There are activities to celebrate Thanksgiving in James City County.
Big Turkey Burn 5K Turkey Trot
After you've survived the Thanksgiving Day food and family activities and Black Friday, enjoy a great post-holiday 5K to get you back in the groove: the Big Turkey Burn 5K at Billsburg Brewery. Meet up at Billsburg Brewery on Saturday, November 30 at 10 a.m. for a fun 5K from the brewery through the Landfall neighborhood and finish back at Billsburg Brewery. Stay for some great food, beer and some Saturday afternoon football.
Register online for $35. Check out the Facebook event.
Foods and Feasts of Colonial Virginia at Jamestown Settlement
Explore colonial Virginia foodways during a three-day event, Foods and Feasts of Colonial Virginia, beginning on Thanksgiving Day. At Jamestown Settlement, learn how food was gathered, preserved and prepared by Powhatan Indians and English colonists. This event takes place Thursday, Nov. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 30.
Discover how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia’s English colonists and Powhatan Indians. Enjoy cooking demonstrations throughout the day in the re-created Powhatan Indian village, 1610-14 fort and at the ships’ pier.
In the re-created Powhatan Indian village, visitors can see venison, turkey and other game roast over an open fire, while stews of corn, beans and squash cook in clay pots. Visitors can learn the importance of corn to the Powhatan Indians and the variety of dishes in which it was used, including corncakes and corn dumplings. Throughout the day, visitors also can learn how Powhatan Indians made stone and bone tools used to obtain and prepare food, as well as learn about Powhatan hunting techniques.
Within the re-created 1610-14 fort, food preparation will reflect the culinary skills English colonists brought to Virginia. Historical interpreters will bake bread in a cloame oven on all three days and throughout the event will demonstrate open-hearth cooking of pudding, pies and pottage, based on historical recipes of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Museum visitors also can experience European military tactics and drills near the fort.
At the ships’ pier, a special program will allow visitors to haul cargo from a replica of one of the three ships that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607 to learn how the colony was provisioned. Throughout the day, visitors can explore typical sailors’ fare of salted fish, biscuit and dried foods and try making the most common food – a ship biscuit. A daily program on celestial navigation at noon will explore how 17th-century sailors steered by the stars.
Tickets may be purchased online or at Jamestown Settlement. Don’t forget that local residents receive free admission to Jamestown Settlement.