New Netherland Marketplace: A Living History Event 2024
Saturday June 8th, 2024 10:00 am to 5:00 pm & Sunday June 9th, 2024 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Historic Huguenot Street is excited to announce the 3rd annual New Netherland Marketplace, 1645: Living History Event, marking the 400th anniversary of the Dutch settlement in the Hudson Valley. Throughout this event, visitors will discover Lenape Delaware and European demonstrators sharing their craftsmanship and culture, and portraying life in 1645 New Netherland. This year’s weekend-long event will be taking place on Saturday, June 8th, 2024 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, and on Sunday, June 9th, 2024 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Living historians portraying Dutch merchants, traders, and craftspeople will be offering demonstrations on wood working, hearth cooking, tailoring, wampum making, spinning wool, and more. The marketplace will also include displays of camp gear and furs, clothing, wooden bowls, and other items for sale.
Members of the federally recognized Lenape Delaware communities will be returning to their sacred homelands to portray the life of their ancestors and their economic relationship with the Europeans. Their camp will have ongoing open fire cooking, cordage making, bow shooting, flintknapping, arrow making, and hide tanning demonstrations throughout the weekend.
This event is free and open to the public, but please register if you plan to attend.
Guided Historic House Tours
Register for a Guided Historic House Tour During the New Netherland Marketplace Event: Register for a Guided Historic House Tour during the New Netherland Marketplace Event:
Historic House Tours are available at 10:30 AM, 12:00 PM, and 2:30 PM on Saturday, June 8th and Sunday, June 9th. Tours last approximately one hour and guide attendees through the Esopus Munsee replica wigwam, the European community's original burying ground, the reconstructed 1717 French Church, and the 1721 Jean Hasbrouck House.
General Admission: $15
Discounted Admission (for HHS members, seniors, students and children under 13): $12
Free Admission for veterans, active military members and their families, SUNY New Paltz Students and Children 6 and under.
Note: This link is for all guided tours throughout the week of June 5th-June 9th. To take a tour during this event, choose a tour time on either June 8th or June 9th.
Schedule of Events
10:00 AM
Event opens to the public.
10:30 AM
Bells & Motley Olden Music (45 mins)
The duo of John and Sondra Bromka will be entertaining both days with their lively presentations of 17th century music that was played in the Netherlands. Look forward to their amazing array of historic instruments from that era, including hurdy gurdy, harp, hammered dulcimer, period fiddles, cittern, early bagpipes, and a rare 5’ tall tromba marina.
11:15 AM
Tour the Marketplace with Justin Wexler (45 mins)
Meet at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center for a free tour of the Marketplace with knowledgeable guide and historian, Justin Wexler. Justin will provide tour takers with important historical and cultural context, and elaborate on the complexities of the New Netherland colony and its economic significance within the greater global context, and explore scenarios in which the colony’s diverse inhabitants shared culture, wisdom, and traditions.
Space is limited!
Registration required:
12:00 PM
Swords in the Street: Keeping the Peace in 17th century New Netherland (45 mins)
When European colonists transported their lives and cultures to the Americas, they also brought their fighting traditions with them. Come learn about the martial arts of the 17th century Hudson Valley as De Beverwijck Zvaardfechters demonstrates non-lethal English and Dutch wrestling, knife-fighting, and swordplay techniques of the period used to keep the peace in the face of interpersonal colonial violence.
1:00 PM
Stomp Dance (30 mins)
The stomp dance is a call and response, sung by a leader and answered by the men, with women “shaking” shells to provide the rhythmic accompaniment. The dancers move around a fire in a counter-clockwise motion dancing to the song. The steps are a “shuffling” or “stomping” motion, similar to that of marching.
The dance originated with Southern tribes as part of their Green Corn Ceremonies. The tradition was shared and spread from community to community, eventually making its way to Northern cultures, like the Lenape. The Lenape stomp dance is a purely social dance with no religious connotations.
1:45 PM
Tour the Marketplace with Justin Wexler (45 mins)
At this time, visitors will have a second opportunity to tour the Marketplace with knowledgeable guide and historian, Justin Wexler.
Space is limited!
Registration required:
2:00 PM
Cut Me In: The Martial Arts of the Dutch Colonial Empire (45 mins) (Saturday ONLY)
While often thought of as a mercantile culture, the 17th century Dutch colonial empire was born out of conflict and quick to adopt and employ martial traditions from around the world in pursuit of trading profits. Learn what those martial arts looked like as De Beverwijck Zvaardfechters demonstrates the lethal side of 17th century swordsmanship and close-quarters combat.
