Summer of Celebration Awaits Bay Watershed

May 2007 -- From Port Deposit to Virginia Beach, residents of the Bay region will be able to celebrate the 400th anniversary of John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake all summer long.

The festivities are centered around Jamestown, Va., site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. If you missed America's Anniversary Weekend in Jamestown in mid-May, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate throughout the rest of the year!

• The American Indian Intertribal Cultural Festival, taking place in Hampton, Va., in July, will focus on the contributions and cultures of Virginia Indians and highlight the similarities and differences among Virginia tribes through native foods, dances, traditional stories, arts and crafts, cultural demonstrations and historical information.
• Could you survive in the New World in 1607 as the English colonists did? Test your skills in the interactive “Survivor: Jamestown” exhibit at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, Va., through November.
• Retrace John Smith's journey up and down the James River on Captain John Smith's Trail, a 40-site water trail and auto tour for modern explorers.
• NOAA recently launched its Jamestown Interpretive Buoy, which provides boaters around Jamestown with current weather and water conditions.

If you can't make it to the Jamestown area this summer, check out one of dozens of 400 th anniversary-related places and events closer to home. Water trails, historical accounts, cultural celebrations and more can be found throughout the Bay region.

• Follow a crew of 12 modern-day explorers as they retrace John Smith's original Bay voyage on a shallop similar to the one Smith used. The shallop will be stopping in towns across the Bay region throughout the summer.
• Whether you live in Fredericksburg, Baltimore, or some point in between, you are likely close to one of 25 Chesapeake Bay Gateways that offer a chance to learn more about John Smith and his voyages on the Chesapeake.
• In July, the 41st annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., will spotlight the roots of Virginia culture, exploring how the English, West Africans and Native Americans developed Virginia's modern culture.

Plans have just begun for the new Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, America's first national water trail. While the trail is being completed, those interested can visit a John Smith-related Chesapeake Bay Gateway to follow portions of Smith's historic routes around the Bay.