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Conferences, Forums, and Workshops
The office of Conferences, Forums and Workshops presents a broad range of high-quality programs that address issues of historical and contemporary significance as well as focusing on the decorative arts, material culture, historic trades and horticulture. Colonial Williamsburg's skilled professionals are joined by distinguished members of the academic and professional communities to present these programs.
Join us for the Garden Symposium, Working Wood, the Antiques Forum, and other programs for a rewarding learning experience.
Please bookmark this site and check back frequently for new offerings. Special conference rates are available for programs at Colonial Williamsburg's official hotels. To make room and dining reservations, call (757) 220-7255 Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m.
Program Information and Online Registration
2012
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January 22-25 and 26-29 (Session Two Sold Out)
Working Wood in the 18th Century:
Furniture of George and Martha WashingtonNote: The program is the same number of days as previous years but is scheduled later in January and session one runs Sunday through Wednesday and session two Thursday through Sunday.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon will partner with Colonial Williamsburg and Fine Woodworking to present the 14th annual Working Wood in the 18th Century conference in Williamsburg. Mount Vernon curators and restoration staff will explore Washington’s home and the furniture he and Martha acquired to furnish it. Cabinetmakers from Colonial Williamsburg’s Hay Shop will build two pieces at Mount Vernon today: A lady’s knee-hole dressing table made in Williamsburg at the Peter Scott shop, sold to Daniel Parke Custis, Martha Washington’s first husband, in 1754, and brought by Martha to Mount Vernon after she married Washington in 1759. And, an elaborate sculptural candle stand, or torchère, that George Washington purchased for £ 3.10 on December 2, 1759, from the Scottish cabinetmaker James Allan who was then working in Fredericksburg, Virginia. 
Guest cabinetmakers Dan Faia of The North Bennet Street School and Jeff Headley and Steve Hamilton of Mack S. Headley and Sons will lead us into the Federal period. Jeff and Steve will reproduce one of the Washingtons' dining chairs made by John Aitken of Philadelphia in 1797, and Dan will construct a delicate, inlaid Pembroke, or breakfast, table. Colonial Williamsburg's joiners will demonstrate sash construction by reproducing the famous bull's-eye window in the pediment of the Mansion. Along with the conference in Williamsburg, Mount Vernon is offering special-interest Mansion, museum, and behind-the-scenes tours for conference participants on January 26 and 30. In the meantime, more information about the pieces that will be fabricated can be found at the Mount Vernon website: www.mountvernon.org
Please Note: Session Two is sold out.
Downloadable Conference Materials: Mount Vernon: The Original and its Replicas, A paper presented at a conference held at Mount Vernon, Virginia. George Washington Lives Here: His Commemoration at Mount Vernon and in the District of Columbia May 9, 2011. Dennis J. Pogue, Vice President for Preservation, Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens.
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February 19-23
64th Antiques Forum
“Freshest Advices”: Recent Discoveries in American Decorative ArtsResearch into the material world of early Americans is going forward at a rapid pace. Despite more than a century of intensive study, decorative arts historians continue to make new and exciting discoveries on a regular basis. You are invited to learn about the latest breakthroughs from the experts themselves at the 64th annual Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum, "Freshest Advices": Recent Discoveries in American Decorative Arts.
The 2012 Forum features a host of respected authorities on the extraordinary furniture, silver, textiles, paintings, and ceramics that were produced in or for colonial and Federal America. More than twenty curators, collectors, and historians will impart their findings through a series of fully illustrated lectures and video-assisted workshops. Scheduled speakers include Wendy Cooper, Winterthur's senior curator of furniture, and Old Salem vice president and chief curator Robert Leath. In addition to the formal program, guests may register for optional hands-on workshops involving Colonial Williamsburg's collections and tours of private historic homes in the region.
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March 18-20
Good Spirits: Alcoholic Beverages of the Eighteenth Century
How many of you started your day with a beer? Even if you did, you probably would not want to admit it. Well, many of our forefathers did just that--routinely. In sheer volume, the number one caloric intake for breakfast until 1782 was beer. In fact, alcohol provided much of the average person's daily calories and carbohydrates. Beyond that, alcohol influenced political, religious, social, and cultural mores of the time in many important ways. In the extensive scholarship surrounding the foods of the eighteenth century, however, alcohol is often left out in the cold. Well no longer! Break out the punch bowl and heat up the flip iron at Colonial Williamsburg's next foodways symposium: Good Spirits: Alcoholic Beverages in the 18th Century.
Come join the Foundation's Historic Foodways staff and some of today's top scholars and authors from England, Canada, and America as they explore the beer, wine, and strong drink of the eighteenth century. They will examine the manufacture, trade, service, and consumption of the most popular beverages of the period and delve into how every level of society had their favorites. Learn about some the Colonial Barman's more bizarre concoctions, and sample some of their best.
Peter Brown, the noted English food historian will set the tone with a keynote presentation on Sunday evening. On Monday, speakers will talk about beer, cider and perry, fortified wines, punch, and the variety of glasses, bowls, and other paraphernalia of serious drinking. On Tuesday morning, there is gin, rum, and whiskey. The afternoon will focus on the use of alcohol in cooking—both then and now, and culminate with a special version of the Williamsburg Lodge's Wine, Wit, and Wisdom. Along the way, there will be more tastings and samples. So raise a glass, raise your voice in song (there will be some of that, too), and come celebrate in good Spirits.
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April 15-16
Colonial Williamsburg 66th Annual Garden Symposium
Beautiful Gardens: Bountiful OptionsWhether you garden for beauty or for food production, there will be plenty of “food for thought” at Colonial Williamsburg’s 66th Garden Symposium. Guest speakers and Colonial Williamsburg landscape staff will offer a bounty of tips and ideas to make the best use of your time and space. Join us and discover alternative plant choices and techniques that will help you grow gardens that are beautiful and productive.
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November 8-10
(Note: Date Change)Influences on American Quilts: Baltimore to Bengal
American bed quilts display a variety of design influences. These influences came from textiles imported from Asia, the Mediterranean, northern Europe, and the United Kingdom, as well as the diverse groups of people who immigrated to the colonies and later to the United States. This symposium will explore these multifaceted influences through a series of formal lectures, juried papers, workshops, and tours. Participants are invited to submit 300-word abstract proposals for illustrated oral lectures 25 minutes in length. Paper proposals are due to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for peer review by March 30, 2012; acceptances will be announced by May 1, 2012. Submit abstracts to Quilt Abstracts, attention Linda Baumgarten, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 309 First Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185 or via e-mail at lbaumgarten@cwf.org. For general information about the symposium, contact Deb Chapman at 800-603-0948 or 757-220-7255 or via e-mail at dchapman@cwf.org.
November 11-12
Colonial Williamsburg Holiday Symposium
The Twelve Days of Christmas
2013
January 20-23 and 24-27
Working Wood in the Eighteenth Century
February 17-21
65th Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum
April 14-15
67th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium
* Brochure downloads require Adobe Reader
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Post Office Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776
Fax: (757) 565-8921
Telephone: (757) 220-7255
Toll free: (800) 603-0948
Email: dchapman@cwf.org
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