Explore Colonial Williamsburg!

Every year, a third of the Academy arrives early to become acclimated and relax over dinner with Elly. This is cherished time when, fresh with arrival, we meet the place and our fellows. You may simply want to walk around Williamsburg and enjoy the ambiance. You may have a car and want to explore the countryside: the retail outlets or historic Yorktown and Jamestown. Or you may want to purchase a “Williamsburg Pass” for broader access to landmarks and museums. Historic Williamsburg bustles with life: Trained historians in colonial dress pursue bygone methods of baking, brewing, tailoring, glass-blowing, forging, candle-making, spinning, weaving, pottery-throwing and more. Conversing with these re-enactors, watching them work, and walking through the cobblestone streets wafts your soul back centuries. You’ll walk out the Academy’s door and around the town at lunch or after class — it’s that close!  

What is the Williamsburg Pass?

A “Williamsburg Pass” is needed to enter any of the museum sites. The art museums (including Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center with its  Album quilts) are a drive, so the shuttle bus (included in the Pass) plies the route, round and round. The passes range from daily to the annual “Liberty Pass” (with its hefty discount at historic dining and official reproduction vendors). Call the Williamsburg Bureau of Tourism for information or to purchase a pass at 800-368-6511.  Or, for conversation, call Bette Augustine, Admin. She is ever happy to aid you.  

Monday, February 18
2:00pm:  #501 Journey From the Present into the Past! With Elly Sienkiewicz and Friends!
Ticket Required
Cost:  $50 (Includes Museum Ticket)
Cost:  $30  Supper Only  

501.  Williamsburg is overflowing with history and none more so than the new Abbey Aldridge Rockefeller Folk Art Museum located within walking distance from our home away from home. Take an afternoon stroll over to this "Not to be Missed Museum" in time to meet Elly for a viewing of their current exhibit, "Flowers, Birds, and Baskets: Pattern in 19th-century Bed Coverings." In small groups, we will be allowed to sit and share an informal discussion with Elly about the featured Baltimore Album; it’s construction, historical references, and symbolism. A gentle walk home with Elly (or make your own arrangements to shuttle to and from with Tidewater Coach) to our doorstep where we will round out the perfect day by joining together for a light supper and gathering of friends old and new. Experience an afternoon of historic Album insights and a bit of companionship. Arriving too late in the day to experience the museum? Then plan to share supper with Elly and friends after you settle into your room.

Cost:   $50.00 (includes museum ticket)
Cost:  Supper Only $30.00

Tuesday, February 19
5:00 pm: #502 Casual Supper/Lecture
Ticket Required
Cost:  $52

Wednesday, February 20
7:00 pm:  #503  Dessert Reception
    (Included in Full Registration)

This gala drinks and dessert affair welcomes pre-Conference arrivals, and celebrates our Guest Artists in Residence: Wendy Grande, Sandra Leichner, Emily Martin and Ann McCourt.  Each of our guests will give a brief overview of her work and, during the Academy, share their work by example from the Artists’ Studio (adjacent to the Inn lobby). Academy 2008 also celebrates June Dixon, an experienced appliquér, who will honor the Academy with her quilt presentation on Friday afternoon during our festive social. The evening finishes with the grand opening of your 2 on-site quilt shops: Mare’s Bears Quilt Shop, owned by Maryann McFee, and Ornamental Appliqué, owned by Jenifer Buechel. (Cost included in Full Registration.)

Thursday, February 21
7:00 am: #504  Breakfast/Lecture with Ronda McAllen
Ticket Required
Cost:  $37

504.  Breakfast/Lecture:  “A Jewish Baltimore Album Quilt” By Ronda McAllen

Enjoy a splendid start to your day in historic Williamsburg with friendly conference folks and an ample breakfast. Happily dine while Ronda McAllen shares her fascinating journey to accurately reproduce and then carefully document a stunning 1848 Jewish Baltimore Album quilt stitched by Rachel Walter.   Rachel’s Jewish heritage is part of what makes this Album so very special, and Ronda, who has an extensive background in the art of genealogy, has managed to flesh out this woman’s place in Baltimore society, her family’s history, and the tenor of the times during which Rachel lived.  Elly says, “What message will our quilts leave to the future?  All the quilters I have known have been quietly courageous.  They’ve met life with grace.  The old Albums’ message is faith, hope, and love.  Many of our own quilts echo that.  Surely our own perseverance must also shine through.”  Baltimore Elegance, Preface, pg 7.  Ronda's research was published in the American Quilt Study Group’s “Uncoverings 2006.”  This is a wonderful opportunity to instill yourself with a true sense of the history you are creating when making your own Album quilts.  We would love to have you join us and share in Ronda's adventure.!  

Cost:  $37

Thursday, February 21
7:00 pm: #505  Welcome Dinner
      (Included in Full Registration)

Monday, February 25
5:30pm:  #509  Informal Supper/Play
Cost:  $53

A last evening — with you a bit tired out from all the fun — could be lonely. But we don’t want that! So we invite you to join together for a casual sit-down supper in a cozy corner of the Inn where we will once again be entertained as well as informed by American Lives: History Brought to Life^™.  A one woman play that explores the issues and events that led to the American Revolution. You will meet and are invited to converse with three women who were involved in the conflict: Jane Walker, a camp-follower, forced by poverty to accompany her husband to war; Elizabeth Thompson, a loyalist spy; and Deborah Samson who disguised herself as a man, enlisted and fought for two years before she was discovered. You’ll enjoy supping with your conference mates, now familiar folks from the Inn, from class, from walking around town, show ‘n tell, and catered socials — new quilt friends all. Come join us! 

Cost: $53

Return to Top of Page