Things to Do in Farmville VA
Farmville is not only full of small-town charm and hospitality, but also arts, culture and entertainment for everyone in your family. The Farmville Area Chamber of Commerce’s online community calendar of events is the perfect place to find out what’s happening in the area.
Arts & Culture
The Longwood Center for the Visual Arts is the only museum of its kind, scope and size in the area. The museum is committed to improving the quality of life in the region by providing full access to the visual arts and admission is free for everyone. The LCVA fosters creativity, intellectual curiosity and involvement in the visual arts through its exhibitions, educational programs, permanent collection and volunteer and internship programs.
Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University frequently open their doors to the community for concerts, plays, lectures, public forums, and seminars. The Esther Thomas Atkinson Museum at the college has a permanent exhibition commemorating the history of the college, as well as areas for alternation exhibitions.
The Robert Russa Moton Museum housed in the former Robert Russa Moton High School, now a National Historic Landmark and museum, is the student birthplace of America’s Civil Rights Revolution. Visit the museum to learn about how 16-year-old Barbara Johns led the 1951 Moton Student Strike that produced three-fourths of the plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the landmark Supreme Court decision desegregating U.S. schools. The museum is free and open to the public. Guided tours are available.
The Illyria Theatre Company, a nonprofit professional theater, seeks to kindle the imagination and connect to the human spirit by bringing theater to life, and bringing life to the theater. Find out about their next show on their site, www.illyriatheatrecompany.com.
The Waterworks Players community theater on Industrial Park Road in Farmville brings live theater to area residents and provides an outlet for actors, singers, designers and technicians throughout the Heart of Virginia. For showtimes and ticket information, call (434) 392-3452.
Red Door 104 is a unique learning center designed to foster an appreciation of art for students ages 4 and up. With workshops for toddlers, homeschool art programs, after school and adult classes, paint parties for both adults and children and open studio time for displaced artists, there is something for every age and artistic ability at Red Door 104.
Mainly Clay not only sells handmade gifts and clay and glaze supplies for the home studio, but also offers workshops for you to make your own creations on the potter’s wheel or by hand-building with slabs of clay. Weekly classes are offered to the public and vary from hand-building a birdhouse to making a butter dish.
The Barbara Rose Johns Farmville-Prince Edward Community Library offers services online and at the library for all ages, including computers, Wi-Fi, printing, faxing, copying, scanning, computer and technology classes, tax return assistance, meeting rooms, study rooms and test proctoring. The library regularly offers events for children with a children’s coordinator providing regular story hours for preschool children, as well as scheduled activities for older children.
The Cumberland County Public Library provides access to free high-speed internet and Microsoft Office word-processing on public computers at the library.
Farmville is also fortunate to have Sunchase Cinema 8 for the latest movies and Main Street Lanes for family and league bowling.
Annual Events in Farmville
Cumberland County holds Cumberland’s Patriot’s Day at the county’s courthouse on the third Saturday of April and includes food, craft vendors, children’s games, bounce houses and live music.
On the first Saturday in May, the streets of Farmville are lined up with art, crafts, food and an assortment of other vendors for the Heart of Virginia Festival. The festival, which was founded in 1979, is a day-long event in downtown Farmville.
Fireworks After Dark, the Town of Farmville’s Independence Day celebration, is held at the Farmville Regional Airport. Live bands, bounce houses, food and fun are followed by fireworks at the end of the day.
Live at Riverside, a monthly community event held May through October, provides area families the opportunity to meet with friends and enjoy a social evening with live bands and children’s activities at the Riverfront Park in downtown Farmville. There is no charge to attend these monthly concerts, but plenty of food and drink is available for sale, so come hungry.
Stars Under the Stars, which takes place at Crute Stage in Downtown Farmville, is held on the second Friday of every June, July and August. The outdoor event features cinema’s classic films. The event is free and open to the public; community members bring blankets and chairs and enjoy popcorn while watching the movies.
The annual Farmville Jaycees Christmas Parade sees a plethora of community organizations and members march through downtown Farmville in festive fashion. The parade regularly sees a finale of Santa and Mrs. Claus.