Events & Programs
Historic Richmond Town’s signature events bring history to life for Staten Island and New York City.
All year long, our historic village is a place to learn, celebrate, and gather. We offer hands-on activities, live demonstrations, and community festivals for all ages. These in-person programs invite visitors to step into the past, connect with local history, and enjoy meaningful experiences together.
Find our Event Calendar Here
Apprentice Program
In the months of July and August, high school–aged students experience an immersive, hands-on learning experience where they work alongside museum staff and artisans to develop historic trades skills such as tinsmithing, broom making, and other living history crafts, while gaining real-world experience in public history and interpretation.
Cabin Fever Relievers
Seasonal Sunday workshops designed to provide intergenerational hands-on historic trades, crafts and skills that engage visitors on Saturdays in January, February and March. Sessions range from paper art and craft making to cooking, weaving, and more. Classes focused on making and learning new skills are designed to inspire visitors in the doldrums of winter. Workshops are led by experienced and knowledgeable Historical Interpreters, as well as visiting teaching artists.
Candlelight Tours
Evening tours illuminating the village with candlelight, offering visitors a historic holiday experience through interpretation and ambiance.
Christmas in Historic Richmond Town
A family-friendly holiday celebration featuring seasonal activities, crafts, and festive historic village settings., with proceeds from this fundraiser going to support Historic Richmond Town.
Community Tree Lighting
A free festive evening that brings the community together to kick off the holiday season with lighting, entertainment, and local spirit.
English Country Dance
]This publicly offered class teaches the art of the classic social dance developed in England through the 18th century and popular in the American colonies - novices and experienced dancers welcome.
Exhibitions
Historic Richmond Town’s exhibitions invite visitors to explore history at their own pace.
Through historic spaces, artifacts, and stories drawn from Staten Island’s past, each exhibition offers new ways to connect with the people and places that shaped the community. Whether you spend a few minutes or an afternoon, there’s always something new to discover.
Guided Tours
General admission includes a guided tour that leads visitors through Two Centuries, a chronological journey of Staten Island’s history paired with admission to the Historical Museum. The tour begins at the Native Encampment representing the 1640s contact period and continues through historic houses that interpret early colonial settlement, the Revolutionary era, and the complex history of slavery and emancipation in 19th-century New York.
Hearth & Harvest
A seasonal festival highlighting hearth cooking, harvest traditions, and indigenous and local history with live demonstrations, storytelling, and food ways.
Holiday House Tours
Guided visits inside traditionally decorated historic homes that showcase wintertime customs of the past.
Independence Day Celebration
A Fourth of July festival with historic and patriotic programming, including reenactments and historic figure notables that celebrates American heritage.
Old Home Day
A living history festival celebrating Staten Island’s heritage with historic trade demonstrations, food, music, and traditional crafts throughout the village.
Open Village
From May to August, costumed historical interpreters staff buildings across the village, spanning the post-contact Lenape historical period (1640s), the settlement of Cocclestown (1690s), the American Revolution (1780s), the early Republic (1820s) and the Civil War era (1860s). Open Village features daily talks and demonstrations on Lenape history, historical trades, domestic crafts, and political life in the 19th century. Set against the backdrop of the woods and wetlands surrounding the site, Open Village is an immersive experience that educates and inspires.
Pumpkin Picking at Decker Farm
Seasonal fall farm weekend activity where folks can pick pumpkins, take a hayride, get lost in a corn maze and enjoy Decker Farm’s outdoor offerings, with proceeds from this fundraiser going to support Historic Richmond Town.
Richmond County Fair
Staten Island’s largest community festival over the three days of Labor Day Weekend, featuring live music, vendors, historic crafts, rides, food, contests, and demonstrations, and serving as Historic Richmond Town’s biggest annual fundraiser.
Summer Fridays
Friday evenings in July & August, the community enjoys free activities focused on young children, such as face painting, giant bubbles and lawn games in the historic village orbiting around our ice cream vendor.
Tavern Concerts
An intimate indoor winter acoustic music series held in the historic c. 1820 Guyon Tavern where visitors enjoy live folk and Americana-inspired performances, flickering candles, warmed by a wood-burning stove, with period beverages and atmospheres that evoke 19th-century social life.
Talks of the Town
The series hosts a diverse set of speakers, experts, and facilitators to bring in-depth insights and perspectives on various subjects related to Staten Island and Greater New York.
Village Ghost Tours
From authentic colonial ghost stories to creepy modern-day encounters, Village Ghost Tours explore historic houses by candlelight and delve into folklore and mysteries from the past. This ghost tour is led by costumed storytellers who share their own unexplained and unnerving tales. This one-hour candlelit walking ghost tour takes you through the village and into historic structures after-hours.
Yankee Peddler Day
A traditional market hosted by the Women’s Auxiliary of Historic Richmond Town, featuring dealers of antiques, collectibles, crafts, and curiosities, with proceeds supporting Historic Richmond Town.