Thousands gather to remember Woodstock

BETHEL, N.Y., Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Thousands of people flocked to Bethel, N.Y., to honor the 40th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival, observers said.

Newsday reported Sunday that among the individuals gathered in Bethel on Saturday to remember the 1969 festival were Rich Walka of Bayville, N.Y., and Lorraine Lapinski of New Hyde Park, N.Y., who each had their own memories of the historic event.

"You know what brought us up here?" Walka, 58, said of the first Woodstock Festival that began on Aug. 15 1969. "Peace and music. There was a good vibe."

"It looks very different," Lapinski, 55, offered Saturday during her third visit to the Woodstock site since the festival took place.

Newsday said this weekend's gathering in Bethel to remember the first Woodstock Festival also drew 150 media outlets.

Carolina Stapleton from Brazil's Cultura TV network told Newsday her country was among those lands enamored by the famed festival where music icons like Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead played.

"Brazil, like everywhere else, had the '60s. They really appreciate those dinosaurs from Woodstock like Jimi Hendrix," Stapleton said.