Events
January
Williamsburg Quilt
Festival
Usually held the third week
of February
215-862-5828
Explore an American art
that has developed and grown with the nation. Williamsburg Festival Week is a
compilation of four exciting quilting, fiber arts, and wearable art shows, and
is the perfect place for quilters and wearable, textile and fiber artists of all
levels and ages to explore these arts. These four festivals revolve around the
textile arts: the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival; the Mid-Atlantic Wearable Art
Festival; the Mid-Atlantic Fiber Arts Fair; and the Williamsburg Quilt & Vintage
Annex. In all, more than 500 quilts, wearables, dolls and textiles on exhibit;
workshops, lectures and special activities offered; four Merchant Malls with
more than 140 vendors.
May
Spring Native Wildflower
Sale
Held in early May
Virginia Living Museum
Newport News, VA.
757-595-1900
Admission Free
More than 40 species of
native perennials, grasses and shrubs are available for purchase in this joint
sale by the Virginia Living Museum and Virginia Native Plants Society. All
plants are nursery propagated.
Civil War Weekend
Held in late May
Yorktown National Cemetery
and Confederate Cemetery
757-898-2410
Tactical demonstrations,
encampments and a Confederate field hospital interpret the role Yorktown played
during the Peninsula Campaign. Special Memorial Day ceremonies take place at the
Yorktown Victory Center,
July
The Road to
Independence: People of Vision
Held over the Fourth of
July weekend
888-593-4682
Salute America during the
third annual Fourth of July event, leading up to the anniversary of the
momentous American victory at Yorktown. The two-day event explores the important
personalities of the American Revolution. Visitors can join in military drills
and learn about the sacrifices of our nation's founders, including those who
signed the Declaration of Independence.
Fourth of July at
Colonial Williamsburg
Held on the Fourth of July
Colonial Williamsburg
800-HISTORY
A salute to the 13
Colonies, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a garden party at the
Palace, and fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Fireworks viewing open to the public. Garden
Party requires admission.
Yorktown Independence
Day Celebration
Held on the Fourth of July
757-890-3500
Hours: 9am – 10pm
Admission Free
Celebrate the Fourth of
July in the place where independence was won. This family-oriented event is
staged in Historic Yorktown and has something for everyone, including an arts
and crafts show, a classic car show, parade, children’s game area, food and
beverages, musical entertainment and of course, a spectacular fireworks show
over the York River.
Watermen's Heritage
Festival
Held in mid July
Watermen's Museum
309 Water Street
Yorktown
757-887-2641
Admission Charged
The Work Boat races start
with a parade of Work Boats at 12:30 pm followed by the blessing of the fleet
and the races. Activities include exhibits, contests, demonstrations, crafts and
artwork for sale. There are children's activities and displays from local
military bases including the Naval Weapons Station and the Coast Guard Training
Base. The Yorktown Trolley runs from the parking areas in town to the Watermen's
Museum.
September
National Public Lands
Day
Held in mid September
Colonial National
Historical Park
Historic Jamestown and
Yorktown Battlefield
757-898-2410
Admission Free
A celebration of the role
that publicly owned lands play in the preservation of America’s natural and
cultural resources at one of the 387 areas nationwide administered by the
National Park Service.
Bacon's Rebellion
Weekend
Held in mid September
Historic Jamestown
757-898-2410
Evening walking tours will
relate the details of Bacon’s Rebellion as they occurred at Jamestown, including
a symbolic burning of the town site. Living history programs during the weekend
highlight the actions of key events of the rebellion.
October
Howl-O-Scream
Held during the entire
month of October
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
800-343-7943
Admission Charged
The creeps come out at
night as Howl-O-Scream returns to haunt Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Monstrous
mayhem is on hand as this 17th century European-themed adventure park transforms
into a “scream” park full of Halloween fun.
Spirits and Witches Brew
Lunch and Tour or Candlelight Dinner Tour
Held various days
throughout the month of October
Edgewood Plantation
Charles City, VA
800-296-3343
Reservations required
Edgewood Plantation has a
lunch or dinner and a tour of the plantation where countless ghost stories have
been written, including one about the legendary lost Civil War love of Lizzie
Rowland.
An Occasion for the Arts
Held in early October
Merchants Square
757-259-1206
Admission Free
Annual juried festival of
nationally acclaimed artists; performances by jazz, classical, Dixieland,
acoustic, country and rock musicians; youth art and stage.
Italian Festival
Held in mid October
On the grounds of the
Williamsburg Winery
757-220-5535
Admission Charged
Italian food, Virginia
wines, entertainment and artisans, plus an Alfa Romeo classic car exhibit and
activities for children.
Yorktown Victory
Celebration
Held in mid October
Special programs also are
held in Yorktown at Yorktown Battlefield, administered by Colonial National
Historical Park.
Yorktown Victory Center
888-593-5682
Military life and artillery
demonstrations mark the anniversary of America’s momentous victory at Yorktown.
To experience Continental Army life firsthand, visitors may enroll in “A School
for the Soldier,” where they can try on uniforms, march to the beat of a
Revolutionary drum and join in other hands-on military activities.
Night of the Living
Museum
Usually held the third week
of October
Virginia Living Museum
Newport News, VA.
757-595-1900
Hours: 6pm – 9pm
Admission Charged
A family Halloween
celebration returns at the Virginia Living Museum, featuring live animal shows,
a night trail walk, and various creatures of the night. Hear Halloween and night
animal myths dispelled and experience a haunting planetarium show filled with
little known Halloween facts. This is a non-scary event for families with
children ages 12 and under.
November
Berkeley Plantation
First Thanksgiving Festival
Held in early November
Berkeley Plantation
Charles City, VA
888-466-6018
Hours: 9am – 5pm
Admission Charged
Celebrate the 1619 landing
of the original colonists at Berkeley Plantation; the site of the first official
Thanksgiving in America, for a day dedicated to history, food and fun with tours
of the 1726 manor house, Thanksgiving dinner at Berkeley Coach House Tavern,
walks in the colorful autumn gardens and a formal living history program.
Foods & Feasts of
Colonial Virginia
Jamestown Settlement &
Yorktown Victory Center
888-593-4682
Admission Charged
Explore Virginia food of
the 17th and 18th centuries during this three-day event beginning on
Thanksgiving Day. At Jamestown Settlement, learn how food was gathered,
preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia’s English colonists and
Powhatan Indians. At the Yorktown Victory Center, learn about typical soldiers’
fare during the American Revolution and trace the bounty of a 1780s farm from
field to kitchen.
December
Annual Williamsburg Area
Community Christmas Parade
Held in early December
757-229-6511
Hours: 9am
Admission Free
Starts at Merchants Square.
Annual Christmas Homes
Tour Presented by the Green Springs Garden Club
757-565-7844
Admission Charged
Tour private residences in
or near the Historic Area that are not usually open to the public. Each location
will be decorated with holiday floral arrangements.
The Grand Illumination
Colonial Williamsburg
800-HISTORY
Admission not required for
viewing
Colonial Williamsburg
welcomes the Christmas holiday season with candles, fireworks and music.
A Colonial Christmas
Held mid to late December
Jamestown Settlement &
Yorktown Victory Center
888-593-4682
Admission Charged
Experience 17th-and
18th-century holiday traditions. At Jamestown Settlement, a film and special
guided tours compare and contrast English Christmas customs of the period with
how the season may have been observed in the difficult early years of the
Jamestown colony. At the Yorktown Victory Center, hear accounts of Christmas and
winter in military encampments during the American Revolution and glimpse
holiday preparations on a 1780s Virginia farm.
