Jeremy Schaller (photo by David Gordon)
The Electric Daisy Music Festival might be out at Winston Farm, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be something happening there in 2014. In fact, according to Winston Farm representative Jeremy Schaller, there are several events in the works for the farm, which last saw music in its midst during the Woodstock ’94 music festival.
Although he did not provide many specifics about the upcoming events, Schaller did mention an “arts and music festival” scheduled for mid-July of next year. The proposal will be presented before the Saugerties Planning Board on Tuesday, Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center) and the Town Board during its regularly scheduled meeting, the following night at 8 p.m.
Schaller was tight-lipped about the details of upcoming events at the Farm, saying he didn’t want to “let the cat out of the bag” before making his presentations to the boards. Other possible future events include a yoga festival and an unnamed jam band festival. Some of the proposed events may include camping, said Schaller. Anticipated attendance for the events would be between 15,000 and 30,000. Michael Lang, who organized all three Woodstock festivals, is also involved in the project.
Schaller’s revelation about the upcoming Winston Farm festivals comes on the heels of Town Supervisor Kelly Myers’ announcement at the last Saugerties Town Board meeting that the previously-proposed Electric Daisy Music Festival would not be held during Memorial Day weekend in 2014. “There were concerns about how to safely manage that, and the Schaller Family has had some concerns, as well,” said Myers.
Winston Farm is an 850-acre tract of land west of Rt. 32 and north of Rt. 212, opposite the Thruway interchange. It was the site of a proposed megadump and casino, and more recently has been touted by local and regional economic development officials as a possible location for high tech manufacturing.