Upcoming Events

Stay tuned for upcoming Holiday 2023 programming!

Previous Events

Archaeology & History at Van Cortlandt Park
Saturday, October 28th, 2023 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM​

Van Cortlandt Park has a rich Indigenous, colonial, and Revolutionary history.  Numerous archaeological excavations near the Van Cortlandt House Museum have turned up thousands of artifacts spanning the centuries.  But some discoveries have raised more questions than answers.  Come witness archaeology in action as we look for clues to understand Van Cortlandt Park’s complex historical timeline.
  • Meet geoarchaeologist, Sheldon Skaggs Ph.D., as his team from Bronx Community College scans the park grounds using ground penetrating radar.
  • See a collection of recovered artifacts presented by Kelly Britt, Ph.D., R.P.A., who is analyzing a repository of thousands of excavated objects with her Brooklyn College students.
  • Meet Adriaen van der Donck, the area’s first Dutch colonist presented by historical interpreter Rick Vanden Heuvel.
The event is free and open to the public but for a truly special experience, treat yourself to an additional expert-led guided tour of Van Cortlandt Park’s most historic sites (ticket required).  The tours will explore the park’s hidden history–the forgotten ruins, roads, and burial grounds that your average park-goer would never know about.
Tours will start from the museum’s welcome center at 2:00 and 2:30 and will last about 90 minutes. Van Cortlandt House Museum is located at 6036 Broadway, in Van Cortlandt Park.  Free parking is available at the Van Cortlandt Park parking lot (near the golf course entrance) and the museum is a few minute walk from the 242nd Street stop on the #1 train.


RSVP and tickets on Eventbrite.

Delft Tile Tour
Saturday, October 14th, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Led by longtime docent Paul Herther, take the chance to learn about the finely crafted Dutch tiles that graced early American fireplaces.

This tour includes an informational talk and a behind-the-scenes look at unseen tiles in the museum’s collection.

​Tickets are $10 and available for purchase on Eventbrite.

Music in the Digital Age - Bronx Arts Ensemble String Quartet
Saturday August 19th, 2023 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

From the Bronx Arts Ensemble website:

Join the Bronx Arts Ensemble String Quartet as they perform exciting new works and old favorites that have gained popularity through TikTok and other social media platforms. This concert marks the beginning of the Bronx Arts Ensemble’s 52nd season, which focuses on the human condition. Bring a lawn chair and snacks and enjoy compositions ranging from Shostakovich to Ariana Grande.

This event is FREE to attend and will be held on the museum's lawn.

Stephanie Ehrlich's Big Bowl of Soul
Saturday August 12th, 2023 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

From the Bronx Arts Ensemble's website:

Join Van Cortlandt Park Alliance’s Executive Director, Stephanie, and her retro-band, Big Bowl of Soul, for a funky ride back to the 60s.

Bring a picnic blanket to enjoy the afternoon on the Van Cortlandt House Museum Lawn.

This event is FREE to attend and will be held on the museum's lawn.

Music in the Park 2023
Sunday, July 23rd, 2023 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

The KRVC is hosting a free concert on our museum grounds with music from the Morrisania Band Project! This award-winning R&B soul group formed in 2016 with the goal of strengthening their local community through music. The concert is FREE to attend and will be held from 5 pm to 7 pm. Feel free to bring a lawn chair or blanket.

Dialogues Composers Panel
Saturday July 22nd, 2023 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

From the Bronx Arts Ensemble wesbite:

Hosted by Composers Now founder and artistic director Tania León, Dialogues No. 11 celebrates Bronx composers Oliver Caplan, Mimi Jones, Huang Ruo, and Hilliard Greene who is joined by The Jazz Expressions (TK Blue, saxophone and flute; Dwayne (Cook) Broadnax, drums; and Sharp Radway, keyboard). Followed by thought-provoking town hall-style conversations, a forum for meaningful exchanges of ideas, between composers, performers, and audiences, the event is co-presented with Bronx Arts Ensemble and Van Cortlandt Park Alliance.

This event is FREE to attend and will be held on the museum's lawn.

