Pinkster Festival Honoring African American Traditions

Philipsburg Manor Hosts Pinkster Festival Honoring African American Traditions with Music, Food, and Culture on May 24 Family-friendly festival features performances, food trucks, and interactive experiences

Music, dance, crafts and food inspired by Black culture will highlight “The Pinkster Festival: Remembrance and Renewal” on Saturday, May 24, 2025, from 1pm-4pm 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 spoken word and music performances from Malik Work, DJ GoodWill, kora player Malang Jobarteh, as well as dance performances from Krump performer Hallowed Dreamz and Taiwo Aloba. Dancers will feature live body painting by artist Ashleigh Alexandria during the event.

Visitors can enjoy hands-on activities like tinsmithing, crafting flower crowns and bookmarks, and as well as try delicious treats from local food trucks, including Bazodee Street Foods.

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 actor and theater artist and a founding member of the groundbreaking jazz/hip hop group The Real Live Show, is curating The Pinkster Festival’s performances. 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 under 17 and for Historic Hudson Valley members.

About Philipsburg Manor
In 1750, Philipsburg Manor was home to 23 enslaved individuals known to have lived and labored there. It is the country’s first living history museum that focuses on the history of northern slavery.

Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., two miles north of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. Information: 914-366-6900, www.hudsonvalley.org.

About Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Hudson Valley, Westchester County’s largest cultural organization, educates and entertains more than 325,000 visitors a year through school programs, tours of five National Historic Landmarks, and large-scale popular entertainment events like The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze and The Spirits of Sleepy Hollow Country. From its lower Hudson Valley base of operations, the organization focuses on

delivering quality educational and entertaining experiences, striking a balance between tradition and vision, from preserving the past, to contextualizing it for 21st-century audiences. For information: www.hudsonvalley.org