NY State Kicks In $690K For Woodstock 50th Anniversary Event

BETHEL, N.Y. (AP) — Planning for the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1969 Woodstock concert is already underway, and it's getting a big boost from New York state.

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports the Regional Economic Development Council awards announced earlier this week by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo include nearly $690,000 for the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located on the site of the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair.

The three-day concert held in August 1969 drew more than 400,000 rock music fans to Max Yasgur's farm in the Sullivan County town of Bethel.

Bethel Woods will use the state funding for the 2019 anniversary event, also planned as a three-day festival. The 11-year-old, 15,000-capacity venue features a 4,500-seat amphitheater with a sloping lawn and a Woodstock museum.

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Information from: Poughkeepsie Journal, http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com