Harvest Festival 2024

September 28, 2024
29 Warburton Ave. Yonkers, NY 10701

Harvest Festival

Saturday, September 28, 2024
12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
FREE!

Step back in time to the late 18th century! This free family-friendly outdoor festival will feature costumed reenactors and hands-on activities.

September was the time of year when tenant farmers on the Philipse Manor would harvest their wheat and start to bring it to the Philipse grist mills for assessment and grinding into flour. September was also apple harvest time in the Philipse orchards. Try your hand at grinding grain in a stone mill, grinding up apples for cider in a cider press, and other hands-on activities.

Meet military and civilian reenactors, including General George Washington and his horse Nelson, members of Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment and the First Rhode Island Regiment, colonial era craftspeople, and more.

Enjoy live 18th century music from Carla & Keyes and try old-fashioned country dancing. Visit a traveling exhibit from the Odell House/Rochambeau Headquarters Museum. Play colonial-era games, try your hand at our Revolutionary War spy activity, and learn more about the history of Westchester County before and during the American Revolution.

Sponsored in part by the Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall.

Featured Living Historians:

John Koopman III and Bear portraying General George Washington and his horse Nelson.
The Living History Company, portraying Black and African American soldiers of the American Revolution.
Tom Hunt demonstration 18th century food preservation techniques.
Erik Paul, demonstrating 18th century joinery and woodwork.
Cynthia Abbott Kaufmann, portraying Westchester Patriot Ann Miller.
Drew Shuptar-Rayvis demonstrating Algonquian foodways.
Sarah Wassberg Johnson, demonstrating grain milling and spice grinding.
Jim Keyes and Carla Lynne Hall, performing 18th century music from colonial and Revolutionary New York.

Hands-On Activities

Spice & Milling History

with Sarah Wassberg Johnson, ongoing outdoors

We associate pumpkin spice with the fall, but did you know that the desire for spices drove European exploration of the world? And that sugar was reserved for the super-rich until the development of sugar plantations in the Caribbean? Learn about the spice trade and sugar trade and try your hand at using a mortar and pestle to grind your own sugar and spice mix to take home! Try grinding whole cinnamon, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and sugar, then use a nutmeg grater to add some whole nutmeg.

Philipse Manor was home to hundreds of European tenant farmers all growing wheat for export to the sugar islands. The Philipse family had two mills in Westchester - the Upper Mill at Sleepy Hollow, and the Lower Mills here in Yonkers. Both were run by enslaved millers. Learn why Frederick Philipse I chose to use enslaved millers, learn how gristmills work, and try your hand at grinding grain in a stone quern!

Cider Pressing

with the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall, ongoing outdoors

September is apple harvest season and the orchards at Philipse Manor Hall would have been put to good use by the Philipse family. Stored whole apples, dried apples, and especially apple cider were important fall and winter treats. Fresh cider was consumed quickly. Any leftovers were turned into hard cider or cider vinegar. Try your hand at grinding apples in our small cider press!

Historical Games

with John Farrell, all day on the back lawn

People in the 18th century worked hard, but they also spent long winter nights at play. Try your hand at historical outdoor and tabletop games like quoits, ninepins, graces, Nine Men’s Morris, mancala, and more. Fun for all ages!

18th Century Country Dancing

with Carla & Keyes, under the main tent

Join musicians Carla & Keyes as they teach you the basics of 18th Century English country dancing. If you can walk, you can dance!

 

Heritage Organizations

Explore information from area heritage organizations including:

St. Paul's Church National Historic Site

One of more than 400 national parks, Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site in Mount Vernon preserves more than 300 years of history. It was the colonial town common of Eastchester and served as a war hospital and fort in the Revolutionary War. It is one of 11 National Parks of New York Harbor in the immediate New York City area.

Yonkers Historical Society

Revolutionary Westchester 250

Odell House/Rochambeau Headquarters

Pop-Up Exhibits

Friends of Odell House/Rochambeau Headquarters at Harvest Festival 2023.

Odell House/Rochambeau Headquarters

on display in the Gothic Chamber

The Friends of Odell House/Rochambeau Headquarters will display a selection of artifacts from their collection in this special, one-day-only pop-up exhibit.

A portion of the exhibit on display in the Gothic Chamber.

Revolutionary New York & Westchester County

on display in the Gothic Chamber

This new traveling exhibit by Philipse Manor Hall gives a general overview of New York in the American Revolution, including information about the Hudson River, the Westchester neutral zone, Indigenous peoples in the war, the Philipse family in the Revolution, the Philipsburg Proclamation, Black Loyalists, the First Rhode Island Regiment, and more.

Schedule

All Day:
  • Meet Historical People: interact with our costumed living historians, watch demonstrations, and ask questions!
  • Back Lawn - Historical Games: try your hand at indoor and outdoor games like graces, cup and ball, nine man's morris, mancala, shut the box, skittles, and more!
  • Info Tent - Espionage Activity
  • Cider Pressing with the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall
12:00 PM:
  • Main Tent - Live music with Carla & Keyes
1:00 PM
  • Main Tent - English Country Dance Workshop with Carla & Keyes: Learn this fun and easy style of group dancing. If you can walk, you can dance!
2:00 PM
  • Main Tent - Fashions of the Past: Living historians share details about their 18th century clothing
3:00 PM
  • Main Tent - English Country Dance Workshop with Carla & Keyes: Learn this fun and easy style of group dancing. If you can walk, you can dance!
5:00 PM
  • Festival Closes! See you all next year!
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