100th Anniversary Celebration
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Celebrating a century of learning from past centuries
November 14-15, 2026
Our centennial celebration weekend in November will truly be a once-in-a-century experience. Colonial Williamsburg’s 100th anniversary on November 14 features special programming throughout the day, including a grand procession of interpreters, community members and Fifes and Drums; a guided centennial tour at the Art Museums; and, of course, a spectacular fireworks display. Tickets are still available for A Toast to the Next 100, our reception to honor this moment and usher in the next century. Attendees will have reserved seating for the fireworks.
We will dedicate the next day, November 15, to our employees, volunteers, retirees and their families. For one day, we are closing the Historic Area, Art Museums and Campbell Archaeology Center for this gathering, something we have never done before. There would be no Colonial Williamsburg without the people who turned an ambitious idea into an institution approaching its second century, and we want to celebrate them, too.
Get Tickets
Free Centennial Single Day
In celebration of our Centennial, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is offering free admission to the Historic Area on November 14 from 10 AM – 5 PM. To receive complimentary admission, please add your free tickets to your cart.
Valid November 14, 2026 only.
Special Programming
A Toast to the Next 100
The First 100 Years Exhibit
Williamsburg Theatre Film Series
Colonial Williamsburg Centennial Celebration
Celebrate 100 years of Colonial Williamsburg with a grand procession of Fifes and Drums, costumed interpreters, community members and special guests making their way through the Historic Area from Capitol Circle to the Courthouse. The ceremony will honor a century of bringing our nation’s enduring story to life while reaffirming our educational mission: that the future may learn from the past.
Plan Your Visit
Colonial Williamsburg Fall Getaway
Book your Colonial Williamsburg Resorts getaway and receive 20% OFF the Best Available Rate on 2 or more nights and a commemorative centennial coffee mug.
Explore Virtually
How do you rebuild an eighteenth-century city? The audacious effort to restore Williamsburg, led by W. A. R. Goodwin and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., began a century of research, discovery, and storytelling. Explore the stories of the men and women who have spent decades bringing eighteenth-century Williamsburg alive.
Keep Exploring
Read the History of Colonial Williamsburg
A new book, That the Future May Learn from the Past, chronicles how Colonial Williamsburg has presented the nation’s founding history over the last century. Initially focused on architecture and design, those presentations grew to include patriotic lessons about the nation’s Founders, and ultimately, to reflect a far more nuanced and comprehensive history.
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Support Our Mission
Reconstruction progress photo of northeast elevation of Capitol covered in scaffolding with work proceeding on installation of shingles, November 15, 1932. Visual Resources, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library.
Rebuilding the Past
In November 1926, philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. first authorized funding toward the restoration of Williamsburg to its 18th-century appearance, bringing the vision of Rev. Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin to life. What began as a modest preservation initiative soon blossomed into a full-scale restoration of the former colonial capital and began a century of discovery.
For 50 years, the Rockefeller family was the principal investor in Colonial Williamsburg, and in 1974, the Foundation launched its first organized fundraising efforts, passing unrestricted financial support to individual donors with the creation of the Colonial Williamsburg Fund.
Today, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit, relying on philanthropic support from individuals, corporations and foundations instead of state or federal funding.
The Colonial Williamsburg Fund embodies the enduring generosity and visionary spirit of Rockefeller and Goodwin, whose shared commitment to preservation, education and civic engagement laid the groundwork for this remarkable legacy.
