Easter sunrise service at Fort Monroe could be its last

By Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 23, 2011

For more than 50 years, a crowd has gathered outdoors at Fort Monroe to celebrate the most holy day of the Christian calendar: Easter.

The Army base hosts a nondenominational Easter service at Continental Park, where the faithful gather at dawn to worship as the sun rises over the Chesapeake Bay.

On Sunday, the Army community will mark its last such gathering. The military is leaving the historic Hampton base in September, and the 565-acre property will become state property.

But Bill Armbruster, executive director of the Fort Monroe Authority, said he hopes the sunrise service will live on.

“While this will be the last hosted by the Army, this is a tradition we hope to continue,” Armbruster said this week.

Also participating will be the volunteer Easter Sunrise Community Choir and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band, recording artist Laymetha Reed-Guy, and a harpist who uses her music to help service members in therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Continental Park is at the intersection of Fenwick and Ingalls Road, adjacent to the historic Chamberlin.

Visitors must have valid vehicle registration and proof of insurance to drive onto the base, and guests 18 and older must also present a valid government-issued photo ID.