Join the CW historic carpenters as they use period tools and techniques to produce the materials needed to construct a drying shed for the new brickyard location HERE.

Please join this week’s Online Reading of Greek Tragedy with Euripides’ drama, “Phoenician Women.” The title refers to the Greek chorus, which is composed of Phoenician women on their way to Delphi who are trapped in Thebes by the war. Patriotism is a significant theme in the story, as Polynices talks a great deal about his love for the city of Thebes but has brought an army to destroy it; Creon is also forced to make a choice between saving the city and saving the life of his son. Hosted by Joel Christensen, with special guest Anna Lamari. Presented by the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, the Kosmos Society, and the Out of Chaos Theatre. Stream this video HERE.

Join us for a special livestream with Monticello’s Associate Curator of Decorative Arts, Diane Ehrenpreis. Ms. Ehrenpreis will introduce and offer a behind-the-scenes look at our newest book, “Thomas Jefferson at Monticello: Architecture, Landscape, Collections, Books, Food, Wine.” This visually stunning volume explores Monticello, both house and plantation, and features essays on Jefferson’s cultural contributions by acclaimed cultural and arts luminaries HERE.

Beatrix Farrand (1872 – 1959) was America’s first female landscape landscape architect. Her pioneering career included commissions to design over 100 gardens for private residences, country estates, public parks, botanic gardens, college campuses, and the White House. They include the famous Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden on Mount Desert, Maine, the restored Farm House Garden in Bar Harbor, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden, and significant portions of the campuses of Princeton and Yale. This beautiful new film documents the brilliant work of a brave and pathbreaking American artist. Watch it on Amazon Prime HERE.

Did you ever wonder what mannequins wear under those historic garments? Have you thought about the ways fragile antique clothes are cared for in a museum setting? Do you know the difference between a conservator and a curator? Join Colonial Williamsburg staff Gretchen Guidess, Conservator of Textiles, Jacquelyn Peterson-Grace, Assistant Conservator of Textiles and Neal Hurst, Associate Curator of Costume and Textiles, for a live discussion on these topics HERE.

In her ambitious one-volume historical survey, These Truths: A History of the United States, award-winning historian and New Yorker writer, Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation, an urgently needed reckoning with the beauty and tragedy of American history. In this wide-ranging conversation, she will discuss the nuanced issues related to questions of conquest and slavery in our nation’s founding as well as the lessons she has gleaned in researching her newest book, If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future concerning the origins of predictive analytics and behavioral data science in the Cold War era. Please register and join the conversation HERE.

The first full-length documentary film ever made about legendary conservation thinker Aldo Leopold, Green Fire explores Leopold’s extraordinary career and his enduring influence – tracing how he shaped the modern conservation movement and continues to inspire projects all over the country that connect people and the land HERE.

Please join in the discussion about education with panelists Nicole Brown, a character interpreter portraying Bray School teacher Ann Wager for Colonial Williamsburg, and MA student in American Studies at William & Mary, Deborah Canty-Downs, a teacher at Katherine Johnson Elementary School, and educator with The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute of Colonial Williamsburg, and Dr. Julie Richter, Director of the National Institute of American History & Democracy and Lecturer at William and Mary’s Harrison Ruffin Tyler Department of History. Please RSVP here to watch live: https://fb.me/e/HdgOnmUy

Please join this week’s Online Reading of Greek Tragedy with Aeschylus’ drama, Seven Against Thebes. When Oedipus, King of Thebes, realizes he has married his own mother, he blinds himself and curses his sons to divide their kingdom inheritance by the sword. The two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, in order to avoid bloodshed, agree to rule Thebes in alternate years. After the first year, Eteocles refuses to step down, leading Polynices to raise an army to take Thebes by force. Thus the tragedy begins. Hosted by Joel Christensen, with special guest Naomi Weiss. Presented by the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, the Kosmos Society, and the Out of Chaos Theatre. Stream this live and archived video HERE.

