Articles
Published August 1, 2001
Williamsburg celebrates spirit of '74
By Judy Colbert, Expedia.com Contributor
If your children sometimes display tendencies toward rebellion (or even if they're unabashed loyalists), organize a family march on Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, where this year's emphasis is on the 1774 rebellion against the British, when Virginia took the lead in organizing resistance against England.
Dress like a revolutionary
Programs change seasonally, so repeat visits are always exciting, enjoyable, and edifying. Summer commemorates the First Virginia Convention and election of delegates to the First Continental Congress, and the fall celebrates a tea party in nearby Yorktown—effective, even if not as well-known as the one in Boston.
Numerous programs are scheduled daily to help you explore the past, with Colonial garb available for rent (in a tent next to the Powder Magazine on Market Square) so your children can really get into the spirit. You can take walking tours that explore African-American history or Williamsburg's material culture, visit museums dedicated to folk and decorative arts, or take in a play after dark.
At the James Geddy House, young interpreters in period clothing often re-create such aspects of Colonial days as education (using slate boards and chalk), music, dance, play (rolling hoops, board games), and daily chores (mending, working on a sampler, making doll clothes), bringing the 18th century to life.