BETHEL – The Museum at Bethel Woods, located on the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, is excited to announce the opening of its 2025 Special Exhibit, How Bazaar: Arts, Crafts, & Camping at Woodstock. This exhibit explores two integral pieces of the Woodstock experience: the Bindy Bazaar marketplace and the festival’s pioneering approach to on-site camping. Drawing on over five years of extensive research, oral histories, and archaeological investigations, this exhibit invites visitors to explore the rich and often overlooked elements that contributed to Woodstock’s legacy.

Woodstock was one of the first major music festivals to offer on-site camping, allowing attendees to remain immersed in the experience without ever leaving the grounds. This communal atmosphere fostered a unique sense of togetherness that became central to Woodstock’s cultural significance. Vast stretches of farmland east and west of the festival site transformed into vibrant tent cities, providing festival-goers with a peaceful escape in nature as they enjoyed three days of peace, love, and music.

Another key feature of the festival was the Bindy Bazaar, a wooded marketplace that was meant to serve as the festival’s main entrance. Featuring winding trails and vendor booths nestled among the trees, the Bindy Bazaar was designed to bridge the gap between the real world and the festival experience. Attendees strolled through trails like Gentle Path, Groovy Way, and High Way, where artisans and vendors sold crafts, clothing, and handmade goods. Over the years, extensive research and preservation efforts have uncovered new insights into this area, leading to the restoration of the Bindy Bazaar trails and a deeper understanding of its role in the Woodstock story.

The launch of this exhibit coincides with a new era for Bethel Woods, as the historic site now offers camping opportunities for concert attendees, allowing modern visitors to experience the same landscape that welcomed 450,000 people during the iconic 1969 festival.

“This exhibition is the culmination of years of dedicated research, storytelling, and archaeological exploration to uncover a deeper understanding of the Woodstock experience and the nature of our historic site,” said Museum Director and Senior Curator, Dr. Neal V Hitch. “As we continue to activate and preserve new areas of the historic site, we are excited to offer visitors the opportunity to connect with the festival’s legacy in a meaningful way and see how its spirit still inspires us today.”

The exhibition will showcase a selection of artifacts collected over several years in preparation for this event. Many of these connections with donors were fostered through the Museum’s ongoing Oral History Initiative, which launched in 2020 and has since preserved over 1,000 stories.

Photographs captured by David Shelburne, and generously donated by his wife, Ellen Shelburne, will bring the Woodstock experience to life as large-scale murals of the Bindy Bazaar Woods and Best Road campgrounds. Ellen, who was interviewed for the Museum’s oral history project in 2023, returned to the festival site in 2024 for the first time to experience Bethel Woods’ new glamping offering and revisit her Woodstock memories—a journey that was highlighted in an AP article.

Camping equipment, sleeping bags, blankets, and clothing worn at the festival will come together to form a diorama of a festival campsite. Also featured are a camp stove and lantern donated by Carl and Wayne Kieper, who were interviewed by the Museum in 2023 and 2024. Their 2024 return to the site, where they saw Woodstock alumni Santana, was recently featured in a Toronto Sun article.

Kenneth Bray, a silversmith who had a booth at the festival in 1969 has recreated some of his iconic Woodstock designs for display. His jewelry will be for sale through the Museum Store.

Archaeological artifacts collected by the Museum during professional surveys of the site will also be displayed, showcasing the types of food items and cooking equipment that were brought to Woodstock by attendees prepared to camp.

How Bazaar: Arts, Crafts, & Camping at Woodstock will be open to the public from April 1 through December 31, 2025. Admission to the Special Exhibit is included with a ticket to The Museum at Bethel Woods or available separately for $5. Tickets are on sale now at www.BethelWoodsCenter.org.

About Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, is committed to building upon its rich history of peace and music by providing extraordinary experiences and access to the arts. With the belief that the world can be made better through the power of music and the arts, Bethel Woods makes music, visual, performing and creative arts programming available and accessible to the community, helping people of all ages discover and tap into their creative potential.

Located 90 miles north of New York City in Bethel, NY, the lush 800-acre campus includes the Pavilion Stage amphitheater with seating for 16,000, an intimate 422-seat indoor Event Gallery, and a Conservatory for arts education programming. The award-winning Museum at Bethel Woods carries on the history, spirit, and learnings of the 1960s and the Woodstock Music & Art Fair through the preservation and interpretation of the historic site. Bethel Woods is a not-for-profit organization that relies on the generous support of individuals, corporations, and foundations. For more information, please visit www.BethelWoodsCenter.org.