Steel Your Nerves! An Introduction to 17th century Cutlass Fighting (30 mins) (Sunday ONLY)
Are you looking to protect your mercantile venture against pirates? Or are you perhaps looking to embark upon a privateering career yourself? Are you tired of rogue English soldiers wrecking your tavern, or simply looking to demonstrate your civic valor in the Burgher Guard? Whatever the case, you are going to need to know how to use your cutlass! Visitors ages 8 through adult are invited to learn the basics of 17th century cutlass fighting with this hands-on demonstration.
Spaces are limited; register at De Beverwijck Zvaardfechters table. Participants under 18 must have signed parental permission to participate.
3:00 PM
Bells & Motley Olden Music (45 mins)
The duo of John and Sondra Bromka play an encore of their 17th century music performance.
4:00 PM
A Native Sympathizer: The story of Adriaen van der Donck (1 hour) (Saturday ONLY)
Join Rick Vanden Heuvel, a Dutch reenactor, and Nick Logan of the Delaware Nation, as they dig through the legacy of the 'Jonkier,' his life and his writings on the native peoples of the 'river that flows both ways.'
5:00 PM Saturday/4:00 PM Sunday
Event concludes
Meet the Reenactors
Click on the image below to read each reenactor’s biography.
Visitor Policies
This event is free and open to the public. Visitor are not required to wear face covering while in attendance, nor are they required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Appropriate face covering is neither required in the Visitor Center nor while on tours of the historic structures.
This event will portray and interpret historical topics such as colonialism, slavery, racial discrimination, weaponry and martial arts in the 17th century. Parental supervision is required for children under 13.
Please note that canine companions will be used as a part of the interpretation of Indigenous culture throughout this event. Two North American Dingos, also known as the Carolina dog, will be present and used to talk about Eastern Woodland hunting traditions and more. These dogs will be leashed at all times.
If you intend on bringing your own dog to this event, they must also remained leashed at all times. Any person who owns or controls a dog, must remove any feces left by that dog on HHS property and dispose of it in a legal manner. The person may remove the feces and carry them away with him/her for disposal. Inability to abide by these policies could result in a fine
Photography is allowed on the grounds and in the historic structures. However, no flash photography is allowed in the historic structures. Food and beverage is not allowed on tours of the historic houses. Visitors may not consume food prepared by the event’s demonstrators. Please do not touch, sit, or lean on anything in the historic houses, unless you are explicitly told you may do so. Please do not touch, sit, or lean on any of the reenactors’ props or personal items unless you are explicitly told you may do so.
Historic Huguenot Street grounds are open from dawn to dusk.
If you have any questions about the event, the historic house tours, or the site's accessibility, please feel free to email info@huguenotstreet.org
HHS Site Map and Parking
Public parking is available in the lots labeled with a "P" on the map above.
Please note: The New Paltz Regatta will also be taking place on Sunday, June 9th and has issued a road closure of Main Street in New Paltz from Plattekill Avenue to The Carmine Liberta Bridge from 12:45-1:15 pm.
If you are planning on arriving to or departing from our event around this time and taking Main Street, please plan accordingly!
“New Netherland Marketplace, 1645: Living History Event” has been developed in partnership with Caesar’s Ford Theatre and Wild Hudson Valley.
IT IS WITH GRATITUDE AND HUMILITY THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE LEARNING, SPEAKING, AND GATHERING ON THE ANCESTRAL HOMELANDS OF THE MUNSEE LENAPE PEOPLE, WHO ARE INDIGENOUS TO THIS LAND. WE PAY HONOR AND RESPECT TO THEIR ANCESTORS PAST AND PRESENT, AS WE AT HISTORIC HUGUENOT STREET ARE COMMITTED TO BUILDING A MORE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE SPACE FOR ALL.
THE LENAPE PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF THEIR HERITAGE. HISTORIC HUGUENOT STREET CONTINUALLY INCREASES ITS EFFORTS TO CONSULT WITH THESE AFFILIATED NATIVE NATIONS AND ACHIEVE COMMON GOALS OF CULTURAL PRESERVATION THROUGH THE STUDY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES TODAY AND THE PRESERVATION WORK IN THEIR SACRED HOMELANDS, PLEASE VISIT THESE ONLINE RESOURCES:
Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians
Munsee-Delaware Nation
Delaware Tribe of Indians
Delaware Nation
Delaware Nation at Moraviantown
“New Netherland Marketplace, 1645: Living History Event” has been developed in partnership with Caesar’s Ford Theatre and Wild Hudson Valley.
Our sincerest thanks to the following supporters of this event:
Stephen P Lumb
James Ottaway
Mary Ottaway
Richard Rowley and Marianne Murray
Mary Etta Schneider
RJ Smith
Carleen and Garry Wald
This program is partially funded by Hudson Valley Credit Union and Klock Kingston Foundation, and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Thank you to the Department of Environmental Conservation Region 3 Forest Rangers for guidance in our events’ fire-safety management.