Woodstock Photo Exhibit Opening and Free Sixties Concert

August 3rd the Sullivan County Historical Society will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Woodstock with live “music of the 60’s”, and an exhibition of newly discovered photographs from the original Woodstock concert. The collection of Woodstock photographs comes to the Museum courtesy of Divine Corners artist Nick Clemente, who “unearthed” them while researching a particular image he wanted to use for a graphic design project. The short version of this extraordinary story involves photojournalist Mark Goff, whose work was stored in an old cabinet in Milwaukee for 50 years. Goff covered the 1969 Woodstock concert for a Milwaukee alternative weekly. He captured over 200 images of the performers and the crowd – everyone from Jerry Garcia, to Joan Baez, Ravi Shankar, Roger Daltrey and Sly Stone. A lifelong Milwaukeean, Goff enlisted in the Navy in 1965. He served in the USS Kitty Hawk's shipboard hospital during its 1967-1968 combat deployment, when the aircraft carrier set a record for consecutive days launching missions into Vietnam at the peak of the conflict. Upon leaving the military, Goff became a staple of Milwaukee life as photojournalist. His photographs are black and white, and they tell the story of the concert with extraordinary sensitivity, and a unique perspective. At 2:00 pm, Van Manakas, Little Sparrow, Greg Castro and friends will perform songs of the Woodstock generation, followed by a reception for the work of Mark Goff. Goff’s photographs have given us a new look at the original 1969 concert.