Smith's Fort is the site of Captain John Smith's proposed "New Fort" and is located directly across…read morethe James River from Jamestown on the banks of Gray's Creek. In 1609, Captain John Smith began construction of a fort site on the property. The fort was abandoned a few months later due to what would be known as the "Starving Time" in Jamestowne. The earthworks dug 411 years ago in 1609 can still be seen to this day. Captain John Smith built a fort on the south side of the James River as a retreat position should Jamestown be attacked by Virginia Indians or the Spanish. This dower tract of land between two streams was given to John Rolfe in 1614 by Powhatan upon Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas. It is considered the first land actually given to America by the Indians. Rolfe is known to have cultivated the early tobacco crop on this property known as the Virginia Sweet. Between 1751 and 1765, a brick plantation house was built that still stands today, with much of its interior original pine woodwork still intact. The Manor House exemplifies the upper-middle-class lifestyle enjoyed by the Jacob Faulcon family in 18th-century Surry County. In 1886, the property, then called Gray's Creek Farm, was purchased by a collective group of African American families including Bolling Morris, John and Carter Hardy and Robertson Simmons. By the 1920s, Mr. Morris was the sole owner and he eventually sold it via an agent to John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Smith's Fort was later acquired by Preservation Virginia in 1933 and has operated as a museum ever since. Located in the manor house is a print on paper from a steel engraving done by John C. McRae in 1855 entitled, "The Wedding of Pocahontas." It was modeled from an original oil painting by Henry Brueckner in the same year. It depicts the day in April 1614 when Pocahontas was wed to Englishman John Rolfe, an event that initiated 8 years of peace with the Algonquin Indians. The original painting resides in the Getty Museum. This is a Virginia treasure and recommend a visit.

Cynthia is a very knowledgeable guide. She knows the history of the area and the house. The period…read morefurniture is a wonderful touch on the house. The gift shop actually have black walnut items made from the a tree on the plantation.

Mike's Pig-Out Catering served a large lunch that I attended last year. Their BBQ wasn't…read morespectacular, but their staff were able to quickly feed a hungry crowd without a problem thanks to their efficient station setup, quality equipment, and friendly-yet-professional demeanor. While I wasn't impressed with the BBQ itself, your mileage may vary - since they serve residents and commercial businesses in Pennsylvania AND Virginia, they're flexible, so do consider them for your next large event.

This was perfect for a small, intimate wedding my partner and I attended. The minister is bilingual…read more(Spanish & English) and is very open to all people. The venue was airy & beautifully decorated. I highly recommend this spot for a smaller sized wedding.

Great guided tour with a lot of history provided. The property and castle is under restoration. I…read morelove American history.

Wow, wow, WOW! What a fascinating place! So much history!…read more My friend and I went for a ghost tour on a Saturday night. The woman who ran our tour is named Sarah and she is a direct descendant of one of the original families that lived there. Also assisting with the tour was a man named Kenny from a paranormal research group in Richmond. Kenny considers himself a sceptic. His organization (I can't remember the name), works to document data, analyze the data, and try to come up with a scientific reason for the "paranormal" incidents. Both Sarah and Kenny have LOADS of knowledge! They shared a lot of history and stories with our small group. They also provided K2 meters that detect energy fluctuations. The stories were absolutely fascinating, first-hand, and some very recent (including with Kenny the sceptic). While we were finishing our tour, we heard a loud thunk on the wooden floor of the landing where we were, as if it had been struck with a boot or solid-heeled shoe. Then the floor was vibrating in a progressing manner as if someone was walking across the floor. One of the light-up cat toy balls on the floor was lighting up like crazy and several of the K2 meters were lighting up. So how about that?! A tour WITH paranormal activity! What a fun experience! I cannot wait to go back!

Mr. Westcott preformed a show for our 6 year old's birthday, and his show is fantastic! We had a…read moresmall crowd in a small Virginia Beach condo space, but Mr. Westcott was able to deliver a big time, unforgettable, high energy performance. My son is still amazed that, as an assistant, my son was able to make a real bunny appear. Amazing!

We hired Rob Westcott for our 5 year olds birthday party. He was fabulous!!!! He had the perfect…read morecombination of humor and magic, the kids were screaming and laughing and the parents were highly entertained as well. He was great at handling the excited kids and keeping them seated with interruptions to the flow of the show. Our daughter's laughs and excitement as she assisted the magician were priceless. I highly recommend Rob Westcott!!

