$_SerializerTool.serialize($currentPage.getStructuredDataNode('headline-text').textValueAsXMLElement, true)

Presented with American Friends of Lafayette Symposium, the Fairfield University Office of the President, Department of History, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Join the American Friends of Lafayette for a day-long symposium on the Marquis de La Fayette, the French nobleman who joined the American revolutionary cause. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation, this symposium aims to foster and promote personal connections by way of continual research into the history that began with the American War of Independence, and includes documents and discoveries past and present that shed more light on the life of this French visionary leader.

Additional programming with our community partners:

Saturday, August 17 | 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Meet at Fairfield Museum Lobby.
Space is limited. Registration is required. $5 for Members; $10 for Non-Members.

Up until the mid-1800s, Fairfield was the center of the county’s civic and social life. Many famous visitors stopped in Fairfield, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and George Washington. By the time that the Marquis de Lafayette stops by in 1824, Fairfield was starting to change. Join a special guided tour to spend time in Sun Tavern (c. 1780) and discover the importance of taverns, learn more about the Burr Homestead, and explore the role that Fairfield played amidst Bridgeport’s tremendous growth in the 1800s.

Saturday, August 17 | 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Free With Museum Admission

Join us in commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s trip through the United States. In 1824 Lafayette toured the nation he had fought to establish. He received a celebrity’s welcome, visited all 24 states, and was honored as a surviving hero of the Revolutionary War. Families will play colonial games, make paper carriages and tricorn hats, try colonial snacks, and enjoy a special performance by Rick Spencer and Dawn Indermuehle, who will share songs that were popular during Lafayette’s time.

Saturday, August 17 | 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

$75 Per Person

In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette, the last living General of the Continental Army from the Revolutionary War, visited the United States on a whirlwind trip. On August 20, Lafayette stopped in Fairfield and dined at Knapp’s Tavern, which was located on the corner of Beach and Old Post Roads. Join us for a special evening at the Sun Tavern featuring tavern songs, light bites, and drinks from a local brewery. Raise a glass to honor Lafayette’s visit to Connecticut in the summer of 1824!