OUR STORY

The REUNION festival concept is patterned after an annual tradition celebrated in African-American culture known as The Black Family Reunion, a 2-3 day long event that brings immediate and extended family from far and wide to one location.

During this time, it is customary to celebrate each other, exchange stories, share traditions, understand history, and “break bread.” The family reunion gained traction around 1864 following the Emancipation Proclamation.

African Americans were now able to reconnect with siblings, cousins, parents, aunts, and uncles whom they had been separated from for years and, in some cases, had never even met before. #AfricanAmericanHistory

OUR ENERGY

In celebration of those who visit, arrive, thrive, and choose to make this region their home—those with dreams and visions, and those who have been connected to or disconnected from the rich history that was lost or overlooked—we continue to link with each other, keeping their memories, stories, hard work, and endurance alive.

Through entertainment, cuisine, entrepreneurship, and mutual support, their spirit lives on.

'Cuse Culture taps into this familial energy to reunite and, in many cases, unite a network and ecosystem of go-getters drawn to Central New York. They gather in the heart of the City of Syracuse, on the indigenous land of the Haudenosaunee (People of the Hills), to reset annually on the first weekend of every August.

The REUNION attracts individuals from all socio-economic statuses. Introverts and extroverts alike come together to enjoy the rich international influences that define Central New York and to become more aware of the organizations, small businesses, cuisine, entertainment, and phenomenal people of Syracuse.