Find Events For Your Visit

The orientation walk is designed to help guests plan their visit. Our volunteers and costumed staff lead the 30-minute walks and provide guests with the latest information on programming, dining, and shopping options. Guests also get an overview of the 18th-century community and learn about the restoration of Williamsburg.

Included in all Historic Area or Museum admission passes. Tours depart every 10-15 minutes.

See an extensive collection of American and British antiques. See furniture, metals, ceramics, glass, paintings, prints, firearms, and textiles from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and the Public Hospital of 1773. Attend lectures and musical performances in the Hennage Auditorium. Visit the Museum Store and the Museum Café.

View Current Exhibits

Enjoy changing exhibitions of American folk art, the colonial and contemporary artists and craftspeople who work outside the mainstream of academic art to record aspects of everyday life. Attend lectures and musical performances in the Hennage Auditorium. Visit the Museum Store and the Museum Café.

View Current Exhibits

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

Ticketed event.

Learn about the struggle of African Americans to gain liberty and equality during the era of the American Revolution. Using key documents from the period, this tour explains aspects of law, religion, and social custom that established and maintained a system of slavery and oppression. Leave this event with a better understanding of the variety of means by which enslaved and free African Americans navigated and resisted this system.

Hear the stories of 18th-century Williamsburg residents and discover how their victories and defeats marked the first steps on the road to our modern-day quest to be both free and equal.

Reservation or ticket available only to annual and Hotel Guest Pass holders.

Reservations or additional tickets required. Call 1-800-HISTORY for prices and reservations.

The Bray Society in England promoted education for enslaved children in the colonies.  In Williamsburg, Anne Wager conducted the Bray School for Negro children in the community. Meet her and learn about her hopes and aspirations for their academic achievement.

Guests may enter and exit any time during the program.

Enjoy an interactive public audience with a Founding Father of our nation in the historical context of the 18th century, discussing political and social events of the day.

Entr’actes were an important part of your 18th-century theater-going experience. As sets were changed, solo or group theatrical dances, songs and instrumental music, “feats of manly activity” and country dancing to conclude the evening were all an expected part of your evening of theater. Come enjoy a program of music, song and dance tyrpical of what was enjoyed between the scenes on the colonial and London stages.

In the 1770s, Williamsburg published a number of newspapers, expressing a variety of political opinions. Meet Alexander Purdie, a Scottish immigrant who rose to prominence as Patriot printer, the first to publish important documents that championed the "Cause of America."

Guests may enter and exit any time during the program.

The Children's Orientation Walk is designed to assist guests with planning their visit and will highlight options that families will enjoy. Guides share the latest information on programming, dining, and shopping options. Guests will receive an overview of the 18th-century community and specifically understand what childhood and family life was like in the 18th century. The walking tour lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to some of the masterworks on exhibit, such as paintings, ceramics, furniture and silver.

Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

Most of the faculty at William and Mary during the 18th century were ordained ministers. Sermons were regularly read for the edification of the students. Sermons presented today have been edited to fit into a half-hour program.

The Children's Orientation Walk is designed to assist guests with planning their visit and will highlight options that families will enjoy. Guides share the latest information on programming, dining, and shopping options. Guests will receive an overview of the 18th-century community and specifically understand what childhood and family life was like in the 18th century. The walking tour lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to the whimsical and fascinating paintings, sculpture, textiles, and more from Mrs. Rockefeller's original collection, for which the museum was founded.

Thirty-minute tours begin at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

When George Washington was elected president, no one gave thought to what Martha Washington would do while he served his country once again. She well understood her role as wife, mother, grandmother, and plantation mistress. She had learned her role as the helpmate to the Commander in Chief.

Now she was called upon to once again define a role that has served as a model down through the centuries. She knew herself to be a symbol of womanhood in the new republic. Join Mrs. Washington in the late spring of 1789 and discuss with her the duties of the President’s wife and help her decide what role she will play.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

David Garrick had more influence on 18th century theater than anyone else of his time. He was an actor and playwright, and managed the famous Drury Lane Theatre in London. The three most performed plays in the colonies were written by David Garrick. Why was he so popular? Come see for yourself as we perform some of the great Garrick pieces.

Please arrive early; space is limited.

Ticketed event.

This one-hour walking tour takes guests through the stable and carriage facilities and introduces them to the rare breeds conservancy program operated by Colonial Williamsburg. Guests will view the facilities, see some of the animals, and view the various vehicles owned and operated here.

Discussion of animal treatment, training, equipment use, and the Coach and Livestock operation is ongoing throughout the tour. This experience includes some hands-on activities, such as trying out a sidesaddle or inspecting a horse’s hoof.

Children must be accompanied by adults at all times. Space is limited.

Please make reservations at any on-site ticket location. Not included in one-day ticket.

Reservations or additional tickets required. Call 1-800-HISTORY for prices and reservations.

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to some of the masterworks on exhibit, such as paintings, ceramics, furniture and silver.

Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

Let us introduce you to an evening at the theater. A favorite pastime of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, century theater reflects the popular culture of the day from marriage, fortune, and title to master-servant relationships--no topic escapes the 18th century stage.

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to the whimsical and fascinating paintings, sculpture, textiles, and more from Mrs. Rockefeller's original collection, for which the museum was founded.

Thirty-minute tours begin at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

The world is familiar with the accomplishments of America’s historical giants: men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. The efforts of these great men were essential to the overthrow of tyranny and the establishment of the United States as a self-governing republic.

But their contributions were made possible only by the often overlooked people of history on whose shoulders these first line patriots stood.  These people, preachers and house servants, enslaved and free, who lived their lives, some heroically and some humbly, were Nation Builders no less than the Washingtons, Jeffersons, and Henrys of history.

Meet these Nation Builders, who—through their Williamsburg connections—helped shape their times. They continue today to influence and inspire our ideals and visions of the American dream, and the promises of the Declaration of Independence, both realized and unfulfilled.

Guests are free to come and go through the course of this two-hour event.

Learn more.

Guests may enter and exit any time during the program.

Never have a few pieces of animal hide been subject to such meticulous and expensive attention. This NOVA program not only gives viewers a fascinating glimpse of cutting-edge preservation technology, it also explores the background and meaning of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Shown in conjunction with the exhibition "Declarations of Independence" and "Conservation: Where Art and Science Meet."

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

Even though public performances were banned by the Continental Congress, join us to discover how the theater continued to delight audiences and influence the political and social climates of the new American nation.

Program takes place on the Raleigh Tavern steps.

Martha Washington arrives in Williamsburg to great fanfare and celebration. She receives honors in her husband's name for his service to "The Glorious Cause" of American liberty.

One of Virginia's famous patriots sums up his experiences in Williamsburg and expresses his hopes for the future of the young republic.