Delft Tile Tour
Saturday, July 8th, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Picture
Led by longtime docent Paul Herther, take the chance to learn about the finely crafted Dutch tiles that graced early American fireplaces.

This tour includes an informational talk and a behind-the-scenes look at unseen tiles in the museum’s collection.

​Tickets are $10 and available for purchase on Eventbrite.

World War I Presentation & Walking Tour
Saturday, June 17th, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Ever wonder why the athletic fields and Van Cortlandt Park are called the "Parade Ground?"  It harkens back to the days of WWI, when Van Cortlandt Park was a military camp.

 Join us at the Van Cortlandt House Museum for a presentation about this little-known history led by historian Vivian Davis.  The presentation will start in the herb cellar of the museum before proceeding outside, where Ms. Davis will highlight relevant features of the park.

Vivian Davis is currently working in the Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs for Bergen County, New Jersey but her past employment as Education Director at the The Bronx County Historical Society has given her opportunities to study New York City during WWI.  She has presented multiple times at the New Jersey and New York State History Conference as well as historic sites in the tri-state area.  In 2017, she first presented her research on Van Cortlandt Park during the Great War.  Since then, she has given multiple walking tours and lectures to commemorate the military and domestic experience of those living in New York, from WWI Van Cortlandt Park to the Camofleurs training in the city to the paramilitary efforts of the Camp Hewitt girls in New Jersey.

This presentation is being made in collaboration with the Kingsbridge Historical Society with funding from the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development.

Pinkster Festival
Saturday, May 6th, 2023 from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Come celebrate Pinkster at the Van Cortlandt House Museum at this free event!

Once a major colonial holiday with Dutch origins held in New York, Pinkster proved to be a unique event that incorporated African rituals and traditions. On May 6th, you too can participate in Pinkster festivities! Enjoy family friendly activities such as live music and dance, the story of Pinkster, African games, arts and crafts, and storytelling. Learn about the history of Pinkster and New York’s enslaved communities on guided tours and talks with interpreters. Lastly, join the Pinkster Players in a parade procession! Food and crafts will also be available for purchase.

​This event is FREE to attend! Optional RSVP here.

Delft Tile Tour
Saturday, April 8th, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Led by docent Paul Herther, take the chance to learn about the finely crafted Dutch tiles that graced early American fireplaces.

This tour includes an informational talk and a behind-the-scenes look at unseen tiles in the museum’s collection.

​Tickets are $10 and available for purchase on Eventbrite.

Getting to Know Pinkster, the Country's Oldest African American Celebration (Virtual Presentation)
Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM on Zoom

​Pinkster is the Dutch word for the Christian religious holiday of Pentecost that takes place 50 days after Easter.

But for the enslaved and free people of African descent, for whom the celebration is most remembered, it began the Monday after and lasted three to five days. It was celebrated all over the Dutch colony of New Netherland and New York from the 17th through the early 19th century. The celebration was unique among New York’s historical holidays as it incorporated rituals and traditions that Africans brought with them to this continent.

Learn about this lesser-known aspect of New York’s early history at a special Zoom presentation with Lavada Nahon, Interpreter of African American History for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Event is FREE - Register here.

Tibbets Estuary Tapestry Exhibit
On view from December 10th, 2022 through March 2023

Visit the museum through March 2023 to view the Tibbets Estuary Tapestry and the Bronx Quilt made at the museum in the 1980s.

From City as Living Laboratory:
In late 2021, nearly 100 volunteers were invited to realize in embroidery their visions of a greener, more connected Northwest Bronx. This project, led by artists Ana de la Cueva and Matthew López-Jensen, has seen these individual squares be assembled into a grand map of the community, united in its diversity and its call for transformative green infrastructure. This communal process was intended to ignite peoples’ imaginations and point to real opportunities for modest interventions that collectively could change the urban landscape in significant ways and make it more sustainable through greening and storm-water capture.

Delft Tile Tour
Saturday, January 14th, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Led by docent Paul Herther, take the chance to learn about the finely crafted Dutch tiles that graced early American fireplaces.

This tour includes an informational talk and a behind-the-scenes look at unseen tiles in the museum’s collection.

​Tickets are $10 and available for purchase on Eventbrite.