An 18-month series of national and international events will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown 1607.
America's Anniversary Weekend, at Jamestown, Virginia, on May 11 to 13, 2007, is the premier signature event. The President and First Lady, Queen Elizabeth II and Royal Family will be invited to join the pageantry, musical performances, cultural presentations and celebrity appearances.
A newly built replica of Jamestown Settlement's Godspeed will visit Alexandria, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Newport, accompanied by a free Landing Party Festival, with live music, family entertainment, historical displays and interactive educational activities.
The 225th anniversary of America's Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown, Virginia, will be celebrated October 19 to 22 2006. This Salute to the Military will feature re-enactments, parades, performances, a juried art show, tall ship displays and fireworks at the Yorktown National Battlefield, Riverwalk Landing and the Yorktown Victory Center.
Virginia's Native American tribes will host an October symposium and an American Indian Intertribal Festival, at Hampton Coliseum, with musical performances, storytelling, dancing, craft demonstrations, children's games and exhibits on the history of Virginia tribes.
A salute to distinguished African-Americans, for their accomplishments, takes place March 30 and 31, 2007. A Commerce and Cultural Exposition, in August 2007, highlights African-American culture and minority-owned businesses; and a gala on October 14, 2006 previews the African-American exhibits in the expanded galleries at Jamestown Settlement.
The World of 1607, a special exhibit at Jamestown Settlement, opens May 1, 2007, with rare treasures from major museums, including a 15th-century copy of the Magna Carta lent by the Earl of Leicester.
From April 24 to May 5, 2007, Godspeed sails up the James River. Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News and Claremont will stage festivals as the replica ship retraces the 1607 route to Jamestown. On May 24 and 25, Godspeed visits Richmond.
Virginia culture will be featured on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, June 27 to July 8, 2007.
Seven Virginia colleges and universities will host Forums on the Future of Democracy, culminating in a global summit, September 16 to 19, 2007 in Williamsburg, on the future of democracy.
A new Visitor Center and the Archaearium, a facility for artifacts and findings of the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project, will open in 2006 and 2007 in Historic Jamestowne, Virginia.
