Happy Birthday, Charlottesville!

Charlottesville Welcome

This year marks the 250th birthday of Charlottesville. Now that’s a pretty big deal and something definitely worth celebrating, so a steering committee comprised of city council members, city representatives and involved citizens organized Celebrate! 250 Charlottesville -- a calendar of exciting events taking place over the next six months to mark this special year and to honor the history of our fair city. 

Get ready folks -- this is going to be quite a party! For starters, don’t miss the inaugural Virginia Festival of History taking place May 26 to June 3, 2012. The nine-day celebration features over 50 activities highlighting the cultural heritage of the Commonwealth, including lectures, concerts, exhibits and tours. There will even be – get this – an unearthing of a time capsule buried in 1962! Most events are free and take place around the downtown area.

The festivities will include a reenactment of the British invasion of 1781; discussions by panels of scholars on education and religion; war; civil rights; and changes in Charlottesville’s architecture, development and design, to name a few. There will also be a living-history performance made up of over 100 costumed participants along with period food, music, and dancing.

Sounds pretty exciting, don’t you think? And that’s just the beginning! The big birthday party – the Grand 250 Gala -- will take place on November 11 at the John Paul Jones Arena. There will be wine, light dining and dancing and -- according to the Celebrate! 250 Charlottesville web site -- a surprise national musical act. No one’s letting the cat out of the bag just yet, so we’ll have to stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the on-going celebration and keep an eye on the CVIO web site and Facebook page for updates!