2025 Cultural Events and Festivals in Westchester

From multilingual film screenings to dynamic music and dance performances, Westchester hosts several lively and diverse cultural events and festivals throughout the remainder of the year. These events bring people together to create shared experiences that promote an understanding and dialogue among diverse groups. Guests are invited to celebrate cultural traditions and learn more about countries as near as Mexico to as far as India. Here are more than 15 cultural events and festivals in Westchester for the rest of 2025.

Italian Cinema Screenings and Talkbacks (Tuckahoe)
July 29-August 28
Westchester Italian Culture Center introduces its summer cinema series, a collection of Italian film screenings each followed by a professor-led discussion and lecture. The center will begin its film series with the ‘70s Sophia Loren romantic war film I Girasoli (7/29), followed by a documentary about Italy’s centuries-old biannual horse race, The Last Victory (8/5). The final screening will occur on August 28 – a fantasy war film, Night of the Shooting Stars. All talkbacks will be led by Concordia College Professor Joseph Spedaliere. Coffee and wine will be served. Tickets required. All screenings begin at 6:30pm.

Westchester Parks: Cultural Heritage Festivals (Valhalla)
August 3: Indian Heritage
August 17: Jewish Heritage
August 24: Muslim Heritage
Westchester Parks celebrates the county’s local immigrant communities with its annual Cultural Heritage Festival series. These heritage festivals at Kensico Dam in Valhalla include live music, dance performances and food vendors. Upcoming festivals include celebrations of Indian culture (8/3), Jewish culture (8/17) and Muslim heritage (8/24), all beginning at 12pm.

A Night of Garifuna Music (Katonah)
August 1
The Garifuna Collective presents the unique and soulful music of the Garifuna people at Caramoor. The Garifuna’s genre of music, originating from areas of the Caribbean and Central America, is represented through call-and-response vocals, dynamic rhythms and traditional drums and maracas. The multigenerational group also utilizes lyrics based in storytelling and folk, representing and retelling their ancestral history. Tickets required. At 7:30pm.

Afro Peruvian Music and Dance (New Rochelle)
August 5
Latin Grammy Award-nominee Araceli Poma performs a night of Afro-Peruvian music and dance at the New Rochelle Public Library. This interactive concert will invite guests to participate in the traditional dance styles of Peru. Poma will also showcase traditional Peruvian instruments such as the quijada, a percussive instrument made from an animal’s jawbone, and the cajita, a wooden box hit with a stick or mallet. Registration required. At 7pm.

Indian Classical Music Workshop and Concert (North Salem)
August 9
Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden presents a day-long event that celebrates Indian culture. In the afternoon, the museum will also offer an educational workshop led by acclaimed shenai maestro Pandit Shailesh Bhagwat. Shehnai is a reeded woodwind instrument, and Pt. Bhagwat is a senior disciple of Bharat Ratna recipient. An evening concert will feature performances from Pt. Bhagwat on Shehnai and Aratrika Dey on vocals. The concert will be accompanied by other traditional Indian instruments such as a Tabla, Sarangi and traditional Harmonium. Concert tickets are required. The workshop begins at 2pm; the concert begins at 5pm.

A Night of Salsa Dancing (Pleasantville)
August 9
A night of salsa dancing will be led by dance instructors Devin Flores and Vira Lee at the Addie-tude Cultural Arts Center. Seasoned and inexperienced dancers are invited to salsa dance to the rhythms of Latin music. New York-based DJ Woody will provide music for the event. Formal attire is encouraged, and tickets are required. A pre-social practice hour starts at 8pm; dancing begins at 9pm.

Mariachi Fiesta Fun (New Rochelle)
August 14
Mariachi Mexico Internacional presents a free performance of authentic Mariachi music at New Rochelle Public Library. This family-friendly event invites all ages to dance, clap and sing-along to various Latin American hits. The band will also wear colorful Mariachi costumes to honor the dynamic traditional and historic origins of Mexican music. At 2pm.

