The 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair will be marked with the placing of dove sculptures around Sullivan County, N.Y., where the festival took place in August 1969.

In what became a defining moment of the era, around 500,000 people attended Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel for the four-day event that featured Jimi Hendrix and his legendary version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Band, the Who, Santana and others.

The Times Herlad-Record reports that 36 fiberglass doves, reminiscent of the festival’s dove logo, would be placed “in communities and at attractions throughout the county,” with each sculpture measuring five feet in height and seven feet in width.

“I think it’s gonna be a great tapestry for us,” said Roberta Byron-Lockwood, president of the Sullivan County and the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association. “It’s a great way for us to tell our Sullivan Catskills story not only locally, but statewide, region wide, U.S. and internationally. Calls are already coming in and what better icon than the dove, which is peace and love, and, of course, to us means Bethel Woods and Woodstock.”

She added that, by the time the doves were placed, they’d have been decorated in ‘60s styles by local artists, and the plan was for them to remain on display after 2019. The installations are part of a $750,000 program of anniversary promotions that includes an augmented reality tour of the festival site.

Recently revealed documents suggested that Hendrix was the highest-paid artist to appear, at a fee of $18,000  – $100,000 in today's money. Tickets for the festival cost $18 ($100) in advance and $24 ($134) at the gate.

 

 

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