Festival Timed To Mark Opening Of New Thomas Paine Center

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Historically appropriate events and a little bit of anachronistic fun to commemorate the earliest roots of democracy in America will get underway during the 2022 Thomas Paine Festival, Thursday through Saturday, in New Rochelle.

While honoring the legacy of one of America's most iconic Founding Fathers, the 2022 Thomas Paine Festival will inaugurate the newly named Thomas Paine New Rochelle Center, featuring the Thomas Paine Cottage Museum (est. 1784), the Thomas Paine Monument (est. 1839) and the Thomas Paine Memorial Building (est. 1925), all adjacent to one another on North Ave.

“The Thomas Paine Festival is an opportunity to stimulate the interest of young people and community members in the importance of Thomas Paine’s life within local New Rochelle history and promote historic preservation of his homestead,” said Gary Bush, President of the Huguenot & New Rochelle Historical Association. “Hope for our future relies on our ability to care about our past.”

Thursday events:

• 5:30 p.m.: Colonial Tavern Night with food, drinks and music of the era by Erik and Eliza Lichack on the grounds of the Thomas Paine Cottage Museum, located at 20 Sicard Ave. The Thomas Paine Cottage Museum and the Thomas Paine Memorial Building will be open with several new exhibits.

Friday events:

• 10 a.m.: Symposium at the Thomas Paine Memorial Building, located at 983 North Ave., featuring a presentation about Paine's life, works and legacy. The symposium, which will be open to members of the public, will bring together scholars to pave the way for increased national recognition of Paine's role in the American and French Revolutions and the spread of democratic ideals globally.
• 2:30 p.m.: Panel discussion conducted by members of the Editorial Board of the Thomas Paine Collected Works Project.
• 3 p.m.: Viewing of Thomas Paine-themed artifacts, including original documents and his writing kit. Iona College Ryan Library, located at 715 North Ave.
• 6:30 p.m.: Reception and dinner theater at the Greentree Country Club, located at 538 Davenport Ave. Actor Ian Ruskin will be presenting his one-man play, To Begin the World Over Again: The Life of Thomas Paine. “I look forward to portraying Thomas Paine in New Rochelle, New York. It’s exciting to present my play in the very place where Thomas Paine once lived,” Ruskin said.

Saturday events:

• 11 a.m.: Ribbon-cutting and wreath-laying ceremony. Speakers and special guests will include Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Mayor Noam Bramson, Deputy Mayor and City Council member Sara Kaye, State Senator Shelley Mayer, State Assemblyperson Amy Paulin, New Rochelle City Historian Barbara Davis, New Rochelle author Linda Tarrant-Reid and President of Revolutionary Westchester 250, Constance Kehoe. The ceremony will take place at 983 North Ave.
• 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Colonial Fair at the Thomas Paine Cottage, located at 20 Sicard Ave. There will be historical reenactments, music of the colonial period, family-centered entertainment, lawn games, a Juneteenth recognition of Paine’s opposition to slavery and educational opportunities, and musical selections from the pre-Broadway show “The Crossing and the Ten Crucial Days.”
• 12:30 p.m.: Message from Congressman Jamie Raskin, the principal sponsor of a bill to authorize a statue of Paine in Washington, D.C. will be shown at the Thomas Paine Memorial Building, located at 983 North Ave. In Raskin's words, “Despite his catalytic role in founding America and our constitutional republic, Thomas Paine remains too often on the dark outskirts of history. It is way past time for Congress to give Thomas Paine the central place of respect and awe he deserves in our Nation’s Capital.” The Thomas Paine Memorial Association will be providing educational materials about the bill.
• 2:00 p.m.: Commissioned Sculptor Zenos Frudakis will speak inside the Thomas Paine Memorial Building.

The festival was organized by the Huguenot & New Rochelle Historical Association, the Thomas Paine National Historical Association and the Thomas Paine Memorial Association. Funding was made possible by a donation from the City of New Rochelle and private individuals.

More information about which festival events are free and open to the public, which events require reservations/tickets and a map of the locations mentioned, can all be found on the center's website.