Amazing upcoming events at the Hennage Auditorium at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg

Hennage Auditorium at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg Events: Nation Builders & Trades at 5

Get ready for some amazing programming back at the Hennage Auditorium. Programs are part of your daily ticket, Good Neighbors Pass or Annual Membership except Holidays with the Nation Builders ($5 ticket fee) and Holiday Music at 5 ($10 ticket fee). The Hennage Auditorium located inside the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, this auditorium provides an intimate setting for a variety of performances and presentations.

Nation Builders & Trades at 5 schedules are below! Keep scrolling!

Here is a run down of how your visit to any of the events below will take place, so you can “know before you go” what to expect:

Seating will be limited due to social distancing requirements in indoor venues so arrive early. Doors will open 45 minutes before showtime to allow guests to be seated without gathering in the auditorium lobby. Guests will be seated on a first come/first served basis with 6 ft. of distance between groups. Masks will be required of ALL (other than young children – under 10) guests attending Hennage Auditorium programs. .

Here are the November Programs

There are two programs every day in the Hennage Auditorium, at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Programs are subject to change. You can find the latest information at colonialwilliamsburg.org. All Hennage Auditorium programs have a limited capacity due to Governor’s Orders.

Captives to Citizens – Thursdays, November 5, 12 and 19 at 1:30pm
Discuss 18th-century captive taking, & unique definitions of citizenship in American Indian communities.

The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret – Tuesday, November 3 and Friday, Nov. 13 and 20 at 1:30 pm
Join Mrs. Washington in December of 1799 as she comes to terms with the General’s Last Will and Testament and hear from George Washington on his evolution on slavery.

The Price of Womanhood – Monday, November 2 and Tuesdays, November 10, 17 and 24 at 1:30pm
Meet Martha Barksdale, first president of the W&M Women’s Student Council, and Ann Wager, teacher at Virginia’s first school for African Americans. Join these women as they discuss what it means to be female, educated, represented, and equal in Williamsburg.

Pursuing Happiness – Sundays, November 1, 8, 15 and 22
Witness a series of imagined conversations between Thomas Jefferson, John Locke and King George III to discover the ghosts behind Jefferson’s drafts of the Declaration of Independence.

Washington’s First Crucible – Friday, November 6 and Mondays, Nov. 9. 16 and 23 at 1:30pm
Follow Washington’s relationship with Michel Pepin dit La Force during the French and Indian War.

Hannah’s Story – Wednesdays, November 4, 11 and 18 at 1:30pm
Meet Hannah who is concerned about being sold away from the only place she has ever lived.

5:00 Spotlight Wednesday

5 p.m. PROGRAMS
All are 45 minutes long (30 minutes program and 15 minutes Q&A) Included in museum admission

Join a Museum Curator, Conservator or Educator for an informal talk:

Nov. 4 – Furniture Conservator, Chris Swan discusses conserving gilt artifacts
Nov. 11 – Deputy Chief Curator, Margaret Pritchard presents “Maps as Gendered Objects of Material Culture”
Nov. 18 – Manager of Special Programs, Trish Balderson explores “A New York City Potter & the ‘Back to Africa’ Movement”

TRADES at 5 PM

All are 45 minutes long (30 minutes program and 15 minutes Q&A)

Visit with Foodways – Fridays, November 6, 13 and 20 at 5 pm
Join our Historic Foodways staff as they explore cuisines of the 18th century.

How to Play the (18th-Century) Violin – Saturday, November 14 at 5 pm
Hear how this most ubiquitous of musical instruments was played in 18th-century Virginia

The Bird Fancyer’s Delight – Thursdays, November 5 and 19 at 5 pm
Discover the connection between wild birds and music written by composers in the 18th century

Visit with the Printers – Mondays, November 9 and 23 at 5 pm
Discover the letterpress trade and how it spread the news in the age before the Internet..

Meet a Spinet –Thursday, November 12 at 5 pm
Discover the tools and materials of the builders, the people who bought them, and hear its music.

Is that a cello? Or a viol? – Saturdays, November 7 and 21 at 5 pm
Similar-looking, but from two different families, the cello and the viol coexisted for centuries side-byside – cousins locked in a bitter popularity contest that only one could win. Explore the history,
construction, and repertoire of these two bowed stringed instruments, and hear them both in action!

Holidays with the Nation Builders

Performances at 2 p.m. Daily All are 45 minutes long and require an additional program ticket

President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation – Wed. Nov. 25 at 2 pm
Hear from President Washington on the 231st anniversary of this day of Thanksgiving. $5 program ticket

Stories of the Past, People of the Present – Thursday, Nov. 26 at 2 pm
Celebrate American Indian life and culture through traditional stories. $5 program ticket

Light in the Darkness – Friday, November 27 SOLD OUT
Gowan Pamphlet & George Washington discuss the season in enslaved & free communities. $5 program ticket

Dressing for Christmastide with Mrs. Rind – Saturday, November 28
Clementina Rind, businesswoman and mother, demonstrates what she wears and why. $5 program ticket

Same Space, Different Place – Sunday, November 29
Mothers Rachel Whitaker, tavern owner, and enslaved Milly compare their Christmastides. $5 program ticket

Christmas and the Constitution – Monday, November 30
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison struggle to write the Federalist Papers. $5 program ticket

Holiday Music at 5 pm

Daily All are 45 minutes long and require an additional program ticket

Come Ye Thankful People Come – Wednesday, November 25
Kelly Kennedy and John Turner share tunes and readings related to Thanksgiving. $10 program ticket

Outside the Box: 150 Years of Cigar Box Instruments – Thursday, November 26
Join musical historian Carson Hudson as he explains & performs “cigar box music”! $10 program ticket

A Scottish Harvest Celebration – Friday, November 27 SOLD OUT
Explore the highlands of Scotland with Master Scottish Fiddler David Gardner. $10 program ticket

Christmas Ceilidh – Saturday, November 28 SOLD OUT
David Gardner, Gabe Stone and Dacotah Hartman share Scottish dancing, fiddles & bagpipes. $10 program ticket

Who Will Bring My Presents? – Sunday, November 29
Meet Grandfather Frost, La Befana and Santa Claus and hear their stories. $5 program ticket, $2.50 for children