Morven Museum & Garden’s Annual Free Fourth of July Festival

It’s the 250th anniversary of the Fourth of July! Come celebrate community and reflect on America’s past at Morven Museum & Garden (home of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence), and the Princeton Battlefield State Park (site of a pivotal victory in the Revolutionary War).

Activities at both sites are free and open to the public, and the museum at Morven will be open free of charge. Highlights at Morven include: a dramatic reading of Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” with award-winning poet David Mills; contemporary music from the Vintage Vibe Tribe and period music with John Burkhalter of the Practitioners of Musick; tours of Morven’s historic gardens; Civic Education Station artmaking and crafts; activities with community partners: Princeton Public Library, Princeton YWCA, Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum, Not In Our Town Princeton, and People & Stories/Gente y Cuentos; Open archives with the Historical Society of Princeton; facepainting with Maya B. The Facepaint Fairy; a chance to sign the Declaration of Independence; food trucks, lawn games, and door prizes!

The 2026 Fourth of July Festival is made possible through the generous support of our Lead Sponsor Fulton Bank.