Liberty Celebration
July 4 at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
This Fourth of July, take in the Liberty Celebration and salute the 245th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown offers a special lineup July 4 to mark the patriotic occasion.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors can enjoy interpretive programs, artillery demonstrations and learn about the challenges that faced our nation’s founders, including those who signed the Declaration of Independence, as well as those for whom the new nation’s rights of freedom and liberty did not yet apply.
Indoors and out, enjoy these liberty experiences:
- See a rare July 1776 broadside of the Declaration of Independence duplicated in mass to spread the word of liberty from town to town featured in an immersive gallery exhibit surrounded by signatures of this famous document’s signers.
- Catch “Liberty Fever” – the museum’s introductory film, shown throughout the day in the main theater.
- Take part in patriotic programming in outdoor re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm.
- Enjoy patriotic performances by the Fifes & Drums of York Town at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
- Join in the “Great American 4th of July Sing-along” led by the Cigar Box String Band, playing songs from American history that everyone knows by heart at 12, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.
- Share your thoughts on liberty by adding them to the “Liberty Tree,” an interactive on a 17-foot sculptural tree, rooted in the museum galleries. Join others from around the world and share what liberty means to you online.
Artillery & Military Drills
Visitors can feel the thunder of a cannon blast as historical interpreters fire a salute to our nation’s founders outdoors in the artillery amphitheater. At the re-created Continental Army encampment, historical interpreters describe and depict daily routines of American soldiers, with demonstrations of musket and artillery firing, 18th-century surgical and medical practices, and the role of the quartermaster in managing troop supplies. Artillery demonstrations are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. in the artillery amphitheater.
Revolution-era Farm Life
Visitors can learn how farmers during the American Revolution became more self-sufficient by growing and processing flax, cotton and wool for homespun cloth in “From Field to Fabric,” a program on the Revolution-era farm. The effort became both a necessity and a political statement of patriotism.
Throughout the day, visitors can see what is cooking in the farm kitchen as historical interpreters prepare a variety of 18th-century dishes on the hearth, using historical recipes from Virginia’s earliest cookbooks, as well as foods of enslaved people and the evolution of period dishes through cultural influences. Food preparation is for demonstration purposes only.
About the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, located on Route 1020 near the Colonial Parkway in Yorktown, has adapted its museum operations for everyone’s health and safety with protective protocols. Admission tickets can be purchased online on the eStore or in person, following safety protocols.
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tells the story of the nation’s founding, capturing the transformational nature and epic scale of the Revolution and its relevance today. Indoor gallery exhibits and films are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with living-history areas open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Gift shop and café open during museum hours.
Parking at the museum is free for museum visitors. A free shuttle service is available to Historic Yorktown from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the Yorktown Trolley. Learn more about Fourth of July festivities in Historic Yorktown.
The Liberty Celebration special event is included in museum admission: $16.00 for adults, $8.00 for youth ages 6-12 and free for children age 5 and under. A value-priced combination ticket with Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia, is $28.90 for adults and $14.45 for ages 6-12. Residents of York County, James City County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive complimentary admission with proof of residency.
“Liberty Celebration” is funded in part by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. Annual Fund.