Hudson Valley Presents Green Corn Festival, 9/4-6

By: Aug. 09, 2010
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Master storyteller Kenneth Little Hawk returns to Philipsburg Manor's Green Corn Festival, a celebration of the Hudson Valley's Native American heritage taking place over Labor Day weekend, Saturday through Monday, Sept. 4-6, from 10-6 each day.

Besides telling tales of Native American culture, Kenneth Little Hawk - who has performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. - will bring his acting and musical skills to Green Corn. Joining the renowned storyteller is the Red Hawk Dance Troupe, a group of Native American performing artists who encourage audience participation while they teach the importance of Native cultural traditions. They have performed widely on network television and at major concert venues such as the 1994 and 1999 Woodstock festivals, the Apollo Theatre, and the Dance Theater of Harlem.

Besides participatory presentations of traditional Native American song and dance, the event features games, open-hearth cooking demonstrations, hands-on activities, and child friendly crafts including corn-husk doll making. Picnic fare is available. Philipsburg Manor is a living history museum owned and operated by the non-profit Historic Hudson Valley.

Held by tribes across the nation for generations, green corn festivals, also known as harvest celebrations, marked a time to enjoy a great feast, give thanks, sing chants, dance, and to name children born since the mid-winter festival.

Calling the festival both entertaining and educational, Philipsburg Manor Site Director Thom Thacker said, "This is an important event for our community because it honors and celebrates the original inhabitants of the land on which Philipsburg Manor sits."

Exhibitors include Susan McLellan Plaisted of Heart-to-Hearth Cookery, who will demonstrate Native American cooking and medicine making; Arthur Kermss, who will demonstrate wampum-making; Joe Taras who will demonstrate bow and arrow making; and Richard Chrisjohn, who will demonstrate Native American crafts.

Admission to Philipsburg Manor is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors; $6 for children 5-17; and free for children under 5 and for Historic Hudson Valley members. Tickets are available for this event online at www.hudsonvalley.org. Visitors who purchase in advance online using the promo code MAIZE can save $2 per ticket. Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow. For information: 914-631-8200, www.hudsonvalley.org.

 



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