The skies will be illuminated with fireworks during Colonial Williamsburg’s annual holiday celebration, Grand Illumination, on Dec. 2.
The all-day celebration mixes traditions both old and new, leading up to the fireworks displays that explode over the sky simultaneously at four sites in the Historic Area. For insider information about having the best Illumination possible, click here.
Guests can learn about the traditions, materials and techniques associated with colonial holiday decorations on the one-hour guided Christmas Decoration Walking tour. Four tours are offered on Dec. 2, at $15 per person.
At 11:30 a.m., guests will get a peek at an 18th-century auction on the Market House stage, followed by entertainment from the Youth Dance Ensemble from 2 to 4 p.m. at Raleigh Tavern and the Spirit Bells of Gum Spring Methodist Church from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the Market Square stage near the Peyton Randolph House.
Refreshments, including hot cider and cookies, will be offered alongside souvenirs at market stands throughout the Revolutionary City. The stands will also sell Grand Illumination kits, which include blankets, souvenir mugs and glowsticks.
The illumination begins at 5 p.m., when candles are lit in the windows of homes and businesses. At 5:15 p.m., entertainment from choirs and musicians begins at stages located on the Palace Green, Market Square and the north and south sides of the Capitol.
At 6:30 p.m., guests will light their glow sticks in a special ceremony that begins the countdown to the fireworks program. The Fifes and Drums will take to the stages at 6:40 p.m., their music kicking off the fireworks displays at 7 p.m.
Following the fireworks, guests are invited to join the Fifes and Drums on their march from the Palace Green and the Capitol to Botetourt Street.
The festivities will continue indoors at the Kimball Theatre, where A Grand Medley of Entertainments begins at 8 p.m. A ticket is required for the medley: $15 for adults and $7.50 for children.
Colonists regularly celebrated major events with illuminations, from fireworks to the firing of guns. The Grand Illumination in Colonial Williamsburg began in 1934 with a “White Lighting,” featuring single candles lit in the windows of the restored and reconstructed buildings, and the decoration of buildings.
