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.

Discover how gardens reflected status and wealth in the 18th century.

Available to annual pass and Hotel Guest Pass holders only. Free reservation required.

Each Tuesday, visitors to Colonial Williamsburg are encouraged to view archaeological objects and learn about current research being undertaken by the Foundation's archaeological staff. Tours cover the history of archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg and highlight artifacts and other evidence from more recent excavations.

Interaction with Foundation archaeologists provides insight into excavation techniques, curatorial efforts, and the functions of various labs. Participants will learn how artifacts, plant remains, and animal bones play roles in the history interpreted at Colonial Williamsburg today.

Check "Colonial Williamsburg This Week" for starting location. Tours last 90 minutes and begin at 9:15 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 1:45 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.

Available only to annual pass and Hotel Guest Pass holders. Due to limited availability, reservations must be booked on-site at any CW ticket location.

Come and participate in a local court session where lives, liberties, and property come into contest. Our guests may take on roles as justices, attorneys, litigants, petitioners, or defendants. See how the rights of Virginians were maintained in open court.

Offered Tuesday through Saturday every 30 minutes between scheduled times. Program is approximately 25 minutes long.

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.

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.

Learn how raw cocoa beans are processed into chocolate and its use in 18th Century cooking. 

An 18th-century Prompter had to make sure rehearsals and performances went smoothly, much like a modern stage manager. How did they do it? How do we bring the plays of the 18th century to life today?

Join our Performing Arts Department for a peep behind the curtain as they explore the rehearsal trends of an 18th-century acting company in preparation for their 21st-century performances.

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.

Enjoy music that has come from distant shores to become our music.  Each week will feature a different performer.

Performers:

July 20 - Stephen Christoff - Unique Instruments
July 27 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
August 3 - Dean Shostack - Fiddleworks
August 10 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjo
August 17 - Timothy Seaman - Dulcimers
August 24 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
August 31 - John Turner - Scottish Fiddle
September 7 - Dean Shostack - Fiddleworks
September 14 - Timothy Seaman - Dulcimers
September 21 - Stephen Christoff - Unique Instruments
September 28 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjoy
October 5 - John Turner - Scottish Fiddle
October 12 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
October 19* - Stephen Christoff - Unique Instruments
October 26 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjo
November 2 - Timothy Seaman - Dulcimers
November 9 - John Turner - Scottish Fiddle
November 16 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
November 23 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjo

*3 p.m. show only

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

We often hear of the budding American cause during the Revolutionary War, but that’s only half the story. Join us and reconsider the loyalist’s struggle through plays, poetry, and patriotic pieces.

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.

Talk with Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, or the Marquis de Lafayette about issues that transcend time. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions.

A ball at the Capitol for Lady Dunmore provides an opportunity for romance. Will young Mister Randolph and Miss Nicholas begin their "dance?"

On Duke of Gloucester Street, in front of King's Arms Tavern.

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.

Enjoy music that has come from distant shores to become our music.  Each week will feature a different performer.

Performers:

July 20 - Stephen Christoff - Unique Instruments
July 27 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
August 3 - Dean Shostack - Fiddleworks
August 10 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjo
August 17 - Timothy Seaman - Dulcimers
August 24 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
August 31 - John Turner - Scottish Fiddle
September 7 - Dean Shostack - Fiddleworks
September 14 - Timothy Seaman - Dulcimers
September 21 - Stephen Christoff - Unique Instruments
September 28 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjoy
October 5 - John Turner - Scottish Fiddle
October 12 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
October 19* - Stephen Christoff - Unique Instruments
October 26 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjo
November 2 - Timothy Seaman - Dulcimers
November 9 - John Turner - Scottish Fiddle
November 16 - Kelly Kennedy - Irish Influences
November 23 - Carson Hudson - Evolution of the Banjo

*3 p.m. show only

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

The theater of the colonial era was often advertised as a "Moral Academy" where the audience could learn from the characters on stage.  Not all of the characters, however, were role models. 

The 18th-century stage is full of scheming, backstabbing, and intrigue.  You might be surprised to see how little things have changed in the last 250 years. This program focuses mainly on men's roles and famous actors of the time.

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.

In colonial Virginia, the majority of enslaved African Americans lived in the countryside. Join us to explore what daily life was like for them. Learn about the work they performed and the integral role slavery played in the Virginia economy. Find out how the ruling class coerced and controlled the enslaved population and discover how slaves resisted, survived, and drew strength from the unique community they built.

Weather permitting. Not suitable for young children.

Museum volunteers guide this in-depth tour of 18th- and early 19th-century furniture including rare Baroque, Rococco, and neoclassical tables, chairs, chests, and desks.

45-minute tours begin at 2:15 and 3:30 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.