Community Calendar

Celebrate the beauty of fall at the 35th Annual Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival, returning September 19 through November 1, 2026 in Christiansburg, Virginia. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia's Favorite Fall Festival welcomes families from across the region for seven weekends at an award-winning pumpkin patch and corn maze with unforgettable farm fun.
This year's festival introduces America's Harvest Celebration, honoring 250 years of America's agricultural heritage, family traditions, and the spirit of the harvest. Throughout the festival, guests will experience America's Harvest Celebration through the traditions of farm life, live music, seasonal activities, local artisans, delicious food, and the simple joys of gathering with family and friends to celebrate the harvest season.
Recognized by USA TODAY's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards as the 4th Best Pumpkin Patch and 4th Best Corn Maze in the Nation in 2025, Sinkland Farms has become one of Southwest Virginia's premier fall destinations.
Wine Festival admission includes Pumpkin Festival admission.
Festival favorites include:
• Hayrides to the pumpkin patch
• Pick-your-own pumpkins and sunflowers
• A nationally recognized corn maze
• Farm animals
• Kid's Zone with giant slide, jump pad, barrel train, zip line, and games
• Live music (Sat/Sun)
• Special performances by university a cappella groups
• The Virginia Tech Highty-Tighties during Hokie Spirit Weekend
• Radford University dance performances during Highlander Weekend
• Arts & Crafts vendors (Sat/Sun)
• Art in the Barn (Oct) featuring talented local artists and handcrafted goods
• Food trucks
• Face painters
• Pig races (Sat/Sun)
• Blacksmith demonstrations (Sat/Sun)
• Chainsaw carving (Sat/Sun)
• PumpkinTron, Scarecrow, and Juggling Geoff
• Pony rides and horseback trail rides (Sat/Sun, extra cost)
• Blue Ridge Extreme Mobile Laser Tag* (Fri/Sat/Sun, extra cost)
• Beer & wine on the Terrace
Opening weekend also features the 4th Annual Sinkland Farms Wine Festival on September 19-20, where guests can sample wines from Virginia wineries and spirits from local distilleries while enjoying live music and beautiful mountain views. Wine Festival admission includes Pumpkin Festival admission.
Punkin' Chunkin' returns to the farm on October 3rd and 4th with Team Carbo's trebouchet, an innovative new catapult design that uses large rubber bands to power it. This catapult won't be using any motors - it's manually cocked and operated.
Special musical guests include:
Saturday, Oct 10 - Makenzie Phipps of NBC's The Voice
Sunday, Oct 11 - Lily Comer a country favorite
Saturday, Oct 24 - Noah Spencer of NBC's The Voice
Come celebrate autumn where family traditions, agriculture, and Appalachian hospitality come together at one of Virginia's favorite fall festivals. Photographers are encouraged to get photography passes for their clients with the beautiful backdrop of sunflowers, pumpkins, and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
When: Sept 19-Nov 1, 2026
Thursdays (October) & Fridays: 4:00–8:00 PM (limited activities)
Saturdays & Sundays: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM (full festival)
Where: Sinkland Farms
3060 Riner Rd
Christiansburg, VA 24073
Admission:
Thursdays(Oct)/Fridays - $15 per person, $14 seniors, military & first responders, free for children 3 and under
Saturdays/Sundays - $20 per person, $19 seniors, military & first responders, free for children 3 and under
Details: https://sinklandfarms.com/pumpkin-festival-about
Tickets: https://sinklandfarms.ticketspice.com/sinkland-farms-pumpkin-festival-2026

Experience the magic of Garden Glow presented by Kroger, Maymont's largest annual fundraiser and one of Richmond's favorite fall experiences. Spectacular light displays transform Maymont after dark into an unforgettable evening of color and light.

Wander the illuminated Glow Path sponsored by Kinsale Capital Group featuring larger-than-life displays, explore the rainbow of color in the Japanese Garden after dark, then gather around cozy fire pits in Glow Village with your whole crew. Enjoy local food trucks, Glow Bars sponsored by CoStar Group, seasonal treats and glowing photo opportunities.

Come learn the sport of rugby while getting fit and making great friends. All are welcome. No experience necessary.

Jazz in the Park is an annual summer concert series featuring a different top quality professional jazz group on Thursdays 7-9 pm at the Bandstand in Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton Va. This 2026 summer season runs July 9 - Sept. 3. Concerts are Free & open to the public, held rain or shine. Concessions are available. Some bench seating available in front of the bandstand; lawn chairs/ blankets recommended to stretch out comfortably in this lovely park seating under the trees. Family friendly. Come out & enjoy all the great music this summer! 🎶
For more info call or TEXT : 540-280-4321

Rural Idaho. Difficult Memories. An estranged father’s house to sell. From the acclaimed author of The Whale, Little Bear Ridge Road confronts issues as wide as galaxies and as intimate as family secrets.

