Celebrate the Afro-Dutch holiday of Pinkster, a festival of spring, family, culture, and resistance with live music, dance, games, crafts, food, vendors, history, & more! Free for everyone! PLUS Pinkster Jubilee 2026 coincides with Yonkers Arts Weekend!
Pinkster is the Dutch name for Pentecost, a religious holiday and celebration of spring where people took time to travel and visit family. In the New Netherland Colony, Pinkster was transformed into a unique Afro-Dutch celebration - a week of temporary freedom for enslaved people. Able to travel, earn money, and gather in groups, Pinkster allowed enslaved people to take a break from their endless work, see separated family members, preserve and pass on culture to the next generation, and resist enslavement. Celebrate African culture in America and New York's unique history!
For the fourth year in a row, Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site celebrates Pinkster with a Jubilee - we'll feature live music and performances, free kids' activities, crafts, and games, and visit vendors specializing in African and African-American gifts, art, food, and more.
Learn more about the history of Pinkster on our blog, or watch the video below:
Museum admission is FREE for everyone (sponsored by Yonkers Arts Weekend). Plus, check out our vendors and nonprofits at booths throughout the site, play 18th century outdoor games, and more.
Welcome to Pinkster Jubilee 2026!
All our musicians jam together as we introduce all of our performers and workshop leaders one by one.
Join Professor Coruja of Capoeria Luanda, the Capoeira Center in New Rochelle, NY for a brief history and demonstration of Capoeira, followed by a free workshop, open to all!
Professora Coruja (Renée Rinaldi) was first introduced to capoeira while studying abroad in Sao Paulo, Brazil. What originally started as an interesting topic of research, soon became a lifestyle. After graduating from college, Professora Coruja moved to NYC where she started her career as a teacher and also began searching for the right place to train capoeira. After several years of training in Harlem, she met Mestre Bom Jesus and in 2007 decided to start training under his tutelage in New Rochelle.
Professora Coruja has been instrumental in the development and execution of local capoeira arts programs in under-served communities throughout NYC and Westchester County. Working closely with Mestre Bom Jesus, Professora Coruja has helped create curriculum taught in local school arts programs and has also founded several afterschool programs in Harlem and the Bronx, where she is currently an Assistant Principal for the NYC DOE.
Enjoy live music from our many musicians as you explore the back lawn and outdoor vendors.
Head upstairs in the museum to celebrate Pinkster through crafts! Make your own paper flowers to celebrate spring, make a paper-woven kente wall hanging, and explore the Pinkster King crown traditions by making your own! These crafts are free and open to all.
Join Moody Harney of Mother Shuckers for a history of oysters in New York and Black oystermen, followed by an oyster shucking workshop. Workshop tickets are $20/person and include three fresh oysters for you to taste! Tickets coming soon!
Ben “Moody” Harney is the founder of Mother Shuckers, the Only Oyster Cart in Brooklyn. Fascinated by the story of Thomas Downing, “the Oyster King of New York,” the son of freed slaves who peddled oysters on Wall Street in the late 1800s, and went on to open one of the most successful oyster restaurants of his time, Harney envisioned operating his own oyster cart. Ben believes the oyster could regain its place as an everyman’s food.
Join drum master Kofi Donkor in exploring the rhythms of African drums as you learn the basics! This workshop is free and open to all, drums are provided.
International Award-Winning Sculptor, Master Drummer and Teacher Maxwell Kofi Donkor considers the preservation of the indigenous Ghanaian art and culture his mission. He brings the Ghanaian history and its way of life to the world. Kofi has been drumming and performing internationally for over 30 years. He directs the African drum and dance ensemble Sankofa. He uses African culture in assemblies, lectures, performances, drum circles and traditional African Ananse (spider) stories to promote diversity in all cultures: in schools, communities, conferences as well as festivals.
Head upstairs in the museum to celebrate Pinkster through crafts! Make your own paper flowers to celebrate spring, make a paper-woven kente wall hanging, and explore the Pinkster King crown traditions by making your own! These crafts are free and open to all.
