2024
*** Be sure to check back for updated information. ***
Tour of Woodlawn - Alexandria, VA
6-8 Dec 2024, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM
Join public historian and author Elizabeth Reese on a specialty tour of Woodlawn, home of Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis. Lafayette visited Woodlawn multiple times throughout his tour.
Woodlawn - 9000 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia 22309
Virtual Lecture with Dr. Amy Rosenkrans
10 Dec 2024, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Virtual Lecture with Dr. Amy Rosenkrans – Maryland Women and Lafayette. The Marquis de Lafayette made quite an impression on the women of Maryland during his many trips to the state. Henrietta Ogle, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, and Eliza Ridgely were just a few of those women. Join Dr. Amy Rosenkrans to learn about the impact that “America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman” had on the female population of Maryland.
For more information or to register for this event, visit Historic Annapolis at annapolis.org or by clicking here.
Cost: $15 per household for General Admission; $10 per household for HA Members, Military, and HA Docents
Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour Visits Annapolis, MD
13-15 Dec 2024
Friday, December 13 – Sunday, December 15, 11 am – 3 pm
Remembering Lafayette at the Museum of Historic Annapolis, 99 Main Street.
Cost: Included with Admission to the Museum – $7 General Admission (8+) ; FREE for Children 7 and under, HA Members, and SNAP/WIC through the Museums for All program. Celebrate with us the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824-25 tour of the United States! Throughout the weekend, we’ll be offering special activities and events to mark this momentous anniversary. At the Museum of Historic Annapolis, you can immerse yourself in the highlights of Lafayette’s remarkable life through a traveling exhibit created by the American Friends of Lafayette, on display in our Partner Room. Throughout the weekend, families can partake in a special craft activity and learn more about Lafayette and our country’s beginnings through a curated selection of children’s books in our Anne Arundel County Public Library Book Nook.
For more information or to register for this event, visit Historic Annapolis at annapolis.org or by clicking here.
Special hotel rate at the Doubletree by Hilton on Holiday Court, Annapolis. Call 410-224-3150 for the Annapolis Friends of Lafayette room block. Event parking: For parking information, visit https://www.annapolisparking.com/ for available lots and garages within Annapolis.
Saturday, December 14th, 10 am - 12 pm
Children’s Games from Long Ago presented by Chesapeake Children’s Museum, 26 West Street. Free admission! Learn the rules of Nine Men’s Morris and practice your string games. These activities were brought to Annapolis in colonial times and are still played with today. We’ll also make button whirlygigs, another ancient toy, that was easy to make with on-hand materials.
Register here.
Saturday, December 14th, 11 am & 1 pm
Storytime at the Museum: A Spy Called James, 99 Main Street.
Cost: Included with Admission to the Museum – $7 General Admission (8+) ; FREE for Children 7 and under, HA Members, and SNAP/WIC through the Museums for All program. Join Historic Annapolis for a special Storytime as we read A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent by Anne Rockwell. Learn about James Lafayette, a spy who gained his freedom through his brave and heroic actions during the Revolutionary War. The Marquis de Lafayette intervened personally in 1784, detailing James’ service during the Revolution. To honor their friendship, James Lafayette adopted Lafayette as his surname. Then test your spy skills with a special decoder scavenger hunt that takes you on an adventure throughout the Museum.
For more information or to register for this event, visit Historic Annapolis at annapolis.org or by clicking here.
Saturday, December 14th, 12 pm – 4 pm with book talks at 1 pm & 3 pm
Annapolis Tours by Watermark, 188 Main Street, Annapolis. Open House and Author’s Storytime with children’s author, Selene Castrovilla, “Revolutionary: Friends General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette”. Free and open to all. (Books will be available for purchase). Special guest appearances by George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. Children’s crafts and activities are available.
Colonial Walking Tour with Lafayette focus (USNA add-on option). Saturday and Sunday tours at 10 am. Meet at the Watermark Office-188 Main St. For more information, visit www.watermarkjourney.com or register by clicking here.
Watermark Maryland State House Tour with Lafayette focus. Saturday and Sunday tours at 1:30 pm. Meet at the Watermark Office-188 Main St. For more information, visit www.watermarkjourney.com or register by clicking here.
Saturday, December 14, 11 am – 12:30 pm
Book Talk and Signing by Bruce Mowday, author of “The Battle of Brandywine”, hosted by St. John’s College at the Bookstore at Edensword Hall, 60 College Avenue. Free book talk and signing. Books available for purchase at event! Parking at the Calvert Street Garage, 19 St. John’s Street. For additional information contact Melinda Rooney, Melinda.rooney@sjc.edu, 410-295-5549.
Saturday, December 14, 2 pm and 3 pm
Music for Marquis de Lafayette at Chesapeake Children’s Museum, 25 Silopanna Road. Free event! Live music, in historic costume, performed by David and Ginger Hildebrand. Miss Debbie leads everyone in a popular line dance of the time. Supported by a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences.
