West Sayville, NY – To many people, the spirit of Woodstock died after the 1960s, but to some Long Islanders, the era still lives on as hundreds celebrated the 16^th annual Woodstock celebration, known as Bradstock, on September 6.

The festival was first organized in 1994 when Brad Ringhouse, simply known as “Brad,” and some friends, thought Long Island could use a day of music and fun. “It was passion which inspired the first Bradstock, 16 virgin upholders of the late sixties enlightenment,” Dennis O’Doherty, Bradstock volunteer for 16 years, said.

Bradstock featured local bands, as well as vendors representing Long Island shops and stores.  The grounds of the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville, where the festival has been held each year since 2000, is filled with remnants of an era not-yet-lost in time.

Several bands performed that day including the psychedelic sounds of P’fessor Rubadub Mojo, a Long Island jam band that features everything from screaming saxophones to African drums and xylophones.  K.G.B, another band, which plays funk and blues, covered classics such as Lionel Richie’s All Night Long and Led Zeppelin’s Good Times Bad Times.

Local brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, and Clare Rose, Long Island’s Budweiser distributor, participated in Bradstock. Attendees sampled Blue Point’s Toasted Lager, Summer Ale, Blueberry Ale, and Hoptical Illusion this year.

Each year the festival donates proceeds to local charities.  This year, the festival donated a total of $15,000 to local non-profit organizations such as Island Harvest, a Long Island organization that collects donated foods for local soup kitchens and food pantries, and Splashes of Hope, an organization that paints murals on hospital walls to give sick patients a more positive sense of healing and optimism.

Overall, attendees said they enjoyed the music, the atmosphere, and the beer selection. “The experience gets better and better every year,” Teri Fallon, an annual attendee for the past 12 years, said. “Time has served Bradstock well.”

Story and Photos by Joseph Lopergalo