Pinkster Jubilee Griot (storyteller) April Armstrong brings African fables to life and explores the history of Pinkster.
Award winning storyteller April Armstrong weaves melodies and words for a refreshing and compelling style of storytelling. Her story programs are fun and interactive. She tells stories for schools, colleges, libraries, museums and festivals. She tells multi-cultural folktales, including African-American and Latino stories. April's stories delight, inform and inspire audiences of all ages.
For Philipse Manor Hall's Pinkster Jubilee 2026, April also serves as the "Griot" and MC, interspersing history and stories between performances in the main tent.
Enjoy live music from our many musicians as you explore the back lawn and outdoor vendors.
Head upstairs in the museum to celebrate Pinkster through crafts! Make your own paper flowers to celebrate spring, make a paper-woven kente wall hanging, and explore the Pinkster King crown traditions by making your own! These crafts are free and open to all.
Griot April Armstrong tells the story of the Pinkster Ode and the Pinkster King, and welcomes participants to try performing a part of the Pinkster Ode! We'll also crown our Pinkster King(s).
Enjoy live music from our many musicians as you explore the back lawn and outdoor vendors.
Head upstairs in the museum to celebrate Pinkster through crafts! Make your own paper flowers to celebrate spring, make a paper-woven kente wall hanging, and explore the Pinkster King crown traditions by making your own! These crafts are free and open to all.
The Pinkster Players perform "The Story of Pinkster," a mixture of music, drama, and dance that explains the importance of Pinkster in the lives of Black New Yorkers in the 18th and 18th centuries. "The Story of Pinkster" includes lots of audience participation, so bring your enthusiasm and your dance moves!
The Pinkster Players are a group of highly skilled musicians and music historians who have been studying West African music in the Americas for over 30 years. Led by acclaimed percussionist Chief Baba Neil Clarke, and including teaching artist and multi-instrumentalist Ayodele Maakheru, acclaimed fiddler Enrique "Rique" Prince, and others, the Pinkster Players bring the history of Pinkster to life - embodying the spirit of celebration and culture-keeping for Africans in America.
At the conclusion of "The Story of Pinkster," The Pinkster Players lead everyone in a Pinkster Jubilee Parade through the Philipse Manor Hall grounds. The parade closes out the event, which ends at 5:00 PM.
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site (29 Warburton Ave., Yonkers, NY) is currently seeking food, beverage, retail, and nonprofit vendors for the Pinkster Festival. Vendors specializing in African, African-American, and Colonial Era food, art, and retail are encouraged to apply as are nonprofit organizations with missions related to African and African-American heritage and art, local history, Colonial era history, etc.
Please Note: Vendors for New York State Parks (including Philipse Manor Hall) are exempt from local vendor licensing requirements. Vendors require a permit from NYS Parks, issued by Philipse Manor Hall to participate. Yonkers City Vendor licenses are not required.
Philipse Manor Hall offers an indoor market space for retail vendors. Vendors must provide their own tables (chairs available). 10'x10' spaces available for $25 each. This space is on the second floor of Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site but includes elevator and restroom access.
Philipse Manor Hall offers easy access for food trucks and vehicles in our small parking lot, located next to the big performance tent. Power is available upon request, first-come, first served. Vendors specializing in African and African-American food are especially encouraged to apply. 10'x10' spaces are available for $25 each.
Nonprofits focused on arts, culture, history, and other Pinkster-related subjects are also welcome to apply. Nonprofits providing family-friendly activities throughout the day may participate without vendor fees. For more information contact philipsemanorhall@parks.ny.gov.
Email philipsemanorhall@parks.ny.gov to express interest and we will send you the application. The application process is free. Once your application completed, submitted, and accepted, any fees, proof of insurance, sales tax certificate, and all required licenses (including Yonkers City vendor licenses) are due by Friday, May 1, 2026. Fees may be paid by check (made out to NYS OPRHP), cash in person, or by credit card in person or over the phone.
The Friends of Philipse Manor Hall are actively seeking sponsorships for this free public event. If you or your business would like to support performances, free workshops, or activities for Pinkster Jubilee, please find more information here.
