WILLIAMSBURG - Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th century Virginia, will present a full day of programs and live demonstrations Saturday, May 13, to commemorate the 1607 founding of Jamestown, America’s first permanent English settlement, and honor the enduring legacies and traditions of the Virginia Indians who have occupied the land for centuries.

Jamestown Day

Jamestown Settlement family friendly programs on May 13 will feature Jamestown Day with military salutes and maritime demonstrations. A 10 a.m. artillery salute will signal the departure of the Godspeed, one of the three recreated ships that brought English colonists to Jamestown in 1607, to show sailing maneuvers in the James River, weather permitting.

Visitors to the ships’ pier also can board the Susan Constant and Discovery and learn how sailors navigated the seas in the 17th century with a special program on celestial navigation and hauling cargo out of the ship’s hold. In the museum’s recreated fort and Paspahegh Town, visitors can enjoy programs on English and Powhatan trade, Powhatan games and recreation and English agriculture. Presentations also will explore methods of English beer making and period cooking, as well as programs on English and Powhatan comparative weaponry and military tactics, including a pike drill and the firing of a 17th century falcon.

Indigenous Arts Day

Indigenous Arts Day, beginning at 11 a.m., will celebrate enduring legacies of Indigenous culture with traditional and contemporary art forms by Indigenous artists, including special outdoor performances of music and dance. Clark Stewart (Chickahominy) will emcee performances on Jamestown Settlement’s mall, where a variety of Indigenous artists and craftspeople will display and demonstrate their work throughout the day, some of which will be available for purchase. In case of inclement weather, programs and vendors will move indoors. Red Crooked Sky American Indian Dance Troupe will lead the day’s performances with Stoney Creek Singers on drum, along with Nottoway flutist Nathan Elliott and Lakota storyteller Felicity Meza-Luna.

A new exhibition, “Tribal Truths,” opening May 11 through Sept. 10, will be on display during the event in the Elmon and Pam Gray Presentation Hall.

Jamestown Settlement, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, is located on Route 31 just southwest of Williamsburg, and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne, which also will commemorate Jamestown Day May 13. Parking is free.