Behind the Holiday: The First Thanksgiving — Film Premiere & Reception

Proceeds from the event will support Plimoth Patuxet Museums' educational mission in the 400th anniversary year of the 1621 Harvest Feast, today known as the First Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is America’s quintessential, original holiday. It creates a continuity in the American experience. From one generation to the next we pass on the family traditions and favorite recipes, the heirloom china and the stories that accompany these personal treasures. Feast that it is, the gift of Thanksgiving isn’t really about the day’s menu though; the gift is gathering together in gratitude. In this moment of our Nation’s history, this gift and message are needed now more than ever. Plimoth Patuxet is looking forward to celebrating the holiday and its 400th anniversary with neighbors and friends, and has cooked-up an offering of premiere tickets from free to $100 to ensure everyone has a seat at the table and an opportunity to reflect and be inspired by our local history.

Guided by interviews with curators and experts, including Wampanoag tribal historians, this film explores the authentic origins of the holiday. Cinematic, historically accurate recreations filmed at Plimoth Patuxet Museums' 17th-Century English Village, the Historic Patuxet Homesite and Mayflower II, bring the story to life, while objects from the Smithsonian collections transport viewers back in time.

Guests are also offered the opportunity to attend a pre-screening reception at 6:00 that evening featuring a meet and greet with the film’s producers, delectable tastes and beverages inspired by the season, and to view the Museum’s newly debuted Thanksgiving exhibition, We Gather Together: Thanksgiving, Gratitude, and the Making of an American Holiday. A screening of the film and discussion with Plimoth Patuxet Museums’ scholars and the filmmakers will follow the premiere of Behind the Holiday: The First Thanksgiving in the Linn Theater. Proceeds from the Premiere Reception will support Plimoth Patuxet’s educational mission in the 400th anniversary year of the 1621 Harvest Feast known as the First Thanksgiving.

*Image: Still from Behind the Holiday: The First Thanksgiving courtesy of The Biscuit Factory.