Back to the roots of the Manor

The staff at Sylvester Manor has a big day planned for Saturday, May 17. The Manor and Long Island Reads will co-sponsor a reading and book signing with Mac Griswold, author of “The Manor: Three Centuries at a Slave Plantation on Long Island,” selected as the best book for 2014 by Long Island Reads, a joint committee of library professionals from Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Each April, during National Library Week, the committee selects a Best Book, judged on readability and excellence. A celebration and author reading usually takes place at one of the counties’ libraries, but will be held this year on the grounds of the Manor, where the 367-year Sylvester history, the subject of Ms. Griswold’s book, began.

A sign language interpreter will be on hand for the hearing impaired.

There will be self-guided tours of the Manor House from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by a concert from 4 to 6 p.m., “Back to the Roots: The Scattered Songsters of Sylvester Manor.”

Manor farmers Max Godfrey, Brian Dolphin and Steve Shepsi Eaton are returning to Sylvester Manor for a fun-filled afternoon of old-time ballads, blues, spirituals and traditional music from around the world. All three men have worked the Sylvester Manor fields and sung with the Worksongers; they’ve carried their diverse bag of songs across New York, New England and as far south as Georgia. Many of these songs are participatory and took root right here in the Manor fields, so come ready to sing!

The concert is free; donations to the musicians will be appreciated. Call Maura Doyle at 749-0626 for more information.