Roses. The ancient Romans propagated them, Shakespeare wrote about them, and Thomas Jefferson had numerous varieties planted at Monticello. Please join us for our premiere livestream featuring Monticello’s Curator of Plants, Peggy Cornett. Ms. Cornett will discuss Thomas Jefferson’s love of roses, Monticello’s mountaintop gardens, and the beautiful rose garden flourishing today at the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants HERE.

The Dig is a poetic dramatization of the 1939 archeological excavations in Suffolk that would yield the greatest treasure ever discovered in Great Britain, and "one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time.” It tells the story of Mrs. Edith Pretty, who purchased land at Sutton Hoo ("Southern Farmstead") with her husband a decade earlier in order to excavate a series of curious mounds in the low-lying landscape. After her husband's death, Mrs. Pretty engages a self-taught, local amateur excavator, Mr. Basil Brown, to explore the mounds. At the threshold of the Second World War, Pretty's vision and Brown's experience open to them a glimpse of eternity. Watch it HERE on Netflix.

Please join this week’s Online Reading of Greek Tragedy with Sophocles’ psychological drama, “Electra.” Electra is one of the most important mythological figures in drama, appearing as a chief protagonist in tragedies from Aeschylus to Eugene O'Neill. Set in the city of Argos a few years after the Trojan War, Sophocles’ play tells the story of a bitter familial struggle for revenge and justice. Hosted by Joel Christensen, with special guest Robert Groves. Presented by the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, the Kosmos Society, and the Out of Chaos Theatre. Stream this live and archived video HERE.

Yorktown, Virginia was the location for the American and French army's most significant victory of the Revolution on October 19th, 1781. This victory, led by General George Washington, would set the United States on the path to independence. Join General Washington and General Lafayette as they discuss the campaign of 1781 and the siege of Yorktown HERE.

Please join the Colonial Williamsburg gunsmiths for a look at the rifle gun in colonial Virginia as they sort through the myths and realities surrounding its design and use HERE.

Please join for an encore presentation of our popular virtual tour through Monticello's second and third floors. From the iconic Dome Room to the unexpected cat doors, we'll share a glimpse into the upstairs world at Monticello. Staff will discuss the lives of the enslaved and free people who lived and labored in the bedrooms, hallways, and out-of-the-way corners most visitors never get to see HERE.

94-year-old Sir David Attenborough has probably seen more of wild nature across the planet Earth than anyone living, and he is deeply concerned for our common home. “The science is clear, and has been communicated for the past 30 years, and still we’re not moving in the right direction.” That is the stark message put forward in Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet, the latest project by David Attenborough. This documentary offers simple solutions we can put in place to help protect Earth’s life support systems. The film features Professor Johan Rockström, who volunteers his team to advise Netflix on its sustainability strategy. Watch it HERE on Netflix.

“If it is love that binds people to places in this nation of rivers, and in this river of nations, then one enduring expression of that simple truth is surely the canoe.” This beautiful short film by Canadian filmmaker Goh Iromoto captures the powerful human bond created by North America’s well-known watercraft and symbol, the canoe. Through the stories of five paddlers across the province of Ontario, Canada - a majestic background both in its landscape and its history - the film underscores the strength of the human spirit and how the canoe can be a vessel for creating deep and meaningful connections. Watch this beautiful, evocative film HERE.

The three most important Supreme Court Justices before the Civil War—Chief Justices John Marshall and Roger B. Taney and Associate Justice Joseph Story—upheld the institution of slavery in ruling after ruling. These opinions cast a shadow over the Court and the legacies of these men, but historians have rarely delved deeply into the personal and political ideas and motivations they held. Join us for our livestream of Professor Paul Finkelman's book talk at Monticello HERE.

Please join our founders and engravers for a “timely” exploration of sundials - how they were cast and engraved, and how they were used HERE.

Strong in the American identity is the ability to change and improve. How did businesspeople in Williamsburg adapt to find resources, labor, and a market? How did they respond to political action that threatened their way of life? Join in this timely conversation HERE.

