Sunday, May 3 is Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday, and as part of a worldwide celebration of the man and his music, Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs will host a free concert. The event begins at 4 p.m. Tristan Israel, Nancy Jephcote, Mark Lovewell, and Paul Thurlow will perform songs both written and made famous by the legendary environmentalist, civil rights activist, and folk singer.

Mr. Seeger is the songwriter responsible for If I Had a Hammer, Turn Turn Turn, and Where Have All the Flowers Gone; he also introduced countless traditional and political songs into the popular canon, such as We Shall Overcome, Little Boxes and Guantanamera. Born in 1919, Mr. Seeger came to the fore of public consciousness in the 1960s as a prominent voice for the American civil rights and anti-Viet Nam war movements. He remains vital today, winning Best Traditional Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards for his latest record, At 89, he performed This Land is Your Land with Bruce Springsteen as the musical finale of the January inauguration of President Obama. Sunday’s event is meant to celebrate both the life of the man and the spirit of his achievements.

West Tisbury selectman Richard Knabel, who has known the singer since the mid-1970s, will share personal stories of working and canoeing with Mr. Seeger. Anyone with a personal reminiscence of the man will also be invited up to the microphone.

There will be cake, of course, and after Happy Birthday is sung, Gay Head lighthouse keeper Richard Skidmore will read a few passages from The Protest Singer, a new Seeger biography penned by Alec Wilkinson.

Free and open to the public, in typical Seeger fashion, the event will go on regardless of weather. Even if the sun does decide to attend, bring blankets and cushions, as the party will take place around Featherstone’s outdoor stage.