Saturday’s Grand Celebration for Hilton Village’s centennial will pack 100 years worth of history and events into a single day.
The neighborhood in central Newport News has been celebrating its 100th birthday throughout the year, but Saturday marks the main event.
Hilton Village was born in the months after the United States entered World War I. Housing was built to accommodate the thousands of new shipbuilders, hired in Newport News to support the war effort.
The number of shipbuilders grew from 7,600 to 12,512 during the war, and the city’s population city leaped from 26,246 to 47,013.
Fittingly, Saturday’s celebration will include games and re-enactments from 1918, a living history village, a World War I music hall sing-along and a display from the Virginia War Museum.
Events start at 8 a.m. with fitness events and coffee and donuts. More events and exhibits, including many historical presentations and tours, will take place from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Shops and restaurants in Hilton Village are participating in the celebration as well.
The official centennial ceremony will be observed from 5-6 p.m. in front of Hilton Elementary School, 225 River Road. The Virginia Symphony Brass Ensemble will play patriotic music ahead of the ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
At 6 p.m., the celebration party starts on the playground, with live music, food and drinks and space for people from Hilton through the years to reunite.
For a brochure with a full schedule of the day’s events, click on this link: bit.ly/2tWka3F.
For more information, go to hiltonvillage100.com.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-newport-news-notebook-20180705-story.html