberty, New York relates to two locations in Sullivan County, New York, United States:*Liberty , New York*Liberty , New York...
cable television pioneer (Cablevision Industries Corporation) and philanthropist purchased the original festival field and 1700 acres (6.9 km²) surrounding it, with eventual plans for an arts center. The $100 million project was launched by the Gerry Foundation in 2004. The Museum is designed to preserve the historic site on which the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place.
Venues
Bethel Woods features a 7500 square feet (696.8 m²) stage, a 4,500 covered seat pavilion and a natural sloping lawn accommodating up to 10,500 people. An outdoor terrace stage has space for up to 1,000, and the WoodstockWoodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
Site Festival Field can accommodate events up to 30,000 capacities. Other venues at the center include The Event Gallery (small performance/lecture space), Museum Theatre (132 seat capacity), The Market Sheds (event space) and two classrooms.
The inaugural season of 2006 included 9 show days, while in 2010 the center presented 18 main stage performances including Sting with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Dave Matthews Band, Santana, and Brooks & Dunn, plus nine Event Gallery performances held in the spring and fall.
The Museum at Bethel Woods
The award-winning Museum opened in June 2008 dedicated to the exploration the unique experience of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, its significance as a culminating event of a decade of radical cultural transformation, and the legacies of the Sixties and Woodstock today.The interactive exhibits consist of audio/visual experiences, informative displays, and a collection of artifacts, and the permanent exhibits include: The Sixties, The Woodstock Festival, Three Days of Peace and Music, Impact of Woodstock & The Sixties.
In addition to information about the music festival, which is about two-thirds of the museum's scope, the museum offers exhibits, personal stories and a multi-media experience about various aspects of the 1960s, including music, fashion and political protest. It focuses on issues such as the baby boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
, Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and the assassinations and riots that occurred during the decade, all of which contribute to the context of Woodstock. The 7000 square feet (650.3 m²) museum includes a 132 seat high-definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
theater and a 4300 square feet (399.5 m²) gallery, as well as classrooms, a cafe, a museum shop, and a patio.
A special exhibit gallery opened in 2009 and has presented special exhibitions including: Old School, Rock Heroes, Give Peace A Chance, Robert Altman's Sixties, Eddie Adams: Vietnam and Collecting Woodstock to date. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts also hosted The Wall That Heals, The Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum in 2010.
Bethel Woods operates the museum and offers programs nine months a year. It was hoped that the opening the center will help revive tourism, which has suffered in the region following the closure of many resorts following the decline of the Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties in upstate New York that were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s.-Name:The name comes from...
. While Sullivan County has struggled, at times, with the legacy of Woodstock, officials hope the museum will help manage that. Bethel is already benefiting from the opening of the performing arts center in 2006, and has led to increased development in the town, along the Route 17B corridor, and in nearby Kauneonga Lake
White Lake, New York
White Lake is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of Bethel, Sullivan County, New York on the southeast shore of a lake of the same name. It was the closest community to the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969....
(formerly North White Lake), and is seen as one of the county's larger economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
programs, despite the initial controversy surrounding some of its funding.
Funding controversy
$1 million in federal funding earmarked for The Museum by the U.S. Senate in June 2007 was criticized after it was revealed the museum founder, Alan Gerry, then donated almost $30,000 to New York Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles SchumerCharles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...
, who had helped to secure the funding. Clinton did not speak during the debate on the project, but Schumer strongly defended the Bethel project as a boon for an economically struggling county.
The funding was rescinded in October 2007 following criticism from Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
led by John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, although it did not affect the museum's scheduled opening nor the more than $15 million in state
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
funding.