16. Memorial Day
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: A modern service honors military veterans who died while serving their country. Wreaths are placed at the Governor’s Palace, Bruton Parish Church, and the French gravesite to honor those interred in or near those sites who died during the American Revolution or the Civil War. A procession with Fife and Drum support begins at the palace. A brief commemorative service with musket and cannon volleys takes place at the French gravesite.
17. Hampton Jazz Festival
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (757) 838-4203 (Hampton Colise
Description: If you like jazz and R&B, you’ll love this popular Hampton festival. How much will you love it? Let us count the ways: (1) Aretha Franklin; (2) Isaac Hayes; (3) Stevie Wonder; (4) B. B. King; (5) Gladys Knight; (6) Boney James; (7) George Benson. Not all in the same weekend, of course, but there are usually a couple of major headliners performing each year. The festival typically is held in late June. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling (757) 671-8100. For a full lineup, see the Web site after April 1 each year.
18. James City County Fair
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 1350 John Tyler Hwy
Description: This free three-day fair, typically held Thursday through Saturday in late June, features rides, exhibits, crafts, music, and food. To keep the fair’s local flavor firmly intact, anyone selling goods must live or work in James City County, Williamsburg, or the Bruton District of York County. Satellite parking costs $1 at Toano Middle School, with buses shuttling you to the fairgrounds.
19. Masonic Procession And Sermon
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: The Feast Day of St. John the Baptist was celebrated annually by the Masonic Lodge of 18th-century Williamsburg. Lodge members processed from the lodge to the church to hear a sermon preached for their benefit by the chaplain of the Lodge. Colonial Williamsburg’s reenactment of this annual event includes costumed interpreters, current members of Williamsburg Lodge No. 6, and masons who choose to participate.
20. Independence Day Celebration
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (757) 890-3300
Description: Family-oriented festivities are the order of the day at the Fourth of July celebration at Yorktown. Activities include a footrace, parade, arts and crafts, musical entertainment, and, of course, a magnificent display of fireworks. Satellite parking is provided away from the waterfront, but free buses will get you to the heart of the daylong festivities. The free celebration is sponsored by the Yorktown Fourth of July Committee.
21. Independence Day Festivities
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Celebrate our nation’s birthday in Williamsburg with Fifes & Drums, militia parades, and Colonial Williamsburg’s famous evening program of fireworks in the Historic Area. Admission is included in your ticket to the restored area.
22. Liberty Celebration
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (757) 253-4838
Description: Tactical drills, military exercises and role-playing demonstrations salute America during the Fourth of July holiday. Visitors can see in museum galleries a rare broadside printing of America’s 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.
23. Hampton Cup Regatta
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: The oldest and largest inboard hydroplane powerboat race in the United States, the motto of these summer national championships, is “scaring fish out of their scales for 80 years.” Eleven classes of boats including the Grand Prix hydroplanes, billed as the fastest piston-powered craft in the world, hit top speeds of 170 mph. There’s also live entertainment and food. The races run for three days at Fort Monroe’s Mill Creek. Admission is free, but get there early to grab a prime viewing spot.
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
25. Fall Festival And Powwow
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (804) 829-2261, (804) 966-7043
Description: The Chickahominy tribe hosts its annual festival at nearby Charles City County the last weekend of September, drawing 3,000 to 5,000 visitors. Each year the powwow features Native American dancing, singing, and drumming. Not only is it an educational event for young and old alike, it’s also an opportunity for shopping. There is an array of beautiful handmade Indian jewelry, pottery, and beadwork, plus books, tapes, and food. Fish sandwiches and chicken dinners are on the menu, but don’t pass up a chance to try the Indian fry bread. It’s a real treat. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted. Special seating is provided for senior citizens; all others should bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. Please, leave the pets at home.
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
29. Yorktown Victory Celebration
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (757) 253-4838
Description: Military life and artillery demonstrations mark the 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.Admission charges apply.
30. Food & Feasts Of Colonial Virginia
City: Williamsburg, VA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Colonial Virginia food ways 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. Admission charges apply.