It was a time to love, a time to hate.

Vietnam. Protest. The race riots. Thirty years ago, our nation was in upheaval.

But in the summer of '69, a dove perched itself at the tip of a guitar, and the perspective changed. A little festival called the Woodstock Music and Art Fair swept the nation.

And all the world's problems faded.

Dubbed "three days of peace and music," its legacy spawned two sequels and launched the summer festival scene. But many question Woodstock's exact significance. Some people crowned it the pinnacle of the hippie movement, while others saw it as the fitting end to the era of free love.

At the time, most people weren't looking for any deep-seeded meaning. They just came to hear some rock `n' roll. More than 500,000 fans rushed upstate to hear the sounds of the time, shutting down the New York State Thruway. At 5:07 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15, 1969, Woodstock made its fabled entry into the history books.

Richie Havens opened the musical portion with "High Flyin' Bird," and 26 bands later, on a mud-soaked Monday morning, Jimi Hendrix closed it out with a stunning rendition of "Hey Joe."

But what happened during those few days would be talked about for generations to come. People from all walks of life united as hundreds of thousands crashed Max Yasgur's farm without a ticket. Drugs, alcohol and rain were in abundance; working sanitation facilities weren't. There were three deaths, but three children were brought into this world. Although food was a rare commodity, the folks in attendance probably didn't mind too much.

They were there for something else--the music.

Joe Cocker, Santana, The Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Sly and the Family Stone, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young -- the list goes on and on.

The musical milestone raised the bar for summer festivals. And for at least a few days, the hell that encompassed the world was forgotten.

"The name Woodstock brings to mind a certain spirit -- a certain ideology," says Michael Lang, promoter for the original spectacle and its two sequels. "The principle behind it is what everyone cherishes. You get to interact with people in a way that you never get to do in your everyday life.

"And that happens after the first day -- after you live amongst the society. I think after it, you're less alone in the world. Woodstock always stays with you."

Two-and-a-half decades later, it was time to go back.

For the summer of '94, Lang, along with John Scher, president of PolyGram Diversified Ventures, made plans to have another party and invite the musical elite of the day.

"We had no idea what to expect," Scher says. "But somehow several hundred thousand kids acted the same way their predecessors did 25 years earlier."

Woodstock '94 also had its share of gatecrashers -- an estimated 150,000 -- which equaled about half in attendance. And, of course, there were the torrential downpours. Few can forget the pictures of the naked, mud-caked patrons running free. But for some, this is where the similarities end.

Now, instead of the image of a peaceful dove resting on the guitar, vultures seem more appropriate. Critics lambasted the new Woodstock for its commercial sponsorship, $135 ticket prices and pay-per-view involvement. Many feel the pristine image of the original festival is now tarnished. Both promoters wholeheartedly disagree.

"There was a huge backlash from the press, but no backlash from the audience," Lang says.

Scher adds, "There were no signs near the stage. Pepsi was on every cup, but that isn't terribly unusual. This generation, post 1970, has never had a day in their life that they didn't have a hat or T-shirt with a logo.

"We're very, very careful not to have any corporations impose themselves. I don't think anyone was offended by drinking out of Pepsi cups."

Regardless of who was right, it was the music that once again took center stage. A few old-timers like Santana and Joe Cocker returned to rock out for a second time. But for the most part, it was the new kids on the block.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Violent Femmes, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Primus, Cypress Hill, Candlebox -- along with 32 others, they were the Woodstock class of 1994.

But now, five years later, a semi-fresh group is ready to get into the mix, and Woodstock '99 is all set to go from July 23 to 25 at Griffiss Park in Rome, N.Y. This time around, though, both promoters say things will run more smoothly.

"People will not get in for free," Scher says. "Literally, there is a city wall around the 1,200-acre site.

"But I don't want anyone to feel this is an armed camp. It's the opposite of a prison. The site used to be an active Air Force base with hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment -- this place was built so people couldn't break in," he says.

"The war machine is gone, and we get to have a rock festival."

Although the amount of gatecrashers will most likely be limited, some people may still balk at $150 tickets and double-digit service charges. Lang says he remains firm behind the price, considering the 40-plus performers on the plate.

"It's an amazing bargain compared to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan asking $125 a ticket this summer," he says.

And yet others put the two on the defense, questioning if five years later is too soon to have another mega-concert.

"Musically, it takes about that long for any new artist or pattern to emerge in an important way," Scher says. "Some artists are in vastly different points in their career. Sheryl Crow, Live, Collective Soul -- they were virtually unknown acts in the '94 Woodstock. Now they're all platinum recording artists."

In addition to these veterans, many other fresh faces to go with the changing times are scheduled to perform, including hip-hop artists Ice Cube and Wyclef Jean; hard-core bands Korn, Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine; and female sensations Jewel and Alanis Morissette.

But even with all this talent, some wonder if it's possible to compete with the untouchable original. Despite the progress over the last 30 years, the world still shows similarities to the past. Delicate peace exists in the foreign land of Kosovo. Mass protest is not a rarity. And race relations are still a huge problem that concerns America.

Can Woodstock drown our nation's ills once again? Only time will tell. In the meantime, just pray for rain.