This week marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock where, by some counts, half a million people made their way to a field in upstate New York for a weekend of rock music in the mud. The festival wasn’t actually held in Woodstock but outside Bethel, a small town about 75 miles away. It rained. They ran out of food the first day and the country roads were so blocked by abandoned vehicles that the US Army was enlisted to bring in food and some performers by helicopter. Today the field where it all happened is conserved as the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts which maintains the site and offers a venue for the performing arts. The Woodstock commemoration this weekend at Bethel Woods will be a much quieter and smaller affair. Original performers John Fogerty, Santana, and Ringo Star will return for concerts August 15 -17. If you don’t already have tickets, you probably are out of luck.

The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival Didn’t Happen in Woodstock. Find more fun and little known Woodstock facts.

Woodstock today at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, NY