Event Summary

This Thanksgiving, consider joining a small group of grateful families as we gather together in Plymouth Massachusetts to remember the Lord’s kindness and mercy, just as our Pilgrim Forefather’s did almost 400 years ago. Armed with great faith that upheld them through incredible trials that claimed half of them by the end of the first winter, these 104 hearty souls now have over 30 million descendants! Come spend the week learning, remembering and celebrating the providence of God in our nation’s founding and the birthplace of her spiritual heritage. This remarkable tour will include the celebration of Thanksgiving with a Pilgrim-style feast at Plimoth Plantation. We look forward to seeing you there!

Listen to Bill Potter and Dan Ford on the Colin Gunn Show!

‘Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims’ Tour Includes


Plimoth Plantation


Mayflower II


Plimoth Plantation Reenactors


Plymouth Walking Tour


Pilgrim Thanksgiving Dinner


Christian Fellowship


The U.S.S. Constitution


Dan Ford and His Rare Source Documents


Bill Potter’s Providential History Teaching


Lexington Green


Concord’s Old North Bridge


Boston’s Freedom Trail

Tour Highlights

Spend Thanksgiving in America’s Hometown — Plymouth Massachusetts!

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together. And… by the goodness of God we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.” —Edward Winslow, 1621

Thanksgiving is America’s holiday and Plymouth is the symbol of where our national celebration began. Enjoy the company of your family and friends, as we enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the New England trimmings among Pilgrim role players and Native interpreters at Plimoth Plantation, the 17th-Century English Village re-creation of the small farming and maritime community built by the Pilgrims.

Two Thanksgiving Feasts!

We will enjoy a “private” Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday evening at the hotel. It will be just our group so we will have the freedom to sing, pray, and bring testimony to the Lord’s work in our lives throughout the evening. On Friday, we will go to Plimouth Plantation and enjoy a morning walking through the village amongst the Pilgrim reenactors, visiting the museum and craft demonstration area before enjoying another Thanksgiving Feast at the Plantation among the general public and Pilgrims at the Plantation at 1pm.


Plimoth Plantation


Reenactors in Character


Mayflower II

The English Village brings colonial Plymouth vividly to life. Here you will find modest timber-framed houses furnished with reproductions of the types of objects that the Pilgrims owned, aromatic kitchen gardens, and heritage breeds of livestock. Engaging townspeople are eager to tell you about their new lives in Plymouth Colony. The people you meet are costumed role players portraying actual residents of Plymouth Colony. They have adopted the names, viewpoints and life histories of the people who lived and worked in the Colony in 1627. Each has a unique story to tell.


Plymouth Rock Monument


Pilgrim Mothers Monument


Burial Hill

In addition to a very special Thanksgiving day with the Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation, we will be exploring the solid oak timbers and tarred hemp rigging of the full-scale reproduction of the tiny vessel that bore 102 souls across the sea on a 66-day voyage. . . the Mayflower. We will also tour the Jenney Gristmill, originally constructed in 1636 on Town Brook and fully operational today.

Plymouth Town Tours

Learn about the people, places and events of the beginning of our country as you walk along Town Brook on the same paths our forefathers walked centuries ago. Visit the grave sites of our ancestors and become acquainted with the thoughts of these remarkable people. Discover why the Pilgrims changed from communal living to land ownership, and how this change led to the beginning of free trade, industry and capitalism in our country. Hear about the relationship between the Pilgrims and Natives and how they worked together in support of each other. Stops include Burial Hill, Plymouth Mother’s Monument, Plymouth Rock, the National Monument to the Forefathers, Brewster Gardens and much more!


National Monument to the Forefathers


Detail of National Monument to the Forefathers


Brewster Gardens*

Special Evening Lectures in a Very Historic House

Through God’s kind providence and the generosity of our friends at The Leyden Group, we have been given access to a beautiful and historic home on the oldest residential street in America! Built on the site where the first Common House was erected by the Pilgrims and where they signed the remarkable treaty with the Wampanoag Indians in 1621, #33 Leyden Street will serve as our venue for various activities throughout the tour.


Historic Home at 33 Leyden Street


Gathering Inside 33 Leyden Street


The Significance of 33 Leyden Street

Boston

We will begin our adventure in Boston, where we will spend a day on The Freedom Trail, visiting ancient burial grounds at The Granary, Kings Chapel and Copp’s Hill, along with historic patriot gathering places like Faneuil Hall, Old North Church and Old South Meeting House telling the stories of the liberty, conspiracy and victory that forged our nation’s independence. We will walk the battlefield at Lexington — site of the “shot heard ‘round the world” and charge over the famous bridge at Concord, where the first military engagements of the war for Independence were fought.


Lexington and Concord


King’s Chapel


Copp’s Hill

You’ll return from your trip with a renewed sense of gratitude and respect for these true founding fathers who sacrificed all they had to forge the liberty we now enjoy.

Event Speakers

Historian Bill Potter

Historian Bill Potter

An experienced historian and avid bibliophile, Bill Potter combines a lifelong study of American history with an uncommon ability to captivate audiences of all ages as he traces the providential acts of God throughout the ages. Mr. Potter has taught history in high schools and colleges, has led many tours of American and European historical sites and brings to each event a wealth of experience and knowledge. An experienced researcher and writer, Mr. Potter possesses a practical knowledge of antiquarian books, documents, and artifacts and has published several short books and has penned many articles and book reviews for publication. Bill has earned a well-deserved reputation as a man gifted in communicating the story of God’s providential hand in American history. As a father of eight children, he appreciates the necessity of passing on to the succeeding generations the richness of both our regional and national history. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in Virginia.

