VERNON, NY (CelebrityAccess) — Variety is reporting that after a meeting on Monday, Oneida County has denied a temporary event permit for the Woodstock 50 festival to take place at Vernon Downs Racetrack.
Oneida County Administrator Anthony Picente Jr. told Variety that festival organizers have five days to appeal the decision but added that a reversal appears “highly unlikely.”
“It’s been chaotic,” Picente told Variety. “Originally it was going to be a three-day festival, but then [the producers] said instead it would be three one-day events, with all 65,000 or however many people vacating the grounds at the end of each day.”
We could have done this with a year or 16 months advance [planning], but to do it in three to six weeks is really a near impossibility from a public safety and health standpoint,” Picente added.
With just 38 days until the festival, it is unclear what Woodstock organizers next move will be. Vernon Downs was a second choice after the festival’s first venue, Watkins Glen backed out of hosting the event last month.
A representative from Woodstock did not respond to a request for comment.