Please join this week’s Online Reading of Greek Tragedy with Euripides’ drama, “Iphigenia in Tauris.” Years before the time period covered by the play, the young princess Iphigeneia escapes death by sacrifice at the hands of her father, Agamemnon. At the last moment, the girl is swept off by a goddess to the land of the Taurians. Now Iphigeneia longs to return to her family and tell them she survived. Hosted by Joel Christensen, with special guest Niall Slater. Presented by the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, the Kosmos Society, and the Out of Chaos Theatre. Stream this video HERE.

Sir David Attenborough has probably seen more of wild nature across the planet Earth than anyone living. In the course of his 94 years, he has visited every continent on the globe many times, documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Now, for the first time in public, he reflects upon the defining moments of his life as a naturalist and on the devastating changes he has seen. “A Life On Our Planet” is a much beloved naturalist’s statement of witness. It has been called the most important documentary of the year. Watch it HERE on Netflix.

Join the Historic Trade bookbinders of Colonial Williamsburg as they demonstrate the 18th-century art of making paste paper, an essential aspect of the art of fine books. At the same time, learn steps in the process and try it at home HERE.

Enslaved men, women, and children not only built Monticello; they and their descendants also helped build the city of Charlottesville. Join us for an encore digital presentation of our popular tour, Monticello to Main Street. Based largely on the research of Monticello historian Cinder Stanton, this tour shares the stories of free and enslaved African Americans with ties to Monticello who left a lasting impact on Charlottesville history. With courage and perseverance, these individuals navigated the color line and triumphed in creating community despite the harsh realities of racism all around them HERE.

This is the story of Ed Dwight Jr., who was invited by his country to train to be the first African-American astronaut. Back in 1963, it was hot news. But the United States never sent Dwight to space. He was discriminated against during his time at the Aerospace Research Pilot School, a prerequisite to NASA run by the legendary pilot Chuck Yeager. Dwight is now a prolific artist, building memorials and creating public art honoring African-American history. His footprints cannot be found on the moon. But his fingerprints can be found on sculptures across the country. See this beautiful short film by Ben Proudfoot HERE.

Join historian Annette Gordon-Reed (author of On Juneteenth and the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Hemingses of Monticello) as she leads a panel discussion about the importance of oral histories in understanding how individuals and communities experienced the forces of history. Andrew Davenport, Public Historian & Manager of the Getting Word African American Oral History Project, will discuss Getting Word's near 28-year history and how descendants are “getting word” to us today about their lives, their families, and their dreams HERE.

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) was the most photographed American of the 19th century. Born into slavery, Douglass escaped to become a leading abolitionist, writer, and orator whose fiery speeches transformed him into one of the most renowned and admired figures of his age. Here on the 175th anniversary of Douglass’s debut as an anti-slavery orator at the Nantucket Atheneum, Harvard professor and Innermost House Advisor John Stauffer presents his brilliant book, Picturing Frederick Douglass HERE.

The social, cultural, and spiritual movement we remember as New England Transcendentalism was a complex phenomenon. Commonly associated with the individualism of Walden, it had also a powerful social and political aspect exemplified by Thoreau himself and by the too-little-known crusading daughters of Concord and Boston. Please join Distinguished Professor Sandra Petrulionis, author of To Set This World Right: The Antislavery Movement in Thoreau’s Concord, in this timely discussion of the New England activists who fought for women’s rights and the abolition of slavery HERE.

There were 27 enslaved people listed in Peyton Randolph's inventory when he died in 1775. One of the names was Eve's. Learn about Eve's story on a recent podcast episode of What'sHerName here: whatshernamepodcast.com/eve/

Then be sure to take our virtual tour "Our Lives, Our Stories: Legacy of the Randolph Site," where you can meet Eve, interpreted by Hope Wright in the covered walk, all in 360 degrees: https://virtualtours.colonialwilliamsburg.org/randolph/...

Shoes last longer when the wearer takes care of them. Maintenance for leather shoes included the use of Black Ball, which acted as a two-in-one polish and conditioner. The shoemakers will demonstrate the production and application of Black Ball HERE.