Jamestown’s 400th Anniversary Shapes Special Programs At Jamestown Settlement, Yorktown Victory Center

The 400th-anniversary year of the founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony, is the centerpiece of special programs this year at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center. Through gallery exhibits and living history in re-created settings, Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center present the story of the nation’s beginnings, from establishment of the Jamestown colony in 1607 to the American Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights almost two centuries later.

The founding of Jamestown in 1607 sparked a series of cultural encounters that helped shape the nation and the world. Events and themes mark the 400th anniversary of this momentous event and explore its role in the evolution of government, cultural and social institutions that characterize today’s United States:

• May: Jamestown Month - Interpretive programs commemorate the 400th anniversary of the nation’s beginnings at Jamestown. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• May 11-13: America’s Anniversary Weekend (America’s 400th Anniversary Signature Event) - The 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English settlement, will be commemorated with cultural events, historical pageantry and ceremonies, musical performances and children’s entertainment. Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestowne and nearby Anniversary Park

• June: Cultures of Virginia Month - Examine the cultures of the Powhatan Indians, Africans and English and how they interacted in early Virginia. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• June 2: African Heritage Event - Special programs and tours explore origins of the first documented Africans to arrive in Virginia, in 1619. Jamestown Settlement

• July: Celebration of Liberty Month - Discover how the legislative assembly created at Jamestown in 1619 gave rise to the Virginia House of Burgesses, Continental Congress and Declaration of Independence. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• July 3-5: Liberty Celebration - Salute America by joining in military drills and learning about the sacrifices of our nation’s founders, including those who signed the Declaration of Independence. Yorktown Victory Center August: Free Enterprise/Agriculture and Industry Month - Explore how the early efforts of Jamestown settlers to make a profit for the investors of the Virginia Company evolved into the tobacco economy of 17th- and 18th-century Virginia. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• August 4: Virginia Legislative Assembly Event - Special programs and tours explore the first legislative assembly in Jamestown in 1619. Jamestown Settlement

• September: Rule of Law Month - Learn how martial law deemed necessary during periods of warfare would give way to representative government. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• October: Virginia History and Archaeology Month - Discover what has been learned about Virginia’s history from archaeological excavations and primary historical sources. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• October 20-21: Yorktown Victory Celebration - Demonstrations of military life and tactics mark the 226th anniversary of America’s victory at Yorktown. To experience Continental Army life firsthand, visitors can enroll in “A School for the Soldier” to try on uniforms, march to the beat of a Revolutionary drum and join in other hands-on military activities. Special programs also are held in Yorktown and the Yorktown Battlefield, administered by Colonial National Historical Park. Yorktown Victory Center

• November: Virginia Indian Heritage Month - In observance of American Indian Month, interpretive programs will explore the history and culture of Virginia Indians. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center
  

• November 3: Virginia Indian Heritage Event - Special programs and tours examine Virginia Indian culture and its important legacy in America. Jamestown Settlement

• November 22-24: Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia - Explore Virginia foodways 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. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

• December 22-31: A Colonial Christmas - 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. Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center

In 2007, a combination ticket to both museums is $17.75 adults and $8.50 youth ages 6 through 12. Jamestown Settlement is $13.50 for adults, $6.25 for youth, and admission to the Yorktown Victory Center is $8.75 for adults and $4.50 for youth. An annual pass to both museums is $35; ages 6-12, $17.50. A separate admission ticket is required for Jamestown Settlement and special transportation arrangements apply during “America’s Anniversary Weekend,” May 11-13, 2007.

Both museums are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, until 6 p.m. from June 15 through August 15. The museums are closed on Christmas and New Year’s days. Jamestown Settlement is located on Route 31 South at the Colonial Parkway, adjacent to Historic Jamestowne and just southwest of Williamsburg. The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, near Yorktown Battlefield. For more information about the museums and 2007 special programs, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838, or visit the web site, www.historyisfun.org.