The feeding of 500,000: how Ken Kasey helped to save Woodstock
“Well, the New York Thruway’s closed,” said Arlo Guthrie when he took to the stage at the packed Woodstock, “Isn’t that far out?” The field in Bethel was so packed with 500,000 people that the traffic jams led to it completely cutting the road off. Woodstock marked one of the biggest musical events of all time and seemed to be a turning point for culture.
If you ask music lovers what gig they would most like to attend, they will most probably say Woodstock 1969. It was a weekend of peace and love, good music, and good people; however, we tend to only look at the positives that came out of Woodstock. When you put half a million hippies into a field, naturally, there are going to be some disasters.
Two people unfortunately passed away at the festival. One person died from a heroin overdose, meanwhile, another person fell asleep in a farm which neighboured the festival and was run over by a tractor.
While these two deaths were tragic, there likely would have been a lot more were it not for Ken Kasey. The promise of drink, drugs and love allured a lot of people who went to Woodstock. They didn’t give it a second thought when they left for the gig, and as a result, food and water were a mere afterthought, which might sound fun and free-willed, but it could have led to disaster.
While the different acts performed, people did drugs and became immersed in the occasion. However, while this happened, they grew hungry, and their bodies slowly became dehydrated. This is a dangerous combination and could well have led to the death and injury of plenty of other gig-goers.
Luckily, some veteran festival goers were on hand to help those who might not have turned up very prepared. Ken Kesey rocked up on his multi-coloured drug bus. This is what he and his entourage usually travel around in and get high on; however, at Woodstock, he filled it full of food and water, which he gave to festival goers who needed it. If he wasn’t on hand with this food, then it could have been disastrous.
This act alone is a pretty good representation of why people look back on Woodstock so positively. Gigs at the time could be hazardous places, as people loved to fight, and the mass of crowds that were filling venues and fields represented a huge safety risk. For instance, if you look back to the Rolling Stones gig at Altamont in 1970, there were a number of killings.
Woodstock really was the epitome of peace and love. It wasn’t just that people listened to the music and enjoyed it; they attended gigs that were completely filled with the acceptance of fellow people. They represented the beauty embedded in the connection that comes with music. It was a one-off event that represented the best in music and music lovers.
