Thirty-nine years ago this week in 1969, some 400,000 people found their way to Woodstock in the Catskills Mountains which forever changed the landscape for folk music and festivals in America.

Just under 25 miles away in East Durham, New York a revolution of its own is shaping the celebration of Irish traditional music in America as it exists in the 21st century, and adding more legendary lore to the role that America has played in preserving the pure drop of that musical genre.

In just 14 years the annual gathering known as the Catskills Irish Arts Week has become the seminal American touchstone for gauging the power and influence of the centuries-old native music we generally refer to as traditional Irish folk music or simply trad.

While the numbers of attendees will never come near the Woodstock tribe, you could make a case that the hardcore who do make the annual pilgrimage in mid July to upstate New York come away even more entranced with Irish music and dance than when they arrived which is saying a lot, really.

And somewhere down the road, some historian will note that along with the roles of Captain Frances O'Neill, Michael Coleman and Dr. Mick Moloney have played over the years, the Catskills Irish Arts Week will stand out as a another pivotal part of maintaining the living tradition associated with the music. It no longer is simply reliving the history of the storied Irish American resort town, but it is rewriting the history of it each year or at least the Irish music history.

For five years now I have been stewarding the cornucopic cavalcade of music and dance events that make up the annual Catskills Irish Arts Week, held between July 13 and 19 of this year, as its artistic director. Which means I don't really see as much as I would like to considering what I set in motion on a daily or nightly basis - kind of like the quarterback who throws the touchdown pass but is thrown down on the turf before he can witness the successful result.

So this report won't be an Edward R. Murrow "you are there" effort, but more like the fly on the wall report where you can glean a little bit of what happened all week by virtue of the ground that I could cover given my myriad responsibilities and my wasting an average of four hours of sleep a night.

We have come to expect many highlights during the week in East Durham, and the 2008 edition did not disappoint. There are so many streams of entertainment that make it a 24/7 environ (thanks to many late night sessions around town) that the choices were plentiful and rich due to the talent assembled for the week and the enthusiastic students and audiences.

Over 600 students signed up for the 70 classes offered in all the instruments, singing and dancing and some Celtic crafts, including the well-received painting class conducted by Vincent Crotty from Cork.

Students traveled from Acra to Oak Hill to Freehold for a chance to study with master teachers from Ireland or North America twice daily, with nary a murmur about gas prices or congested country roads. No point in that as some students came from Japan, Alaska and Hawaii among the 36 U.S. states represented.

For native Hawaiian Wilson Pong, it was his third year in a row as his uilleann piping skills advanced, making the journey from his island paradise well worth the effort and expense.

The weeknight concerts on the marvelous Quill Festival Grounds produced 30 wonderful performances over a five-night span that featured the entire faculty and also displayed a discerning audience that lapped up each and every act. Midweek on Wednesday, they were treated to a special Galway night given the preponderance of artists from there or living there for so long they are adopted Galwegians like Mary Bergin and Alex Finn.

Girsa, the poised and polished Pearl River teenage ensemble opened the night singing the popular "Galway Girl" written by Steve Earle, along with some tunes that got the night off to great.

Immediately after them came the senior brigade led by 83-years-young Mike Rafferty (in top form from start to finish), Charlie and Tony Coen, Joe Madden, Martin Mulhaire along with accompanist Felix Dolan, who took it nice and steady, especially with their rendition of the Galway national anthem, "The Bucks of Oranmore" which could really be a primer on how the tune should be played.

Flute player Marcus Hernon and later Mary Bergin had the chance to play with De Danann founding members Johnny McDonagh and Alec Finn (all but Bergin making their first visit to the Catskills), and Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola gave us songs in Irish that could have been a concert in itself.

The fabulous Kane Sisters finished the night with a bang, inviting the visiting Patsy Broderick, herself a Galway girl onstage, for some keyboard accompaniment on her "busman's holiday" in the home for traditional music in America.

Earlier in the day the most popular lecture of the week (there were nine in total) occurred in the Weldon House when doctoral student Brendan Dolan regaled us with the 50 year history of his famous father Felix Dolan in Irish music, one of the grandest gentleman in Irish music.

His presentation gave us a historical view of Felix's involvement since his teenage years, most notably as a member of the New York Ceili Band that competed in Ireland one year for the All-Ireland championship. The packed hall spoke volumes about family music and traditions and the need to recognize them.

Throughout the week dancers were put through their paces with excellent and varied instruction from Patrick O'Dea, Timmy "the Brit" McCarthy, Donny Golden and Kieran Jordan. In the evenings they had seven ceilithe with some of the finest dance music to be found anywhere from Monday to Saturday.

On Monday it was as if the combined forces of the Kilfenora and Tulla bands were at the Shamrock House as the week kicked off, and it never let up as Sliabh Luachra area was celebrated on the Friday night at the Weldon House.

Timmy was in top flight with his band of cohorts from the Rushy Mountain in Matt Cranitch, Jackie Daly, Con O'Driscoll and Paul deGrae.

As usual Thursday night was something special in the Shamrock House due to the release during the ceili of Billy McComiskey's first CD (second solo effort) in 27 years called Out of the Box, coming on the heels of a touching family remembrance in Leeds the night before at the Inn at Leeds where Mae McComiskey and Andy Caples were honored.

With eight CDs and one accordion tutor book by Damien Connolly launched during the week, it was an especially prolific week for the multi-talented staff of the CIAW 2008. It has also proven to be fertile ground to introduce new recordings among an audience that has no threshold for supporting artists like the kind who are drawn to the week.

Since the CIAW is officially a summer school, students have a chance to do their "homework," or more accurately "roadwork," among 10 daily sessions scheduled each day scattered throughout the roadhouses in the area.

Utilizing a grid of assigned appearances from the staff, it helps reinforce the community aspect of learning through social settings while spreading the business among the places that could use the stimulation provided from the week.

That's 50 sessions all week, including the nightly Frank Harte Singing Club in Darby's that featured a night of comical songs from Con Fada O'Driscoll, Jimmy Crowley, Robbie O'Connell and Mick Moloney, who was making his very first visit to the CIAW.

And no way to count the unknown number of do-it-yourself sessioneering like the subterranean session affair below Furlongs Pub led by the younger generation who gravitated to it all week, a very healthy barometer that the CIAW is passing from the older to the younger generation naturally.

Those who survived the week or invaded it at the weekend were treated to the closing Andy McGann Festival, an eight hour endurance test in hot humid conditions.

Three performance stages were hopping where the pipes, flutes, concertina and songs were given due attention throughout the day. The talent on display rivaled what we saw all week, and included special acts like the Legends of Irish Music featuring Bergin, Moloney, Finn, McDonagh and Daly, joined by Kevin Burke, an ensemble not likely to be seen anywhere else.

Also of note was the Green Fields of America whom Mick Moloney lectured on the day before as they approach their 30-year anniversary as a performance concept and Fingal featuring James Keane, Daithi Sproule and Randal Bays and a fiddlers' tribute to the late Paddy Canny and Joe Ryan organized by Seamus Connolly and Patrick Ourceau.

I could go on and. I suggest that you seek out one of the hundreds of thousands who will have claimed to be at the 2008 Catskills Irish Arts years from now for their own impressions.

And oh by the way the 15th edition is scheduled for July 12-18, 2009. Book your rooms now.