Tickets, Hotel and Camping Information
Saturday, August 210am-12:30am. $25 general admission / $45 VIP(includes stage-front VIP seating, 2 free drink tickets and access to the VIP bar and restroom area).
PARKINGFree parking and shuttle services between Woodmore High School and Schedel Gardens every 10 minutes during festival hours. There will be limited on-site parking ($10 per vehicle). Shuttle Service Free parking and shuttle service will be provided between the Hotels Check local and surrounding areas for hotel availability. There are several hotel listings within 15 minutes of Schedel Gardens & Arboretum. More information is available by calling 419-862-3182 CampingCampsites for tents are available in the gardens beside Fisher Lake. Tents cannot exceed 15’ x 15’ with a maximum of 4 tenants. Tents may be set up on Friday between the hours of 6-9am or Saturday morning between 8-10am. Camping permits are $50 and include one parking pass. Camping permits also include one 6-pack of bottled water. Donuts, bagels and coffee will be provided free of charge Sunday beginning at 8am. It is against State of Ohio law to bring alcohol onto the premises. In addition, partly due to wildlife concerns, no food may be brought onto the premises. These policies will be strictly enforced. No fires, wood or gas, or generators are permitted in the campsite area. Schedel Arboretum or woodsstock.org
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The owner of Rosie’s Italian Grille plans an event that captures the spirit of the original Woodstock Music and Arts Festival By Griffin Messer-Kruse and Joseph Schafer
Brothers Mike and Phil Barone were inspired to organize the concert due to their deep appreciation and love of rock music from the 1960s. “Its been a dream of mine for a long time,” Phil Barone said. “I was never able to go to Woodstock, but I am fascinated by the whole story. I’ve seen the movie many times.” Barone’s fascination with the original Woodstock is rooted in the event’s singular position in the history of rock music. “Those years were some of the most creative years in rock and roll,” he said, referring to now-legendary performances by such artists as Santana, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Ravi Shankar and a then very pregnant Joan Baez. Kicking around the ideaBarone is no stranger to the ins and outs of classic rock—he’s sung locally in a lauded Jim Morrison tribute band, as a regular Put-in-Bay act for years, and as a headliner for charity events for the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo and the YWCA. His performances include lavish stage productions and live, improvised psychedelic light mixing. The WoodsStock Music and Arts Festival has been kicking around in Barone’s head for a few years. “This year all the pieces sort of fell into place,” he said, recalling a chance meeting at Rosie’s, the restaurant he operates, with Rod Noble and Veronica Sheets of Schedel Arboretum & Gardens in Elmore, OH. “The gardens is a nonprofit organization, and they needed some money to do the things they have planned, and since I play for charity […] it was almost too easy for us to do,” Barone said. Schedel Gardens, which often hosts weddings and other events, is a far cry from Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, NY—site of the 1969 Woodstock fest—but as far as Barone’s concerned that might be a plus. “The stage will be by the lake. It’s the most romantic place I’ve ever been,” he said. The meadow that will house the main stage slopes downward, functioning as a natural amphitheater with excellent acoustics. Barone hopes that festival attendees will recline on blankets and enjoy the music in a relaxed fashion, the way Woodstock concertgoers did 45 years ago. The day-long event kicks off with a juried fine arts show and a vintage car show before seguing into performances by eight bands on two separate stages. Festival attendees are invited to walk the grounds and enjoy both the natural beauty of the gardens as well as the visual artwork and classic cars before heading to the concert area. Food and concessions will be provided by Rosie’s Rolling Chef, an upscale food truck that serves high-end staples from Rosie’s Italian Grille like Lobster Mac n’ Cheese and Hot Mama Bread. Songs from 1969 festThe music schedule will feature Kerry Patrick Clark; local jazz maestro Skip Turner; Bourbon Street, and several local bands that will perform music from the original Woodstock. The Wheeler Brothers, a roots-rock quintet from Austin, Texas, with ties to Toledo, is the sole out-of-state act. Their driving brand of folk rock evokes a more southern-fried take on the sounds popularized by Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers. When it comes to critical acclaim, the Wheelers have it. They will be performing songs from their recent full-length album, “Gold Boots Glitter.” Headlining the event are Mike and Phil Barone, performing as Mikey Blue Barone and Phil Barone and The Cruisers, respectively. Mike will be playing original songs he has written over the last few years while Phil will be performing obscure New Jersey-born rock covers. “I consider it New Jersey rock and roll,” he said of his new project. “I’m a huge Springsteen fan. It’s just raw and upbeat rock coupled with a saxophone.” Several local brass mavens will blow their horns in the Crusiers, including Al Ashby on saxophone and Brad Sharp of the Homewreckers on trumpet. Jim Morrison tributeBarone also will perform with his esteemed Jim Morrison tribute, but for WoodsStock, he’s pushing his vocal capacity to the next level with a tribute to Joe Cocker. Cocker, a then-unknown singer, opened the second day of the original Woodstock with what many consider to be the finest performance of the legendary festival. For proof see the well-documented video footage of his rendition of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.” With his firehouse voice pumping into soul-rock overdrive, and his hands gesticulating wildly, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime performance, and one Barone seeks to emulate. “I listen to that song and go, ‘How the hell am I going to do it?’ I have to practice hours for each minute of that song. He has such a unique voice and style of movement, but I am going to do that movement!” Barone promised. One dollar moreThe Barone brothers’ version of Woodstock costs only a dollar more than the original—tickets for WoodsStock are $25 while the original festival charged $24 for a three-day pass. The best cover songs don’t try to duplicate the original performances but rather seek to capture the spirit of the 1969 festival, according to Barone. What is it that made the original Woodstock so legandary? “To me, it was the peace and love moment,” Barone said. “The 500 thousand people at Woodstock? They had no problems. We want to re-create that. We will have assistant staff with peace T-shirts on, instead of armed security. At that festival they had no security, no people with handguns, and that’s important—it’s better without that.” The key to peace? Nonviolence. A lesson worth repeating. And of course, some great food and music can’t hurt, either.
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