This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

PHOTOS: Contra Dancing and Garlic Shucking Kicks Off Plant and Sing Weekend

Traditional music and dancing at the Haven's House Barn on Shelter Island was the first of the weekend's events to celebrate and support the Sylvester Manor Farm.

One of the goals of the Sylvester Manor Farm on Shelter Island is to create a community and a world where people celebrate food, arts, and inventiveness in the everyday, with a spirit of fairness and joy.

Friday evening's contra dance was a "step" toward this goal, and the kickoff to a whole weekend of events celebrating the farm. The dancing and garlic shucking took place at the Shelter Island Historical Society's Havens House Barn, while the other events took place at the 243 acre landmark plantation estate.

Once a Native American hunting and fishing ground, Sylvester Manor has since 1652 been home to 15 generations of its original European settler family. Over time the place has been transformed from a slaveholding plantation to a pioneering food industrialist’s estate and to the organic educational farm it is today.

Find out what's happening in North Forkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Proceeds from the dance as well as donations from the weekend's other events will go toward the manor's educational programs.

Information about the programs and donations can be found on Sylvester Manor's website.

Find out what's happening in North Forkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?