Voices of the Past Program Highlights
Friday, September 11
6:00 PM – Kuumba Dance Ensemble
Location: Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont
Experience the Rhythm: An Interactive West African Drum & Dance Workshop
Experience the energy and traditions of West African music and dance with Kuumba Dance & Drum Ensemble. Presented in partnership with the Slave Dwelling Project, this hands-on workshop invites participants of all ages and experience levels to explore authentic rhythms, movement, and the cultural traditions of the African diaspora. No experience is necessary—just bring your curiosity and enthusiasm!
Workshop Highlights
Learn traditional West African drumming and dance from professional artists.
Explore rhythms such as Balanta, Kakilambé, Yankadi, or Makru.
Discover the cultural significance and history behind the music and movement.
Choose to participate through drumming, dancing, or both.
Enjoy a culminating community performance celebrating what you’ve learned.
Connect with others through a fun, engaging, and inclusive cultural experience.
*Free Event – Advance reservation required. Reserve you free ticket online.
Saturday, September 12
10:00 am – Joseph McGill Kickoff Event
Location: George Washington’s Ferry Farm
Slave Dwelling Project Founder, Joseph McGill, tells the story of the inception of the Slave Dwelling Project and discusses the purpose behind his work to honor stories of slavery and emancipation and to preserve their associated sites.
*Ticketed Event – Advance ticket purchase required. Purchase tickets online.
11:00 am – 3:00 pm – Brickmaking Demonstrations
Location: James Monroe Museum
Drop by for demonstrations showcasing historic brickmaking techniques in the courtyard of the James Monroe Museum.
Free and open to the Public, No RSVP required, but encouraged.
11:30 am – Traditional Cooking Demonstrations
Location: Mary Washington House
Join Washington Heritage Museums and the Slave Dwelling Project for a hearth-cooking demonstration at the eighteenth-century Mary Washington House, exploring the culinary knowledge and skilled labor of the enslaved cooks who shaped colonial foodways. Living historians will prepare period dishes over an open hearth using traditional techniques and tools, while sharing the stories and lived experiences of the enslaved men and women whose expertise sustained households like this one. The demonstration will also examine the household hierarchy behind the kitchen: as mistress of the house, Mary Washington would have controlled access to costly imported spices and ingredients, doling them out and often directing recipes from her own household receipt book — while the enslaved cooks carried out the true skilled labor of transforming those rationed ingredients into meals, drawing on techniques and knowledge of their own. This program continues the Slave Dwelling Project’s mission of preserving and honoring the too-often-overlooked history of enslaved people at historic sites across the country.
Free and open to the Public, No RSVP required, but encouraged
1:30 pm – “A Slave No More”
Location: Falmouth Beach (Rappahannock River, Stafford County)
Join the community for a riverside ceremony honoring those who self-emancipated in 1862. This event will include voices of a self-emancipation descendant, a Libation ceremony, and a reading from John Washington’s account of his escape to freedom.
Free and open to the Public, No RSVP Required, but encouraged. Shuttles will be available.
3:00 pm – Avenues to Freedom: Laundry Demonstrations and the story of Ellen Mitchell
Location: Chatham (National Park Service site, Stafford County)
Join park rangers and living historians for living history demonstrations. Chatham will feature historic laundry demonstrations and the story of Ellen Mitchell, who fundraised for her freedom. Chatham will also host the 23rd United States Colored Troops and the story of locally enslaved men who joined the fight for freedom during the Civil War. Drop by the park between 10-5, with a special program at 3pm. This event is family-friendly for all ages.
Free and open to the Public, No RSVP required, but encouraged. Shuttles will be available.
6:30 pm – African American Spirituals and Foodways
Location: St. George’s Episcopal Church
Listen to the powerful voices of a local community choir as they sing traditional African American spirituals in historic St. George’s Episcopal Church. Following the concert, there will be a reception with light food and a presentation on African American foodways by food historian Michael Carter, Jr.
*Ticketed Event – Advance ticket purchases are recommended; Limited tickets may be available onsite if space remains.
8:00 pm – Stories of Freedom
Location: Moncure Conway House
Join a storyteller to hear formerly enslaved woman, Eliza Gwinn’s, story of escape to freedom in 1862 and her life with her husband Dunmore in Georgetown, Washington, DC. After they freed themselves, they set up a candy shop and took in washing. Please bring a chair for this stationary event.
Free and open to the Public, No RSVP required, but encouraged.
Sleeping with the Ancestors: Overnight at Moncure Conway House
Location: Moncure Conway House Yard
Primitive camping in the yard of the Moncure Conway House in Falmouth, Virginia. Join Slave Dwelling Project Founder Joseph McGill for a group conversation to set the tone for spending the night on the footprints of the kitchen and other outbuildings which served as the homes and working areas for enslaved people on site. Limited reservations available. Participants must bring their own camping supplies. Only porta johns available on-site.
*Reservations Required. No Amenities will be provided. – Online Reservations Coming Soon
Sunday, September 13
4:00 pm – The History Lesson
Location: Fredericksburg Area Museum
Set in 1860, The History Lesson tells the story of Hattie Rose, a young, enslaved woman who defies the confines of slavery by secretly learning to read and write under the tutelage of Frank Turner, Esq., a man kidnapped into slavery. Lewis, her father, hardened by decades of survival, confronts Turner in a contest of wills weighing the value of an education against the brutal consequences of breaking the law, which forbade the enslaved from learning to read and write. Amid rising tensions of forbidden knowledge and the discovery of a love triangle, Hattie Rose and Frank acknowledge their feelings for one another, revealing a deep bond forged through compassion and shared struggle. Written by founder of Somewhere in Time Productions, and local playwright, Malanna Henderson, the play’s themes included courage versus fear, education as empowerment and the pursuit of freedom against all odds.