Join us on Saturday, September 17 for specialty tours, activity booths, and speaker panels. A local food truck will also be serving up delicious meals. These events will highlight the US Constitution, the life of James Madison, and the contributions of the enslaved community. 

Join us on Saturday, September 17 for specialty tours, activity booths, and speaker panels. A local food truck will also be serving up delicious meals.

Highlights of Montpelier Tour, every half hour from 9:30am-3pm, $35/adult; $15/child (6-12); under 6 free
Discover the rich history of the plantation and historic house on this guided tour. Property pass included in ticket price. Masks required inside the house during guided tour. Tickets go on sale 2-weeks in advance, advanced purchase recommended. Buy Tickets.

Libation Ceremony, 9:30am-10:00am, Enslaved Cemetery
This Constitution Day, we honor our Founders – including James Madison and the Invisible Founders enslaved at Montpelier and surrounding plantations. While Madison and his contemporaries conceptualized the structure of a new government, enslaved Americans built the nation through their knowledge, expertise, and labor. This ceremony will not only commemorate those buried at Montpelier, but all enslaved people who founded the country. Join members of Montpelier Descendants Committee at the enslaved cemetery to honor the ancestors. Those descendants attending the ceremony are encouraged to share the names of their ancestors – both enslaved and free – to honor them.

Visit with Mr. Madison, 10am-3pm
Visitors have an opportunity to engage with James Madison in all his genius and complexity. Mr. Madison will discuss a range of topics, from his life at Montpelier to the writing of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. More information.

Bill of Rights Tour, 10am, 2pm; $10
This outdoor walking tour explores James Madison's critical role as "Architect" of the Bill of Rights.  During about an hour on the Montpelier landscape, participants will compare Madison's proposals with selected Amendments as ratified, and consider a few landmark Supreme Court cases delineating the language of the Bill of Rights.
More information and to register.

Constitution Tour, 10:30am, 1:30pm; $35
James Madison did more than any other single person to create, secure and perpetuate our revolutionary system of government. And it was here at Montpelier that he found inspiration and conceived many of his initial ideas. This one hour tour explores the origins of the Constitution at Montpelier and the legacy it leaves today.
More information and to register.

Panel: Equal Power-Sharing at Montpelier, 10:30am, FREE
Structural parity, or equal power-sharing, is a community-based governance model. An example of the type of democracy James Madison himself proposed, parity offers exciting new opportunities for Montpelier and our visitors. Join the leadership of The Montpelier Foundation and the Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC) to learn about what this new power-sharing relationship means for Montpelier’s future.
More information on limited in person or virtual attendance.

The Enslaved Community Tour, noon, $10
This walking tour of significant sites examines one of America's largest paradoxes: a nation where "all men are created equal" built by those who are denied the exact freedoms they were laboring to establish.
Register.

Panel: Is the Constitution in Danger?, 1:00pm, FREE for in person attendees; FREE for virtual attendees
America is experiencing a moment of political strife, one that threatens the core of our democracy. When James Madison established the framework for our founding document in 1787, only a fraction of the population could participate in this new and revolutionary form of government. America has not evolved effortlessly toward democracy. Join panelists in a discussion about the current political crisis, America’s vulnerability to democratic collapse, and how we can reinvigorate the American democratic spirit.
More information on limited in person or virtual attendance.

Food trucks and beverages for purchase, 11am-3pm