A year of nonstop festivals in Virginia Beach

Vacations are all about fun, and a Virginia Beach festival is the perfect fit for a getaway.

In Virginia Beach, as the city celebrates its 60^th anniversary, a calendar filled with premier festivals and special events presents an exciting line-up throughout 2023:

FEBRUARY

Sip and savor an expansive selection of the commonwealth’s best wines, ciders, beer and more at the annual Coastal Virginia Magazine WineFest (Feb. 11 & 12) inside the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Table packages are available for groups of 10.

Black culture takes center stage when the Cirque Zuma Zuma performs at Sandler Center for the Arts (Feb. 12), wowing audiences with an African circus through music, drumming and dance. Complement the experience with a self-guided tour of the city’s African-American cultural sites .

MARCH

Even little leprechauns will enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day festivities highlighted by the 51st Annual Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend (Mar. 17 – 19). From the starting line to the final mile, the flat, fast and scenic oceanfront course offers a series of race distances for all ages and abilities.

APRIL

Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams brings his Something In The Water music festival back to the beach this spring (April 28 – 30) for a star-studded weekend of live music on oceanfront stages. The event also highlights arts and culture through a series of performances, capsule events and community activities.

Head to the new Bulls & Barrels Beach Rodeo (April 15 – 16). It’s an official SEBRA rodeo circuit stop and the first-ever competition held on sand, complete with bull riding, barrel racing and rodeo clowns.

The East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic (April 22) sees restaurants compete for the coveted Critic’s and People’s Choice awards in an outdoor tasting event that showcases one of the coastal city’s favorite menu items.

The Z Fringe Festival (Apr. 7 & 8) is the region’s first major theater festival and showcases unique creative works in a weekend of adventurous theater and theater-adjacent art that pushes the envelope.

Historic Garden Week in Virginia celebrates its 90^th Anniversary and includes a semi-walkable route through notable Virginia Beach North End neighborhood homes and gardens (April 19). The nation’s only statewide home and garden tour, it offers nearly 30 unique tours of private landscapes, public gardens and historic sites.

MAY

The Atlantic Coast Kite Festival (May 6 & 7) brings a kaleidoscope of color to the shoreline, and Monsters on the Beach (May 19 – 21) features off-road trucks competing on a beach obstacle course. The 20th Annual Coastal Edge Steel Pier Classic & Surf Art Expo showcases the power of the ocean on the shore via sport and art (May 26 – 29).

Live music make waves in May. Shag dance in the sand to ‘60s tunes during Beach Music Cruise-In (May 12 – 13). The Salute to Summer (May 26 – 28) celebrates and honors the stories of military sacrifice from U.S. history with three oceanfront stages of music.

As part of the 26^th Annual Virginia Arts Festival lineup, Virginia Beach venues hosts a number of top performing artists throughout the city. Ballet Hispanico and the Mark Morris Group dance onto the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts stage, and illusionist Scott Silven mesmerizes guests at a prix fixe dinner at the Historic Cavalier Resort Hotel. A series of classical music performances, including the Virginia Symphony, plus the popular Virginia International PANFest (May 12 & 13) round out the Virginia Beach schedule.

JUNE

Action sports have a new oceanfront home with the arrival of Jackalope Fest (June 2 – 4) to Virginia Beach. High adrenaline sports including skateboarding, BASE jumping, bouldering and break dancing hit the beach during an action-fueled weekend.

All summer long, the ongoing Live! on Atlantic pop-up entertainment makes every night feel like a festival! Weekly, the Oceanfront Concert Series (Wednesdays, June 7 – Aug. 24) features regional talent, and the Beach Blanket Outdoor Movie Series (Thursdays, June 22 – Aug. 17) shows free family movies by the sea.

The colorful Chalk the Walk (June 17) public art event on the Boardwalk welcomes the creative designs of professional, amateur and youth artists, and things get spicy during La Fiesta! Virginia Beach (June 16 & 17) that celebrates Latin culture with music, dancing, food and crafters.

