Past Festivals

Year three brought new depth. Robert Thurman—scholar, monk, friend of the Dalai Lama—sat with Nena Thurman and talked about what compassion actually means when the world is burning. HeatherAsh Amara spoke with humor about spiritual smugness, a chief impediment to realization.

Ira Schepetin closed the Awakening Talks with what he always, at heart, addresses: the nature of awakened state. Fifty years of Vedantic study distilled into an afternoon at Bearsville.

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Krishna Das came. 1,100 people gathered at Bearsville Park on a Saturday afternoon in August. The kirtan went deep—an hour, ninety minutes, nobody counting.

Then he stopped. Put down the harmonium. And sat in silence. For two full minutes, 1,100 people breathed together. Wind in the trees. Birds. Human openness beyond interpretation.

The Festival expanded—three full days, events across town, hundreds of volunteers. The Music Walk alone lined the streets with dozens of musicians playing live into the night air, as if the town itself was serenading you.

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The first Woodstock Festival of Awakening happened in September 2023, less than a year after Jogger John's memorial. Nobody knew if people would show up.

Between 600 and 1,000 came. Some for the kirtan. Some for the talks. Some just showed up because something was calling them.

Nobody turned away for inability to pay. The Healing Garden became the Festival's anchor. Free and by donation.

It felt fragile and powerful at once. Like watching something incarnate and include us.

See the Full 2023 Lineup