The Pinkster Festival Returns to Philipsburg Manor This Month

 Storytelling, music, dance, drumming, crafts and food inspired by Black culture will highlight “The Pinkster Festival: Remembering the Past, Reimagining the Future” on Saturday, May 25, from 11am-5pm at Philipsburg Manor. The festivities will commemorate the region’s African American history and culture and look forward into a vibrant future with live performances, storytelling, and hands-on art activities.

Some of the day’s highlights include immersive spoken word and music performances from Malik Work, master kora player Yacouba Sissoko, DJ GoodWill, the Mount Vernon Denzel Washington School of the Arts youth gospel choir, and drummer Kazi Oliver, as well as dance performances from Threads of Truth and Hallow Dreamz. Multimedia artist Nichole Washington will be creating art inspired by Pinkster and Adinkra symbols throughout the day, and Chef Apa will be demonstrating open hearth cooking. 

Visitors can also get hands-on making Adinkra stamps, drums, and flower crowns, and enjoy tasty treats from local food trucks, including Ambrosia Juicery, Bazodee Street Foods, and Kinwich.

Pinkster, originally a Dutch observance of the Pentecost, was by the 1800s in New York recognized as a joyous, festive African American holiday celebrating the arrival of spring. Philipsburg Manor, a National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the educational non-profit organization Historic Hudson Valley, began celebrating Pinkster in 1977, making this event the longest-running Pinkster Festival in North America.

Malik Work, an accomplished poet, playwright, and actor and a founding member of the groundbreaking jazz/hip hop group The Real Live Show, is curating The Pinkster Festival’s performances for the second year in a row. He previously collaborated with Historic Hudson Valley on an original piece of poetry for the award-winning interactive documentary, People Not Property. 

Admission is $14 for adults; $12 for seniors and young adults 18-25; free for children 17 and under and for Historic Hudson Valley members.

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