A small group of western movie fans began meeting in 1987 to watch old cowboy movies on a big screen.

Several of us had attended film festivals in Charlotte, Knoxville,Memphis and Asheville over the years and realized the importance of preserving the Glory of Hollywood.

In 1997, we decided to sponsor our own festival. We felt that the charm of Colonial Williamsburg and the interest in Hollywood's Golden era would make a successful combination. It was decided to trial a festival that would honor not only Hollywood's Golden era in film but also the early days of Television.

The First Festival was held at the Comfort Inn in Williamsburg in March of 1997. The facility was small but intimate and everyone felt that the first effort had provided a real foundation for the future.

The first festival was so successful that we needed larger facilities for our second festival and we moved to The Holiday Inn 1776 in March of 1998. Again, a larger than expected crowd attended. More fans and more dealers required more space.

In 1999, we moved to the Holiday Inn Patriot for our Third Festival in February. A larger facility that served a larger crowd and more dealers. In 2000, we returned to The Holiday Inn Patriot and adopted it as our permanent home.

The Holiday Inn Patriot is a great facility that provides us with sufficient space to house 2 theaters, a large Star Interview Room and an oversized Dealer Memorabilia Room.

The Holiday Inn Patriot is now the home of The Williamsburg Film Festival.

We thank all of our Guest Stars for making us the Premier Film Festival on the East Coast.

1997 Williamsburg Film Festival - Comfort Inn
Dale Berry
James Best
Peter Boone
Gene Evans
Will Hutchins
Willie Phelps
Ted & Ruth Reinhart

1998 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn 1776
James Best
Peter Boone
Conrad Brooks
James Drury
Willie Phelps
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Dale Robertson
Roberta Shore
Sonny Shroyer
Johnny Western
Peggy Stewart


1999 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
James Best
Peter Boone
Peter Breck
Ben Cooper
Jan Merlin
John Mitchum
Billie Murphy
Willie Phelps
Paul Picerni
Ted & Ruth Reinhart

2000 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
Rex Allen, Jr.
Dale Berry
James Best
Peter Boone
Joseph Campanella
Harry Carey, Jr.
Gary Gray
Will Hutchins
Willie Phelps
Mala Powers
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Gale Storm
Johnny Western

2001 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
James Best
Peter Boone
Jim Bowman
Jerome Courtland
Beverly Garland
Will Jordan
Ruta Lee
Lucky Bill Parrish
Willie Phelps
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Marion Shilling
William Smith
Peggy Stewart


2002 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
Jane Adams
Ben Cooper
The LeGarde Twins
Jimmy Lydon
Donna Martell
Jan Merlin
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Lucky Bill Parrish
Frankie Thomas

2003 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
Kathryn Adams
Joseph Campanella
Dick Jones
Ed Kemmer
Jan Merlin
Ann Rutherford
Frankie Thomas
William Schallert
Johnny Western
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Mike Culver

2004 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
John Alderson
John Calvert
Joe Canutt
Alex Cord
Kim Darby
Tommy Farrell
Robert Fuller
Kay Linaker
Steve Mitchell
Betsy Palmer
Ann Robinson
William Smith
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Lucky Bill Parrish

2005 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
Kathy Garver
Ty Hardin
George Hamilton IV
Anne Jeffreys
Joan Leslie
Denny Miller
Don Stroud
Morgan Woodward
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
Lucky Bill Parrish
The Virginia Rounders

2006 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
James Best
Ben Cooper
Beverly Garland
Will Hutchins
Dick Jones
James Lydon
Jan Merlin
Lucky Bill Parrish
Mala Powers
Ted & Ruth Reinhart
William Smith
Peggy Stewart
Frankie Thomas
Johnny Western

2007 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
Richard Anderson
Audrey Dalton
Margia Dean
Ed Faulkner
James Hampton
David Huddleston
Heather Lowe
Andrew Prine
Neil Summers
Eli Barsi
Ed & Bobbi Beard
Sterling Riggs

2008 Williamsburg Film Festival - Holiday Inn Patriot
Lesley Aletter
Roger Davis
Richard Devon
Richard Herd
Gene Lesser
Lee Meriwether
Don Kay Reynolds
Jacqueline Scott
Gregory Walcott
The LeGarde Twins
Ed & Bobbi Beard
Blue River Bluegrass Band

Williamsburg Film Festival is presented by the Williamsburg Classic Film Guild, Inc.

"Williamsburg Film Festival" is trademark protected in the Commonwealth of Virginia.