Entertaining the crowd gathering close to the spot where the stage was erected in 1969, the folk legend performs Bob Dylan's 'The Times They Are a-Changin' ' among other songs.

AceShowbiz - Folk legend Arlo Guthrie kicked off a long weekend of gigs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival on Thursday, August 15.

Bosses at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts are hosting a series of events to mark 50 years since an estimated 400,000 people showed up to watch some of the biggest names in rock perform in farmland in upstate New York from 15 to 18 August 1969.

Guthrie, an original Woodstock performer, had the honour of opening the celebrations and performed the Bob Dylan classic "The Times They Are a-Changin' " close to the spot where the stage was erected half a century ago. He also performed a full set at the top of Woodstock's famous hill.

After his impromptu earlier performance, Guthrie told the Associated Press that being back at Bethel brought back fond memories.

"It was a great time," the 72-year-old said. "For me, the Woodstock festival was a celebratory end of an era. It was not the beginning of anything. It was the end of something, and it was an end of a very turbulent time that was also very wonderful."

Guthrie's full gig was followed by a screening of the acclaimed 1970 Woodstock documentary at an amphitheatre on the site.

Fans new and old have descended on the site for a weekend of celebrations, including concerts by Woodstock veterans Carlos Santana and John Fogerty.

Plans for a mammoth Woodstock 50 rock and pop festival headlined by the likes of Miley Cyrus and Jay-Z were abandoned late last month after its organisers struggled to find a suitable venue.

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