2013 Special Programs
Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center
February 1-28: “From Africa to Virginia” Theme Month, Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center – Gallery exhibits and guided tours of the museums’ outdoor living-history areas highlight the culture of the first known Africans in Virginia and the experience of Africans in 17th- and 18th-century Virginia.
February 10 and 24: “From Africa to Virginia” Lectures, Jamestown Settlement – As part of the "From Africa to Virginia" theme month, two public lectures will be presented at 2 p.m. Sundays, February 10 and 24, at Jamestown Settlement. February 10 – Patricia Samford, director of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, will speak on “The Archaeology of Slave Quarters in Colonial Virginia.” February 24 – Lorena S. Walsh, author and former Colonial Williamsburg Foundation historian, will discuss "Development of Slavery in the 17th-Century Chesapeake.” Advance reservations are recommended at rsvp@jyf.virginia.gov or (757) 253-4572.
March 1, 2013 – January 20, 2014: "Jamestown’s Legacy to the American Revolution" Special Exhibition, Jamestown Settlement – Although Jamestown, the first colonial capital of Virginia, had ceased to be a town by the time of the American Revolution, its legacy endured. This exhibition examines the lives of some of the individuals living in the Revolutionary War era who were descendants of people associated with 17th-century Jamestown and features artifacts acquired for the future American Revolution Museum at Yorktown (to replace the Yorktown Victory Center), including a 19th-century life-size sculpture of George Washington.
March 16-17: 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. The event features a Saturday children’s parade and Sunday military pass-in-review.
May 11: Jamestown Day, a jointly sponsored event at Jamestown Settlement & Historic Jamestowne – Military and maritime demonstrations, family-friendly tours and activities, and traditional music, storytelling and entertainment mark the 406th 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 help tend and water plants and learn about the many practical uses of herbs, vegetables and field crops.
July 4-6: 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.
August 1-31: “Pastimes of Colonial Virginia” Theme Month, Jamestown Settlement & Yorktown Victory Center – Games and other diversions of 17th- and 18th-century Virginia are shown through hands-on activities and interpretive programs. Visitors can play corncob darts, ninepins, quoits, mancala and nine-men’s morris.
October 19-20: Yorktown Victory Celebration, Yorktown Victory Center – Military life and artillery demonstrations mark the 232nd 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, apply tactical skills in mock combat, and learn about soldiers’ provisions and sleeping quarters. October 19 events feature commemorative programs and a parade in historic Yorktown and Yorktown Battlefield.
November 28-30: 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, 2013-January 5, 2014: 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 2013, a value-priced combination ticket to both museums is $20.50 for adults and $10.25 for ages 6-12. Admission to Jamestown Settlement is $16.00 for adults and $7.50 for ages 6-12. Admission to the Yorktown Victory Center is $9.75 for adults and $5.50 for ages 6-12. Children under 6 are free. Special programs, lectures and exhibition are 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.
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 Alliance of Museums.
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