Mud, music and memories will be discussed when Marist College holds a Woodstock Anniversary conference this week. The two-day event features key figures from the 1969 festival.
Dr. Thomas Wermuth is vice president for Academic Affairs at Poughkeepsie-based Marist College and director of the Hudson River Valley Institute at the college.
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Sullivan County is the site of the original event. The Hudson River Valley Institute is the lead organizer of the conference — “1969: When Woodstock Changed the World.”
Dr. Steven Garabedian is assistant professor of History at Marist College.
He says the sessions include eminent historians, and the conference includes subject matter beyond the music of the festival.
The closing session Friday night is a look back on the music and social protest and how that resonates in modern America. Panelists include Elliott Landy, the official photographer of the Woodstock Festival.
CNN Presidential Historian Dr. Douglas Brinkley of Rice University, author of “American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race,” will deliver a keynote lecture. The conference takes place Thursday and Friday, June 13 and 14, at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. The public is invited; registration is required. The 7 p.m. talks both days are free.
