NEWSLETTER
Be part of history with can't-miss events across New York State commemorating the state's pivotal role in 250 years of American history. While the official America 250 anniversary took place on July 4, the celebration is far from over. Throughout 2026 and beyond, discover engaging exhibits, immersive reenactments, hands-on workshops, cultural experiences, concerts, and educational events that bring the stories of the people and places that shaped our nation to life. Commemorate America 250 by exploring events and exhibits happening across New York State all year long and beyond.
Revolutionary New York (Capital-Saratoga)
When: Ongoing
Price: Free
Check out the New York State Museum's newest exhibit: Revolutionary New York, a landmark exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Spanning about 7,000 square feet, the exhibit uses themes developed by the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission to draw connections between the ideals of the Revolutionary War and more modern fights for equality, including the birth of the women’s suffrage movement in Seneca Falls, the Stonewall Uprising, emancipation and the Underground Railroad, and climate justice.
USA 250th & Niagara County Celebration (Greater Niagara)
When: August 1-2, 2026
Price: Free
Venture to Old Fort Niagara for a special America 250 celebration featuring a Revolutionary War encampment. This National Historic Landmark will come alive for the weekend with immersive living history programs, live music, and an exciting after-dark experience. Preserved as it stood in the 1700’s, Old Fort Niagara served as a strategic outpost for France, Britain, and the United States, was crucial in controlling access to the Great Lakes, and played a vital role during the colonial era, the French and Indian War, and the War of 1812.
Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States (NYC)
When: Through September 13, 2026
Price: Free
Venture to the American Folk Art Museum to mark America's 250th anniversary with "Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States," an exhibition that explores how folk art has shaped American identity. Drawn from the American Folk Art Museum's renowned collection, the exhibit reveals how artists, collectors, and communities have used everyday objects to tell the nation's story and forge a shared sense of history and patriotism.
Old Mastic House Exhibit (Long Island)
When: Through September 27, 2026
Price: Free
The William Floyd Estate is showcasing their new Old Mastic House 2026 exhibit, showcasing artifacts from every era of the estate's history, from the colonial period through the 20th century.
Benjamin Franklin was Here, 1776 (Adirondacks)
When: Through September 27, 2026
Price: Admission $7-$10
The Chapman Historical Museum is premiering an exhibition exploring Benjamin Franklin's lesser-known 1776 journey to Montreal. As Franklin traveled through the upper Hudson Valley, including an overnight stop in present-day Glens Falls, he championed education, a free press, civic engagement, and the practical power of knowledge while seeking support for the American cause. The exhibition connects local history to the nation's founding and the enduring ideals of liberty, equality, and self-government.
GLAMerica 250 Exhibit (Greater Niagara)
When: Through September 30, 2026
Price: Admission $12
Credit: @neil_ferguson_photography on Instagram
The Buffalo History Museum proudly presents GLAM-erica 250, a community-driven exhibition exploring dress and personal style as expressions of identity, belonging, and lived experience. Through four GLAM themes — Grounded, Locating, Aspiration, and Memory — objects are brought together from across the museum’s collections and community, including garments, accessories, images, and design materials. Rooted in personal stories, the exhibition traces how what we wear carries memory, meaning, and presence across time.
Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families (Hudson Valley)
When: Through October 4, 2026
Price: Admission $8-$15
Get in touch with your artistic side at the Katonah Museum of Art. Their Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families exhibition explores the private worlds of America’s founders through furniture, fine art, decorative, and personal objects from their homes, revealing how domestic spaces shaped political life and diplomacy. With special focus on New York figures such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton among others, the exhibit also foregrounds the essential roles of women including Martha Washington and Sarah Jay, who were instrumental to the development of the political and diplomatic culture of the newly formed United States.
Remington's Impression on America Exhibition (1000 Islands-Seaway Region)
When: Through October 14, 2026
Price: Admission $5-$16
Gather at the Frederic Remington Art Museum and peruse Remington's Impression on America, a major new exhibition exploring how Frederic Remington shaped American art, culture, and identity. Experience newly refreshed galleries, a new exhibition on Remington's groundbreaking bronze sculptures and the lost-wax casting process, plus a special exhibition featuring contemporary works by members of the Cowboy Artists of America.
