Editors' Pick: Celebrate Pinkster Saturday At Philipsburg Manor

SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY — Celebrate Pinkster, the re-creation of America’s oldest African-American holiday, is May 18 this year at Philipsburg Manor. It coincides with Historic Hudson Valley's launch of a interactive documentary website, "People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Colonial North."

It's easy to be swept up in this springtime holiday featuring continuous performances of African drumming, dancing, and storytelling. Experience the annual recreation of a colonial cross-cultural event known as Pinkster, first celebrated in the Hudson Valley in the 17th century. Visitors can join the parade, dance step across the plank, and elect next year’s Pinkster King or Queen.

While you're there Historic Hudson Valley staff members will be available to discuss the new website and its features. You can even work with it on-site via a Discovery Station in the Visitor Center.

“Historic Hudson Valley has been researching and sharing the story of Northern slavery at our site, Philipsburg Manor, for more than two decades,” says Waddell W. Stillman, President of Historic Hudson Valley. “People Not Property extends this narrative across the colonial North, and shines a light on the lives of individual enslaved people throughout the Mid-Atlantic States. We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for their support of this important and timely work.”

Stories in the interactive documentary include those of Caesar, the enslaved miller of Philipsburg Manor whose unpaid labor made the Philipse family wealthy.

The interactive website includes interviews and contributions from African-American scholars, civil rights advocates, historians, Historic Hudson Valley staff, interpreters, and performers who share stories that had been assumed lost and illuminate long buried history.

The website is accessible to the general public for free at peoplenotproperty.hudsonvalley.org.

WHAT: Pinkster at Philipsburg Manor

WHEN: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. May 18

WHERE: 381 N Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY

TICKETS: Adult $14, child $8. At https://hudsonvalley.org/events/celebrate-pinkster/