I don't know about the rest of you, but here on the East Coast - upstate New York to be exact, Fourth of July feels a bit anti-climactic. For starters, it's a Tuesday. Okay, I know it's Tuesday where you are too! But it's a cloudy and muggy one; the actual holiday has arrived after an amazing three days of sunshine and fun.

I'm in Monticello, the Jewish Alps... the Borscht Belt! My mom lives in a community called Camelot Woods. (In my books I refer to it as Nottingham Forest!) It's a nice place in the Catskill Mountains, and an outgrowth of what bungalow colony living was some thirty years ago. But the Catskills, known for their big hotels, abundance of food, and celebrity comics died. However, this weekend it got a shot of adrenalin that will never have Sullivan County looking the same.

The town of Bethel, about twenty minutes from here, was the home of Woodstock. As a kid in 1969, I remember somebody's dad from the bungalows taking us for a ride to "see the hippies." The roads were packed, the place was crazy. It an awesome time. And nothing has happened on those 1700 acres since. Until now!

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts opened Saturday, July 1st with the NY Philharmonic playing Gershwin and Tchaikovsky, and Tony winner Audra McDonald singing her glorious soprano. There were 12,000 people there - between the amphitheatre and the lawn. The grounds were bucolic, the concert magnificent, the sound impeccable. People attending felt proud, and held their heads with pride. To top it all off, there was a fireworks disply by Grucci! It was a totally upscale night.

We went out for ice cream after, and at 12:30 in the morning there was actually a line in the diner of people waiting to get in. The ghost town was reborn. It was hoppin' like the old days!

Boston Pops will be there in August, and I definitely want to see Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
This will change everything. The Catskills will never be the same. It's not just the Borscht Belt anymore.