Last year’s event, featuring Frederick Douglass recitations by Hamilton actor Paul Oakley Stovall, was a smash hit! This year, Celebrating the African Spirit—with the support of Vassar College and the City of Poughkeepsie—continues the tradition of honoring abolitionist Frederick Douglass with a range of activities in Poughkeepsie’s College Hill Park, where Douglass delivered his 1858 anti-slavery speech. There will be musical performances by Souls United Choir and the Melody African Drum & Dance Group; readings from Douglass’s 1858 speech; an interview with Isaac Julien, a multidisciplinary artist whose film Lessons of the Hour is a poetic meditation on the life and times of Frederick Douglass; mindfulness exercises; and more. A food truck will provide culinary sustenance. Don’t miss this joyous event!