New Netherland Marketplace: Living History Event 2026

Historic Huguenot Street is excited to announce the 5th annual "New Netherland Marketplace: Living History Event."

Throughout this event, visitors will discover Lenape Delaware, Black, and European presenters sharing their craftsmanship and culture, and portraying life in mid-17th century New Netherland. This year’s weekend-long event will be taking place on Saturday, June 13th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, and on Sunday, June 14th, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. 

Members of the federally recognized Lenape Delaware communities, which currently reside in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Ontario, will be returning to their sacred homelands to portray the life of their ancestors and their economic relationship with the European settlers. Their camp will have ongoing open fire cooking, cordage making, bow shooting, flintknapping, arrow making, and hide tanning demonstrations throughout the weekend. Each day, representatives will offer a cultural stomp dance demonstration, in which visitor participation is encouraged. North American Dingos, also known as the Carolina dog, will be present and used to discuss Eastern Woodland hunting traditions and more.

Living historians portraying European merchants, performers, and craftspeople will offer demonstrations on woodworking, hearth cooking, tailoring, wampum making, spinning wool, and more. This year’s marketplace will include displays of camp gear and furs, clothing, wooden bowls, children’s toys, and other items for sale. Musicians will regularly perform to crowds and, just like years past, children and adults alike will line up to enjoy a classic Dutch folktale via a raree show, an exhibition of pictures and objects viewed through a small hole in a box. Scheduled programming will include demonstrations on 17th century martial arts and cutlass fighting, a quack show, and a portrayal of Adriaen van der Donck.

Members from the group "Inalienable Rights," the Living History arm of The Slave Dwelling Project, will present the lives and histories of some of the colony’s first enslaved people. Brick making demonstrations, open fire cooking, and dynamic presentations will provide evidence of the incredible contributions, skill, and traditions that the enslaved community brought to the early colony amidst the brutal conditions they faced daily.

This event is free and open to the public.