About Woodstock

Nestled within the Catskills Mountains, Woodstock, NY, is famed for many things: people are drawn to Its Natural beauty, outdoor lifestyle, social justice principles, and its large community of both established and emerging practitioners of the Arts. There also was - and still is - an ever-changing influx of people who often make their way to Woodstock seeking each century’s version of “counter culture,” who establish like-minded communities, and a deep bond with the land.

The original inhabitants of Ulster County and the Town of Woodstock were a cross section Lenape and Mohican Native American tribes, who had highly-developed horticultural knowledge and skills that allowed them great success in agricultural efforts, and growing crops for both food and medicine. The women in these tribes had recognized authority roles within the family and the village community, and were considered the owner of each family’s home. All members of the tribes had deeply-held spiritual beliefs, and practiced many forms of ceremony throughout the year. Centuries later, some of the ideals, craftsmanship, and spirit of these tribes seemed to subconsciously draw non-indigenous residents and visitors who were looking for something outside of and different from “mainstream life.”

Woodstock gained prominence in the early 20th century as a haven for artists, thanks to the Byrdcliffe and Maverick Arts Colonies. These two early 1900s colonies attracted mostly writers and musicians, but by the 1920s, visual artists and those staging works of theater also found community and inspiration amongst the creative spirits who rented small, simple studios and cabins to focus on their craft. In 1915, Hervey White - the founder of the more bohemian of the two colonies - the Maverick Colony - staged the first Maverick Festival, which was intended to provide a primary means of economic support for the colony. This festival became a wild success, and took place every Summer in the soothing light of the August full moon: it featured music, dancing, food, rituals, and communing with Nature. The festival is viewed as the forerunner and some might say - inspiration for - the Woodstock Music and Art Festival of 1969, which was originally staged to take place in Woodstock, but had to be moved to a larger location in Bethel, NY due to space and permitting requirements. Throughout the 1960s and into the decades that followed, the counter culture that gave birth to the 1969 festival regarded the town of Woodstock as the epicenter of these values, and many have made pilgrimages to the area in search of their own version of counter-cultural bliss.

At present, Woodstock is ever-evolving and attracts many visitors and residents from NYC, the US, and all over the world. It is more culturally and ethnically diverse than in decades past, and people from many walks of life feel welcome hiking up the majestic peaks of the mountains, slipping into an art opening, playing at the Sunday afternoon drumming circle, or visiting a Buddhist monastery or spiritual healing center to practice meditation, plant medicine, or seek other modalities of deep connection. The land and the Earth still have a way of pulling certain people to Woodstock, and allows them to get in touch with what inspires and motivates them the most.