Rev Fest 250 (Hudson Valley)
When: October 24-25, 2026
Price: Free
Relive history during an epic, large-scale reenactment of the Battle of White Plains, set against the beautiful backdrop of the 4,000-acre Ward Pound Ridge Reservation. This scenic park will be transformed into an immersive living-history experience, combining history, culture, and music to reenact the rebellion that occurred in the lower Hudson Valley.
Remembering the American Revolution: Celebrating the 250th (Greater Niagara)
When: Through November 22, 2026
Price: Admission $4-$8
Explore the ideas of Americanism, patriotism, and remembrance at the Jell-O Gallery and Historic LeRoy House's Remembering the American Revolution: Celebrating the 250th exhibit. The American Revolution was not only the birth of our nation and the separation of our government from the sovereign nation, but also the foundation of our patriotism. The exhibit showcases how we have remembered the American Revolution, how we have celebrated it since its end in 1783, and also teaches about the 19 American Revolutionary War patriots who are buried in the Town and Village of LeRoy.
Orangetown & The Bicentennial 1776 -1976! From Democracy to Disco (Hudson Valley)
When: Through November 29, 2026
Price: Free
Don’t miss the Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives' ongoing exhibition, Orangetown & The Bicentennial 1776 to 1976! From Democracy to Disco. In 1976 America was set to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and Orangetown was ready! With significant revolutionary roots, from the signing of the Orangetown Resolutions, Washington’s headquarters at the DeWint House, Molly Sneden’s ferry, Major John Andre’s trial and hanging to Sir Guy Carlton’s tribute to the new republic, Orangetown was where history happened. Looking back From Democracy to Disco can serve as a blueprint for the future.
Revolution! Local Lives in the Age of Independence (Central New York)
When: Through November 30, 2026
Price: Free
The Greater Oneonta Historical Society presents Revolution! Local Lives in the Age of Independence, commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary. On display in the Brzozowski Special Exhibition Gallery and Buckingham and SUNY Alumni Windows, the exhibition will explore some of the diverse men and women in the region that experienced, helped fight for, shaped, or were shaped by the American Revolution.
Talkin’ Bout A Revolution: A Haudenosaunee Response to the 250th (Central New York)
When: Through December 1, 2026
Price: Admission $5-$8
Join Artists Peter Jemison, Sayokla Kindness, Carla Hemlock, Shelley Niro, Trevor Brant, and others at the Iroquois Museum as they offer their insightful, at times divergent, viewpoints on this foundational American anniversary and its impact on Indigenous nations. The exhibit features sculpture, beadwork, painting, digital works, and more.
America 250 Exhibit: Changemakers of Ontario County (Finger Lakes)
When: Through December 1, 2026
Price: Free
Discover the stories of Ontario County's trailblazers who shaped the county through the ideals of liberty, equality, and human rights. Learn how Mary Ann Mallard advocated for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday to become a school holiday 12 years before it became federal law; delve into Arthur Caswell Parker’s work on the Iroquois Confederacy; and see how George Edward Barton pioneered occupational therapy. Their legacies will be featured in the Meeting Room Gallery.
Celebrate: Parades, Pageants, and Progress (Finger Lakes)
When: December 23, 2026
Price: Admission $5
The Geneva History Museum presents a new exhibit exploring how the City and Town of Geneva have commemorated major civic milestones over time. Discover the many ways the community has come together to celebrate, from parades and reenactments to pageants and public gatherings, marking anniversaries of the village and city, as well as the nation’s 250th birthday.
America 250 at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site (Catskills)
When: Through December 27, 2026
Price: Admission $5-$20
Venture to the picturesque Thomas Cole National Historic Site for “Thomas Cole: Painting the Nature of America,” in honor of America 250. In the early 19th century, Thomas Cole reimagined the American landscape as a powerful symbol of national identity, capturing vast forests, soaring mountains, and luminous skies that shaped the ideal of “America the Beautiful.” His work sparked the Hudson River School, now internationally recognized, and fostered both pride and a lasting commitment to preserving the nation’s natural scenery.
