MILITARY DRILLS, EXHIBITS, HANDS-ON FAMILY FUN SALUTE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE AT YORKTOWN VICTORY CENTER'S 'LIBERTY CELEBRATION'

YORKTOWN, Va., June 16, 2010 – The Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution, will join in saluting the 234th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence during “Liberty Celebration,” Saturday and Sunday, July 3-4.  

Broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence, co-published in Boston on or about July 18, 1776, by John Gill and Edward E. Powars and Nathaniel Willis. Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation collection.

A rare early broadside printing of the Declaration is featured in the museum’s Declaration of Independence Gallery. The historic document was printed in Boston soon after being adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, and before an engrossed, or handwritten, copy of the document on parchment was signed by members of Congress on August 2, 1776.

During “The Price of Liberty,” a daily program held at 11:35 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. at the museum’s re-created 1780s farm, visitors will learn about the sacrifices of Americans who declared independence from Great Britain – from the individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence to farmers, merchants, women and slaves.

A series of participatory military drills will take place at the re-created Continental Army encampment. At 11:05 a.m. and 3:05 p.m., visitors can join in an 18th-century artillery crew to learn the steps toward firing a brass battalion gun, and then observe its actual firing. A daily program at 1:05 p.m. will examine the role of the mortar, a type of artillery that can fire explosive charges over obstacles, at the Siege of Yorktown. At 4:05 p.m. each day, visitors can watch costumed historical interpreters take up arms for a tactical drill and then participate in a wooden musket drill.

At the 1780s farm, visitors to the kitchen at 12:35 p.m. each day will learn about the contributions of European, American Indian and African cultures to American cooking, and about the origins of apple pie and other “American” dishes.

At 5:05 p.m., farm visitors can try 18th-century games, such as quoits, mancala, and hoop and stick.

Yorktown Victory Center visitors can start their experience along an outdoor timeline to gain insight to the events that led to the conflict between the American colonies and Britain. Indoors in the Witnesses to Revolution Gallery, visitors can hear firsthand accounts of the war’s impact upon everyday people of the 18th century, including Africans, American Indians and women – for whom the concepts of liberty and equality did not apply. Visitors also can learn about the movements of British, American and French troops that converged on Yorktown in 1781 and take in “A Time of Revolution,” a film shown every 30 minutes in the museum theater. Exhibits also examine the development of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and how people from many different cultures shaped a new society.

Admission to the Yorktown Victory Center is $9.50 for adults and $5.25 for youth ages 6 through 12. Save close to 20% on a value-priced combination ticket with Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia. Various package and ticket options are available online with Williamsburg area attractions. Event activities are sponsored in part by the York County Arts Commission.

The Yorktown Victory Center’s “Liberty Celebration” daytime events complement the Yorktown Fourth of July Celebration taking place in historic Yorktown on July 4.

The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 near the Colonial Parkway in Yorktown. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through August 15, parking at the Yorktown Victory Center is free for museum visitors. A free shuttle service is available during museum operating hours to historic Yorktown and other Williamsburg area attractions.

For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.