About the Festival

On December 4, 1619, a group of 35 settlers, led by Captain John Woodlief, arrived at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, from Bristol, England.

On the banks of the James River the Englishmen proclaimed:

“We ordaine that the day of our ship’s arrival at the place assigned for plantation, in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”