Today’s guest post is from Mary Jo Manzanares, Travel & Culture Channel Editor, and blogger at Flyaway Cafe.

No, I wasn’t at Woodstock, although I saw the 1970 Oscar winning movie (Best Documentary), and generally like the music of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair (as it was originally called).

People came from around the country, by car, bus, and on foot to attend a three day music festival, and what would be one of the largest music festivals ever.  Even today, Woodstock remains a turning point of politics and cultural for many Baby Boomers.

The new Museum at Bethel Woods (200 Hurd Road, Bethel, New York), the site of the original Woodstock, opens tomorrow, June 2nd.   The Museum promises a captivating multi-media experience, combining film, interactive displays, and artifacts to tell the political, cultural, and musical story of the tumultuous era of Woodstock, the festival, and the 1960’s.

The legacy of the era seems clear to those who lived through it, but ancient history to those born after the Baby Boomer generation.  Perhaps the museum can stimulate reflection and discussion about where we were then, where we are today, and most importantly, where we go tomorrow.  The museum embodies the principle that, as expressed in music, we can change the world, and embodies larger ideals of peace, respect, cooperation, and a connect to our planet and the people who live upon it.

What will you see?  Highlights are reported to include a timeline of the coming of age of a new generation, with the corresponding turmoil and optimism that accompanied that time.  You’ll see exhibits covering fashion and style (don’t laugh, please, I wore too many of these styles), the civil rights movements, the space race, the cold war, and the counterculture revolution.

The Museum will be open through Labor Day, 10 am – 7 pm.  Limited hours during the Fall and Spring, and closed January through mid-March.  Admission is $13, and reservations are recommended (available online).

The larger Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has multiple concerts and performance venues, and also features the historic "bowl" of 1969 Woodstock fame.

Photo credit: SXC

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Post from: The New York City Traveler