Yorktown, VA

Local Events

Reenactments, heritage festivals, and living history programs — experience the Revolution where it happened.

List Calendar

Upcoming This Year

Oct

– 22

ReenactmentFeatured

Yorktown Victory Celebration

Yorktown Battlefield — Colonial National Historical Park

Annual commemoration of the decisive Allied victory at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781. The multi-day event features tactical battlefield demonstrations, Continental Army and French military encampments with living history interpreters, artillery firings, fife and drum performances, patriotic ceremonies at the Yorktown Victory Monument, and a wreath-laying ceremony. Programs are held across the Yorktown Battlefield and in historic Yorktown village.

Battlefield entrance fee applies ($20/vehicle); many programs free with admissionHeld around October 19 each year, the anniversary of Cornwallis's surrender; typically spans a long weekend. Exact dates shift slightly by year.More info →

Jul

Festival

Yorktown Fourth of July Celebration

Riverwalk Landing & Yorktown Beach, Yorktown

Patriotic Independence Day celebration in historic Yorktown featuring live music, colonial-era demonstrations, family activities, food vendors, and a fireworks display over the York River. The event draws thousands to the Yorktown waterfront and Riverwalk Landing area, with readings of the Declaration of Independence and tributes to the town's role in winning American freedom.

FreeJuly 4 each year; some activities may shift if the 4th falls midweekMore info →

Oct

Ceremony

Yorktown Day Ceremony

Yorktown Victory Monument, Yorktown

A formal patriotic observance held on October 19 at the Yorktown Victory Monument, organized by the Yorktown Day Association. The ceremony includes addresses by military and civic dignitaries, a parade through historic Yorktown, wreath layings by patriotic and hereditary societies such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution, and military honors. This is one of the oldest continuous commemorations of a Revolutionary War event in the United States.

FreeAlways October 19, the exact anniversary of the British surrender in 1781More info →

Oct

Guided Tour

Siege of Yorktown Anniversary Ranger Programs and Battlefield Tours

Yorktown Battlefield — Colonial National Historical Park

National Park Service rangers lead special guided tours and interpretive programs across the Yorktown Battlefield during the weeks surrounding the siege anniversary. Programs include walks along the allied siege lines, tours of Redoubts 9 and 10 (stormed by American and French troops on October 14, 1781), visits to the Moore House where surrender terms were negotiated, and talks on the role of the French fleet at the Battle of the Capes.

Battlefield entrance fee applies ($20/vehicle)Ranger-led programs run throughout October with peak programming around October 14–19. Confirm specific schedules with the NPS.More info →

Date

TBD

Guided Tour

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown Living History Programs

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

Year-round and seasonally enhanced living history programs at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown (formerly the Yorktown Victory Center). Costumed interpreters demonstrate Continental Army camp life, musket and cannon firings, 18th-century surgical techniques, and colonial farming. Special programming intensifies around key Revolutionary War anniversaries, including the anniversary of the Siege of Yorktown and Presidents' Day weekend.

Adults ~$17; children ~$9 (prices may vary)Living history offered year-round; special Revolution-themed events concentrate in spring and fall. Check museum calendar for specific dates.More info →