Sumi Ink Kanji Workshop (Verplanck)
August 16
KinoSaito hosts a Sumi Ink Kanji workshop led by calligraphy artist Ryoko Endo. The workshop will explore the traditions of writing Kanji, Japanese characters that represent full English words and, by the end, delve into abstract and free-flowing calligraphy. Guests will be invited to learn more about the history of Japanese art and calligraphy and understand its fundamentals in mindfulness and discipline. Tickets required. At 1pm.

Dia de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (Sleepy Hollow)
August 17
ArtsWestchester returns with its Westchester Roots series to present its annual Dia de la Cultura Ecuatoriana event, a free festival celebrating Ecuadorian culture. This festival at Barnhart Park will feature unique presentations about traditional clothing from various provinces in Ecuador as well as discussions surrounding Inti Raymi, a religious ceremony of the Inca Empire. Live music, dance and food vendors will also be included in the festival’s itinerary. At 3pm.

Wakanda Celebration (Mount Vernon) (Outdoors)
August 30
Wakanda Celebration returns with its annual event, an experience that honors African history, community and tradition. The day-long festival will feature food selections from several countries across Africa, a Children’s Village with curated activities and crafts for families, and vendors offering handcrafted jewelry and artisanal goods. Live music performances will feature American-Tanzanian singer Princepin and ODUDUWA, a group that honors the music of the Yoruba people. At 12pm at Traphagen School.

Makonde Art Exhibition (Mount Vernon)
September 15-December 28
Several works by Makonde artists are on display in Luangisa African Museum and Cultural Arts Center’s upcoming The Tree of Life exhibition. The show honors one of East Africa’s most prominent artistic communities, highlighting both traditional and contemporary Makonde works, including ritual masks, Ujamaa (family tree) sculptures and modern wood carvings. The exhibition follows themes of resilience and ancestral identity engrained in the Makonde culture and honors principles of symbolism and beauty in the eternal “Tree of Life.” Gallery hours: Mon-Fri. By Appointment Only; Sat. 12-5pm; Sun. 1-5pm.

Mooncake Night Market (White Plains)
September 20
As the final event of its Westchester Roots series, ArtsWestchester celebrates Chinese and Korean culture with the return of its Mooncake Night Market. Guests are invited to participate in a night of live music, traditional dancing and cultural arts and crafts, including lantern-making, mooncake stamping, origami and more. Special music and dance performances include Bian Lian, a “face-changing” mask dance from the Sichuan opera tradition, as well as Chinese and Korean folk dancing. Tickets required. At 4pm.

A Celebration of Nigerian Song and Dance (Yonkers)
November 8
Yonkers Public Library hosts Ibom Attitude Cultural Group in a night of cultural performances that showcase traditional Nigerian music and dance. Multigenerational dancers and singers dressed in colorful garb will perform songs that honor the dynamic storytelling and ancestral values of Nigeria’s history. Tickets required. At 7pm.

Bollywood Performance: Lata Mangeshkar Concert and Celebration (Hawthorne/Yonkers)
December 13
Old is Gold, a concert featuring music from acclaimed Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar, will perform at India Center of Westchester. The performance will honor the career and legacy of Mangeshkar, an independent Indian playback singer and music composer whose songs were featured in more than 2,000 Bollywood soundtracks. Time and location are yet to be announced. Tickets required.

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_{Photos: The Garifuna Collective (photo courtesy of Caramoor); Araceli Poma (photo source aracelipoma.com); photo courtesy of Mariachi Mexico International; photo courtesy of Luangisa Museum; Mooncake festival (photo credit: Susan Nagib); Ibom Nigerian Dance (photo courtesy of 9News Nigeria)}

About Sarah Luczak

Sarah Luczak is a Communications Intern at ArtsWestchester. She is a rising senior at Sarah Lawrence College, where she studies writing, dramatic literature and theatre.