The Capitol Building in Colonial Williamsburg will play host to a special commemorative session of the Virginia General Assembly at 2 p.m. Saturday, an event that dates back to 1934.
More than 80 years ago, members of the General Assembly decided to begin a new tradition that involved returning to the Hall of the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg – the home of the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America — “at times that might seem proper.”
Saturday marks 26th joint session of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates held in Colonial Williamsburg. The last commemorative session held by the General Assembly, the Western Hemisphere’s oldest elected deliberative body, in the Capitol was in 2012.
A highlight of the commemorative sessions is an address from a prominent figure or speaker about an issue facing Virginia, the U.S. or the world.
This year’s speaker is College of William & Mary President Taylor Reveley, who has titled his remarks “In the beginning was Virginia, and Virginia led.”
Reveley is the 27th president of the College of William & Mary, having served previously as the dean of William & Mary Law School and is the John Stewart Bryan Professor of Jurisprudence.
Because of the space limitations inside the Capitol, attendance at the joint commemorative legislative session is open only to media or by special invitation.
Previous speakers have included President Gerald R. Ford, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, U.S. Sen. John Warner and Colonial Williamsburg’s founding benefactor John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
