2011 Special Programs
Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center
February 1-28: “From Africa to Virginia” Theme Month, Jamestown Settlement – Gallery exhibits, a printed family gallery guide and guided tours of the museum’s outdoor living-history areas highlight the culture of the first known Africans in Virginia and the experience of Africans in 17th-century Virginia.
March 19-20: Military Through the Ages, Jamestown Settlement – Re-enactment groups depicting centuries of military history join forces with modern-day veterans and active units to demonstrate camp life, tactics and weaponry. Event features Saturday children’s parade and Sunday military pass-in-review.
May 14: Jamestown Day, a jointly sponsored event at Jamestown Settlement & Historic Jamestowne – Maritime demonstrations, military drills, archaeology and programs on English and Powhatan Indian contact, exploration and discovery mark the 404th anniversary of the 1607 founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English colony. Separate site admission.
June 1-30: “Seed to Stalk” Theme month, Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center – Explore American agriculture of the 17th and 18th centuries during an interpretive theme month with hands-on activities. Throughout the month, visitors can try their hand at tending and watering gardens, and learn about the many practical uses of herbs and plants.
July 2-4: Liberty Celebration, Yorktown Victory Center – Tactical drills, military exercises and role-playing demonstrations salute the anniversary of America’s independence. Visitors can see in museum galleries a rare broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence dating to July 1776, and during a special interpretive program, learn about the sacrifices of Americans who sought to be “free and independent” from Great Britain.
August 1-31: “Tools of the Trade” Theme Month, Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center – Implements used in colonial Virginia for farming, fishing, hunting, defense, navigation and building are examined through interpretive programs and hands-on activities.
October 15-16: Yorktown Victory Celebration, Yorktown Victory Center – Military life and artillery demonstrations mark the 230th anniversary of America’s momentous Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. To experience Continental Army life firsthand, visitors can enroll in “A School for the Soldier” to drill with wooden muskets and apply tactical skills in mock combat, as well as learn about soldiers’ provisions and sleeping quarters. Special programs also held at Yorktown Battlefield.
November 24-26: Foods & Feasts of Colonial Virginia, Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center – Colonial Virginia foodways are featured 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 1-31: A Colonial Christmas, Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center – Holiday traditions of 17th- and 18th-century Virginia are recalled through special interpretive programs. A Jamestown Settlement holiday film and 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 Revolutionary War encampments and glimpse holiday preparations on a 1780s farm.
Admission: In 2011, a value-priced combination ticket to both museums is $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for ages 6-12. Admission to Jamestown Settlement is $15.50 for adults and $7.25 for ages 6-12 Admission to the Yorktown Victory Center is $9.50 for adults and $5.25 for ages 6-12. An annual pass to both museums is $35.00 for adults and $17.50 for ages 6-12. Children under 6 are free. Special programs included in admission.
Operating Hours: Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily year-round (until 6 p.m. June 15-August 15). Both museums are closed on Christmas and New Year’s days.
Location: Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 southwest of Williamsburg, and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne. The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, near Yorktown Battlefield. The museums are separated by a 30-minute drive along the Colonial Parkway, a National Scenic Byway.
General Information: Call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.
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.
5/2010
