Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

This is the twenty-second in a series of articles leading up to the Lafayette Farewell Tour Bicentennial celebration. For earlier articles, see www.suffolkva250.com/history.html/.

By Frank and Gloria Womble

The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts opened a new five-week exhibit in its TowneBank Gallery on Thursday, Jan. 23: “Celebrate Lafayette: Soldier, Statesman, Champion of Human Rights.” The exhibit highlights memorabilia from the Farewell Tour and other vintage items on loan from William W. Cole, a native of Southampton County. 

The event was supported by a Celebration Grant from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Suffolk’s Constantia Chapter, NSDAR, hosted the opening night reception, which was attended by about 100 people. TowneBank was the presenting sponsor for the evening. Pianist Kaylan Stevenson provided musical entertainment.

Dr. Tom Yannuzzi, the Center’s Executive Director, welcomed everyone to the event. American Friends of Lafayette board member Frank Womble spoke about upcoming Lafayette bicentennial events in Suffolk. The Rev. Dr. Lou Ventura, Constantia Chapter Regent, presented NSDAR America 250 commendations and medals to William Cole and Betsy Brothers on behalf of the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.

This fascinating exhibit, open through March 1, includes Lafayette memorabilia, a detailed map of the Farewell Tour route through the 24 states that Lafayette visited, the American Friends of Lafayette’s traveling panels, and artwork of the period. 

Don’t miss these upcoming presentations at the Center that are free and open to the public. Registration is requested at suffolkcenter.org.

On Feb. 6, from 6 to 7 p.m., Ms. Julie Dunn, a local researcher and Portsmouth’s Hill House Museum Board member, will lecture on period decorations and how Lafayette’s visit started the souvenir industry in the United States.

On Feb. 12, at 10:30 a.m., interpreter Steven Alexander will take children Grades 5 through 8 on a journey through the life of a true American hero, double agent James Fayette, and his unlikely friendship with General Lafayette.

On Feb. 13, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Dr. Natasha Naujoks, from the Chrysler Museum of Art, addresses Lafayette’s legacy and his impact on the United States and France.

The Suffolk Lafayette Bicentennial Committee includes the American Friends of Lafayette, Suffolk 250, the Constantia Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Riddick’s Folly, Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, and the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society.