Flowers in Your Hair

Wed 18 August 2010

Flowers in Your Hair

Filed under: #satscene —— Sylvia @ 19:54

On August 14, 1969, the final preparations are under way for what has been described as the most popular music event in history. The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival was a three-day concert which has become an icon of the 1960s hippie counter-culture.

The organisers were beset with problems, with the original location of Wallkill falling through and concessionaires threatening to cancel at the last minute. But by the 14th of August almost everything was in place for this awesome music festival with over three dozen performing artists and hundreds of thousands of attendees.

Woodstock Journal – August 14, 1969

Even though the festival doesn’t begin until tomorrow, an estimated 50,000 people have already arrived at the festival site and set up camp.

Hundreds of thousands more are on their way – radio stations as far away as New York City are broadcasting frequent warnings of growing traffic snarls.

Residents of the nearest town, Bethel, upset that town officials are allowing the “swarm of hippies” to descend upon them, form human road blocks across the only road to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm, where the festival is being held. Festival goers simply park and walk the rest of the way.

Only after the event did the organisers realise that they had created a piece of history.

On the 14th of August 2010, these photographs were taken and collected here to create a tiny piece of history of our own. Take a look: