Woodstock ventures, which organized the festival, sold nearly 100,000 tickets prior to the first day of the festival. Almost half a million people attended Woodstock, so you do the math. Over 300,000 people decided to come to Woodstock, even though they did not have a ticket for the monumental event.
Nobody knew it was going to be such a huge deal, and the organizers were definitely not ready for such a huge turnout. People started getting to the festival two days before it even started. There were so many people that it was absolutely impossible to control the situation, and that is when Woodstock became free!
Some Morning Yoga
Sri Swami Satchidananda led a yoga class every morning. It looks like he had no problem drawing a crowd to join him in the spiritual workout. They used this time to connect and relax while there were no musical performances.
We love the variety of yoga poses that the group is doing. It is showing that they are practicing together, yet still doing their own flow. Everyone seems to be having a great time together. Yoga is really a practice of peace and love, and that is exactly what the people at Woodstock wanted to promote, so it is no surprise that it was practiced all over the fields.
Deserted Dreamers
Nobody expected that almost half a million people would attend Woodstock. The traffic getting in and out of the festival was absolutely brutal. People were stuck in traffic and could not get in to see the bands perform, so they decided to get out of the car and find other ways to get there.
Some people decided to hitchhike or walk. People would do whatever it took to get to the festival, and nothing could stop them. This picture speaks volumes. It seems like the couple here got stuck in the traffic jam.
Peace & Love
At such a huge event, one can only imagine how hard it was to see the bands perform. Either you were too far back, or not tall enough to see over the people in front of you. This photo captures the feeling!
This photo is quintessential Woodstock. You can see by their face how much they're enjoying the music, and you can almost feel the joy they are exuding.
Peaceful Protest
The Woodstock festival lasted three days, and during that time, the audience of half a million people truly promoted the concepts of peace and love. There was not a single incidence of violence during the entirety of the festival. Well, there was one incident, but it came from a band member, not from the peaceful audience. It occurred on-stage, as Abbie Hoffman tried to jump onto the stage during a break in The Who’s set.
Hoffman took the mic and began a semi-coherent rant about freeing John Sinclair from jail, when Pete Townshend turned, yelled at Hoffman to get off “my stage,” and hit him on the head with his guitar. Hoffman hobbled off the stage, and the angry members of The Who finished their set.