Grand Illumination In Colonial Williamsburg

We choose to wait to kick off this site until the right time. That time is the Grand Illumination that happened tonight in Colonial Williamsburg. This is the official kick off of the Holiday seasons in this area. Kind of like the festival of lights in other areas, or the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center in New York City.


Tonight's fireworks display was one of the best in years. We normally like to take a lot of pictures of the fireworks, but then you miss a lot of the show. The Grand Illumination is always the First Sunday of December every year. There is no admission fee. Parking is a bit of a problem and the walk to the events areas can be rather long. Planning ahead of time is a must for the best experience. The Fife and Drum Corp's played for about a half hour before the fireworks and then the Scottish Bag Pipes played afterwards. The fireworks were at three different locations. The Governor's Palace, the Magazine and the Capitol building. Each location has it's own unique display.


The streets were lit with fires. The head count at this event was about 30,000 people. The traffic is always so much fun to maneuver around once the event is over. Shops remain open for Holiday shopping choices and story tellers abound. The Taverns are open to serve meals and they serve refreshments to those interested while the events are going on. This is one of the busiest times of the year in Colonial Williamsburg. Finding lodging is near impossible if you come in at the last minute without reservations. This event always books months in advanced and the best rooms are booked a year in advance.


A great number of people book to be here just before Thanksgiving and stay until just after this event. Thanksgiving in this area is just an incredible feast. But we will cover that next year and get you ready for the event well in advance and help you find the best places and deals for a place to stay and a place to eat. So bookmark us in your favorites now.





Now the above video has been recently added to this post.  We realize that it's a 4th of July video and not from the Grand Illumination, however, the fireworks are very similar in nature.

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