After the death of his long-estranged father, Ethan returns to the tiny hometown he once escaped—only to find himself face to face with the only family he has left: his sharp-tongued, fiercely independent aunt. While cleaning up years of a failing family, the two are forced to confront old pain, unfinished conversations, and the orbit that keeps pulling them back to a place they want to leave.

At its core, Little Bear Ridge Road is a deeply human story about distance and return, silence and understanding, and the complicated ways families try—and sometimes struggle—to show up for each other, even when words fall short.

Performances on Wednesday (alternating 2PM and 7PM), Thursdays and Fridays (7PM), Saturdays (2PM and 7PM), and Sundays (3PM)

Ticket link: https://va-rep.org/events/little-bear-ridge-road/

Address: Virginia Repertory Theatre - 114 W. Broad St, Richmond VA
Phone: 804-282-2620

tickets@virginiarep.org

One of “the funniest plays Broadway has ever seen!” (The Huffington Post), this slapstick comedy asks if the show must go on - if the set is falling down around you. It’s opening night for the cast of Cornley Drama Society’s newest production, The Murder at Haversham Manor! But as soon as the curtain goes up, everything that can go wrong…does! Physical comedy, non-stop pandemonium, and a cast of increasingly frantic actors - it’s a night of theatre the audience will never forget - even if the cast wishes they did.

Performances on Wednesday (alternating 2PM and 7PM), Thursdays and Fridays (7PM), Saturdays (2PM and 7PM), and Sundays (3PM)

Don’t miss Grace & Glorie, Oct. 9-Nov. 8. The poignant, heartwarming comedy by acclaimed Virginia playwright Tom Ziegler explores love, loss, and the universal search for meaning in all our lives. Grace, a fiercely independent 90-year-old with terminal cancer, checks herself out of the hospital to spend her final days at her rustic cabin home nestled deep in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains. Glorie, a Harvard MBA, is searching for a new purpose in her life and hoping to find peace in Appalachia, far from the demands of New York City. She volunteers for her local hospice program. Her first client is Grace. What begins as the hilarious collision of two opposite cultures and generations turns into a rich and abiding friendship, in which each woman finds her home. Filled with humor, heart and hope, Grace and Glorie is a celebration of the transformative power of human connection, and a tribute to the strength and resilience of women and their friendships at any age. Starring Richmond favorites Catherine Shaffner* and Amber Marie Martinez. (*Member, Actors' Equity Association)

Our Fall Waterways Cleanup is part of the Virginia Waterways Cleanups. The Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup supports the efforts of Clean Virginia Waterways and the Virginia Waterways Cleanups. These annual fall events encourage residents to clean up litter that might otherwise find its way into our rivers and beaches.

Individuals, families, civic organizations, businesses, and other groups in the Roanoke Valley are invited to make a difference by picking up litter during Clean Valley Council's Fall Waterways Cleanup kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 3. Participants may pick up litter on land or along or in the rivers, creeks, and streams in their neighborhoods or public locations in the cities of Roanoke and Salem, the Town of Vinton, and the counties of Roanoke and Botetourt.

The valley-wide cleanup promotes respect and cares for the beautiful community we share. Pick your spot, pick your team, pick a date in October, and register. All volunteers are given FREE trash bags, trash grabbers, gloves, and safety vests (as requested).

Help us keep litter out of our waterways! Register HERE https://www.cleanvalley.org/fall-waterway-cleanup

Medicare Advantage or Part D plans change every year. Medication coverage and costs, premiums, deductibles, and provider networks may all be different next year - even if you make no changes. Stay in control by reviewing options during Open Enrollment.

JABA offers FREE, unbiased counseling from certified volunteers. Choose a plan that will best cover your medications and save you money. Understand your options. Make an informed decision. Request an Appointment: (434) 817-5248 or jabacares.org/medicare-counseling

Persian/Iranian-American artist Maryam Safajoo works in oil on linen, creating intimate and vulnerable narrative paintings. Safajoo documents the stories of the Iranian Bahá’í community’s systematic persecution after the 1979 revolution—stories that are often erased, silenced, or preserved only in the memories of those who endured them.

Many of the incidents she depicts only exist in the memory of those who experienced them and have no pictorial evidence. Through conversations, interviews, and archival research, she reconstructs these histories with meticulous detail, incorporating the clothing, artifacts, and environments that were present at these events. 

Through her work, Safajoo reflects on a world free from prejudice—one where people are not judged by their beliefs, gender, identity, race, or social status.

Maryam Safajoo: The Dream of Freedom will be on view at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum from August 6 - December 12, 2026. 

Please be sure to join the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum for Safajoo’s artist talk on Friday, September 18th at 6 PM in the Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center, Room 119.

Image Credits: Maryam Safajoo, As Leaven to the World, 2024. Oil on linen, 24 x 20 inches. Courtesy of the Artist.