The Woodstock 50 saga continues as it was just last week when another permit was denied for a new venue. With just thirty-one days to go, there’s still no guarantees on a venue nor are tickets up for sale for the event that’s promised to be a “world-class” and historic event.” Despite the festival’s uncertainty, organizers have been resilient fighting their way to make the event a go. Following last week’s permit being denied twice by Oneida County for Vernon Downs, the producers and venue owner Jeffrey Gural are now holding an open house for local residents before Tuesday’s (16th) permit review.
As the countdown to the event continues, the open house will begin tonight (15th) to show the Town of Vernon residents a preview for their planned 50th-anniversary celebration at the race track. There will be a total of two open house events; the first one will take place at the Vernon Downs Casino Hotel at 6:30 PM tonight (15th) and the second will take place tomorrow (16th) from 7AM to 1PM. The open house will take place before a public town meeting to review the permit on Tuesday evening at 7PM. Despite the permit being denied twice, these rejections can be overruled by the town planning board. Variety reports, that if the planning board also denies the permit application, Woodstock 50 organizers could take the matter to court. However, due to the event being a month away, a court ruling wouldn’t be helpful in terms of timing.
The event’s promoters and track owners announced in a press release that they’ve gathered a “world-class team of experts to help with the expedited schedule of the festival.” The announcement also offered to hold annual Woodstock 50 events as well as job opportunities to the local residents, stating:
“If permits are secured, Woodstock 50 could foresee hiring local residents to help with ticketing, security, logistical support, transportation, set up, break down and clean up,” it reads, and speculated about “establish[ing] a committee of local residents to identify and invite certain local vendors onto the site during the festival.”
Woodstock 50 is asking for an administrative permit from the Town of Vernon to host the three-day festival, which is currently scheduled to kick off on August 16th. The event lost its original Watkins Glen location last month as former investor Dentsu Aegis decided to pull out of the festival back in April. While the uncertainty on the upcoming festival continues to grow, if it somehow does pull off, the three-day-event consists of a diverse lineup with acts such as The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Santana, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Dead & Company, and many more.