As the bride and groom, we wanted to create a truly unforgettable environment for our big day as…read morewe've been told it goes by in the blink of an eye! We were fortunate enough to receive a recommendation from our wedding venue, Norfolk Botanical Gardens, for an incredibly talented catering team, East Beach Catering, who exceeded our every expectation! We interacted with a few different team members from the East Beach Catering, and what struck us most about their team was their ability to capture, transform and bring to life the ideas we had for the vision of our wedding palette without missing a beat. Their attention to detail and artistic eye brought out the smallest, most tender moments that may have otherwise been overlooked. We received so many compliments about the quality of food and service provided by the East Beach Catering team! It's 52 days later and our guests haven't stopped raving about the delicious food they received! Chelsea and her team are not only masters in creation, but they are also true professionals. They arrived on time, maintained a friendly and approachable demeanor, and made every small detail look perfect. The level of communication provided by the East Beach Catering team is impeccable as they were always willing to answer a text, email or call whenever we had a question, so we knew we were in good hands the day of the wedding. They even went above and beyond to assist us in providing a full alcohol shopping list (even when we chose not to use their bar services to save money). They were also true champions to set up (and move from one location to another in between events) many different catering options throughout an outdoor wedding, on July 12th, in Virginia! During our tasting, the East Beach Catering team provided many different ideas and suggestions to make sure we could bring our vision to life in the best and most efficient way possible while staying within budget. They were always willing to take feedback (without taking it to heart) during the tasting and were more concerned with making everything 100% perfect for our big day. They asked an abundance of great questions throughout the process to get a feel for what were our absolute "must haves" and even suggested some things we hadn't thought of. They took great caution to note allergies and food preferences for guests and even ran some of our favorite cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres to us while we were in a separate location working on getting additional bride and groom portraits. Working with Chelsea and her team has been an absolute pleasure from first contact until the end of the wedding day. Their exceptional talent, professionalism, and dedication to their craft makes them a stand out choice in the world of wedding catering! We wholeheartedly recommend their services to anyone seeking extraordinary tasty wedding sweets! - The Canavoses

East Beach Catering was there with my husband and I on one of the most important days of our…read morelife...our wedding day! I started communicating with Cathy (the kindhearted and fearless leader of the entire operation) via phone calls and e-mails and felt that we would be a great fit together. My husband is in the military and we tried to work out a taste test session that could include him, but it just wasn't going to happen. She was so understanding that he couldn't be there and was fine with me bringing my friend in his place! The tasting really sealed the deal and made me even more excited for the big day than I already was! The food was delicious, the presentation was beautiful (which was very important to me), and the customer service was top tier! It was an all-around fabulous experience leading up to the big day. On our wedding day we were so thrilled to see it all come together and it exceeded our expectations in every way! We are about a month into our marriage and we still have guests contacting us telling us how delicious the food was...the appetizers during the cocktail hour were a HUGE HIT!! My husband got to try everything for the first time just as the guests did and he was extremely satisfied and is still talking about how tasty and perfect everything was! We highly recommend East Beach for any event that you might have! Delicious and gorgeous food, the perfect bar set up (very important to us!), and an extremely patient and hardworking staff...what more could one ask for?! Thank you so much to Cathy and the entire East Beach Catering team!!

The Ambassador Club of Portsmouth is the best deal for events, meetings, receptions and all type of…read moreevents. There is plenty of free parking, a full kitchen, large meeting hall, large dancing/celebration hall, newly renovated bathrooms. This is the best value in the area and easy to work with management. Call for your reservation now, holiday season is booking up fast.

The Ambassador Club of Portsmouth offers a great rental hall with a full commercial kitchen and ice…read moremachine. Every event we have hosted there has been a huge success. The people are friendly to deal with. Plenty of parking. Flat screen tv's. I would encourage anyone looking for a rental to contact them.

I've experienced quite a few different events at this convention center! The facilities are well…read morekept, very spacious & open with lots of natural light. The parking lot is huge & offers free parking!

Recently visited VA Beach to attend a conference and it was here at the VA Beach Convention Center…read more It's a decent size center with plenty of parking around it. The architecture is beautiful and layout seems basic and mid-size. Plenty of places to stay around it and restaurants also, all within walking distance.