It’s the 56th anniversary of the Woodstock festival

This past weekend, Aug. 15,16 and 17, marked the 56th anniversary of the famed Woodstock Music and Art Fair that took place in the upstate town of Bethel in 1969 on the massive dairy farm owned by Max Yasgur by White Lake. It was also billed as “An Aquarian Exposition, 3 days of Peace & Music.” The gigantic performance venue featured 32 famous rock groups. Tickets were only $7 for one day, $14 for two days and $18 for three.

However, since security was overwhelmed, the sheer volume was unpredictable, the fences were easily knocked down and many of the more than 460,000 concertgoers had a free show. We were among the thousands who attended, and I’m sure Brooklyn was well represented.

I found out after the fact that my next-door neighbor Bill Shinski and former Assemblyman Peter Abbate were also there. Since I have always been a big-beat fan, I also attended the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival that was held on the Winston Farm in Saugerties, N.Y.  Both venues experienced heavy rains, leaving the grounds a muddy mess. Then, we were back again for a much smaller 50th anniversary concert in Bethel, where they erected  the Woodstock Museum and a large performance arena.

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The Ragamuffin Parade Committee is holding a kickoff brunch honoring parade Grand Marshals Bobby Daquara and John Keegan and 2025 Man of the Year NYPD Capt. John Dasaro, commanding officer of the 68th Precinct. The event, which helps fund the 59th annual Ragamuffin Parade, takes place on Sunday, Sept. 14, from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Greenhouse Cafe, 7717 Third Ave. Tickets may be purchased online by contacting Ragamuffin Parade Bay Ridge @gmail.com, or sending a check to Ragamuffin, Inc. at 9728 Third Ave., Suite 504, Brooklyn, NY 11209.

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It looks like AI is going to knock out thousands of customer service agents for U.S. corporations here and overseas. While the industry calls it artificial intelligence, they are saving money by employing fewer humans. With my recent experience at three different firms where I was trying to replace items or get a refund, the wacky verbal robots only added to lost time and frustration!

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Welcome aboard to the Big Apple, Brooklyn and Bay Ridge to the  new command sergeant major, Eric Riding, to the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton.

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Letters are requested to help save the Fort Hamilton Harbor Defense Museum. Please send them to The Committee to Save the Museum, 337 96th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209.