What better way to celebrate spring than by visiting the Spirit of Spring Festival on April 16-17, 2005, presented by the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum, located on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton. Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and the event is free.

The festival will include viewing of the museum exhibits, sampling of native foods, portrait sketches, craft sales by Native artisans of wampum jewelry, stone, antler and wood carvings and beadwork, and hands-on activities like face painting. The permanent exhibitions are, "A Walk with the People," murals, photo gallery and collections depicting the history of the Shinnecock and other coastal eastern woodland cultures, and "My Spirit Dances Forever," The Frederick DeMatteis Collection of bronze sculptures of Native Americans.

The Shinnecock Museum is the only Native owned and operated museum on Long Island. Museum programs are funded, in part, by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, the Town of Southampton. and New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

The Museum is located on Montauk Highway (Route 27A) and West Gate Road in Southampton, 631 287-4923.