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As Virginia’s colonial capital, Williamsburg boasted many taverns, several of which are still standing or represented in reconstructed form on their original sites today.We invite you to pull up a chair to the table for the ‘Eat, Drink, Revolution: Our Friend the Tavern’ conference happening November 6-8, 2025! This conference explores taverns as places for both serving food and drink and as important gathering places throughout the centuries, particularly in the years leading up to and through the American Revolution.
🕰️ Early Bird Registration ends June 9
🎓 Scholarship applications are due August 1
Register to join us in-person or virtually here: https://web.cvent.com/event/9a7937c6-18f0-44cd-969b-c0701d4693a5/summary
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Full details:
Pete Brown, renowned Sunday Times Magazine columnist, author and broadcaster, will set the tone with an opening keynote discussing the evolution of British pub life on Thursday evening.
Friday morning, we travel back to the ancient Mediterranean with Associate Professor of Classical Studies Dr. Jonathan Zarecki, (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and The Beer Archaeologist Travis Rupp, as they dig deep into history to discover Roman and Greektavern culture, respectively— a great place to start when considering the influence of Classical ideals on the American Revolution and subsequent government.
Marc Meltonville, food and drink historian, author and heritage distiller brings the tippling houses of England to life and explores the world of London tavern cook Richard Briggs.
Traveling back across the Atlantic, attendees are invited to follow the discovery and preservation of an 18th-century tavern with public historian Tony Shahan (executive director of Newlin Grist Mill), while Jason Baum (interpretive park ranger, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park) expands upon the role of taverns for army navigation and conflict during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
Dr. Sarah Hand Meacham (associate professor, Virginia Commonwealth University) will address themes in her book Every Home a Distillery: Alcohol, Gender, and Technology in the Colonial Chesapeake.
Colonial Williamsburg staff will then take the stage to home in on tavern food, drink and culture in eighteenth century Williamsburg. Master of the Historic Foodways Trade Frank Clark and Apprentices Abbey Shoaf and Domineck Marsh plan to address what was in the glass and on the table, along with their experiences recreating those dishes and drinks, and Nation Builder Sharon Hollands will explore the challenges and triumphs of tavern owner Jane Vobe, whom she portrays.
We know that what was served in taverns was certainly a merging of a variety of cultures, but how do we know what we know? Christopher Custalow (Indigenous community engagement), Eve Otmar(master of the Historic Gardening Trade), and Jack Gary (executive director of archaeology) join the conversation from a variety of perspectives, and a panel discussion with multiple speakers will conclude the lecture portion of the conference midday Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, in-person attendees will have the opportunity to choose between a variety of breakout sessions throughout Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, exploring the labor and social customs surrounding 18th-century taverns and those who populated them before heading to the closing dinner at Shields Tavern. In-person attendees may also choose from a variety of pre-conference activities investigating the material culture of taverns (archaeological finds, drinking vessels, documents and photographs from our Special Collections), and a limited number of places will be available for an exclusive tavern crawl preceding Saturday evening’s tavern dinner.
From ancient taverns to modern pubs, historic recipes, architecture, material culture, and the role of taverns as sites of political discussions and debates, register now to join us and learn about what historical research and archaeology can tell us about pubs and taverns in 18th-century Virginia and beyond.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Colonial Williamsburg, 101 Visitor Center Drive,Williamsburg, Virginia, United States
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