Edmond Town Hall Theatre, the historic theater and movie house at 45 Main Street, will host a free showing on Friday, April 22, at 7 pm, of the documentary Woodstock: Now & Then.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion of experts being moderated by John Voket.

Released in 2009, Woodstock: Now & Then was produced and directed by Barbara Koppel. The 88-minute film combines footage of the 1969 festival from the original documentary, and behind-the-scenes footage of performances by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Grace Slick, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Santana, among others.

It also explores the frenzied days leading up to the festival, from how the planners scrambled to find a concert site and the traffic jams that shut down the New York State Thruway, to the notorious “brown acid” to the thunderous rain and mud and, of course, the music.

The post screen discussion will delve into the culture, music, and political environment leading up to the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

The panel includes Scott Parker, a music historian, podcast host, and author of Woodstock Documented; Ira and Maxine Stone, who performed with Bert Sommer on the iconic Woodstock stage 53 years ago and continue to make music with their band, the Stone Band; and Ticia Bernuth Agri, who served as personal assistant to Woodstock Festival promoter Michael Lang.

Panelists will also include Gary Adamson, a Woodstock historian/musician and founder of the band Back to the Garden 1969 (scheduled to perform at ETH Theatre the following night); Grant Ossendryver, an accomplished musician and expert on musical production and technology; and Jim Kelleher, who attended the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival and is a professor of English at Northwestern Community College.

Voket is the editor of The Newtown Bee and a musician.

Edmond Town Hall Chair Jen Guman said she is “excited for us to host this free movie screening the night before the Back to the Garden 1969 concert. I love the idea of creating an event around one of our concerts to make it a full experience!”

The event is free but registration is required and can be done by visiting edmondtownhall.org. Call 203-270-4285 for additional information.

Beer and wine will be available for purchase.

Funding for this event is provided by Connecticut Humanities (CTH), an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs.