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August 14–16, 2026

Three Days. Two Nights.
One Question:

What do you want to awaken?

Get Tickets (TBD) Full Schedule
Festival musician Bearsville Theatre performance Festival performer Bearsville Park Festival Map

WOCA welcomes you to our fourth-annual Woodstock Community Festival of Awakening, Friday through Sunday, August 14–16. Once again, ceremonies, performances, workshops, talks, readings and more will occur throughout the town of Woodstock and beyond, including all-day gatherings at the Bearsville on Saturday and Sunday.

This year Krishna Das and company on Saturday will headline our Kirtan marathon; there will be a dance gathering in the Bearsville Theater on that Saturday night; and we are introducing this year the Awakening Art Project, with installations of contemporary art in the Grove, where on August 16 we will feature a series of dance, literary and experimental music, live performances.

There will be dawn and dusk meditations, yoga, instruction and practice in various awakening schools, progressive causes, lots of good food and gatherings, great music (Kirtan, rock & more), plus other performance and other arts—and through it all the collective aspiration to awaken.

If you have a practice, product or art that rings with "awakening"—or want to volunteer or contribute to this fully accessible event—we welcome you to connect with the Festival. To find out more, see the lineups and images from Past Festivals.

How to Attend

Much of the Festival is free and by donation.

Festival Tickets

Early-Bird Full Festival (until May 1)TBD
Regular Full FestivalTBD
General Admission, SaturdayTBD
Bearsville Theatre, SaturdayTBD
General Admission, SundayTBD
Get Tickets (TBD) Volunteer Instead
For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is preparation.
— Rainer Maria Rilke

Three Days & Two Nights

This is a working schedule. Confirmed events are listed below; details will be added as artists and speakers are confirmed. Check back often. Click each day to see the schedule.

Friday, August 14

Opening: Gathering the Community

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6:00 PM
Medicine Wheel Blessing & Opening Ceremony
Woodstock Community Center
We begin by calling to the elements and directions, activating the Festival in ceremony, song, dance and wishes to form a sound that may be heard together and beyond. Including the Song for Jogger John, led by Tad Wise.
6:30 PM
BreakBread Community Potluck
Woodstock Community Center
Tables of 5–6. Conversations around prompts that matter. Connection through breaking bread together. Bring a dish to share.
8:00 PM – Late
Evening Ceremonies
Multiple Venues
The evening unfolds across Woodstock:
  • Ecstatic Dance at Mountainview Studio
  • Cannabis, Cacao & Kirtan at The NEST
  • Sacred Rituals at Mothership Gallery
  • Sound Journey at White Feather Farm

Saturday, August 15

Gathering: The Bearsville Day of Awakening

▼
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Morning Sessions
Various Venues
  • Movement by the Stream (Sawkill Creek) — Sufi dance, Qi Gong, yoga
  • Walking Meditation (Bearsville Trails) — In the tradition of Thích Nhất Hạnh
  • Awakening Talks (Bearsville Theater) — Earth consciousness, activism, philosophy
12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Bearsville Day of Awakening
Bearsville Park & Theater
The heart of the Festival. This requires a ticket.
  • 12:00 PM — Healing Garden Market opens (40+ wellness vendors)
  • 1:00 PM — Sound Garden begins (kirtan performers across Hudson Valley)
  • 2:00 PM — Awakening Talks continue
  • 3:30 PM — KRISHNA DAS at Bearsville Theater
  • 12:00 – 6:00 PM — Children's Awakening Garden (curated by Emma Leigh)
7:00 PM – Late
Saturday Evening
Across Woodstock
  • Woodstock Music Walk — ~50 venues, curated by Paul McMahon. A mile and a half of musicians playing live into the night air, as if the town itself was serenading you.
  • Dance Gathering at Bearsville Theater
  • Late-night Kirtan at The NEST

Sunday, August 16

Closing: Integration & Return

▼
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Morning Practices
Various Venues
  • Sunrise Meditation — Andy Lee Field
  • Movement by the Stream — Sawkill Creek
  • BreakBread Breakfast — Woodstock Community Center
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
The Awakening Art Project
The Grove at Bearsville Park
Walk the woodland path. Ten installations by ten artists. Performances at each site—poetry, music, dance, story. The forest and the art in conversation.
5:00 PM
Community Drum Circle & Closing Ceremony
Village Green
We close as we began—together. Bring your drum. Bring your voice. Bring yourself.