October 30-November 1

Oxen in the Old and New World

Relied upon for strength and intelligence, as well as serving as a food source, oxen have been invaluable to mankind through the centuries. Oxen remained the main beasts of burden until late in the 19th century when horses and mules replaced them. At The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, rare-breed oxen have served as part of historical interpretation for many years.

Join us this October for a three-day symposium on oxen and learn how they have been used over time, in the old and new worlds, and explore the practical aspects of their use today. The program will include lectures, demonstrations, and panel discussions featuring oxen experts from around the world.

Guest presenters include:

• Donald Collins, D.V.M., Berwick, Maine
• Rob Flory, intern program coordinator, Howell Living History Farm, Mercer County Park Commission, Trenton, New Jersey
• Barry Hiltz, Ross Farm, New Ross, Nova Scotia
  
• Tim Huppe, custom ox yoke maker, Farmington, New Hampshire
  
• Bob Powell, curator, Highland Folk Museum, Newtonmore, Scotland
  
• Richard Roosenberg, executive director, Tillers International, Scotts, Michigan
  
• Ed Schultz, supervisor of rural trades, Colonial Williamsburg
  
• Paul Starkey, international specialist in animal power and rural transport, Reading, England
  
• Darin Tschopp, ox driver and interpreter, Colonial Williamsburg
  
• Peter Watson, director, Howell Living History Farm, Mercer County Park Commission, Trenton, New Jersey

Colonial Williamsburg acknowledges the generosity of Ronald R. and Janet S. Fox of Piqua, Ohio, in support of the Oxen Conference.

Download brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Register online

October 31-November 2

The Many Layered Meanings of Costume

The Southeastern Region of the Costume Society of America
announces its 2008 Annual Symposium

Hosted by: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, The College of William and Mary, and The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

Symposium Highlights Include:

• Juried paper presentations and research exhibits
• Behind-the-scenes tours of host facilities
• New Preserving Our Past workshops
• New quilted clothing and object exhibition at CWF
• All Hallows’ Eve Costume Dinner and Catwalk

Call for Abstracts: The symposium title is designed to be broadly themed and attract research papers and exhibits from all areas of costume studies. Preference will be given to those abstracts which present research into the cultural significance of costume, explore the meaning of the word costume, study layered and/or quilted objects of adornment, update formerly presented research, offer important new conclusions, or raise stimulating new questions. Research papers will be given in 20-30 minute presentations; research exhibitions will be presented in a single venue for approximately 2 hours.

A submitted abstract must designate whether it is for a research paper or exhibition, is to be 575 words or less excluding bibliography, and may include up to 3 pertinent images. Abstracts for research exhibits should, in addition to discussing the research, briefly describe the exhibit format, i.e.: traditional poster, 3-dimensional objects, lap-top presentation. All abstracts are to be submitted electronically; the author’s name and contact information are to appear only in the e-mail cover letter, the abstract text is to be a Microsoft Word document attachment. All abstract are due by midnight June 15 to fburroughs@cwf.org . Submitters will be notified of the jury’s decision before July 31.

For further information contact Doris Warren (dwarren@cwf.org) or Mark Hutter (mhutter@cwf.org), or call 757-229-1000 ext.2538.

Metalworking for Revolution:
Equipping the American Army

Join us for our second conference for metalworkers and others who want to broaden their understanding of 18th-century metalworking and its products. “Metalworking for Revolution” is a three-day program exploring the role of blacksmiths, founders, silversmiths, gunsmiths, tinsmiths, and toolmakers in supplying the equipment needed to fight the American Revolution.  It will focus on materials, technologies, and skills.

Prior to the Revolution, Americans relied on English manufacturers to supply military arms and materials for defense of the colonies.  With the onset of war, they turned to their own artisans.  American metalworkers found themselves filling the demand for buttons, buckles, gorgets, and cooking utensils as well as swords, tomahawks, muskets, bayonets, and entrenching tools.  Much of this work took place in small shops, but large manufactories were established to cast artillery barrels and mass produce small arms.  Technologies included forging, welding, heat-treating, casting, sheet-metal work, soldering, filing, boring, punching, die-sinking, and engraving.

Members of Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Trades department and guest speakers will discuss the development of these industries and demonstrate many of these processes.  They will make reproductions of original objects using eighteenth-century tools and methods.  Morning presentations will take place in the Hennage Auditorium at the DeWitt Wallace Museum, where close-up video will show the action in detail.  During the afternoons Historic Trades shops will present demonstrations in the Historic Area.

Patterned after our annual woodworking conferences, “Metalworking for Revolution” will be informal.  Participants’ comments and questions are welcomed throughout, and speakers will be available during morning breaks and afternoon demonstrations.   We expect the program will be popular, and space requires that registration be limited.

Download brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Register online

January 7-10
January 11-14

Working Wood in the 18th Century

February 1-5

Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum

February 22 - 25

"Quilted Fashion"
400 Years of Quilting

The process of quilting textiles to enhance their warmth, comfort, and luxury has been around for thousands of years. And quilts still speak to people today, whether it is the concept of creating beauty from small bits and pieces, giving one’s self through a special handmade gift, or connecting with a past ancestor through his or her surviving quilt. To some, quilts evoke family, friends, warmth, and tradition. To others, quilts are striking art objects hung on the wall.

This symposium brings together nationwide experts for two days of illustrated lectures on quilts and quilted clothing from 1600 to the present. Optional workshops and special behind-the-scenes tours give participants the opportunity to learn a new technique or see museum artifacts close up.

May 3 - 6

63rd Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium

September 20-22

“A very large curious & compleat Assortment”
Textiles for Interiors, 1730–1830

An understanding of the design, construction, and materials of textile furnishings is of primary importance to scholars and designers who focus on the recreation of traditional and historic interiors. For more than 25 years, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has taken the lead in reinterpreting the use of textiles in historic interiors from the eighteenth century.

This symposium gathers the leading American and English scholars in the field to review the design and composition of textile furnishings available between 1730 and 1830, including upholstery, bed and window treatments, and floor coverings. Complementing the lectures will be special tours in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area and optional workshops. Particular attention will be given to the accurate, yet practical, application of these design tenets for today’s interiors. Because it is becoming more and more difficult to find authentic reproduction textiles, hardware, passementerie, and qualified fabricators, Colonial Williamsburg will provide a venue for well-respected vendors and booksellers who are able to supply the essential resources for fabricating authentic textile décor.

March 18 – 21

Stoneware Conference