Hampton Bay Days Festival | Coming to Bay Days

GODSPEED Sails Into 28th Annual Hampton Bay Days

--Vessel to highlight Hampton’s 400th Anniversary during September festival--

Hampton Bay Days is excited to announce that Jamestown Settlement’s GODSPEED, a re-creation of one of the three ships that brought America’s first permanent English colonists to Virginia, will dock in downtown Hampton during the 28th annual festival, September 10-12, 2010. The vessel will highlight Hampton’s history as a colonial seaport and fishing village, with a strong educational focus on man’s interaction with the ecology of the Bay.

“Having the signature vessel GODSPEED dockside in downtown Hampton during the 28th annual Hampton Bay Days will help raise awareness of Hampton’s special relationship with the water that began 400 years ago,” said Hampton Bay Days Executive Director Shelly Ezanno. “Hampton Bay Days also plans to highlight the merchant side of Olde Port Hampton with a dockside replica customs house, re-enactors, and Hampton History Museum programs.”

The GODSPEED, designated as one of the “official fleet of the Commonwealth” by the Virginia General Assembly, will arrive in downtown Hampton on September 10, 2010. The vessel will be open to the public for the duration of the festival. Visitors should expect a wide variety of living history programs along the docks, as well as interactive ecology programs in the Chesapeake Bay Education Area and throughout the festival grounds.

“The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is honored to have GODSPEED participate in Hampton’s 400th anniversary celebrations during the 2010 Hampton Bay Days,” said Eric Speth, Maritime Program Manager for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. “We look forward to welcoming visitors aboard GODSPEED to learn about 17th century seafaring and early Virginia history.”

More Information Coming Soon!