Sept. 22-24

FRIDAY

[4:00-5:15PM, pre-Festival]
SPARROW ON THE GREEN
Woodstock Village Green

The poet & artist Sparrow will manage information about the Festival & its environs, including advice on paths to the Opening Ceremony, evening events & the rest of your life. SPECIAL BONUS: Walk with Sparrow up Rock City Road to the Opening of the Festival!

5:30 - 6:30pm
community Center OPENING CEREMONY:
What Do You Wish to Awaken?

Our three days and two nights of events, talks and music sessions opens with a gathering at our Community Center where we will call to the the elements and directions, activate the Festival with wishes, hear from local voices of awakening, and together form a sound that to be heard through the valley and beyond.
Woodstock Community Center

Hosted by Joan Apter, with Land Acknowledgment; Peter Blum on drum; Evan Pritchard’s Medicine Wheel; Wishing Bell with Shauna Cummins; Dictums & Blessings from among others Juliet Rania, Corrine Gervai, Kenpo Tenkong, Dave Holden, Nidhi Huba, Mikhail Horowitz, Julian Lines, Rabbi Moishe, Laurie Osmond, Violet Snow, Linda Winnick & Rev. Matthew Wright; & Sound in our Circle.

6:30 - 8:00
COMMUNITY MEAL, Hosted by Urana Kinlen
Woodstock Community Center ($5 suggested donation; $10 for meal & dance)
Stone Soup Model w/ various soups, breads, salads + non-alcoholic drinks. All welcome!

8:00 - 10:00
ECSTATIC DANCE with DJ Avinash
Woodstock Community Center ($5 suggested donation; $10 for dance & meal)

8:00 - 10:00
FIRESIDE JAM with Peter Blum, Bob Vetter & Stefanie Frank
ESKFF Nest ($10 suggested donation) Register here

8:00 - 9:00
KUNDALINI COSMIC SOUND BATH & LIGHT IMMERSION with Jennifer Drue
Mountainview Studio ($10 suggested donation)

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
Regarding the term “donation,” we are working within an understanding of a broad three-part delineation in which the highest dollar cost reflects a fair “full price” (the “suggested donation”) under the circumstance of a festival in which practitioners are offering their services for a reduced rate as a means of contribution to the community; the middle cost reflects the practitioner/event organizer's acknowledgement that paying the full cost would prevent some folks from being able to attend; and the bottom cost represents an honest acknowledgment that there are folks whose economic circumstances would prevent them from being a part of this if there was not be a deliberate opportunity made for them to access services at a cost that is reflective of their economic realities. (Adapted from “Sliding Scale Measurements: That Everyone Can Live” by Alexis Cunningfolk) Please pay what you may afford, with the understanding everything you give goes to artists & practitioners in your community.

SATURDAY (fall equinox)
rain or shine

SUNRISE CHANTING & SINGING within Sacred Sound Chamber
Lenny’ Bee Happy Farm (395 Wittenberg Road)

We will be chanting and drumming to welcome the sun as we mark the changing of the seasons on our living Earth Mother. Sunrise is at 6:45, but it takes the sun a little while to get above the mountains so it doesn't shine into the chamber until a bit later, sometime after 7am. There are signs for Chamber parking. Please pull into the field and park where indicated. Head toward the back of the property, following the string of colored lights. Bring drums, rattles, flutes, whatever you like to make sound with. We will have some extra instruments as well.

10:00 - 11:00am

FOREST BATH with Stefanie Frank
ESKFF Nest (open donation) Buy your ticket here

10:00 - 11:15am (rain or shine)
OSHO ACTIVE MEDITATION with Michael Raphael
The Mothership Gallery (open donation)

11:15am - 12:15pm (rain or shine)
BREATH & PRESENCE with Kim Jaye & Sam Truitt
The Mothership Gallery (open donation)
An introduction to breathing techniques & the nature of the open secret.

12:15 - 1:00pm (rain or shine)
MA (Music Meditation) with Linda Mary Montano & Paul McMahon
The Mothership Gallery (open donation)

Noon - 5:00pm
SPARROW ON THE GREEN
Woodstock Village Green
The poet & artist Sparrow will manage information about the Festival & its environs, including advice on paths to the immediate & evening events—& more on the rest of your life.

1:00 - 6:00pm (rain or shine)
THE WOODSTOCK COMMUNITY FESTIVAL OF AWAKENING AT THE BEARSVILLE

Entrance fee is $10 (suggested donation) for all Bearsville Center festivities. Buy ticket here!

1:00 - 6:00
SACRED CHANT/KIRTAN FESTIVAL, hosted by Avinash
Bearsville Park
Come join musicians from across the Hudson Valley & beyond for this unique gathering of spirit in sound & dance & more than we may know.

