2008 PROGRAMMING AT JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT,YORKTOWN VICTORY CENTER CONTINUES THEMES, MOMENTUM OF ‘AMERICA’S 400TH ANNIVERSARY’
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—New state-of-the-art museum exhibits and a variety of major special events, historical themes and educational programs commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of America’s first permanent English settlement drew visitors from across the nation and beyond to Virginia’s Historic Triangle in 2007, among them the queen of England and the president of the United States. Principal themes of the anniversary – the convergence of diverse cultures and development of a uniquely American economy and form of representative government – resonate in exhibits and special programs throughout 2008 at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center living-history museums.
Jamestown Settlement’s year-old introductory film and expansive permanent exhibition galleries chronicle the nation’s 17th-century beginnings in Virginia in the context of its Powhatan Indian, English and African cultures. Visitors can choose to explore the galleries – featuring dioramas, small-theater presentations and more than 500 artifacts representative of the three cultures – on their own or participate on a guided tour offered twice daily. Curator tours on February 16, March 15 and August 2 will provide an in-depth look at the galleries.
Daily guided tours also are offered of Jamestown Settlement’s re-created 17th-century Powhatan Indian village, English ships and colonial fort and the museum’s riverfront discovery area, which highlights 17th-century water travel, commerce and cultural exchange, reflecting Powhatan, English and African traditions. In all four areas, costumed historical interpreters demonstrate daily activities and technology of the 1600s.
During three months in 2008, gallery and outdoor tours will focus on themes: “From Africa to Virginia” in February, “Seed to Stalk” in June and “Pastimes of Colonial Virginia” in August. Yorktown Victory Center programming also will be adapted to the June and August themes.
The one-year 400th-annniversary special exhibition “The World of 1607,” portraying Jamestown and Virginia as part of an intellectual, social and economic “new world” that brought together peoples and ideas from around the globe, continues through April 9, 2008, at Jamestown Settlement.
“A New World: England’s First View of America,” a British Museum exhibition of the 16th-century watercolor drawings of John White, the earliest visual record by an Englishman of the flora, fauna and people of the New World, will be presented from July 15 through October 15. The exhibition is accompanied by evening lectures on July 19, August 9 and September 20.
“Jamestown Landing Day” on May 10, commemorating the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, will feature Jamestown Settlement’s Godspeed and Discovery – re-creations of two of the three ships that brought English colonists to Virginia in 1607 – sailing in the James River, 17th-century music and children’s entertainment, and an educational program with a NASA astronaut comparing 17th- and 21st-century methods of exploration. Special programming also will take place at Historic Jamestowne, site of the original 1607 settlement.
Among other special events are “African American Heritage Day” on June 7, with storytelling, music, dance and genealogy; “Virginia Indian Heritage Day” on July 26, with intertribal dancing and drumming and panel discussions; and “Children’s Day” on September 27, with 17th-century games and entertainment. Family days on June 14, July 12 and August 9 feature family-centered gallery tours and craft activities.
At the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution, gallery exhibits explore the Declaration of Independence as a “dangerous” document, the impact of the Revolution on men and women from diverse backgrounds, and events that led to the convergence of American, French and British forces at Yorktown in 1781 for the decisive military encounter of the Revolution. “The Legacy of Yorktown: Virginia Beckons,” a long-term exhibition created in time for 2007’s 400th-anniversary commemoration, tells the story of people who shaped Virginia society and the creation of a new national government with the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
In an outdoor re-created Continental Army encampment, historical interpreters describe and depict the daily life of American soldiers during the last year of the war. A re-created 1780s farm shows how many Americans lived in the decade following the military end of the Revolution.
Special events at the Yorktown Victory Center include “Liberty Celebration” July 4-6 and “Yorktown Victory Celebration” October 18-19, commemorating the 227th anniversary of America’s momentous 1781 Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown with demonstrations of military life and tactics.
Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center will feature Virginia foodways during “Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia” November 27-29 and 17th- and 18th-century holiday traditions during “A Colonial Christmas” December 20 through January 4, 2009.
Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, until 6 p.m. from June 15 through August 15. A combination ticket for both museums is $19.25 for adults, $9.25 for children ages 6-12. Jamestown Settlement admission is $13.50 for adults, $6.25 for ages 6-12. Yorktown Victory Center admission is $9.25 for adults, $5.00 for ages 6-12. An annual pass also is available. Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center admission tickets are included in several Williamsburg area joint tickets and vacation packages.
Jamestown Settlement is located on Route 31 South at the Colonial Parkway next to Historic Jamestowne, administered by APVA Preservation Virginia and the National Park Service. The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown near Yorktown Battlefield, administered by the National Park Service. For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838.
Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center are administered by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia accredited by the American Association of Museums.
1/2008
