The sun is beginning to set on Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang and the rest of the organizers of the Woodstock 50 festival.
The festival has been plagued with financial and organizational issues since it’s announcement early this year. The most recent set back comes from the town of Vernon, New York where festival organizers were hoping to hold the 50th anniversary celebration.
After being denied from their initial location of Watkins Glen Racetrack due to failing to pay permit fees, Woodstock 50 organizers have been trying to secure another location since mid-June. Concert organizers chose Vernon Downs, a 35,000-seat arena in Vernon, New York, as their new location but the town voted down the festival’s permit application to hold the event.
Festival organizers attempted to appeal the town’s decision, hoping for the people of Vernon to rally around the festival. However, each appeal was voted down with last nights third attempt to acquire a festival permit amounting to little more than a swan song for Woodstock 50.
When asked about the decision, Lang alluded to his previous assertion that local politics were working against him and the festival, telling local newspaper The Poughkeepsie Journal, “I’m disappointed…We just hoped there was a sense of fairness that these people would be adhering to and it doesn’t seem to be the case.”
And while the future of Woodstock 50 seems bleak, this might still be hope for that organizers can pull the event together. Vernon Planning Board Chairman Mike Sheridan told The Poughkeepsie Journal, “They’ve got a lot of smart people over there. There’s always something they could probably do.”
But what exactly can organizers do to combat a town that does not seem to want them there? Greg Peck, president of Woodstock 50, LLC, said that it was possible to reapply for a permit again this week and noted, “There might be a path to satisfy the issues we heard tonight…There are options and I don’t know that that would be a bad path right now.”
However, even if Woodstock 50 organizers manage to secure a location their current producers, Virgin Produced, announced that they would be terminating their involvement with the festival. Leaving organizers a month’s time to find a location, an event producer, and develop the necessary logistics to run a multi-day music festival.
Photo Credit- PR PHOTOS
