FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2020
Media Contact: Matt Porter (617) 514-1574
matt.porter@jfklfoundation.org
Celebrate Presidents' Day Week at the JFK Library with Family-Friendly Activities
-9th Annual Family Festival to be held on Monday, February 17-
BOSTON – The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum will offer several family-oriented activities and programs throughout Presidents’ Day week, including its signature Presidents’ Day Family Festival on February 17 featuring presidential storytelling, activities and performances. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the Festival will highlight presentations by actors portraying Sojourner Truth and Lucretia Mott. A Celebrate! series presentation of Tales from African Traditions by Valerie Tutson will take place on February 19, and family-friendly Highlights Tours will be offered throughout the week.
This year, the Family Festival will also host a special unveiling presentation of the Official 2020 White House Christmas Ornament honoring President John F. Kennedy. The ornament will be unveiled in partnership with the White House Historical Association at 3:30 p.m. on February 17.
$2 Off Museum Admission with Special Buzzword
In celebration of Presidents’ Day week, the JFK Library will reveal a special buzzword on its Facebook and Twitter pages. Visitors who provide the buzzword upon admission during the week of February 15-23, 2020 will receive $2 off admission prices.
9th Annual Presidents’ Day Family Festival
Monday, February 17, 2020
10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The main activities of the Family Festival begin at 10:00 a.m. Actors portraying Presidents John Adams and James Madison, and First Ladies Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison and Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as suffragists Sojourner Truth and Lucretia Mott, will be on site to share stories and engage visitors in conversation from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Festival-goers can try out hands-on history crafts including creating line sculptures of presidential homes, making tricorn hats and colonial cravats to wear to meet the guest presidents, and designing maritime scrimshaw.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, visitors can make their own suffrage sashes to wear, design protest posters to display in support of causes important to them, and try their hand at compiling a “zine” (i.e. a self-published book) highlighting a change-making suffragist who pushed for women to gain access to the ballot.
This year, the Festival will also host a special presentation at 3:30 p.m. with the White House Historical Association to unveil the Official 2020 White House Christmas Ornament honoring President John F. Kennedy. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy founded the Association in 1961 to help the White House collect and exhibit the very best artifacts of American history and culture. The Official White House Christmas Ornament program began in 1981. The 2020 Ornament will be available online and will be sold at the Museum Store beginning on Presidents’ Day.
The Festival will close with a special free concert by Harvard’s Radcliffe Pitches, who will perform anthems of the women's suffrage movement and popular music from the early 1900s, the 1960s, and today.
Visit http://www.jfklibrary.org/PresidentsDay a detailed schedule of the Family Festival offerings.
Special Festival activities are free with paid admission and visitors ages 17 and under are admitted free of charge on Festival day. Additional student, military, senior and EBT discounts available. Regular admission fees apply to all other visitors. The White House Historical Association ornament presentation and Harvard’s Radcliffe Pitches closing concert are free for all.
The Family Festival is especially appropriate for ages 5 and up and includes activities developed for older children and teens.
Family-friendly Museum Tours and Hands-on Cart Programs
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 – Sunday, February 23, 2020
Visit the Museum all week to explore the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy. Visitors can enjoy family-friendly Highlights Tours and hands-on cart programs about the “Race for Space” and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Check out the Museum programs calendar for program dates and times.
Celebrate! with Valarie Tutson – Tales from African Traditions
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, February 19, in honor of African American Heritage Month, internationally-renowned storyteller Valarie Tutson will perform Tales from African Traditions, bringing to life myths, folktales, and historical accounts from the African continent and the African diaspora with beauty, humor, and wisdom.
The Celebrate! series, appropriate for family audiences and children ages 5 and up, highlights America’s rich cultural diversity through the arts. This program reflects President and Mrs. Kennedy’s concern for and support of the arts and culture as important components of a democratic society. In order to optimize your comfort and enjoyment, reservations are required for all visitors to this free program. Make reservations by visiting www.jfklibrary.org/celebrate or calling 617-514-1644 and leaving a message. Children are seated on the floor with their caretakers. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
About the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is one of 14 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization.
The JFK Library and Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the exceptions of Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The Library is located in the Dorchester section of Boston, off Morrissey Boulevard, next to the campus of the University of Massachusetts/Boston. Parking is free. There is free shuttle-service from the JFK/UMass T Stop on the Red Line. The Museum is wheelchair accessible and all videos shown throughout the Museum are closed-captioned. For more information, call (866) JFK-1960 or visit www.jfklibrary.org.