Community Calendar

Looking for a fun and educational option for your kids this summer? There's still time to register for RFBC's Music Camp, August 3-7. Rising 1st through 5th graders are invited to join us for a week of music and rhythm! We will spend the week preparing for the fall musical “Star Search!”

Cost: $70 for all 5 mornings (8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)
Extended day option: $17 per afternoon (12:30-4:30 p.m.)

Children will need to bring their lunch if they are in the all-day program.

Sign up by July 20!

Aug 3, 2026, 8:30am to
Aug 7, 2026, 12:30pm Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)

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. 

Mallory Zondag, award-winning artist and educator living in New York, uses fiber arts and sculpture to explore the natural world and how it relates to the physical body and the human experience.

She explores deeply personal and connective universal stories through the meditative and hands-on practices of wet felting, weaving, sculpting, and stitching, seeking to bring the ephemeral into physical being. 

This exhibition of work includes a site-specific installation at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, which was created using hand felted wool, wax, fibers, fabrics and objects both found and recycled. 

Mallory Zondag: Transmissions from the Anthropocene, on view at the museum from July 30 - December 5, will be accompanied by an artist lecture and a series of community workshops in the Roanoke Valley.

Image Credits: Mallory Zondag, the VOID, 2026. Wood, Blackest Black in the Known Universe paint, tufted wool yarn, felted wool, wire, plastic waste, paper mache, sound. In collaboration with Peter Ossi, woodworker, and Lin Furio, sound designer.

Step into Sacred Queerness: Nature, Spirituality, and the Queer Experience in the main gallery — a powerful exhibition benefiting Virginia Pride through sales from this show. Also on view: solo exhibitions by T. Parker, Justin White, Heather McCoy, and Mandy Powell, the Community Bridge Project featuring Zahra Chowdhury, and a brand-new All Media Show highlighting local talent. Also see 80+ working artist studios.

Visit us Tuesdays through Sundays 11am- 5pm. Admission is free and open to the public. Convenient and free parking is available. Exhibits will remain on view through August 22nd, 2026 (unless otherwise noted). The Bridge Project Exhibit will continue through August 31st. Sacred Queerness: Nature, Spirituality, and the Queer Experience continues through September 19th, 2026.

Robert Carter Nicholas (1729–1780) was a member of a privileged, elite Virginia family, prominent lawyer, tobacco planter, leading member of the House of Burgesses, treasurer, churchman, and active participant in the political dramas that led to independence. His life allows us to see how men and women of the upper classes lived; how they depended on slavery for their wealth and social status; how they were surrounded by enslaved people almost all of the time; how they brought up and educated their children; how the complex international tobacco economy on which they depended operated; how the institutions of government, such as the legislature and the courts, functioned; and how members of elite families dominated the politics of the time. Tracing the life of this one Virginian illuminates the experiences of other Virginians during two decades of profoundly important challenges and changes, which culminated in the decision of elite leaders like Nicholas—who at first glance appear to have had nothing to gain and much to lose by risking a revolution—to vote for independence from Great Britain in 1776.

Brent Tarter is a founding editor of the Library of Virginia’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography and a cofounder of the annual Virginia Forum. He is the author of numerous books, including The Grandees of Government: The Origins and Persistence of Undemocratic Politics in Virginia; Virginians and Their Histories; Vignettes of Colonial Virginia: Remarkable Stories from the Founding of America; and Virginia’s Forgotten Founder: The World of Robert Carter Nicholas.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

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

"Fiddler on the Roof" takes the stage as Summer Musical Enterprise (SME) proudly presents this timeless Broadway masterpiece. Winner of nine Tony Awards, this beloved musical blends humor, heart, and history as it follows Tevye, a poor milkman in the village of Anatevka, who fights to uphold tradition while the world around him shifts.

With unforgettable songs like "If I Were a Rich Man," "Matchmaker," and "Sunrise, Sunset," a vibrant ensemble, and storytelling that spans generations, "Fiddler on the Roof" stands as one of musical theatre's most long-standing classics. Join the SME community for a celebration of family, resilience, and the traditions that shape us.

Jazz in the Park Concert Series is an annual summer music series featuring a different top quality professional jazz band on Thursdays, 7-9 pm at the Gypsy Hill Park Bandstand in Staunton Va. This 2026 summer season runs weekly on Thursdays July 9- Sept. 3. Concerts are FREE & open to the public, held rain or shine. Some bench seating available in front of the bandstand, Lawn chairs/blankets recommended to stretch out comfortably under the trees in this lovely park setting. Concessions are available. Family Friendly event.
Info: Call/ TEXT 540-280-4321

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

Bringing their signature blend of roots, folk, and high-energy Americana, Old Crow Medicine Show delivers a dynamic live performance at the Academy Center of the Arts. Known for their infectious stage presence, rich storytelling, and genre-defining sound, the Grammy-winning group transforms every show into a vibrant celebration of American string-band tradition.

Audiences can expect an unforgettable night of driving rhythms, masterful musicianship, and the kind of communal energy that has made Old Crow Medicine Show a beloved force in contemporary roots music.