A Labor Day weekend celebration

Philipsburg Manor's Green Corn Festival to feature Native American song and dance

SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY (Aug. 10, 2009) -The Red Hawk Dance Troupe will headline at Philipsburg Manor's "Green Corn Festival," a celebration of the Hudson Valley's Native American heritage taking place over Labor Day Weekend, Saturday through Monday, Sept. 5-7, from 10-6 each day.

The festival features participatory presentations of traditional Native American song and dance plus games, open-hearth cooking demonstrations, hands-on activities, and child friendly crafts including corn-husk doll making. Philipsburg Manor is a living history museum in Sleepy Hollow owned and operated by the non-profit Historic Hudson Valley.

Held by tribes across the nation for generations, green corn festivals, also known as harvest celebrations, marked a time to enjoy a great feast, give thanks, sing chants, dance, and to name children born since the mid-winter festival.

Calling the festival both entertaining and educational, Philipsburg Manor Site Director Thom Thacker said, "This family-oriented event has an exciting story to share since it honors and celebrates the original inhabitants of the land on which Philipsburg Manor sits."

The Red Hawk Dance Troupe is a group of Native American performing artists who encourage audience participation while they teach the importance of Native cultural traditions. They have performed widely on network television and at major concert venues such as the 1994 and 1999 Woodstock festivals, the Apollo Theatre, and the Dance Theater of Harlem.

Other exhibitors include Susan McLellan Plaisted of Heart-to-Hearth Cookery, who will demonstrate Native American cooking and medicine making; Arthur Kermss, who will demonstrate wampum-making; and Joe Taras who will demonstrate bow and arrow making. 

Mint Cafe will provide picnic food.

Admission to Philipsburg Manor is $12 for adults; $9 for seniors; $6 for children 5-17; and free for children under 5 and for Historic Hudson Valley members. Tickets are available for this event online at www.hudsonvalley.org. Visitors who purchase in advance online using the promo code "dance" can save $2 per ticket.

Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow. For information: 914-631-8200, www.hudsonvalley.org.