On August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair opened on a farm near Bethel, New York. Organizers expected a smaller paying crowd, but hundreds of thousands of people arrived. The festival became a symbol of the 1960s counterculture, with performances by many leading rock and folk artists. Heavy rain, traffic jams, and food shortages created logistical problems, yet attendees often recall a spirit of community. Woodstock influenced how large music festivals were imagined and organized afterward. Its images and recordings shaped the cultural memory of a generation.