Sessions include:

1:00 to 2:00pm Radharani
2:00 to 3:00pm Arundhati
3:00 to 4:00pm Mirabai Moon
4:00 to 5:00pm Spirit Brothers
5:00 to 6:00pm Serve Love Ashram
featuring, among other special guests, Ned Levitt,
Joseph Jastrab, Steve Gorn, Avinash & Malini Taneja.

1:00 - 5:00pm
MOVEMENT BY THE STREAM, hosted by Michael Raphael
Bearsville Park
Integrate with the sounds of the creek & the music & the flow of guided
meditation in movement that passes through us beyond understanding.

Practices include:

1:00 - 3:00pm Sufi Movement with Matthew Wright
2:00 - 3:00pm Qi Gong with Corrinne Mol
3:00 - 4:00pm Yoga with Corrine Gervai
4:00 - 5:00pm Sacred Songways + Voice Empowerment with Michael O’Connell
Join Michael in a workshop designed to unlock the power of your voice, spirit and the enchanting world of sacred songs. Through a blend of guided exercises, vocal techniques, and shared melodies from diverse traditions, you'll tap into song’s ancient resonance
1:00 - 5:00pm Rapid Resolutions (Limpias & Trancework) with Peter Blum & Bob Vetter
With a combined 60+ years in the field of spiritual healing, they offer “mini sessions” of both limpias (spiritual cleansing) and hypnosis. 

1:00 - 5:30pm
HEALING GARDEN MARKET, hosted by Urana Kinlen
Bearsville Park
Tents, tables & sundry booths of people & groups at the forefront
of wellness, healing & spiritual & community inquiry. You may find
what you know you need here and what you didn’t know you need
& everything in between to ease your way.

vendors include:

Everyday Magic Intentional Goods + Healing provides a wide range of healing goods for sale: body care, soul care, and mind care ☼ GratefulGemHead highlights all that the mineral world has to offer: Inviting you along on this journey to embrace these gifts into your homes and lives ☼ Woodstock Microgreens offers Sunflower, Broccoli, Radish, Pea, Arugula, Spicy Mustard, Cilantro, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Leek, and Fava Bean Microgreens made with organic, heirloom, non-GMO seeds, organic soil, and packaged in biodegradable cornstarch containers ☼ Hemp & Humanity offers the best hemp-based products available, along with education about the power of hemp to improve the human condition. We will be showcasing our Consciously Curated Collection of hemp cannabinoid products ☼ Sustainable Sorcerers provides traditional Northeastern native medicinal botanicals, roots and functional mushrooms for restorative wellness ☼ Tischler Acupuncture works to our benefit by bringing all the things our bodies need to heal itself to areas of the body that need it most ☼ Joan Apter Aromatherapy and Wellness Programs will help you increase your physical, mental, emotional + spiritual balance with the appropriate essential aromatherapy oils based on your individual needs ☼ Integrative Healing and Massage Therapy offers integrative healing which includes Massage Therapy, Certified Sound Healing, vibrational medicine, pain relief techniques and medical massage crafted to individual needs ☼ School of Oracles understands the hand is God's roadmap: connect to a Master Palm Reader and author of The Art & Science of Hand Reading ☼ My Reiki Healer will bring healing energy to flow through you and help rebalance you and reconnect you to your inner peace ☼ Lorry Salluzzi Sensei provides forms energy healing that include, reiki, dolphin-mps therapy (no-needle acupuncture), Healy Device Healing, sound healing & tuning fork healing tailored to your needs ☼ The Shamanatrix offers a 30 minute energy tune-up where you'll receive shamanic wisdom, guidance, and clarity around the next steps on your healing journey ☼ The Modern Mystic will read tarot, runes and you, as well as offer life coaching to folx seeking an awakening ☼ SoulCollage + Creative Art Expression will manifest our own mini make-and-take “awakening” SoulCollage using provided materials, a symbol of the day, our immersion in the festival community and epiphany ☼

1:00 - 6:00pm
CHILDREN’S GARDEN, hosted by Emma Leigh, Christina Varga & others
Organized & enacted by community educators, a dedicated & separate area of the Park we will host a semi-interlinked series of activities to delight, engage & inspire children through movements, story, art projects, group collaborations & more.
(This offering is for children aged 2-12, who must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.)
Bearsville Park

Gatherings include:

1:00 - 2:00 pm Magical Woods Walk
What spirits might we encounter as we adventure in our wild WOODStock woods? Water fairies, or elves of the fern? What magic of your own might you discover as you connect with the land? Join us for a brief trail walk. We recommend close toed shoes for this activity

2:00 - 3:00 pm Wand Making
You are invited to create your own magic! What might you like to bring into our universe? Youth will create magic wands using a variety of enchanting materials.

