25+ America 250 Events in Westchester 

With July 4 approaching, arts organizations and cultural institutions across Westchester are marking America’s 250th anniversary through exhibitions, concerts, theater, literary events and hands-on community programs. From Revolutionary history to contemporary reflections on American identity, these events explore the nation’s past while inviting audiences to consider its continuing story.

These are just a few of the many ways arts and cultural organizations are marking America’s 250th anniversary through the remainder of the year. Additional commemorative events are also taking place throughout Westchester during the anniversary year.

Theater
Through June 28
1776, The Musical
Lil Horn LLC and Katonah Classic Stage present 1776 at Bedford Historical Hall. Set during the summer of 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical follows the members of the Continental Congress as they debate and ultimately approve the Declaration of Independence.

Exhibition
Through July 4
The Stories We Share
New Castle Historical Society presents The Stories We Share, an exhibition that marks both its 60th anniversary and America’s 250th through letters, diaries, ledgers, photographs, paintings and everyday objects tracing local history from the Revolutionary era to today. The show also includes a family scavenger hunt and activity room where visitors can reflect on their own stories. Gallery hours: Thurs.-Sat., 11am-3pm. 

Exhibition
Through July 11
250 Visions of America
Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild presents 250 Visions of America, a group exhibition marking the country’s 250th anniversary. Artists respond to American landscape, memory, symbols and daily life, with approaches that range from celebratory to reflective. Gallery hours: Tues.-Sat., 12-5pm.

Exhibition
Through August 2
Art in a Season of Revolution
Art in a Season of Revolution calls on artists to reflect on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and explore fresh perspectives on the American experience. The show features artists from the Katonah Museum Artist’s Association and the American Medallic Sculpture Association. Gallery hours: Wed.-Fri. & Sun., 12-5pm; Sat., 12-5pm. 

Lecture Series
Through November
Revolution 250 Events at the Lincoln Depot Museum
Lincoln Depot Museum continues its Revolution 250 series, exploring the American Revolution and the Hudson Valley’s role in the nation’s founding with talks by historians, authors and museum professionals. The series examines people, places and events connected to the Revolutionary era through monthly programs in Peekskill.

Exhibition
Through January 3, 2027
Ever Becoming: Our Stories, Our America
Hudson River Museum presents Ever Becoming: Our Stories, Our America, an exhibition exploring American identity through artworks spanning more than 200 years. Drawn from the Museum’s collection, the exhibition pairs historical and contemporary works to examine how ideas of belonging, freedom, migration and community continue to shape the nation’s evolving story. Gallery hours: Wed.-Fri., 12–5pm; Sat. & Sun., 11am-5pm

Music
June 27
Music of America on Her Birthday
America’s musical traditions have been shaped by generations of composers and performers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. In the concert Music of America on Her Birthday, jazz pianist and educator Pete Malinverni and vocalist Anaïs Reno explore spirituals, jazz and the Great American Songbook through the music of composers including Gershwin, Ellington, Rodgers and Hart. At Pound Ridge Library at 4pm.

Exhibition
July 1-September 4
It Happened Here: Life in New Rochelle During the American Revolution
Presented at the NRCA Rotunda Gallery at City Hall in New Rochelle, It Happened Here looks at how the American Revolution shaped New Rochelle through early records, maps, eyewitness accounts and contemporary photographs by Adam Pape. The exhibition connects the city’s Revolutionary-era history to places residents recognize today, with a July 11 reception tied to a community reading of the Declaration of Independence. During city hall hours.

Special Event
July 3-5
Revolutionary Tea Party
Historic Hudson Valley’s Revolutionary Tea Party invites visitors to sample period-inspired teas and light bites inspired by 18th-century flavors in the greenhouse at Philipsburg Manor. Overlooking the historic site, the experience offers a taste of Revolutionary-era hospitality and includes a discount on manor tours during the holiday weekend.

Music
July 4
Pops, Patriots, and Fireworks
Caramoor’s Pops, Patriots, and Fireworks marks America’s 250th with its Independence Day concert tradition. Westchester Symphonic Winds performs patriotic favorites and American concert band music, from The Star-Spangled Banner and Over the Rainbow to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever. The evening ends with fireworks.

Music / Community
July 4
America 250: Downtown Summer Sizzle / Spark the Sound Celebration
The City of New Rochelle celebrates America’s 250th birthday with Spark the Sound, a special edition of its Downtown Summer Sizzle concerts. The free evening at Hudson Park features live music followed by fireworks over the Long Island Sound.

History / Living History
July 4
Independence Day Celebration
Philipse Manor Hall Historic Site marks Independence Day with family-friendly programming connected to Yonkers’ Revolutionary history. The celebration includes live music, games and activities that place the holiday in the context of the site’s 18th-century history and its role in the region’s America 250 programming.

Exhibition
July 4-December 20
The Declaration Distributed: Westchester County’s Holt Broadside of 1776
The Neuberger Museum of Art’s The Declaration Distributed centers on Westchester County’s rare Holt Broadside, one of the few surviving copies printed after New York adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776. On the campus of SUNY Purchase, the museum’s exhibition explores printer John Holt, how revolutionary news spread and how the document’s local story connects to the land where SUNY Purchase now stands. Gallery hours: Thurs.-Sun., 12-5pm

Music
July 5
This is America
Caramoor presents This is America, a solo violin program performed by Johnny Gandelsman in its Rosen House Music Room. The concert features works by American and U.S.-based composers, including a New York premiere by Pulitzer Prize winner Tyshawn Sorey, with music shaped by “joy, uncertainty, isolation and love.” 

