Conferences, Forums, and Workshops at Colonial Williamsburg

2009

November
8-10

Foodways in the 18th Century: Bringing Virginia's Bounty to the Royal Governor's Table

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Virginia’s eighteenth-century gentry delighted in fine dining. Gathering together friends and associates for a lavish and elegant meal was an important social and political event.  Learn about the very best of dining in early Virginia by joining us for Colonial Williamsburg’s first “Dining in the Eighteenth Century” conference, featuring the culinary arts and dining customs of the colony’s most prestigious household. Noted food historian, author, and chef, Ivan Day will join Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Trades foodways staff, curators, historians, and archaeologists to explore how the bounty of colonial Virginia’s rivers, fields, and forests found its way to the richly furnished tables of its political and social leaders.

The three-day conference begins on Sunday evening with a keynote address by Mr. Day on the state of the art of fine dining in eighteenth-century England. The Monday morning session will delve into selecting recipes, procuring ingredients, and preparing the dishes of a royal governor’s dinner. Tuesday morning will focus on presentation, table settings, service, and dining etiquette. Both afternoons will offer workshop sessions on colonial chocolate making, brewing beer, and ice cream, as well as private tours of food-related collections and sites with Colonial Williamsburg experts.  And, of course, no food conference would be complete without a chance to eat! There will be an eighteenth-century-inspired luncheon at one of Colonial Williamsburg’s historic taverns and a concluding banquet at the Williamsburg Lodge that reflects how historical foods can be adapted to and inspire modern fine dining as well.

For those who just can’t stay out of the kitchen, on Wednesday we will offer special, limited capacity workshops during which participants, working with Historic Trades foodways staff in Historic Area kitchens, will prepare and eat an eighteenth-century meal.

Download brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Download Bibliography of Recipes

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A Handel Festival in Historic Williamsburg

The music departments of historic Bruton Parish Church and the College of William and Mary will join with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for “A Handel Festival: Music in the World of George Frideric Handel.” The first part of the Festival, November 12-15, will focus on Handel in the musical and cultural context of his times and includes a keynote lecture recital by soprano Julianne Baird. Concerts, lectures, walking tours, character interpretations, workshops, and museum exhibitions and gallery talks take advantage of the historic venues of the colonial capital. The second part of the festival (December 11-12) features a candlelight performance of the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah in Bruton Parish Church. The orchestra, soloists, and the choir of Bruton Parish Church will be under the musical direction of Rodney Eichenberger.

Learn More

Register online

December 15, 2009

Conquering the Challenges of Interpreting African American History

Is your museum telling all sides of the story? Do you want to move towards a more complete history by incorporating the contributions of African Americans to the story you are telling? Can you tackle the topic with little or no African American staff? And what do you do when the information you have related to African American history at your site is minimal at best? In 1979 Colonial Williamsburg became a pioneer in the interpretation of African American history and for the last 30 years has developed strategies for developing and presenting interpretive programs that give life to the 18th century African American experience. Come and see what they have learned in the process and get the tools you need to start incorporating the African American experience into your programs, or to expand on your current efforts.

Through group discussions, site observations and practical activities you will:

• Examine the challenges of mounting interpretation of what can be complicated issues involving race and discrimination
• Learn how to train staff to handle sensitive topics and feel more comfortable and confident discussing them
• Explore ways to use available information on your site to develop a narrative about the African American presence

Date: December 15, 2009
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Williamsburg, VA
Fee: $50*

*You may bring a packed lunch or we will provide lunch for participants at an added cost of $10

Register online

2010

January 13-16 and 17-20

image credit: Thomas Jefferson Foundation / Monticello

Working Wood in the 18th Century
Thomas Jefferson’s Furniture and Woodwork

Cosponsored by
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Colonial Williamsburg and Fine Woodworking are pleased to be joined by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to present the twelfth annual Working Wood in the 18th Century conference at Williamsburg during the week of January 13-20, 2010.   The topic is one we are especially excited about: Thomas Jefferson’s Furniture and Woodwork.

The program will begin with an overview of Jefferson’s Monticello and its furniture by Monticello senior curator and vice president Susan Stein.  Bob Self, Monticello’s conservator of architecture and furniture, will introduce us to the Monticello joinery, its woods, tools, and workers.  Then, Bob will join Mack Headley and the staff of the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Trades Cabinetmaking Shop to present the design and construction of three pieces of Jefferson furniture: a stand-up writing and drawing desk; a tripod-base, revolving-top table with drawer; and one of the iconic Campeachy chairs that were Jefferson favorites.   Colonial Williamsburg joiners Garland Wood and Ted Boscana will reproduce the mantel in Jefferson’s personal bed chamber—Jefferson’s original drawing of it survives--and look at other aspects of Monticello’s joinery.   Roy Underhill will present the construction of Jefferson’s revolving bookstand and ideas about furniture that Jefferson likely encountered in France.   As always, these demonstrations will concentrate on period methods of workmanship, and close-up video monitoring will show the processes in detail. 