3:00 - 4:00 pm Mandala
Join local artist Christina Varga in the art of Mandala making, to create the ideal universe, or as a meditative practice bringing focus and peace.

4:00 - 5:00 pm Giggles & Ganesha
A movement and storytelling workshop with Emma Leigh that embraces joy and playfulness in the exploration of yogic practice for the very young. Children will have the opportunity to seed and take home their very own Tulsi plant. 

5:00 - 5:30 pm Meditation

5:30 - 6:00 pm Community Circle + Collective Prayer
We  will gather for a closing circle, children will be invited to share what community means to them, and what they hope for within our community. We will gather objects to represent our prayers for our collective and build an offering, to the collective and the land. 

1:00 - 5:30pm
AWAKENING TALKS, hosted by Sam Truitt
Bearsville Lounge & other locations TBD
Connect in words to what is, approached from numerous perspectives, among us, in these talks & discussions & more.

Exchanges include:

1:00 - 2:00pm Woodstock Microgreens: You are what you eat & what is eating you, a talk & discussion with Chris Bob
Amidst environmental concerns for water and air, we must also confront the disheartening truth of the old saying, "you are what you eat." Food has been commodified, chemically sourced, branded, and genetically modified to fit a standardized mold, drifting away from its once-revered role as medicine, as was suggested by Hippocrates. Let’s rethink food, finding its true benefits for heart, mind, and soul. 

2:00 - 3:00pm Parmenides & Why  Everything That Seems Must Seem To Be, a reading/talk & discussion with Charles Stein
Stein’s "Parmenides Project" comprises some thirty years of journal writings documenting an extended "thought experiment" in which he takes seriously Parmenides' assertion that Being and only Being truly "is" and that all else —all thoughts, intuitions, imaginings, sensations, perceptions, myths & philosophical opinions—by the very structure of "seeming" must "seem to Be."

3:00 - 4:00pm Foundations of Nonduality, a talk & discussion with Ira Schepetin
Ira illuminates the nature of the nondual state as discerned in the Ashtavakra Gita & through experience.

4:00 - 5:30pm What is Woodstock & How Do You Get There? a panel talk & discussion with Michael Esposito, Peter Blum, Robin “The Hammer” Ludwig, Susan Tamara Darrow, Sue Wilens & Tad Wise
We have gathered here a magic bus of Woodstock musicians, healers, mystics, historians and visionaries. Join this every-which-way exploration of the nature of Woodstock from people who keep its flame.

1:00 & 3:00pm
AWAKENING WALKS, hosted by the Catskill Mountain Sangha Group
Bearsville Nature Trail
Two, half-hour Walking Meditations in the tradition of Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh. The first walk will assemble and set off shortly after 1pm; and the second walk at 3pm.

2:00 - 6:00pm
SIDDHANATHA YOGA SANGH KRIYA YOGA, hosted by Mary Ellen & Andrew Burkamp
Euphoria Yoga
A basic introduction to the Sacred Science of Kriya Yoga through learning the techniques of Siddhanath Surya Yoga, Golden Lotus, Earth Peace Meditation & Flight of the White Swan, followed by a Q&A. Lead by practitioners of the Kundalini Kriya Yoga path, the option to be initiated into Siddhanath Yoga Sangh will be offered.

5:00 - 8:00+pm
THE WOODSTOCK COMMUNITY AWAKENING CONCERT at the Colony Woodstock

Colony Woodstock, hosted by Paul McMahon
($10 suggested donation; free entry with Bearsville Center wristband, though all contributions welcome)
Fifteen years in the making, McMahon delivers his salute to Woodstock musicians & bands & the spirit of “honk if you love to honk.”

Acts include:

Joey Eppard ☼ Jimmy Eppard ☼ Flash ☼ Ras T Asheber Posse ☼ Frank McGinnis ☼ Sandy Bell ☼ Bruce Milner ☼ The Bluegrass Clubhouse ☼ Charleston Wave ☼ Venture Lift ☼ Gilles Malkine ☼ Paul McMahon ☼ Gayle Two Eagles ☼ Ever Peacock ☼ Norm Wennet ☼ Shamsi Ruhe ☼ Lara from Big Sister ☼ Neil Howard ☼ Alyssa Sage ☼ Chris Zaloom

The Woodstock Center for Awakening and the 2023 Festival committee extend especial thanks to the following people, communities and businesses for hearing the call in participatory and/or financial contribution.

& also Lizzie Vann for all her generosity throughout the organization and execution of this endeavor—

& more than we may say the dozens of people donating grace, wisdom & energy—no few of whom you will find here in our 2023 schedule—we thank for their indefatigable being among us.

We thank you all with all our hearts!