Special Event
July 5
A Revolutionary Tea
Lyndhurst Mansion presents A Revolutionary Tea, an interactive afternoon inspired by the flavors and traditions of the Revolutionary era. Guests enjoy period-inspired teas, historic sweets, parlor games and stories while taking part in a fictional “Culinary Rebellion of 1776.” The experience takes place in the carriage room of Lyndhurst’s Welcome Center. Ages 12 and up.

History / Walking Tour
July 5
Revolutionary Yonkers Walking Tour
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site leads a 2.5-mile guided walking tour through downtown Yonkers that explores the city’s Revolutionary history. The urban hike visits sites connected to the American Revolution while examining Yonkers’ role during that time period and ways in which that history remains visible in the city today.

Lecture
July 7
What’s It Like for You to Be an American?
Westchester Photographic Society presents a talk by documentary portrait photographer Robert Kalman, who traveled more than 20,000 miles across the country photographing nearly 500 people and asking each to answer one question by hand: “What’s it like for you to be an American?” The talk explores identity, belonging and personal reflections on the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Special Event
July 9
Toast 250: Revolutionary Sunset Cruise
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site’s Toast 250 brings America 250 programming onto the Hudson River with a sunset cruise that explores the region’s Revolutionary history. The event offers a site-specific way to consider the river’s role in the founding era while marking the semiquincentennial from the water.

Workshop
July 11
Out of Many, One: A Community Installation
Hudson River Museum’s Out of Many, One invites visitors to turn a historic image into a shared America 250 artwork. Inspired by Edward Hicks’s Washington Passing the Delaware, the drop-in workshop lets participants color their own version of the painting while learning how composition and symbolism shape meaning. The individual works will contribute to a community mural.

Community Event
July 11
Voices of We the People: Reading of the Declaration of Independence
The America 250 New Rochelle Committee presents Voices of We the People, a community reading of the Declaration of Independence and other foundational texts marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. The free event also includes a community picnic and launches “250 Songs for 250 Years,” a public music project that invites residents to help create a community-curated anniversary soundtrack. At New Rochelle City Hall.

History
July 12
Reading of the Declaration of Independence & The Birth of New York State
White Plains and Revolutionary Westchester 250 commemorate the public reading of the Declaration of Independence with a day of Revolutionary-era activities. The event includes a parade, colonial village, living history demonstrations, period music, family activities and a dramatic reading of the Declaration, marking New York’s adoption of the founding document.

Literature / Readings
July 14
Brown Bag Book Club: Someone Knows My Name
New Rochelle Public Library’s Brown Bag Book Club discusses Lawrence Hill’s Someone Knows My Name, a novel that follows Aminata, a runaway slave traveling from South Carolina to British-held Manhattan during the Revolutionary War. The conversation connects America 250 to questions of freedom, wartime service and historical memory.

Music
July 17
America: Songs of Patriotism, Praise and Protest
Bronxville Public Library presents cellist Alex Prizgintas in a concert that celebrates America’s 250th anniversary through hymns, patriotic anthems and songs of protest. Blending classical performance with historical narration, the program explores how music has reflected the nation’s ideals, conflicts and freedoms across generations.

Music
July 18
Library Jazz Band Celebrates the 250th: Party Like It’s 1976
Library Jazz Band’s Party Like It’s 1976 uses jazz to connect two anniversary years: 1776 and 1976. The 17-piece orchestra performs music ranging from Count Basie, Thad Jones and Benny Carter to the funkier sounds of Hall & Oates, Paul Simon, A Chorus Line, Billy Joel and more. At Untermyer Park in Yonkers. 

Community Art
August 29
Paint the 250th: A Community Mural for America’s Semiquincentennial
The Nowodworski Foundation’s Paint the 250th brings a hands-on America 250 art project to Port Chester Day. During this family-centered mural event, participants will help to create a temporary community artwork shaped by local voices. At Lyon Park.

History / Festival
September 19
Revolutionary Harvest Festival
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site’s Revolutionary Harvest Festival connects seasonal traditions with Yonkers’ Revolutionary-era history. The family-friendly program includes living history elements, demonstrations and hands-on activities that explore daily life, foodways and community practices during the founding era.

Festival
October 24 & 25
REV FEST 250
Revolutionary Westchester 250 and Westchester County present REV FEST 250, an all-out two-day festival commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Battle of White Plains. Held at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, the event features large-scale Revolutionary War reenactments, live music, historical demonstrations, storytelling, crafts, food and family activities celebrating the region’s Revolutionary history.

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_{Photos (top to bottom): REV250 (photo credit: Fred-Compton); Mitchell Visoky, Standing Tall on view in Mamaroneck Artists Guild’s 250 Visions of America (image courtesy of Mamaroneck Artists Guild); James Bard, Schooner “John-Griffith” (1855) on view at Hudson River Museum (image courtesy of Hudson River Museum); It Happened Here; Tappan Cowboys will perform at the Independence Day celebration at Philipse Manor Hall Historic Site (image courtesy of Philipse Manor Hall Historic Site); Johnny Gandelsman will perform at Caramoor (image courtesy of Caramoor); Norris Hendrieth by Robert Kalman (image courtesy of Westchester Photographic Society, copyright remains with the artist, Robert Kalman); Erik Paul demonstrating 18th-century joinery and woodworking at Philipse Manor Hall’s Revolutionary Harvest Fest}