Saturday, December 14, 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
A Night of Splendour and Elegance: Lafayette Bicentennial Grand Ball, McDowell Hall, St. John’s College, 60 College Avenue.
On the evening of December 18, 1824, Annapolis hosted a formal Ball at St. John’s College in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette’s final visit to Annapolis. The celebration was hailed as “a scene of splendour and elegance, seldom, or perhaps never surpassed in this country.” (Maryland Gazette, December 23, 1824). Come relive this magical evening with Historic Annapolis in the Grand Ballroom of McDowell Hall, complete with costumed reenactors and a visit from the Marquis himself! Guests will be guided through the steps of the popular dances of the day by dance master, Corky Palmer, and accompanied by live period music coordinated by Dr. David Hildebrand, chair of the Lafayette 200 Music Committee. Guests will enjoy champagne and French-inspired sweet and savory seasonal delights!
Dress: Cocktail attire. Period attire encouraged!
For more information or to register for this event, visit Historic Annapolis at annapolis.org or by clicking here.
General Admission: $150
Sunday, December 15, 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Brunch with General Lafayette and Mary Nevette Steele. Lecture by Glenn Campbell. O’Brien’s Restaurant, 113 Main Street, Annapolis. Bottomless Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas with a choice of breakfast entrees Choices of the American Breakfast, Classic Benedict, or French Toast. Parking is available for the full day of Lafayette activities next door at Hillman’s garage.
Register: The American Friends of Lafayette – Brunch with General Lafayette & Mary Nevette Steele
Admission: $50 per person
Sunday, December 15, 10 am & 1:30 pm
Annapolis Tours by Watermark. Colonial Walking Tour with Lafayette focus (USNA add-on option).
Saturday and Sunday tours at 10 am. Meet at the Watermark Office-188 Main St. For more information, visit www.watermarkjourney.com or register by clicking HERE. Watermark Maryland State House Tour with Lafayette focus. Saturday and Sunday tours at 1:30 pm. Meet at the Watermark Office-188 Main St. For more information, visit www.watermarkjourney.com or register by clicking here.
Sunday, December 15, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
ASO Youth Orchestra playing music of the time of Marquis de Lafayette at Chase Lloyd House Dependency on King George’s Street, Annapolis. The local string band, The Blue Jays, will be playing a vernacular piece named “Lafayette” in his honor along with other period pieces from 1:30 to 3 pm. FREE
Sunday, December 15, 2:30 pm – 4 pm
David and Ginger Hildebrand – Bicentennial Concert at State House for Gen. Lafayette.
Admission: Free to the Public; MUST BRING STATE ID TO ENTER
Marking the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s Grand Tour, long-time Annapolis musicians/music historians, David & Ginger Hildebrand, will perform songs and instrumental pieces in the General’s honor. Within the luscious surroundings of the refurbished Old House of Delegates Chambers, this concert will feature a variety of patriotic songs, ballads, dance tunes and marches, interspersed with spoken historical introductions — all presented in costume and upon instruments appropriate to the period.
At the invitation of Congress and President Monroe, the French/American General Lafayette came to tour America for more than a year, 1824-25. As one of the few surviving heroes of the American Revolution, the aged Frenchman traveled to all 24 states and was greeted by massive public celebrations – dinners, balls, military displays and more. The city of Annapolis followed suit then and will again this December 15, 2024.
The music begins at 2:30 pm, and will run an hour or so, followed by Q&A with David, Ginger, and a modern-day Lafayette! For more questions and inquiries, contact the Annapolis Friends of Lafayette at lafayettannapolis@gmail.com. Come join us to revel in the history and sounds of 1824, celebrating this influential French/American hero!
Historical Society of Harford County, 143 N. Main Street, Bel Air, Maryland 21014
Annapolis Museum Open House Weekend
14-15 Dec 2024
Open house weekend for the following museums, Saturday, December 14th to December 15th with Lafayette events and exhibits.
Hammond Harwood House, 19 Maryland Avenue
United States Naval Academy, Preble Hall Museum
Ogle Hall, 247 King George Street, Annapolis
Museum of Historic Annapolis, 99 Main Street, Annapolis (Fri – Sun, admission fee)
Chase Lloyd House Dependency, corner of Maryland Avenue & King George Street (Sunday only)
Watermark, 188 Main Street, Annapolis – storytelling and arts and crafts from 12 – 4 (Saturday, only)
Zoom Lecture in Slow French Part 3 — The Marquis under the Restoration
18 Dec 2024, 2 pm - 3 pm
The fall of the First Empire saw Lafayette return to the political forefront during the Restoration and the return of the monarchy. He began a grand triumphant tour of the United States from July 1824 to September 1825. He died nine years old. years later, taken by acute pneumonia. He has continued to stir up passions ever since and remains today among the most famous French figures in history. The lectures are free, they last about 50 minutes, and are in slow French (so it would require at least an intermediate level to be able to follow the talk).
Register here.