If You Build it, Will They Come?

from In the Know: Spring 2023 - Sullivan County Partnership

by Partnership Econ Dev Sullivan County

Avoiding litigation – How Accessibility is Good Business

How Tourism Goes Hand-in-Hand with Economic Development

Cable television pioneer, philanthropist, and Liberty, New York native Alan Gerry is known in the business world for founding Cablevision Industries, the nation’s eighth largest multiple-system cable operator. In one of the most notable deals in the industry, he merged the company with Time Warner in 1995. Those in Sullivan County, however, recognize him as the beloved founder of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a nonprofit cultural arts institution located in Bethel, NY.

When Mr. Gerry acquired the land that encompassed the site of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, it looked much the same as it did in 1969 when Max Yasgur’s farm was home to 450,000 hopeful young people during one rainy August weekend. Mr. Gerry wasn’t sure what he would do with the property, but he knew it was special to Sullivan County tourism.

Mr. Gerry started small on the property with a farmer’s market. Then at the urging of his daughters, the Gerry family experimented with a two-day festival to see if people would still come to rural upstate New York to hear live music in a bucolic setting. On August 15-16, 1998, tens of thousands of people arrived at “A Day in the Garden” to hear Pete Townsend, Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, and many others, including Joni Mitchell—who, on the advice of her manager, famously missed the original Woodstock in order to appear on The Dick Cavett Show.

The event was a success.

“Without the Gerry family and their dream, Bethel Woods would still be an abandoned alfalfa field,” says Eric Frances, Bethel Woods CEO. Frances joined the organization as CFO in 2006, not long before the first performance on July 1, with The New York Philharmonic.

“It’s pretty incredible to think back to that first season when we happily welcomed around 60,000 guests, and then look at 2022, where we saw more than 300,000 visitors.”

In 2008, Bethel Woods opened a museum dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the legacy of Woodstock and the history of the 1960s. The nonprofit offers creative arts education programming for children and adults, ticket access to underserved communities, and a stage for emerging artists. And, that signature Harvest Festival that started it all, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall, while also serving as the inspiration for other festivals that extend the tourism season.

“We take great pride in preserving and interpreting the National Register Historic site where three days of peace, love and music defined a generation half a century ago. But Bethel Woods is so much more,” says Frances. Since 2006, Bethel Woods has welcomed nearly 4 million visitors to the site and contributed more than $700 million in total economic output in New York State. “When we see lodging partners post our event calendar or a restaurant list how far away they are, we know that Alan’s dream is not only a reality, it just keeps getting bigger.”

This August, Bethel Woods will be welcoming the Catbird Festival, a two-day Americana music and camping festival. “The bird that everyone calls a dove on the original Woodstock poster is actually a catbird,” Frances explains. “We liked that it had that historical reference but is also a nod to our beautiful Sullivan Catskills.”

It’s the first time since Woodstock that a music festival has taken place on the hallowed field along with camping. “We expect between 15,000-20,000 people each day and anticipate about 5,000 will camp,” Frances estimates. “That leaves plenty of folks who will be looking for lodging, and a lot of visitors who will be infusing our local economy.”

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