JULY

Dance with the crowds to all your favorite songs at the Totally Tribute Weekend (June 30 – July 2) when musical tribute artists rock the scene performing top hits from several generations on dueling oceanfront stages.

A pair of sparkling fireworks displays paired with live music performances make for memorable Independence Day festivities. The Stars & Stripes Celebration lights up the oceanfront, and the July 4^th Celebration at Mount Trashmore also includes food trucks at the outdoor landmark.

The ongoing summer series expands this year with a week-long Beach Blanket Film Festival, bundling a themed collection of nightly family movies under the stars (July 18 – 22).

AUGUST

A night of hope and joy comes to the waters of Mount Trashmore when the Virginia Beach Water Lantern Festival lights the night (Aug. 5). There are live beachfront shows and dance contests during the annual Funk Fest (Aug. 25 & 26).

The world’s longest-running surf competition carves up the Virginia Beach coastline from 1^st to 9^th Streets during the 61^st Annual East Coast Surfing Championship (Aug. 20 – 27). The eight-day, international surf contest welcomes several hundred surfers each year competing for titles, prizes, history and the love of surfing.

SEPTEMBER

Soak up those last days of summer at the Live the Life Festival (Sept. 1 – 3). National recording acts set the tone on oceanfront stages, and a Sunset Seafood Boil caps the season.

The 49^th Annual Virginia Beach Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend (Sept. 29 – Oct. 1) celebrates the city’s mythical champion through pageantry and jubilation. With dozens of events spanning 30 blocks over the weekend, it is the commonwealth’s largest annual special event and includes a grand parade, live music, fine art and craft show, athletic competitions, sailing regatta and more. The weekend’s signature event is the International Sand Sculpting Championship that hosts craftsmen from around the globe.

OCTOBER

One of the only outdoor art shows produced by an accredited museum, the 67^th Annual Virginia MOCA Boardwalk Art Show (Oct. 20 – 22) is ranked as a top 15 Fine Art Show of the Decade by Sunshine Artist Magazine. The three-day festival is one of the city’s oldest events and welcomes nearly 200 juried artists from around the country.

Halloween festivities deliver fun for the whole family during Wicked Weekend (Oct. 27 & 28) in Virginia Beach. The region’s largest Halloween race and party, the Wicked 10K, 5K, Monster Mile and Mini Monster 1K fill the oceanfront. Later, bring the kids to Pumpkins & Pirates in the Park for games, contests and more. Grown-ups can “trick-or-treat” around 24^th Street Park to sample more than 30 fall varieties of beer and cider in a souvenir glass at the Boos & Brews event.

Watch the walls of local buildings come to life during the 6^th Annual Mural Festival (new fall date TBA) when artists live-paint 10 new outdoor scenes throughout the city’s walkable ViBe Creative District.

NOVEMBER

The nation’s first in-hotel distillery, Tarnished Truth, is the ideal host for the 5^th Annual Virginia Bourbon Invitational (Nov. 4). Pairing tapas, cigars, Adirondack chairs and live music with nearly two dozen tasting stations, the popular fest is set on the grand lawn of the historic Cavalier Resort Hotel.

Show off your personal style and cruise the shoreline at the commonwealth’s only Jeep Fest (Nov. 10 – 12).

DECEMBER

Cruise along the Boardwalk for the sparkling Holiday Lights at the Beach (Nov. 17 – Dec. 31), a drive-through light display stretching 14 blocks of the Boardwalk. It’s the only time of year vehicles can travel the oceanfront promenade, and a pair of free Bicycle Nights (Nov. 16, 2023 and Jan. 1, 2024) bookend the festive show dates. At the Town Center Snow Globe Spectacular (Nov. 24 – Dec. 23) and Last Night on the Town (Dec. 31), shop for holiday gifts amid lifesize snowglobes filled with magical Christmas scenes, live entertainers plus Santa and Mrs. Claus. Then ring in the New Year in a spectacular outdoor party on the plaza.

www.visitvirginiabeach.com.