They also said outdoor toilets, such as those to be used at the concert, were illegal in Wallkill. Two weeks earlier, the town board passed a law requiring a permit for any gathering of more than 5,000 people. "The law they passed excluded one thing and one thing only- Woodstock. The Wallkill board may have done Woodstock ventures a favor. If Woodstock had been staged in Wallkill, Lang said, the vibes would have either have squelched the show or turned it into a riot. "I didn't want cops in gas masks showing up and that was the atmosphere there," Lang said. Now the 4 were in trouble they needed a place to hold the concert. Elliott Tiber read about Woodstock getting tossed out of Wallkill. So he called Woodstock Ventures and told them of his friend Max Yasgur who owned 600 acres of pasture. .
Yasgur met Lang and as soon as Lang saw the sloping bowl, a little rise for the stage, and a lake in the background. The deal was done. The concert date was approaching fast and a week before the festival, Yasgur's farm didn't look much like a concert site. "It was like they were building a house except there was a helicopter pad, Vassmer said, the owner of a local general store. Vassmer had heard the nervous talk among his regular customers, especially when they heard the radio ads. Many of the local citizens were outraged and filed a lawsuit. It was settled and the show was still on schedule. The time had come on August 15, 16, and 17 of 1969 nearly 500,000 people gathered together to celebrate life. The musical acts that were supposed to play were Joan Baez, Tim Hardin, Arlo Gutherie, Sweetwater, The Incredible String Band, Ravi Shankar, Bert Sommer and Sly and the Family Stone. The scheduled starting times was 4pm. The performers were spread around in Holiday !.
Inns or Howard Johnsons miles from the site. Because of the traffic jam, the promoters were frantically contracting for helicopters to shuttle in the performers and supplies.