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Bicentennial of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour Visits Annapolis, MD
December 13, 2024 @ 12:00 am–December 15, 2024 @ 11:59 pm
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.
Friday, December 13 – Sunday, December 15, 11 am – 3 pm
Remembering Lafayette at the Museum of Historic Annapolis
Location: 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.
Saturday, December 14th
Children’s Games from Long Ago presented by Chesapeake Children’s Museum
10 am to 12 noon
Location: Visit Annapolis!, 26 West Street
Cost: Free.
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
Storytime at the Museum: A Spy Called James
Offered at 11 am and 1 pm
Location: 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
Annapolis Tours by Watermark (www.watermarkjourney.com)
Open House and Author’s Storytime with children’s author, Selene Castrovilla, “Revolutionary: Friends General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette”.
Location: Watermark’s Tour office at 188 Main Street, Annapolis
When: Saturday, December 14th from 12:00 – 4:00 pm with book talks at 1 pm & 3 pm.
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.
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.
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
Location: St. John’s College 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, [email protected], 410-295-5549. Campus Map
Saturday, December 14, 2 pm and 3 pm
Music for Marquis de Lafayette at Chesapeake Children’s Museum
Location: 25 Silopanna Road
Cost: FREE
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
Location: McDowell Hall, St. John’s College, 60 College Avenue
General Admission: $150
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.
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
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
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 [email protected]. Come join us to revel in the history and sounds of 1824, celebrating this influential French/American hero!