Celebrate Landing Day

April 22, 2008

On April 30, 1607, the Virginia Company settlers came ashore to land then occupied by the Kecoughtan Indians. Annually, their arrival is commemorated in a ceremony at the First Landing monument on the V.A. Medical Center grounds in Hampton. Join us at the V.A. Medical Center on Sunday, April 27 at 3 p.m. as we commemorate the 401st Anniversary of the settlers' arrival with guest speakers, musical entertainment, and a reading of George Percy's account of the settlers' experience upon that first landing.

An invocation by St. John's Church and a welcome by Wanda Mims, director of the Veteran Affairs Medical Center begin the ceremony. John V. Quarstein, an award winning historian, preservationist, and author will serve as Landing Day's keynote speaker discussing Hampton's first steps. Members of the Hampton History Museum will read George Percy's short account of the "Cape Comfort" landing, detailing the peaceful meeting between the native people and the settlers.

Hampton, Virginia, the oldest continuous English speaking settlement in North America, celebrates four centuries of history. This event commemorates the first settlers' arrival in Hampton, and paves the way for Hampton's 400th Anniversary in 2010. Hampton invites you to Explore Old Worlds, New Worlds, Our World. The Explore Hampton 2010 committee consists of Hampton citizens and representatives of businesses, churches, neighborhoods, Hampton University and the City of Hampton.

For further information on Explore Hampton 2010 programming, visit www.hampton.gov/hampton400 or call 727-8311.