Williamsburg Events and Festivals

(Williamsburg, Virginia - VA, USA)

Williamsburg is home to its fair share of festivals, events, activities and seasonal things to do, especially arts and cultural festivals related to Williamsburg's rich colonial history.

However, freezing winters and boiling summers mean that most of Williamsburg's main events and festivals tend to be concentrated during more favorable climate conditions.

National Public Holidays

• 1st January - New Year's Day
• Third Monday in January - Martin Luther King Day
• 12th February - Lincoln's Birthday
• Third Monday in February - Washington's Birthday
• Last Monday in May - Memorial Day
• 4th July - Independence Day
• First Monday in September - Labor Day
• Second Monday in October - Columbus Day
• 11th November - Veterans Day
• 4th Thursday in November - Thanksgiving
• 25th December - Christmas Day

Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• There are no significant events held in Williamsburg during January.

February

• Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum - early February, a week-long event featuring tours and talks by local antique experts and curators.

March

• Garden Symposium - early March, featuring lectures, seminars and tours; a popular event for over 50s.

April

• Historic Garden Week - mid-April, showcasing 400 years of architectural and gardening history and featuring more than 250 historic houses and gardens across the state at the largest and oldest event of its kind in the country.
• Art on the Square - late April, a popular juried art show held in Merchants Square.

May

• Jamestown Landing Day - mid-May, featuring maritime demonstrations and commemorative activities marking the initial contact between European and local Native Indian cultures and the founding of the country's first permanent settlement almost 400 years ago.
• Festival Williamsburg - late May, marking the end of the Virginia Arts Festival and featuring three days of live dance and musical performances.

June

• There are no significant events held in Williamsburg during June.

July

• 4th July - historic events held in Colonial Williamsburg including a salute to the 13 colonies, a garden party and plenty of fireworks.

August

• Summer Breeze Concert Series - on Thursdays in August, live outdoor music performances in Merchants Square.

September

• Williamsburg Scottish Festival - late September, a celebration of Scottish culture and heritage, featuring live music, stalls and traditional food.

October

• An Occasion for the Arts - early October, held in merchants square, this is the oldest juried art exhibit in Virginia, having been running since 1969.
• Yorktown Victory Weekend - mid-October, commemorating the American and French victory at Yorktown.

November

• Berkeley Plantation First Thanksgiving Festival - early November, celebrating the 1619 landing of the original colonists and the first official thanksgiving in the country.
• Foods and Feasts of Colonial Virginia - late November, showcasing all there is to know about food in 17th and 18th-century Virginia.

December

• Williamsburg Grand Illumination - early December, a Christmas street festival throughout Colonial Williamsburg that has been going strong for 60 year, featuring music, candlelight tours, a military tattoo and fireworks.