NEW WOODSTOCK 1969 WEBSITE
dyst...@hotmail.com
May 31, 2005
Re: NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH: WOODSTOCK PRESERVATION ARCHIVES
Website Address: http://www.woodstockpreservation.org
Well friends... It's been almost a year since a core group of
preservation activists, under the banner of the Woodstock Preservation
Alliance, wrapped up their challenge to the development plans of the
Bethel Woods - Center for the Arts, to place permanent structures on
and around the original historic site of the 1969 Woodstock Music and
Arts Fair, in the small Catskills town of Bethel, New York. The
challenge to the project managers - the Gerry Foundation, took many
forms - from petitions to formal advocacy at State and Federal levels.
The persistent lobbying for a public voice in the planning of this
world-class performing arts center realized a 90 percent reduction in
the proposed Core Complex on the plateau above the famed festival bowl
amphitheatre. With such a reduction, and given that compromises in
historic preservation are often the realistic position in today's
world, the preservationists were satisfied that an historically mindful
co-existence of the 38-acre Woodstock Festival Site within Bethel Woods
had been accomplished. Opposed to the original vision for Bethel Woods,
the revised plans for the festival site ensured that the former
"Yasgur's Farm" - known worldwide from the 1970 Academy Award
winning documentary WOODSTOCK - would remain in its original state as
much as possible, for generations to come.
As testimony to the efforts made to preserve this piece of global
history, a new website has been constructed that chronicles several
years of a tireless labor of love. This premier website may be one of
the best sources of Woodstock information for the interested public
and students alike. The website is not only about Woodstock 1969, but
also serves as a template for other grassroots historic preservation
movements. A multitude of formation, photos, video, audio and more,
abound on this website. Unlike other Woodstock 'tribute' websites,
the Woodstock Preservation Archives serves to ensure that the struggle
to preserve the festival site is not lost as Bethel Woods rises in the
Catskills, and also to inspire others to speak up for what they believe
in, regardless of the barriers that face them. Although truthful in our
struggle to impact the development plans by the Gerry Foundation, it is
respectful of the Bethel Woods' desire to bring back music and the
arts to this land, and allows visitors to make up their own minds as to
whether Bethel Woods serves as an "End or New Beginning" for the
original Woodstock Festival site.
This website is fun and informative. In the spirit of the original
Woodstock advertisement catchphrase, the Woodstock Preservation
Archives provides "Hundreds of Acres to Roam On."
If you would like further information about this website, please feel
free to contact :
Joanne Hague joan...@aol.com, or Brad Littleproud
BradLit...@hotmail.com
If you would like to link to this website, either link to
http://www.woodstockpreservation.org
or contact Tim at tdicks...@comcast.net
From: (Former) Woodstock Preservation Alliance
"Dedicated to the Historic Preservation of the Site of the
1969Woodstock Music and Arts Fair"
Joanne Hague (Blakely PA), Brad Littleproud (Pickering, Ontario
Canada), Michael Wm. Doyle, Ph.D. (Muncie, Indiana), Martie Malaker
(Scranton, PA) Melissa Sue Lapointe (Stanbridge East, Quebec, Canada),
Timothy Dicks (Norwich, New York )