Colonial Williamsburg: New African-American programs

Colonial Williamsburg is offering new programming with African-American themes.

Colonial Williamsburg began creating programs to portray the African-American experience in 1979. The new programs will be available throughout the rest of 2009, with a specialty weekend July 18-19.

The programs include a new interactive walking history tour, “In Their Own Words: African Americans in the American Revolutionary Era,” a reenactment of a debate about slavery between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, and a black preacher’s sermon. An attraction called Great Hopes Plantation showcases how African Americans in rural areas — both free blacks and slaves — shaped their community, with a look at African influences on American cooking, the lives of enslaved children on plantations and the struggles of free blacks.

If you’re considering visiting Colonial Williamsburg this summer, a package deal is being offered May 31 through Sept. 3, starting at $599 for a family of four for a four-night stay. In addition to the four nights of lodging at the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel & Suites, visitors get admission passes to Colonial Williamsburg, a 25 percent discount on evening program tickets, free parking, a $200 resort credit that can be applied to meals at Colonial Williamsburg’s restaurants or taverns, golf, or services at The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, and a 20 percent discount on most purchases at any Colonial Williamsburg-owned store. Details are at Colonial Williamsburg Resort.