Judi Grunstra

Scarlet Disko: How old were you during Woodstock? Judi Grunstra: I was 19.   S: What were you doing at the time? J: I was going to school in Buffalo, NY, majoring in art history/humanities, and was home for the summer. I lived in Rockland County which was south of the festival in the suburbs of New York City. I was living there with my mom and working at the New York Public Library.   S: Were your parents aware of you going to Woodstock? If so, did they allow it? J: I had bought my tickets with some good friends of mine that my mom knew. So, I think she was ok with it but was mad when I got home since she thought I had been running around nude like the people she’d seen on TV. As I was in college at the time, I felt that I belonged and associated with the hippie/counter-culture; I’d gone to several protest marches and was loving the music.   S: How many people did you go with? J: I went with two really good friends and some of their friends who I didn’t know as well.   S: What did you think you were going to exactly? J: A music festival. Three days of music and peace, it sounded like it was going to be a big countercultural event that would be a significant memory for my life.   S: When did you arrive at Woodstock? J: We arrived Friday and some friends pitched a tent. However, I don’t remember being in the tent that often, we mostly stayed on a blanket that we had laid down on the hill. I know I fell asleep through the Who, but other than that, I don’t recall sleeping that much. There was so much going on and you didn’t want to miss anything.   S: Was it the first festival you went to? J: It might of been the first festival I’d gone to, but I had seen the Beatles at Shea Stadium and the Rolling Stones at Carnegie Hall. I really enjoyed going to see live music and being around that atmosphere.   S: What was your favorite memory from the festival? J: It was more of a feeling, that people were tied together and that maybe this generation was going to change society somehow.   S: Who were your favorite...