American Legion Post 620 to
celebrate Woodstock anniversary
BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN
Were you disappointed that
the much-hyped Woodstock 50
festival in upstate New York
never made it ‘out of the gate’?
Well, there’s now an alternative.
A Bronx American Legion
Post has announced its plans
to highlight the anniversary
of the greatest music festival of
all time.
On Saturday, August 17, the
Samuel Young American Legion
Post 620, located at 1530
Hutchinson River Parkway,
will host a ‘Woodstock 50’ event
to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the 1969 music festival.
The Woodstock commemoration
event will take place
from 3 to 11 p.m. on Post 620’s
great lawn and will feature a
live outdoor music concert, the
viewing of the Woodstock documentary
fi lm and activities for
kids such as necklace making,
face-painting and spin art.
The live outdoor music concert
will run from 3 to 7:30 p.m.,
followed by the Woodstock documentary
fi lm at 8 p.m., which
will be shown on a 15-foot outdoor
screen with concert audio
sound. Food and refreshments
will be sold at the event.
“We host a lot of events and
this one is a great way to honor
the many veterans who were in
Vietnam at the time and didn’t
get the opportunity to experience
Woodstock,” said Owen
Mangan, fi rst commander of
the Samuel Young American
Legion Post 620.
“Although this is a family
event, we wanted to host a celebration
to also honor veterans,
particularly those who served
in Vietnam during that time,”
said Joe Mondello, veterans advocate
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 22 UGUST 16-22, 2019 BTR
and fi rst district commander
of American Legion
Post 620. “The Vietnam-era
vets who were overseas during
Woodstock will get a Woodstock
themed experience with
music, art and history.”
“This event will also give
the Woodstock generation,
most of whom are now in their
60s, a chance to reminisce
while they watch the documentary
or when they hear different
songs from that era - on the
actual anniversary,” Mondello
added.
Notable artists and bands
who performed at Woodstock
included the Grateful Dead,
Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family
Stone, The Who, Jefferson
Airplane and Jimi Hendrix,
among others.
It is estimated that over
400,000 attended the Woodstock
music festival, which
took place between August 15
and August 17, 1969 at an alfalfa
farm in Bethel, New York,
about 40 miles west of the town
Woodstock in Ulster County. Flyer for ‘Woodstock 50’ event. Photo courtesy of Joe Mondello
Although this is
a family event, we
wanted to host a
celebration to also
honor veterans.
Joe Mondello