Summer Interpretation Themes
Tsenacomacoh Summer
Focusing on the foodways of Indigenous people in Virginia, the focus will be on the growing practices of the vital crops for the Powhatan people, the division of work withing a village, and popular foods and meals for warmer months.
Muskets, Swords, and Armor of the English
Dive into the world of an English soldier in early Virginia. Explore their homes and the weaponry they would have maintained -muskets, pistols, swords, pikes, and halberds. Upon request our interpreters will even demonstrate a musket firing!
Every Sabbath Day
Take a seat in the reconstructed 1611 Henricus Church and learn about the religious efforts and disciplines of Sir Thomas Dale and Reverend Whitaker.
The Tobacco Brides
Looking into the daily lives of the "tobacco brides" of early Virginia. Explore the gardens, tobacco field, and farm and their importance to a household. There will also be 17th-century cooking demonstrations throughout the day.
Pocahontas' 1613 Summer
Take a look into the jarring cultural change Pocahontas would have lived through when a prisoner of the English. Exploring the change of clothing, food, habits, and religion she would have been faced with.
Spanish Tobacco and Herbal Medicine
Tobacco had long been a remedy used by Indigenous people and was adopted by the Spanish as a medicinal plant. Explore how different plants and herbs were used to soothe various illnesses by the English and Spanish in the 16th and 17th century.
Haunted Henricus
Come down and spend the spookiest time of the year at Henricus Historical Park, all of our Halloween events can be found below:
Things That Go Bump in the Night
This weekend, legends and tales from throughout the centuries come to life before your eyes! Take a guided tour through Henricus in the dark as interpreters dramatically demonstrate and perform old English folklore stories of witches, ghosts, goblins, shucks, and all “things that go bump in the night.” Come see what colonial Virginians thought were spooky, scary, or mysterious in our early history. More information can be found here!
Witching Hour, Jr.
Join us for a spooky day of family-friendly Halloween fun! Interact with Colonial interpreters and staff as you trick-or-treat in our recreated Indian village and English settlement, listen to a spook-tacular read-aloud story, and decorate your own mini-pumpkin. The festivities will wrap-up with a children’s costume parade around our English fort. More information can be found here!
Hops in the Park
The Henricus Foundation presents Hops in the Park, a national award-winning hops & harvest festival celebrating the long and rich history of brewing in Virginia! Hops in the Park features dozens of Virginia craft beers, brewing demos, farmers market, music, food, children’s activities, and of course - Virginia history.
All proceeds from Hops in the Park support Henricus Foundation's Children's Education Fund. More information can be found here!
"Ye Corne Beer and Rosted Deer" : Thanksgiving Food and Drink Traditions of Early Virginia
This event will demonstrate the old and new traditions of how English people mixed giving thanks for a successful harvest with what bounty Virginia offered the people arriving here. Looking at how the English were influenced by other cultures and places – Asia, Africa, and the Americas – in their foods and feasts.
Staff will especially examine how the interactions with the Powhatan Indians wove a new diet into their experiences in the New World. Pottages, roasts, loaves of bread, desserts, and drinks common to feasting in early Virginia and what forms of thanks were given on those occasions will be demonstrated. If you enjoy the smell of wood fires, iron-pot cooking over hot coals, and clay oven bread baking, come to our annual autumn event! More information can be found here!
Christmas Through the Centuries
The 17th through 20th centuries in England, the American colonies, and the United States transformed Christmas into what we know today. Explore what Christmas looked like, smelled like, and sounded like to Virginians throughout these centuries. Your journey through time will end with a greeting from Father Christmas!
Later in the evening, wander under the moonlight through one of the oldest English settlements in North America. Candles will flicker from every window, fireplaces will crackle in timber-framed houses, and bonfires will help chase away the winter chill. Enjoy a forest of festive greenery as Henricus puts on our finest for an Old World Yuletide! More information can be found here!
Twelfth Night
Tis’ the Season to step back in time! Follow the merry Lord of Misrule to England in the 1590s and enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of Christmas as we knew it then: a multi-course feast including roasted meats, pies, ale, cider and more, served at table in our spacious, candle-lit Guest House with a blazing Yule log fire. Dine to the sounds of period musicians, with wassailing a-plenty, and many a toast to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I. Begin your holidays with one of the oldest English Christmas traditions in one of the oldest English settlements in North America: Henricus! More information can be found here!
*This event is sold out for 2023! To be placed on the website please email Henricus with your name, date you wish to attend, and how many tickets needed.*
