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July
8, 2004
From:
Brad Littleproud, Joanne Hague (Lead Preservationists)
Woodstock
Preservation Alliance
http://www.thewoodstockspirit.org/
Dedicated
to the Preservation of the Site of the 1969 Woodstock Festival
Dear
Friends, For several years, the Woodstock Preservationists have attempted
to mitigate intrusion onto the original site of the 1969 Woodstock Music
and Arts Fair, Bethel N.Y. by the Gerry Foundation’s Bethel Woods Center
for Arts. Although the plans to build on the site were challenged,
alternatives suggested, and proper historic preservation documentation
filed at State and Federal Historic Preservation offices, regrettably we
announce that we have not been successful in protecting the site from
unnecessary development.
On
Sunday, June 27, 2004 without fan fair the Gerry Foundation unofficially
broke ground for what could have been an exciting new chapter for
Yasgur’s old farm and Sullivan County. It is unfortunate however, that
under the guise of benevolence that the developer has taken with the Town
of Bethel and Sullivan County, lie serious issues of integrity in how they
were given carte blanche to do as that would with this irreplaceable piece
of global history. We thank everyone who supported our efforts to keep
these final 38 acres pristine and natural, in the spirit of the festival,
within the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. We ask that those approached
by the Gerry Foundation or the press to comment on the Bethel Woods
project carefully weight their feeling before giving credibility to what
we have experienced as a “takeover” over of an icon, legend and
legacy.
For
those who wish to view more on what has taken place with our cause, or
send a message to those who have supported an historically preserved
Woodstock site, you can either visit the Woodstock Preservation Alliance
at the website provided and post on the message board found by click the
Preservation Information Center. Or reply to this email with a few words
and thoughts and we will gladly post them for you. We are asking those who
have websites, to turn their screens to black for 24 hours on the day of
the official groundbreaking ceremony as a final statement on what has
happened to this special place and the means by which it was accomplished.
The date has not been announced, however it is some time in July and we
will post the date on the website. We will try to send out a formal notice
in advance.
In
talking with our good friend Artie Kornfeld, Woodstock’s co-creator and
promoter, we thought that it might be appropriate to see if Woodstock
would fit in any way into a category of induction into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in Cleveland. We will turn our sights to that endevor now,
and may call upon your support to help further the cause of preserving one
of the most remarkable happens of the 20th century.
Take
care friends,
Brad
Littleproud (Toronto, Ontario Canada)
Joanne Hague (Blakely, PA)
Woodstock
Preservation Alliance
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