COLONY OF AVALON CLOSED FOR 2020 SEASON .

Given the current circumstances surrounding the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Colony of Avalon Foundation’s Board of Directors has decided not to open the Colony of Avalon for the 2020 season. Care and maintenance activities only will be conducted by management and a small number of staff.

This was not an easy decision as the Board of Directors recognize the Colony of Avalon’s importance to the tourism industry of the southern Avalon. Considering the projected loss of revenues resulting from the current travel restrictions along with the substantial expense for the Foundation to operate during a season, it is the best decision.

We plan to take this time to perform some much need maintenance to our facility and gardens and focus on product development. We thank the Province of Newfoundland and the Federally funded programs that will make this possible during the crisis. These enhancements will ensure that you will experience even more of what the 17th century had to offer during your visit to the colony in 2021 and help us celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Colony of Avalon.

Please stay tuned for our Great Colonial Cook-off this season and follow us on social media as we dig deep to bring our finds and 17th century recipes to your home. #ExploreNL #ExploreCanada

Stay safe!

Coleen Crane (Executive Director)

REAL HISTORY. REAL TIME.

With every scrape of an archaeologist’s trowel, stirring of a pot, or planting of a seed, we’re coming a little bit closer to understanding the history of the Colony and the lives of the people who lived here.

Established in 1621 by Sir George Calvert (the First Lord Baltimore), the Colony of Avalon is widely recognized as the best preserved early English colonial site in North America. Today, on-going work at the Colony is changing the way we understand that past.

Think early Newfoundlanders lived in hovels on a diet of fish, fish and more fish? Think all Catholics were persecuted and women were second class citizens? Think again! Imagine a place where substantial stone and timber-frame houses lined a “prettie” cobblestone street, where protestants AND catholics worshipped in peace, and a woman held most of the power!

Join our on-going quest to uncover the Colony. It’s all happening right here, right now, right before your eyes. Want to see how you can become an archeologist for a day, 1/2 day, or an hour? Click here: Archaeology Dig Programs

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