The Chrisjohn's 1st Annual Harvest Festival was held in the back lot of the Hardscrabble Center in Red Hook, NY. After years of growing displeased with the decreasing quality and the increasing commercialism of the Native American events at the time, Richard Terry Chrisjohn decided to put together a show and dedicate it to his father, Richard G. Chrisjohn, a respected elder and the patriarch of the Chrisjohn family. With the help of family, and his friend Ron Hamel, the 1st annual show was held on September 12th and 13th, 1987. Eventually the name was changed to the Chrisjohn's Iroquois Art Festival.

      The first year it rained all weekend and even though the participators, vendors and artist had a good time, not much of the general public attended. After two years Terry felt he no longer had the time and funds to put into organizing the festival, and decided to hand the promotion over to one of his siblings.

      Judith Chrisjohn organized the 3rd annual festival in 1989. She decided, in order to bring in more public, she would showcase pow wow dancing and drumming, and would add more vendors. Her spin on what a pow wow should be like did increase attendance, but she too thought the work was a bit much, and decided not to promote the festival the next year.

      Tina Chrisjohn-Wyant decided to give it a try. So, with the help of her brother Terry, she moved the festival to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY. There the show has grown steadily each year in both attendance and content.

      The Iroquois Festival still has the personal, non-commercial feeling it had when it started. The vendors are chosen by the Chrisjohn family to represent some of the highest quality art and crafts available on the pow wow circuit. The presenters are chosen to entertain, as well as educate the public about the rich cultural heritage of the Native American community. It has grown into an event of both enjoyment and discovery.