In Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy's new
novel, Chango's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes, he writes of the Albany Pinksterfest
as follows:
"The Pinksterfest, held when the azaleas bloomed, was a
week-long Mardi Gras where the slaves of Albany vented their misfortune through
music, dance and carousing."
Please make plans to Join our Honored Guest, William
Kennedy, on Friday, June 1 as we host the 2nd annual Pinkster Day Celebration
at the National Register-listed University Club of Albany.
In the 18th century in New York's Hudson Valley, Pinkster
Day was a most-anticipated holiday. Pinkster Day was a celebration of spring
for all: a religious holiday for the Dutch, and for enslaved Africans, time off
from work and a chance to gather with friends and family. The holiday began on
the seventh Monday following Easter, the day after the Christian Holy Day of
Pentecost or Whitsunday. In 2012, Pinkster Day falls on Memorial Day (May 28),
so we will delay our celebration until Friday, June 1.
This year, our Pinkster Day Celebration boasts one of
Albany's favorite sons as its Honored Guest, William Kennedy. For some 40
years, he has crafted history and memory into a body of literature that is as
remarkable for its variety as it is for erecting an Albany of the imagination.
As some have said, "What James Joyce did for Dublin and Saul Bellow did
for Chicago, William has done for Albany."
The celebration of Pinkster Day was outlawed by the Albany
Common Council on April 28, 1811, with a resolution that read, "No person
shall erect any tent, booth or stall within the limits of this city, for the
purpose of vending any spirituous liquors, beer, mead or cider, or any kind of
meat, fish cakes or fruit, on the days commonly called Pinxter; nor to collect
in numbers for the purpose of gambling or dancing, or any other amusements, in
any part of the city, or to march or parade, with or without any music under a
penalty of ten dollars or confinement in jail." Club members petitioned
the Common Council to repeal the ban, and the prohibition was lifted on May 16,
2011. The Club's inaugural Pinkster Day Celebration was held on Monday, June
13.
The University Club revived the Pinkster Day tradition in
2011 to commemorate the listing of the Clubhouse on the National Register of
Historic Places. The Pinkster Day Celebration honored Albany's rich history by
with readings from four centuries of scholarly and popular publications
documenting the people and places of New York's capital city. Readers included
Justin DiVirgilio, Paul Stewart, Jennifer Lemak, University Club President
Warren Abriel, Paul Grondahl and Ed Dague.
Tickets for the 2012 Pinkster Day Celebration are $50 per person. Invitations will be mailed by May 1 - please call the U. Club at 518-463-1151 for more information or to receive an invitation.
The event will feature a cocktail
reception with light fare and open bar from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., followed by a
talk and book signing with William Kennedy. Books will be available for purchase from The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, and the University Club will keep 20% of the cover price. When the reception wraps up at 8:00 p.m., we invite all Pinkster Day
revelers to head down to the Grille Room for live music from Julia Donnaruma and Friends as part of the
University Club's ongoing support of 1st Friday. On the first Friday of each
month, the University Club serves as a venue for 1st Friday, the downtown arts
walk that showcases Albany's thriving and lively art scene!
This promises to be a historic evening! By joining us for the Pinkster Day Celebration, you will honor the legacy of
University Club members past and present as we strive to preserve our historic
traditions for the future.
