Harvest Dance Celebration With The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Honors Native American Heritage Month At Queens County Farm Museum, November 12

A celebration of American Indian dance and culture is headed to New York City's most historic working farm as the Queens County Farm Museum and The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers present Harvest Dance Celebration, an annual festival that takes place during Native American Heritage Month.

Now in its fourth year, this dynamic celebration features a Native American Food & Craft Market, along with authentic art and cultural performances for an immersive and interactive experience. The Harvest Dance Celebration on Sunday, November 12, from 11am to 4pm draws on the tradition among many Native American tribes to give thanks in autumn for the bountiful summer harvest.

Featuring dancers in full regalia, who will explain the origins of each dance, the annual celebration is an opportunity to connect visitors to American Indian traditions.

The Native American Food & Craft Market features over fifteen North and Central American vendors specializing in food, traditional handcraft, artisanal instruments and drums, wampum, modern and vintage jewelry, ceramics, stones and crystals, beadwork, and textiles such as woven garments and embroidery. Visitors can enjoy a taste of traditional frybread, smoked meats, and local fish and seafood from local tribes.

During the performance, dancers taking the stage will represent tribes such as the Hopi, Winnebago, Lenape, Kiowa, Choctaw, Mayan, Cherokee, Taino, Santo Domingo and Apache. Performances begin at 2pm to and will include:

• Contest Dance (with audience participation): Usually done by children, the objective is to pick up a fallen feather without touching the ground. The audience is invited to attempt this dance after the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers perform it.
• Grass Dance: A dance done by the people of the great plains to flatten a new camping area for teepees to be erected.
• Hoop Dance: This dance was created to test the skills of dancers handling multiple hoops while keeping time with the beat of the drums.

Harvest Dance Celebration takes place on Sunday, November 12, 11am to 4pm. Performance tickets are $12-$17 and free for ages 3 and under. Admission to the Queens County Farm Museum grounds and Native American Food & Craft Market is free. Guests are encouraged to bring their own seating and picnic blankets. Queens County Farm Museum is accessible, and provides free event parking and bicycle racks on-site.

Tickets for the Harvest Dance Celebration are available at queensfarm.org/harvest-dance-celebration. For more details on the Queens County Farm Museum, please visit queensfarm.org.

Queens County Farm Museum showcases the 300-year history of agriculture as a way of life in New York City. It is a New York City Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. Queens County Farm Museum offers free admission and hosts a wide variety of acclaimed education programs and public events. It serves as a vital resource connecting New Yorkers to agriculture and the environment. For more information, visit queensfarm.org.

The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers are the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York. The troupe was founded in 1963 by a group of ten Native American men and women, all New Yorkers, who were descended from Mohawk, Hopi, Winnebago and San Blas tribes. The founders were "first generation," meaning that their parents had been born on reservations. They founded the troupe to keep alive the traditions, songs and dances they had learned from their parents, and added to their repertoire from other Native Americans living in New York. The Thunderbirds pledged to help preserve and perpetuate the culture and traditions of the American Indian people through their songs and dances, and ceremonies and to bring before the public a more realistic picture and greater understanding of the American Indian people. Members share a commitment to raising scholarships for young American Indian students.