Anyone who attended Woodstock or was part of the counterculture movement of the late 60s and early 70s can share their story at ComFest.
For the second year, the Woodstock Oral History Initiative will be interviewing people about their experiences. The accounts will become part of the Museum at Bethel Woods' collection.
The Museum at Bethel Woods in New York is built on the site of the historic 1969 Woodstock festival. It aims to preserve the touchstones of that counterculture and 1960s history.
“Woodstock is not one story. It's 450,000 stories,” said Neal Hitch, senior curator at the museum. “Everyone's story is so unique. And so, each person that we speak to is kind of a part of a much bigger puzzle.”
Last year, during a cross-country tour collecting counterculture stories, the project gathered 23 accounts at ComFest. They included stories from counterculture shop owners, pioneers of fashion and several early ComFest organizers.
“A lot of the people that are on the ground floor of some of these movements, they're not in history books. Right? They're people that were out on the street,” Hitch said.
The project returns to ComFest this year as its only Midwestern stop. The project has already made stops in Florida, Boston, New York City, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Hitch said Columbus, and ComFest specifically, made the list of stops because there are plenty of people in the area who experienced the counterculture movements of the 60s or attended Woodstock.
ComFest has been happening since 1972, which was the height of the counterculture movement.
“Columbus is not a normal place. You have a city where over 100 local bands give of their time to play at this festival that really supports communities and supports all aspects of people in community. That doesn't happen,” Hitch said. “That makes Columbus like this really cool, special place.”
He said the goal is not just to interview Woodstock attendees, but also to capture stories of “music and movements,” – the people who were actively trying to change the culture of the late 60s and 70s. The Woodstock Oral History Initiative is also patterning the American LGBTQ+ Museum in New York this year.
ComFest, or Community Festival, runs Friday to Sunday at Goodale Park.
Anyone interested in sharing a story with the Woodstock Oral History Initiative can sign up online or at the museum's tent at ComFest.
