Good News From Bethel Woods

A quarterly update designed to share news, tell stories, inspire creativity, and most importantly - make you smile.

It is in our mission to inspire, educate, and empower through the arts and humanities. We recognize and value their contribution to physical and psychological well-being.

It was always our goal to send out a quarterly update, and while times are unpredictable and programming at the historic site is limited for the time being, we figured there is no better time to deliver some good news. We want you to know that our commitment to sparking intellectual creativity and curiosity is sincere and unwavering. We hope this update brings you a bit of joy.

Welcoming Neal Hitch: Museum Senior Curator

Dr. Neal V Hitch is a historian, preservation architect, museum specialist, and musician who has been working over 25 years developing historic sites and museums. Dr. Hitch has served as director of museums in the Caribbean, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, and on the border of Mexico in California.

Coming to The Museum at Bethel Woods as Senior Curator is an exciting new opportunity where his passion for history, art, and music all find a home. “The new plans to create opportunities for visitors to experience the history of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair within the historic landscape where it happened is what drew me to Bethel Woods,” says Dr. Hitch, “it will be exciting to see story-based interpretations come to life.”

A Quick Q&A with Dr. Hitch:

Q: What is you favorite part of your job?

A: It is a privilege to work somewhere that most people come on their day off or their vacation.

Q: What is the most challenging part of the job?

A: People have a lot of things they could do with their free time, it is a constant priority to make the museum a place that meets expectations, is authentic, and is fun.

Q: How do you spend your spare time?

A: I love Jeeps and music, between those two things I have almost no spare time.

New Exhibits For 2020

Through varied and engaging special exhibitions, growing collection of artifacts and reference materials, museum programs for children, youth, and adults, and the preserved historic site, the Museum makes the lessons and ideals of the sixties relevant and accessible today.

2020 Special Exhibit: Lights, Color, Fashion: Psychedelic Posters and Patterns of 1960s San Francisco

This exhibit showcases a phenomenal ensemble of San Francisco rock posters and fashion from the kaleidoscopic years of 1964 to 1972 gathered by collector Gary Westford plus a light show to immerse the senses.

Crossroads Exhibit Gallery: Raising Our Voices: A Century of Women’s Rights in America

One hundred years ago, women gained the right to vote in the United States. In honor of this anniversary, the exhibition will draw connections between the suffragettes, the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, and women’s rights activism today.

Please note The Museum is closed until further notice. Learn more here.

Healing Through the Arts

One of the newest initiatives from Bethel Woods focuses on allowing guests to experience the joys and healing power of creating art together in a safe space. Honesty, openness, and trust deepen as sessions progress, leading to new awareness and insights of participants that revealed their great strength and courage.

This mixed media artwork was created by a five-year-old, who explained that the piece expressed her search to find her “wish”. This artwork was twice the size of all the other participant’s artwork, 18 inches by 24 inches, because she taped two pieces of paper together to complete the work.

This child’s art mimics how intricate and convoluted her journey has been: twisted, confined, and challenging, yet, there is a sense of harmony expressed in her color palette and a motivation toward wholeness, or completion, despite challenge.

Creative Arts Therapy continues this spring. Learn more here.

Finding Beauty In Our Planet

We just closed the contest for submissions to our 2020 photo contest - Earth in Focus: A Celebration of Our Dynamic Planet. Together with Photoville we received over 200 submissions from all over the world. The photographs will be displayed throughout the campus to highlight the environmental movement’s 50th anniversary, as well as the strides made in preservation and sustainability.

While we can't let you see the photos just yet, we thought you might enjoy some of the photos taken on our beautiful site.

Good News - Spring 2020