Dan Ford

Dan Ford

Dan Ford has been an avid collector of artifacts and historic documents for nearly two decades. As a researcher and historian, he has compiled an archive of original source materials by which to verify contemporary accounts of the lives of our forebears. These artifacts range from more ancient cuneiform tablets, scrolls, and pottery, to less ancient pamphlets, maps, broadsheets, books, private letters, and public documents. He has been a group teacher and conference speaker on the subjects of Christian English and American history for the past ten years. His single goal in each presentation has been to explain and document, by way of facts and artifacts, the abundant evidence of our godly cultural inheritance. With twenty-five years in the field of graphic illustration, he is well-known for his illustrated work In the Name of God, Amen. Dan and his wife Theresa reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

Event Schedule

Note: Schedule days and venues subject to change.

Monday, November 24
7:00pm Introductions and Tour Overview — Radisson
Tuesday, November 25
8:00am Depart for Boston Via Motor Coach
9:30am Freedom Trail in Boston! — Walking Tour Stops Include:
Boston Common, Granary Burying Grounds, Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, King’s Chapel, Old South Meeting House, Commonwealth (premier antiquarian bookstore), Books Old State House, Site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
4:30pm Depart Boston for Plymouth
6:00pm Arrive in Plymouth (Dinner on Your Own)
7-9pm Optional Play—Venture of 1620 at Memorial Hall
Wednesday, November 26
8:00am Depart for Boston Via Motor Coach
9:30am Old North Concord Bridge
11:30am Bunker Hill
1:00pm Lunch
2:15pm Bunker Hill
3:30pm USS Constitution
5:00pm Depart Boston for Plymouth
6:00pm Arrive in Plymouth (Dinner on Your Own)
Evening Optional Fellowship at Leyden House
Thursday, November 27
9:00am Depart Hotel for Walking Tour of Plymouth
4:30pm Conclusion of Walking Tour
6:30pm Special Thanksgiving Dinner at 33 Leyden Street
Friday, November 28
9:00am Leave Radisson
9:30am Plimoth Plantation
1:00pm Thanksgiving Feast with the Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation!
2:30pm National Monument to the Forefathers
3:00pm Free Time in Plymouth
7:00pm Farewell Reception at Radisson

 

Radisson Plymouth Harbor
3180 Water Street
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508)-747-4900

Questions During the Tour?
Call Kevin Turley at
(210)-885-9351

Accommodations

Plymouth Radisson Harbor Hotel

For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Plymouth Radisson Harbor Hotel (180 Water St, Plymouth, MA 02360) at the special rate of $109 for Landmark Events guests.

Located just across the street from the bay, the Radisson welcomes guests with a host of convenient amenities and a scenic location. To make reservations, call (508)-747-4900, or visit the Radisson web site.

Ticket Information

Ticket Pricing Information

Child (under 5):Free*
Youth (5-17):$549
Adult (18+):$649

* 4 and under free if sitting on lap of family member.

Included in This Tour

  • Opening night welcome reception Monday, November 24
  • Private Thursday evening Thanksgiving dinner at the Radisson
  • Friday Thanksgiving feast at the Plimoth Plantation with the pilgrims
  • All venue admissions and guides throughout the tour
  • Electronic headset receiver for ease of hearing guides
  • Transportation on a top-of-the-line motor coach
  • Teaching from 2 professional historians/churchmen: Bill Potter & Dan Ford
  • Lunch Tuesday & Wednesday
  • Farewell reception Friday evening, November 28
  • Access to deeply discounted rates at Plymouth Radisson Harbor Hotel
  • Rich fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ

If you have any questions, or if we can be of service in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Study Preparation

Key People

Squanto

Sachem Massasoit

Governor William Bradford

Governor John Winthrop

Rev. Cotton Mather

Paul Revere

General Joseph Warren

Samuel Adams

John Hancock

John Adams

Major John Pitcairn

King George, III

Pastor John Robinson

James Otis

Mercy Warren

Betsy Ross

General Thomas Gage

King Phillip

Miles Standish

William Brewster

Key Issues and Topics

The Doctrine of Providence

The Mayflower Compact

The Virginia Company

Wampanoag Confederacy

The City on a Hill

Commonwealth

The Old Deluder Satan Act

Colonial Charter

Township Selectmen

The Battle of Bunker Hill

The Intolerable Acts

The Sons of Liberty

The Stamp Act

Writs of Assistance

Plymouth Plantation

Continental Congress

Suggested Reading

Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford

John Winthrop, by Francis J. Bremer

The Puritan Experiment, by Francis J. Bremer

The Puritan Family, by Edmund Morgan

The Mathers: Three Generations of Puritan Intellectuals, 1596-1728, by Robert Middlekauff

Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were, by Leland Ranken

The Guise of Every Graceless Heart, by Terrill Elniff

The Minutemen and Their World, by Robert A. Gross

Now We Are Enemies: The Story of Bunker Hill, by Thomas J. Fleming

Paul Revere’s Ride, by David Hackett Fischer

The Boston Campaign, by Victor Brooks

Driven to Resistance, Vol. 1, by R.A. Sheats


Upcoming Events

Mobile Bay Tour
March 20-23, 2024

Cradle of Liberty Tour
Aug 15-20, 2024