Local filmmaker's take on Woodstock

When filmmaker Greg Hitchcock first set out to interview folks who attended Woodstock half a century ago, he assumed he would hear stories of discord – "the division between the youth movement and the establishment."

What he heard was the opposite: people cooperating, braving the rain and enjoying the music in peace. The results are evident in his 20-minute documentary, "Woodstock at 50: A Festival that Defined a Generation," which will have its first public screening at the Gloversville Public Library, 58 E. Fulton St., at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15 – the golden anniversary of the festival's kickoff. A Q&A will follow.

"I had preconceived notions, but they were wiped away when I talked to these people," said Hitchcock, who lives in Gloversville. Last year, he ran an ad in the local paper, the Leader-Herald, seeking people who attended the now-legendary "Aquarian Exposition" at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel. He heard from respondents around the country.

"I did feel in the beginning that I'd get a completely different story than the one I got," said Hitchcock. "I thought, at the time, that it would be a story more about the protests that happened in the 60s ... but at the end, when I finished, I knew it was more than that – that it was more of a peaceful gathering of a lot of people enjoying music."

Among those featured in the film is Dan Carlson of Forth Worth, Texas, who was assigned to Woodstock as a deputy with the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office. "I had some stereotypes about hippies. ... The stereotypes that I had were not accurate. The people that we met there were cooperative, and so kind, and so generous," he says, crediting attendees with the "non-violent environment."

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