Racing at the Dawn of the United States (Capital-Saratoga)
When: Through December 27, 2026
Price: $20/adults, $15/seniors, $10/ages 6-18
Make your way to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs for a special exhibit that explores the history of thoroughbred horse racing from the American colonial era to the emergence of America as a new republic in the early 19th century. Learn about the sport’s early history through its pioneering figures, races, and legendary horses. Explore the museum’s extensive collection, supplemented by items from the Keeneland Library, the New York Racing Association, Cate Masterson, and Charles V. Wait.
Loyalist Legacies: Relics from the Losing Side (Hudson Valley)
When: Through December 28, 2026
Price: Admission $13-$24
Visit the lovely Boscobel House and Gardens's Legacies: Relics from the Losing Side, a new exhibition that brings forward perspectives that are often overlooked or simplified in popular understandings of the Revolution. Through surviving objects from furniture, to portraits, documents, and everyday domestic belongings, the exhibition traces the lives, losses, and enduring cultural impact of families who remained loyal to the British Crown.
Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation Exhibition (NYC)
When: Through December 31, 2026
Price: Admission $5-$10
Fraunces Tavern was a witness to history throughout the Revolutionary War Era. Among the many historic events that took place there, Fraunces Tavern served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty, a site for trials that were part of a process that led to the emancipation of thousands of Black Loyalists, and the setting for Washington’s farewell to his officers. Two hundred fifty years later, Fraunces Tavern Museum honors this history with Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation. This chronological, multi-year exhibition tells the history of the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, with a distinctive focus on what occurred in New York State and the surrounding areas.
PARRISH USA250: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Long Island)
When: Through March 21, 2027
Price: Admission $12-$20
Take a trip to the Parrish Art Museum to explore Parrish USA250: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, a year-long series of exhibitions and programs exploring the core ideals of the Declaration of Independence through the East End of Long Island’s enduring role in shaping American creativity and identity. The series reflects on the nation’s founding values, examines our present moment, and imagines new paths forward, while recognizing the significant contributions of Long Island artists to American art and culture.
The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution (NYC)
When: Through April 25, 2027
Price: Admission $14-$23
The Museum of the City of New York's entire third floor transforms into a 7,000-square-foot immersive journey through Revolutionary-era New York. Framing the Revolution as a story of civic choice and consequence, the exhibition underscores how decisions made by New Yorkers 250 years ago continue to reverberate across the city and the nation today. Trace New York’s pivotal role in the conflict, from the first sparks of rebellion in 1763 to its emergence as the new nation’s first capital in 1790. A crucial strategic site for both the Patriots and the British, New York’s revolutionary experience comes vividly to life through historical objects, multimedia installations, and interactive environments.
The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation (NYC)
When: Through May 27, 2027
Price: Admission $5-$18
Make your way to The Seaport for a full-floor exhibition in the historic 1868 A.A. Thomson & Co. building that traces the evolution of America's founding ideals through rare documents and pivotal moments in history. See iconic treasures including the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, handwritten pages from an undelivered inaugural address by George Washington, the Emancipation Proclamation, and an advance copy of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "March on Washington" speech. Along with rarely seen letters, pamphlets, treaties, broadsides, and landmark first editions, these iconic artifacts reveal how generations of Americans have continued the pursuit of liberty, equality, and justice.
REAL TIME REVOLUTION™ (Adirondacks)
When: Various dates through 2027
Price: Varies by event
Photo courtesy of Fort Ticonderoga
Journey back in time at Fort Ticonderoga, where REAL TIME REVOLUTION™ Signature Reenactment and Living History Events unfold the fight for independence in real-time, day to day, major event by major event. Unlike many sites that capture a single moment in history, Fort Ticonderoga tells the full story and collective experiences of an evolving war. Trace the transformation of the war from a loosely organized set of colonial objectives, through the creation of a proto-national army conducting campaigns beyond the colonies, to the emergence of a firmly national military charged with securing the independence declared in 1776. In the spring, catch events highlighting the flow of supplies and reinforcements to a beleaguered northern army in Canada, and in the summer and fall witness the grueling work of rebuilding, through reconstructed entrenchments, soldiers’ huts, and armed vessels, preparing for the British assault that would soon follow.
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