• The famous Woodstock Music and Art Festival took place in 1969 – 50 years ago.
  • Every notable musician of the time, from Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin, played during the three-day festival, which has become world-famous, even inspiring the term the “Woodstock generation.”
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This August marks the 50th anniversary of the famed Woodstock Music and Art Festival, which took place on Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm in Bethel, New York.

Every notable musician of the time, from Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin, played during the three-day festival. Even with 400,000 attendees, zero reports of violence were made to the police during or after the festival, and with two babies reportedly born on the premises, it certainly was a weekend of peace, love, and music.

Ahead, take a look at those who made it into the music festival’s premises and became part of the renowned “Woodstock generation.”


When residents of Wallkill, New York, denied plans for Woodstock to occur near their town, farmer Max Yasgur came to the rescue, offering his land near Bethel at the price of $75,000.

Foto: sourceSteve Starr/AP Images

Woodstock was created by the then-novice promoters John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield, and Michael Lang. Originally, the four had hoped the festival would be a way to raise funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat near Woodstock, New York.

Foto: sourceAP Images

Tickets to the event cost $6.50 a day, and festival organizers told authorities they were expecting around 50,000 people, even when 186,000 tickets had already been sold.

Foto: sourceAP Images

As thousands of people crowded the area, tickets became obsolete, and people wound up inside the festival grounds for free.

Foto: sourceAP Images

Festival activities began August 15, 1969 with a performance by the late singer-songwriter Richie Havens.

Foto: sourceAP Images

Hippie commune Hog Farm was tasked with providing free food for the Woodstock attendees. However, due to the huge number of attendees and lack of resources, a US Amy helicopter was assigned to deliver food to the grounds.

Foto: sourceAP Images

Hog Farm was also assigned with overseeing security at the festival. They named their security team "Please Force," a nod to their non-violent intentions.

Foto: sourceAP Images

Here, three attendees relax in a grass hut. The sign above their heads reads: "Have a marijuana."

Foto: sourceAP Images

The influx of festival-goers caused a massive traffic jam that was announced across local radio stations, down to WNEW-FM in Manhattan.

Foto: sourceAP Images

It began raining the first night of the festival, and the bad weather continued throughout the weekend.

Foto: sourceAP Images

But it didn't kill the vibes. Here, attendees leave the grounds after a rainy night.

Foto: sourceAP Images

The rain created massive mud puddles, and many festival-goers found themselves caked in dirt.

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Yasgur's farm was left in shambles. Here, attendees walk across the debris-ridden landscape after the festival had wrapped up.

Foto: sourceAP Images

A Bethel local sweeps trash in front of her home as festival-goers make their way out of town.

Foto: sourceAP Images

Despite the on-and-off bad weather and lack of food and other general resources, Woodstock lives on in history as one of the defining moments of the 1960s and of the generation that made it happen.

Foto: sourceAP Images