As special treats, we are planning to have one or two pieces of original Jefferson furniture on loan from Monticello for the conference.  We are likely to converse with Mr. Jefferson himself, in the person of Bill Barker, who skillfully discusses just about any aspect of Jefferson’s life, accomplishments, and philosophy.  And, for those of you who can make it to Charlottesville coming or going, Monticello will be offering special house and furnishings tours and other activities developed specifically for conference attendees.

Speakers Include:

• Bill Barker, founding father interpreter, Colonial Williamsburg
• Ted Boscana, journeyman carpenter and joiner, Colonial Williamsburg
• Mack Headley, master cabinetmaker, Colonial Williamsburg
• Bill Little, volunteer cabinetmaker, Colonial Williamsburg
• Kaare Loftheim, journeyman cabinetmaker, Colonial Williamsburg
• Bill Pavlak, apprentice cabinetmaker, Colonial Williamsburg
• Jane Rees, researcher, author, editor of the Tools and Trades History Society Journal.
• Robert L. Self, conservator of architecture and furniture, Monticello
• Susan R. Stein, Richard Gilder Senior Curator and Vice President for Museum Programs, Monticello
• Roy Underhill, author, teacher and host of the PBS series The Woodwright’s Shop, Williamsburg, Virginia
• Matthew Webster, conservator of architecture, Colonial Williamsburg
• Brian Weldy, apprentice cabinetmaker, Colonial Williamsburg
• Garland Wood, master carpenter, Colonial Williamsburg

The conference is informal. Participants’ comments and questions are welcomed.  During morning and afternoon breaks, speakers display their work, tools, and materials; demonstrate techniques; and chat with participants.  To include more participants while keeping the conferences small enough for everyone to be involved, two identical programs are offered. 

Download brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Register online

February 7-11

“Well made & Exceeding Fine”: The Decorative Arts of New England
62nd Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum

Scholars have been documenting the arts and crafts of early New England for more than a century and a half, but new and exciting discoveries continue to be made on a regular basis.  At the 62nd Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum, “Well made & Exceeding Fine”: The Decorative Arts of New England, you are invited to explore this rich and diverse heritage. 

The 2010 Forum will bring together a group of widely recognized authorities on the remarkable furniture, ceramics, textiles, paintings, and buildings that were produced in New England between 1680 and 1830.  More than twenty curators, collectors, and historians will present their latest findings in a series of illustrated lectures and video-assisted workshops.  Scheduled speakers include Jane Nylander, president emerita of Historic New England, scholar and author Kemble Widmer, and noted New England auctioneer Ron Bourgeault.

In addition to the formal program, Forum guests may register for optional hands-on workshops with the Colonial Williamsburg collections and private tours of historic homes in the region.  Please plan to join us February 7-11, 2010, for “Well made & Exceeding Fine”: The Decorative Arts of New England.

Download Bibliography

Download brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Register online

March 18 – 21

Pottery with a Past:
A New Look at Salt-glazed Stoneware Collections, Research, and Archaeology

Recent new discoveries have brought salt-glazed stoneware to the forefront of current collecting and archaeological research. From first English settlement onward, salt-glazed stoneware filled an important role in colonial homes and public houses. Dynamic trade brought a range of manufactured goods, including stoneware, to the New World. During much of the seventeenth century, stoneware bottles and mugs were prized possessions of the wealthiest colonists. But by the third quarter of the eighteenth century, brown, gray, and white stoneware from Germany and England was found everywhere. At that time, it played a role akin to modern-day plastics: ever present and essential, but rarely celebrated. Stoneware was comparatively affordable, extremely durable, readily available, and—in some instances—quite fashionable. This remarkably versatile ceramic also was manufactured successfully in America during the colonial and post-Revolutionary period.

Join Colonial Williamsburg staff members and distinguished lecturers such as David Barker, David Gaimster, Jonathan Horne, and Rob Hunter as they explore the production and distribution of brown, gray, and white salt-glazed stoneware from Germany, Britain, and America. The program celebrates the publication of Salt-glazed Stoneware in Early America by Janine E. Skerry and Suzanne Findlen Hood, and is timed to coincide with the exhibition “Pottery with a Past: Stoneware in Early America.” The first museum presentation of German, English, and American stoneware made prior to 1800, the exhibit is on view at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum at Colonial Williamsburg.

Salt-glazed Stoneware in Early America, the accompanying exhibition, and this conference are made possible through the generosity of the Richard C. von Hess Foundation.

Online registration will be available soon.

64th Annual Garden Symposium
Timeless Lessons from Historic Gardens

Period gardens at Colonial Williamsburg and other historic sites provide an infinite selection of ideas that can be adapted effectively to the modern home garden. Whether you are interested in designing a formal garden, growing heirloom plants, or making a garden structure, there are many lessons to be learned from historic gardens. Colonial Williamsburg’s 64th annual Garden Symposium will focus on design concepts, gardening techniques, and plant selections that have stood the test of time. Speakers will emphasize the elements of traditional gardens that can be customized easily to smaller, residential settings. The symposium will include both general sessions and optional afternoon activities. Please join us for Timeless Lessons from Historic Gardens.

2011

March 13-16

Costume Accessories: Head to Toe