By Frank and Gloria Womble
This is the sixteenth in a series of articles leading up to the Lafayette Farewell Tour Bicentennial celebration. For earlier articles, see suffolkva250/history
Colonial Williamsburg’s professional Lafayette interpreter, Mark Schneider, will appear at three bicentennial events in Suffolk in February 2025. Mark immerses himself in the role, captivating audiences with his unique blend of history and theatrical interpretation. Attendees will be transported to February 1825 and see Lafayette brought to life.
It is an exceptionally busy time for the man who has portrayed “America’s favorite fighting Frenchman” for the past 25 years. He was in New York City in August, where the American Friends of Lafayette kicked off a 13-month commemoration of Lafayette’s triumphant 1824-25 farewell tour of the United States with a parade down Broadway and a ceremonial welcome at City Hall. He has already appeared in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and was at events here in Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fort Monroe, Portsmouth and Norfolk in October.