THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410140094
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TRAVEL-WISE
SOURCE: STEPHEN HARRIMAN
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
THERE ARE THREE interesting, longstanding Virginia events coming up the first weekend in November. With a little ingenuity, one could take in all three.
They are the 37th annual Urbanna Oyster Festival on Nov. 4 and 5, the 60th running of the Montpelier Hunt Races on the grounds of James Madison's old mansion Nov. 5, and the First Thanksgiving Festival at Berkeley Plantation on the James River on Nov. 6.
The Urbanna festival, which annually attracts 60,000 to 80,000 to the village of 450 on the Rappahannock River, runs from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Lots of good eating plus entertainment. If you're going, go EARLY; the state and local police do a good job of traffic control, but the event really packs 'em in. A shuttle bus ($1 round trip) will provide service to parking immediately south of town. For info, call 1-758-0368.
There's no prettier sight at which to tailgate and watch the horsies run and jump than at Montpelier in the rolling Piedmont hills near Orange. There will be seven races, two flat and five over the steeplechase course.
The mansion where Jemmy and Dolly lived was dramatically enlarged early in this century by William and Anna Rogers duPont and made famous as a thoroughbred breeding site by their daughter, Marion duPont Scott. The estate is today a museum property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. General admission is $10 per person (12 and under free), general parking $5 per car. Info: (703) 672-2728.
The first Thanksgiving was not that Pilgrim deal up in Massachusetts. Any Virginian could tell you that. The first one took place when a group of 34 settlers under Capt. John Woodliffe (or Woodlief) landed at what is now Berkeley Plantation on Dec. 4, 1619, and opened their ``Instructions'' from the five cousins back at Berkeley Castle, England, who had obtained a patent to 6,000 acres along the James. In said (in the spelling of the day):
``Wee ordained that the day of our ships arrivall at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almight God.''
And that's what they did. An interesting sidelight: The group's chaplain, the Rev. George Thorpe, is credited with distilling the first bourbon whiskey from corn that was grown on the place - although, of course, they didn't have his batch in time for the first thanksgiving.
The celebration day at Berkeley has been changed to the first Sunday in November because the weather is likely to be more pleasant . . . and, I suspect, because in doing so they steal a march on those Pilgrim people's late-November fete. The fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day that most of America celebrates wasn't made ``official'' anyway until the time of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency.
This year's Sunday celebration at Berkeley, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature a re-enactment of the landing, an arts and crafts fair, living history demonstrations, Native American cultural demonstrations and a tour of the plantation. In addition, there will be two seatings for an authentic thanksgiving buffet. Reservations are necessary. Info: 1-272-3226.
Here's how to get there:
Urbanna is just off U.S. Highway 17 about an hour and a half from South Hampton Roads.
Montpelier Station is a couple of miles west of Orange on Virginia Route 20. From Urbanna, take U.S. 17 to Fredericksburg, Virginia Route 3 to its junction with Virginia 20 at Wilderness; from South Hampton Roads, take Interstate 64 to Exit 136, then north of U.S. Highway 15 to its junction with Virginia 20 just past Somerset, where you turn right.
Berkeley Plantation is a couple of miles west of Charles City on Virginia Route 5, about halfway between Williamsburg and Richmond. CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Two of my favorite Virginia towns celebrate the coming of the Christmas season in special ways. If you want to experience either, you'd better make plans right away. These are very popular occasions, and overnight accommodations can be difficult to find.
Williamsburg, the 18th century Colonial capital, opens its Christmas season with the ``Grand Illumination'' on Dec. 4. This gala of fireworks, music and entertainment, which draws more than 30,000 people, begins at 6 p.m. with the sound of cannon fire as residents light white candles in their windows. The door decorations are delightful. For a free Christmas Season 1994 brochure, call (800) HISTORY weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Lexington, the beautiful 19th century college town at the south end of the Shenandoah Valley, plans a slightly more modest ``Holiday in Lexington'' weekend celebration Dec. 1-4, with tree-lighting ceremonies, house tours, recitals, concerts and a parade featuring the ubiquitous Willard Scott. For a free brochure on all the activities, call (703) 463-3777. MORE AIDA
Last week I mentioned a company that offered a tour to Egypt for a special production of ``Aida'' at Luxor's Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Nov. 26-Dec. 1. Several other companies have trips that include Nile cruises, all the must-sees - Cheops and the Sphinx, Luxor and Karnak - and the opera. Check with your travel agent or contact:
Presidential World Tours & Cruises, Nov. 26-Dec. 3, from $1,995 per person, with air fare and hotels; (800) 874-1811.
Allegro Enterprises' ``Aida in Luxor,'' Nov. 19-29, from $2,275 per person, including air, accommodations and some meals; (800) 666-3553.
Sunny Land Tours' Nov. 25-Dec. 4, $2,499 per person, with air, accommodations and some meals; (800) 783-7839. MEMO: Travel-wise is compiled from wire-service reports, news releases, trade
journals, books, magazines and the deepest recesses of the writer's
mind. Send comments and questions to Travel-wise, The
Virginian-Pilot/The Ledger-Star, P.O. Box 449, Norfolk, Va. 23501-0449. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Re-enactors at the First Thanksgiving Festival at Berkeley
Plantation demonstrate cooking skills of the state's first settlers.
by CNB