Spring and Summer are Revolutionary in Westchester!
Westchester County comes alive in May and June; new buds bloom and communities up and down the Hudson host a robust calendar of events and activities. This year, celebrating Westchester’s 250th Revolutionary History is at the top of the county’s to-do list. In spring and summer, historians, authors, archivists, and artists are planning historical reenactments, festive parades, thoughtful walking tours, enlightening presentations, and more.
Plan your itinerary now for a revolutionary season rooted in Westchester County and experience the people, places, and lore that helped shaped the future of America.
MAY EVENTS
Revolutionary Blacks The fascinating history of the Frank Brothers, free men of color who served in the Rhode Island Regiment at the Battle of Pines Bridge, will be explored by Dr. Shirley L. Green, author of Revolutionary Blacks, at Albert A. Capellini Community and Cultural Center in Yorktown Heights.
The Battle of Pines Bridge This Yorktown event is a one-of-a-kind tribute to the members of the Rhode Island Regiment, which included African American and Native American soldiers. Together with Colonel Christopher Greene, they fought and died defending the Pines Bridge crossing of the Croton River on May 14, 1781. The event features a colonial parade, storyteller Jonathan Kruk, demonstrations of 18th Century work, a battle reenactment, and more.
Ossining Historic Cemetries Ossining Historic Cemeteries Conservancy and Ossining 250 present a special edition of the Dale Cemetery Heritage Trail — a free walking tour featuring Revolutionary citizens interred in Dale Cemetery.
Toast 250 Tavern Nights Meet Ben Franklin, George Washington, and other living history guests and enjoy music and song with The Liberty Three at Mickey Spillane’s in Eastchester. Watch military drills with the 5th NY, enjoy colonial cocktails and tavern fare, and games presented by the Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site. End the night with a Westchester-themed American Revolution trivia game. All are welcome! Look for more Toast 250! Tavern Nights at RW250.org.
How Philipse Hall Lost its Manor Join Daniel Hulsebosch, legal and constitutional historian, to uncover the massive expropriation of properties from Loyalists, redistributed by the revolutionary state to Patriots. Explore how this history has been hiding in plain sight at Philipse Manor Hall, which once stretched over 250,000 acres. Almost all the Philipse family’s land was confiscated by the new state of New York. Why? Who got that land? What happened to the Philipses? It’s a story that demonstrates how the Revolution created democracy on the ground, while generating opportunism, intrigue, exile, and, among some Patriots, regret and remorse.
Art in a Season of Revolution See the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence through the eyes of area artists in a special exhibit at ArtsWestchester in Mamaroneck. Visitors can view the exhibit from May 16-August 2, 2026. An opening reception will be held on May 16 from 4:00pm-6:00pm.
Pinkster Jubilee Pinkster, the Dutch name for Pentecost, is a religious holiday and celebration of spring. In the New Netherland Colony, Pinkster became a unique Afro-Dutch celebration that gave a week of temporary freedom for enslaved people. Able to travel, earn money, and gather, 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. Now in its fourth year, Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site celebrates Pinkster with a Jubilee featuring live music and performances, free kids' activities, crafts, games, and vendors specializing in African and African American gifts, art, food, and more.
JUNE EVENTS
Rochambeau Festival This immersive living history event educates attendees about the Revolutionary War and the pivotal roles that Generals Rochambeau and Washington and their armies played in winning American independence. Held at Rochambeau Park (AKA Yorktown Grange Fair Grounds), the event will feature French and American dignitaries, brigade and regiment reenactments, artisans, women's roles, working animals of the day, colonial era crafts and games, heritage booths, guided tours of local encampment sites, and food and beverages.
Could the American Revolution Have Ended at The King’s Bridge? This presentation at the Will Public Library in Yonkers will explore Washington’s departure from Manhattan and the near destruction of the Continental Army as it moved north over the King’s Bridge from Manhattan to the mainland in the current northwest Bronx. It will explain the critical roles of two militia units in obstructing British General Howe from his attempts to encircle the departing Americans. The second of these militias, under Colonel John Glover, included free Black and indigenous soldiers. If not for these militias, the American forces could have been encircled and destroyed, which would have ended the Revolutionary enterprise.
George vs. Guy: The Fate of Black Loyalists When the Preliminary Articles of Peace were signed in November of 1782, they included a clause from the American delegation that prevented the British from carrying off any "property" as they evacuated. But the British had already promised thousands of enslaved people freedom through Dunmore’s Proclamation and the Philipsburg Proclamation. What would happen to the Black Loyalists? In this Philipse Manor Hall presentation, visitors will learn how General George Washington pursued every avenue to prevent Black Loyalists from leaving, and the actions of British General Sir Guy Carleton.
Croton in The Revolutionary War Croton Village Historian Marc Cheshire will set the scene in Croton during the Revolutionary War, recounting dramatic events, the devastation and danger of the war, the heroic military service of local patriots like Pierre and Philip Van Cortlandt, the brief occupation by Hessian soldiers in 1779, and the march of American troops through the village on their way to Yorktown, Virginia, to defeat the British in the war’s last major battle.
Yonkers Waterfront Walking Tour Hosted by Philipse Manor Hall, this tour will explore Yonkers' historic downtown area including the daylighted Saw Mill River, the Yonkers Train Station, Yonkers’ Recreation Pier, the Enslaved African Rain Garden, and more. Discover Yonkers' history — from its early Indigenous origins to the present — with emphasis on the 18th and 19th centuries.
1776 - The Musical The Bedford Historical Society presents 1776, the musical, which tells the story of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the efforts of John Adams to persuade his colleagues to vote and sign for American independence.
Yonkers Black History Walking Tour This 2.5 mile urban hike explores 400 years of African and African-descended people in downtown Yonkers. The trek includes visits to historic churches, like St. John's Getty Square and Messiah Baptist Church, the waterfront’s Enslaved African Rain Garden, and the sites of early Black landowners in Yonkers. Guides will discuss Yonkers’ connections to the American Revolution, the Underground Railroad, Civil Rights, redlining, and school segregation.
Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families Explore the private worlds of America’s founders through an exhibit featuring furniture, fine art, and decorative and personal objects from their homes — revealing how domestic spaces shaped political life and diplomacy. With a special focus on New York figures such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, this exhibit also foregrounds the essential roles of women, including Martha Washington and Sarah Jay, who were instrumental to the development of the political and diplomatic culture of the newly formed United States.