Event

2018 Campfire Talk Series

• Every Friday Weekly from 06/15/2018 to 09/14/2018 Location: The Colonies RV and Travel Park - 501 Fenwick Road, Fort Monroe, VA 23651, | Map Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Fee Information: No Fee Contact Name: Aaron Firth (please include event title in email) Contact Email: E-Mail Us Contact Phone Number: 757-722-FORT (3678)
  

  2018 Campfire Talk Series

  Fridays at 7:00 pm
  June 15 to September 14, 2018

  The Colonies RV and Travel Park
  501 Fenwick Road
  Fort Monroe, VA 23651
  (weather location - Colonies RV Clubhouse)

  Join us around the campfire for a FREE educational program for all ages! New topic each week will highlight the natural, historical, or cultural wonders found at Fort Monroe!

  Bring a lawn chair and blanket!
  (Campfire provided) 
  
  Date - Topic
  June 15 - ABC's of Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay
  Have you ever wondered where those Virginia oysters you love to eat come from? Come learn about the ABC's of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay and VIMS' role in the resurgence of the oyster industry.
  Speaker - Dr. Jess Small, Research Coordinator, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
  
  June 22 - Multi-species Fisheries Monitoring
  Deb Gauthier of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science will discuss the science of monitoring our local fisheries. Similar to taking inventoy as a manager at a grocery store, scientists inventory the marine envoronment to get the best idea possible of what fisheries resources are available and how they are changing. This helps monitor and manage the ecosystem to ensure sustainability in the future. Includes hands-on demonstrations! 
  
  June 29 - Witch Bottles: Countermagical Devices in Early America
  Thought they have almost faded into obscurity, witch bottles were, at one time, the leading folk magic devices to handle a vengeful witch or enemy. Join us to see how these bottles were thought to stop a witch from harming you or your family and their connection to Early America and Hampton Roads.
  Speaker - Amanda Wells, Curatorial Assistant, Virginia Beach History Museums
  
  July 6 - Flag Retirement and Flag Etiquette
  Do you know how to treat the United States flag? Come learn the proper etiquette with a hands-on demonstration from leaders of local Boy Scouts of America Troops 29 & 31.
  Speakers - James Kotrch and Zachary Struhs
  
  July 13 - Historic Trees of Fort Monroe
  Participants will hear stories of the history of some of the remarkable, aged trees within the stone fort. Learn about tree identification, care and keeping of some of the more common, but beloved, tree varieties.
  Speaker - Hampton Master Gardeners and Tree Stewards
  
  July 20 - Brews and Bitters: The Bottles of Hampton Roads
  Casemate Museum Collections Specialist Chelsea Morris will showcase some of the bottles found in the museum's collection. Join us to discuss the history of some local bottles as well as how glass bottles can be used as tools for establishing dates and trade.
  
  July 27 - Dancing with Bears on the Appalachian Trail
  Have you ever been hiking and wondered where the trail ends? If it's on the east coast and the trail was marked with white paint on the trees, then you were likely hiking on part of the Appalachian Trail, a 2,200-mile footpath traversing the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine. Come learn about long distance hiking from Chris "Dancing Bear" Martin who hiked the entire trail in 2017.
  
  August 3 - Historic Preservation at Fort Monroe
  Learn about recent preservation intiatives from members of the Fort Monroe preservation team. Through the Hands-on Preservation Experience (HOPE) program young people have been learning preservation craft skills while rehabilitating some of Fort Monroe's most historic structures under the mentorship of the National Park Service - Historic Architecture, Conservation, & Engineering Center (HACE).
  
  August 10 - Archeology at Fort Monroe
  Fort Monroe Authority Archeologist Same Henderson will share stories and artifacts from archeological digs at Fort Monroe and discuss what they reveal about Old Point Comfort's past.
  
  August 17 - From Tragedy to Triumph: The Matha Ann Fields Story
  Living Historian Valerie Davis takes on the persona of Martha Ann FIelds who escaped slavery with her eight children and arrived at Fort Monroe in 1862. Listen to stories of plantation life, harrowing escape from slavery, and the success following the American Civil War. Martha's son, James Apostles Fields, would become a lawyer and state delegate. His house still stands in Newport News, VA.
  
  August 24 - Night Skies at Fort Monroe: Waxing Gibbous Moonrise
  Join members of the Virginia Peninsula Astronomy Stargazers (VPAS) to learn about different tools used for observational Astronomy and how to read and use a sky map. If skies are clear, stay after to view the waxing gibbous moon and some "deep-sky" celestial objects through a telescope.
  Speaker - Bird Taylor, Virginia Peninsula Astronomy Stargazers
  
  August 31 - Onkwehonwe, Principle People: Indigenous People of the Eastern Woodlands
  Come hear from Greg Two Hawks and Diane Lady Hawk Stephenson, members of the Meherrin Indian Nation, as they don traditional dress and discuss native culture and customs.
  
  September 7 - Blackbeard: Privateer, Pirate, Legend. 300 Years of Infamy
  Reach through time to meet the most infamous pirate of all time, Edward Teach - aka Blackbeard, as portrayed by Don Hard.
  
  September 14 - Night Skies at Fort Monroe: Waning Crescent Moonrise
  Join members of the Virginia Peninsula Astronomy Stargazers (VPAS) to learn about different tools used for abservational Astronomy and how to read and use a sky map. If skies are clear, stay after to view the waning crescent moon and some "deep-sky" celestial objects through a telescope.
  Speaker - Bird Taylor, Virginia Peninsula Astronomy Stargazers