We the People: A Yorktown Battlefield Event – Get your FREE tickets for your family!
We the People: A Yorktown Battlefield Event – Get your FREE tickets for your family!
This is a big event! On Saturday, September 20th, head to the Yorktown Battlefield for an unforgettable evening. It will be full of inspiration, education, and community. The community will gather for an exclusive sneak peek screening. You can watch acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns’s highly anticipated documentary, “The American Revolution,” before it premieres on TV!! (new info on event parking at bottom of this post)
🚨 REGISTRATION IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED — Click ticket link to sign up for free today!
Revolutionary Festival starts at 3pm
Screening starts at 7pm
Colonial National Historical Park invites the public to this special screening. It partners with WHRO Public Media, York County, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and the VA250 Commission.
The documentary spans 12 hours and consists of 6 parts. It includes scenes filmed throughout Colonial Virginia. The film premieres on PBS on November 16th. It is co-directed by Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt. Schmidt, a Virginia native, will participate in the event!
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Before the screening, come for an exciting afternoon filled with revolutionary fun and learning. The Revolutionary Festival promises a range of hands-on history activities. It also offers live music that creates a fun and festive atmosphere for visitors of all ages.
The screening is free and open to the public; advanced registration will be required. Visitors will be encouraged to bring lawn chairs, water, and to prepare for the weather 🌦️
🧠 Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, celebrate, and connect with our nation’s history in the very place where it happened!
Registration is highly recommended! This event is rain or shine. For more information on this event, please call (757) 898-2410.
On the Docket:
3 – 7 p.m.
⭐ Artillery Demonstrations
⭐ Ranger Programs
⭐ Live Colonial Music
⭐ Living History Encampments
⭐ Join the Colonial Militia Drill Station
⭐ Revolutionary Spy Games
⭐ Colonial Kids Games
⭐ + more!
7 p.m.
⭐ Screening begins
Secure your spot, set out a chair early & join us before the show for pre-screening remarks from co-director David Schmidt!
ABOUT DAVID SCHMIDT:
David Schmidt is the producer and co-director, along with Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, of The American Revolution, a six-part, 12-hour series premiering on PBS in the fall of 2025.
Schmidt began working with Florentine Films as a researcher and apprentice editor for The Roosevelts (2014), while also supervising the documentary’s seven-episode script. His research on The Vietnam War (2017) won him the Jane Mercer Footage Researcher of the Year award, and he also worked closely on that project with writer Geoffrey C. Ward and helped coordinate postproduction. With Burns, Schmidt also produced the two-part biography Benjamin Franklin (2022) for PBS.
A graduate of Dartmouth College with a degree in history, Schmidt grew up on the Virginia Peninsula within the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown—each site only minutes from his childhood home. He spent his summers working in the living history museum in Colonial Williamsburg and on the archaeological dig at Historic Jamestown. Those childhood experiences led him to pursue a career telling American history.
Free & open to all — registration required here
Learn more: www.nps.gov/colo
Due to the anticipated crowds for the We the People: A Yorktown Battlefield Event on Saturday, September 20, several temporary traffic patterns in Historic Yorktown are required, in addition to street closures and blockades.
Daytime Parking:
Free parking will be available at York Hall, York-Poquoson Courthouse, County Administration Building, the Riverwalk Landing Parking Terrace, and other designated public parking lots throughout town. The air-conditioned, ADA accessible Yorktown Trolley will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
Visitors can track the Yorktown Trolley in real time along the We the People route on the free ETA SPOT app. Please note that the Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center parking lot will be closing to the public at 12 p.m.
We the People Event Parking:
Beginning at 3 p.m., visitors who are arriving to attend the We the People Event will park on the Yorktown Battlefield at the corner of Cook Road and Ballard Street, which can be accessed via Cook Road. The walk from the Battlefield parking area to the screening area is over uneven terrain, so please wear comfortable, closed-toe shoes. Battlefield parking will close to the public at 7:45 p.m., or once the Battlefield reaches capacity.
At 7:45 p.m., Cook Road will be temporarily closed to incoming traffic, including any pick-up services, so that the Sheriff’s Office may assist vehicles in safely exiting Yorktown. This includes visitors attempting to access the town via Goosley Road. Depending on the size of the crowd, the process should take approximately one hour.
Please note that the Colonial Parkway leading into Yorktown is closed for construction.
Handicapped Parking and Special Assistance:
ADA parking will be available throughout parking lots in town and at the Yorktown Battlefield.
Other Important Notes:
- Parking is limited, so visitors are encouraged to arrive early and consider carpooling.
- The ride share drop-off will be located at the parking lot across from the Victory Monument (803 Main Street).
- While visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, flashlights, water, bug spray, sunscreen, and coolers, alcoholic beverages are prohibited. There will be several food trucks at the Revolutionary Festival, which will be open from 3 to 7 p.m. The food trucks and vendors will include Amma’s Curry in a Hurry, Bali Bali Korean BBQ, Boyd’s Tasty Dogs, Midnite Express, Mobjack Coffee Roasters, Parallel Stix, Sno-To-Go, and Strawberry Street.
Additional Event Info:
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