Free African American Culture & History Festival
at Senate House State Historic Site
Saturday & Sunday, October 3-4, 11:00 – 4:30
A free, weekend-long festival at Senate House State Historic Site celebrates the specific contributions of African Americans to the Hudson Valley, New York and the nation, as part of the Quadricentennial-year celebrations. Saturday, October 3, and Sunday October 4 will be filled with live music, dance, drama, and spoken word performances, as well as art, hands-on activities, food, and free tours of Senate House. Some of the scheduled artists include Voices of Glory, a young a cappella threesome, and recent finalists on the TV show, America’s Got Talent; renowned performers Kim and Reggie Harris; The Voices of Praise choir, the Ulster County Community Choir; the Energy Dance Troupe, the SUNY New Paltz Shades Step Team, Kibola Sougei African Dance Troupe, and historical dramatists Carolyn Evans (as Sojourner Truth) and Terry Gittens (as Bessie Mae). This event occurs rain or shine. Senate House State Historic Site is located at 296 Fair Street, Kingston, NY 12401. For more information please call (845) 338-2786, or visit the following website: www.nysparks.state.ny.us.
Senate House will also debut its African American Oral History recordings, made recently in collaboration with the Ulstercorps Harvesting a Lifetime Oral History Project, conducted with residents of Ulster County, sharing with us their experiences over the past six decades.
These special events are sponsored by the Friends of Senate House, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area in partnership with the National Park Service and Congressman Maurice Hinchey, and the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial.
Senate House State Historic Site is part of a system of parks, recreation areas and historic sites operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the site is one of 25 facilities administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in New York and New Jersey. For further information about this and other upcoming events please call the site at (845) 338-2786 or visit the State Parks website at www.nysparks.com.
African American History in the Hudson Valley, Free Lecture by. A. J. Williams-Myers
Saturday, October 03, 2009 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Senate House State Historic Site(Palisades Region)
As we celebrate the last 400 years of Hudson Valley history during the Quadricentennial year, a look at the specific contributions of Africans and African Americans to the region’s development is one much-needed focus. A local scholar and expert on African American history in the Hudson Valley, Professor A.J. Williams-Myers, of SUNY New Paltz, will give a talk entitled, There is a River – A Mighty River: Social and Economic Contributions of Africans along the Hudson, from the Dutch Period to the American Revolution. This talk is the kickoff event for an entire weekend of free programming at the site.
Phone: (845) 338-2786
Contact: Pam Malcolm
http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us/events/event-results.aspx?hs=18
