During 2007, America will continue to celebrate an event that shaped its history -- the founding of Jamestown in 1607, the first permanent English settlement in North America. The premier event of America's 400th Anniversary, a three-day festival will be held on May 11-13, 2007, includes cultural events, exhibit openings, interpretive exhibits, original productions, and family friendly programs offered in Historic Jamestowne, Jamestown Settlement and Anniversary Park. For more information on events in Jamestown and throughout Virginia, log onto www.americas400thanniversary.com.

Below is a partial listing of events planned in Alexandria.

Alexandria Jamestown Lecture Series
Sponsored by the Alexandria Historical Society, The Lyceum, Friends of Alexandria Archaeology, Alexandria Black History Museum, Mount Vernon, and the Carlyle House.

Thurs., Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Against All Odds: The Creation of Families and Households at a 17th and 18th Century Slave Quarter - an illustrated lecture with Dr. Garret Fesler of the James River Institute of Archaeology. Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe St. 703.838.4356. Free.

Wed., May 23 at 7:30 p.m. Archaeological Investigations of Werowocomoco, Political Center of the Powhatan Chiefdom - an illustrated lecture with Dr. Martin Gallivan, Assistant Professor, College of William and Mary. The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum, 201 S. Washington St. 703.549.2997. Free.

Thurs., October 11 at 7:30 p.m Rethinking Captain John Smith's Map in Light of Aboriginal America - an illustrated lecture with Dr. Stephen Potter, Regional Archaeologist, National Park Service. . The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum. 703.549.2997. Free.

 

Arrival of John Smith's Shallop

Mon., July 2 from 4 to 8 p.m. Captain John Smith's Reenactment Voyage - A replica of Smith’s 28-foot shallop arrives in Alexandria on its voyage to retraces his 1608 Chesapeake expedition. Public reception on the dock next to the Seaport Foundation. Free. For information of the voyage visit www.johnsmith400.org

 

Exhibitions at the Lyceum

Early Views of Virginia Indians: The William W. Cole Collection
Through February 11, 2007.

One of a series of exhibitions commemorating the founding of Jamestown in 1607, Early Images of Virginia Indians: The William W. Cole Collection is on view in the Coldsmth Gallery. The exhibition, organized by the Virginia Historical Society, features period engravings produced from 1590 to the 1800s. These prints were an important means for Europeans to learn about America.

The exhibition includes four engravings from the set issued by Theodore de Bry in 1590. The engravings were based on paintings of Indians done by John White. White was on Walter Raleigh's 1585-86 Roanoke Island expedition and created a series of paintings based on his observations. His images depict natives from what is now called North Carolina, although White and the English knew the area as “Virginia.” They remain an important resource because, like the natives of Tidewater, Virginia, the Indians were southern Algonquian and coastal dwellers. When de Bry published the paintings as engravings, White's visual chronicle gained wide exposure and became very influential.

Jamestown and Early Virginia: Celebrating 400 Years
April through September, 2007

Learn about Jamestown and early Virginia in this exhibition featuring 16th and 17th century artifacts. It will include a cannon and gun carriage dated 1595, as well as a pottery fragment dated 1609 -- one of the earliest dated pottery fragments in America, and 17th-century furniture. Rare maps and documents will also be on view including a first edition of John Smith's account The History of Virginia, which was published in 1624.

The Legacy of Jamestown
November 2007 through March 2008

Many historic photographs will be featured in this exhibition about the legacy of Jamestown and historic preservation organizations in Alexandria.