Looking for some outdoor fun on a weekend getaway? Just two hours from Alexandria, Colonial Williamsburg is now offering CW Lights, a special limited-time evening event that starts today (April 15) through Sunday, May 2, in the world-class Governor’s Palace Gardens.
Photo courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg
CW Lights at Colonial Williamsburg
The iconic gardens, normally unavailable to the public after 5 p.m., will be transformed into an illuminated open air experience. Visitors will be able to enjoy an immersive walking tour accompanied by different 18th-century music performances each night, with lights creating different colors, patterns and effects throughout the grounds.
The family-friendly, timed-entry event is a great way for Colonial Williamsburg visitors to safely explore the outdoors and the Gardens’ springtime blooms. Colonial Williamsburg is also offering a special online-only promotion for local Virginia residents through April 16: for the price of a three-day ticket, Virginia residents can come back for free for the rest of 2021.
Here's more about the event:
- All guests are required to wear face masks indoors and outdoors per Virginia Executive Order 72. Face coverings will be worn by Colonial Williamsburg staff.
- Due to capacity restrictions, timed tickets are limited.
- Please note that this event is not ADA accessible. The terrain of the gardens requires guests to travel up and down stairs without ramps and handrails, and through uneven oyster shell pathways that make it especially difficult for those with mobility issues and those in wheelchairs. Service animals are welcome.
- No stroboscopic lights will be used.
- CW Lights is a walking experience, so please wear comfortable shoes.
- Pets are not permitted.
Event tickets are available for purchase on the official CW website: https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/events/cw-lights/
Parking at the Visitor Center is available, and you can take the shuttle bus to the Palace and back until 10 p.m. If you plan to be in the Historic Area after 10 p.m., please do not park at the Visitor Center. Parking is available at the Art Museums parking lot at 301 S. Nassau Street or one of the paid parking lots closer to the Historic Area.
This event is weather permitting. Text CWLIGHTS to 226787 to enroll in text notifications for the event. You can also check the CW Lights Facebook event for weather-related updates.
