Now known as "New York's shared space for art and play," the island, which lies between Manhattan and Brooklyn in Upper New York Bay, is closed to cars but open to summer tourists who flock for festivals, picnics, adventures, as well as these "legal graff

After conducting extensive research in which he studied the festivals of many African groups of people, he decided that the new holiday should be a harvest or "first fruits" celebration, incorporating ideas from many different harvest traditions.

She began a nationwide campaign to have a national holiday declared that would bring families together while celebrating the traditional festivals.