FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2025
City of Kingston & Partners Announce Launch of Kingston Colonial Days
Events to Be Held October 17-19, 2025
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble, Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck, and partners are pleased to announce the launch of a new biennial event, Kingston Colonial Days, which will be held from October 17-19, 2025.
The 2025 Kingston Colonial Days theme is The History That Shapes Us. Events will include demonstrations and exhibitions, film screenings, performances, panel discussions, a 5k run from Uptown Kingston to historic Hurley, and more. The event will be held every other year on the traditional Burning of Kingston weekend, the third weekend in October. Kingston Colonial Days event will present a wide range of topics and will explore diverse voices during the time from first contact with Indigenous peoples to Kingston as the first state capital, the Revolutionary War, and other historic events.
Mayor Noble said, “While we gear up for the 250th anniversary of our country, we are pleased to announce a new weekend long event, Kingston Colonial Days, which explores our past, beyond the burning of Kingston, and helps us understand how our storied history shapes our world today.”
Ulster County Clerk and Kingston Historian Taylor Bruck said, “Kingston Colonial Days presents a welcome opportunity for historians and interpreters to immerse the public in the extremely rich story of Kingston in the century leading up to the events of the American Revolution. I’m very excited that we get to leverage an amazing trove of primary source materials in partnership with some wonderful organizations like Harambee to share the complexities of an era we often and unfortunately overlook in favor of reenactments centered around the 1777 burning of Kingston. With our Nation’s 250th quickly approaching next year, I don’t think there’s a better time than now to talk about the crucial story of our colonial roots.”
The Kingston Colonial Days weekend will kick-off on Friday, October 17, with an event at Old Dutch Church entitled, Kingston’s Enslaved Women’s Voices: What Do They Call Me? The event will feature a film screening of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journey to Freedom, a musical performance with cellist Zoe Poller, vocal stylist Kitt Potter, flutist Paul Marienthal, pianist Joe Vincent Tranchina, bassist Steve Rust, and drummer Harvey Sorgen, and will include readings by former Ulster County Poet Laureate Kate Hymes and storyteller Evelyn Clarke.
On Saturday, October 18, open house exhibitions will be on display at the Persen House, including demonstrations of life during colonial times and games hosted by the Senate House, and at the Pine Street African Burial Ground, which will include artifacts, photographs, displays, and more.
Scheduled events on Saturday include a book talk and signing with Dr. Joseph Diamond discussing The Archaeology of Kingston, New York; a Pine Street African Burial Ground talk at the Persen House; and a screening of Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican History from the PBS Tribal Histories series, followed by a panel discussion.
On Sunday, October 19, the fourth annual Capital to Capital 5K run/walk will run along the new segment of the O&W rail trail from Uptown Kingston to School House Lane in Hurley, followed by an awards ceremony and reception. The Capital to Capital 5K is sponsored and organized by the Rotary Club of Kingston and will benefit the Ulster County SPCA.
“Kingston has been ever evolving since the American Revolution and colonists’ creation of incomplete, biased records,” said Kitt Potter, City of Kingston Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs. “Taking a step back into our colonial history in a manner that includes a more diverse perspective reveals a legacy of cultural fusion, and the impact of colonial rule that is still felt globally today in the form of economic instability, unresolved ethnic and political conflicts, and ongoing struggles for human rights. I would like to thank the Radio Kingston Community Tech Team for their unwavering support.”
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For the full schedule, please visit https://engagekingston.com/kingston-colonial-days.
The Burning of Kingston event will return in 2026 and 2027 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. Kingston Colonial Days will be held again in 2028 and will be biennial on the even years.