Downtown Richmond's Holiday 2021 Calendar

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Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year in downtown Richmond with events like RVA Illuminates, Dominion Energy Christmas Parade, Movies on Brown's Island and more.

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Visit Downtown RVA and support the local shops and small businesses like Little Nomad, Verdalina, Someday, Maven Made, Shockoe Bottom Clay and more for Shop Small Saturday, a nationally celebrated shopping holiday that highlights local and small business owners!

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It’s Richmond’s favorite holiday musical tradition – now on Thanksgiving weekend! Celebrate the season with family, friends and the Richmond Symphony at the Carpenter Theatre. Carols, classics and sparkling holiday favorites – even a visit from Santa! Conducted by Chia-Hsuan. Fee for tickets.

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A time-honored Richmond tradition will continue in 2021! See RVA shine when the switch is flipped ON to light up downtown’s skyline for the 2021 holiday season at 6:00pm. RVA Illuminates is back in-person this year with ABC8 News airing live complete coverage of performances, uplifting stories, and the official lighting. Be sure to join in the festive fun by lighting up your own storefronts and homes too! This event is coordinated by the City of Richmond Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. Free event.

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Shockoe Illuminates is the Shockoe Bottom lighting event that takes place at 17th Street Market and offers holiday shopping options from local artisans, boozy hot drinks provided by the amazing restaurants surrounding 17th Street Market, kids activities, carolers and more! Free to attend, fees for shopping, eating and drinking.

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The second annual event where local nonprofits show off their creativity by designing Christmas trees! Vote for your favorite in-person or online December 3-December 19. Free event.

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Show Broad Street some love and holiday spirit when you explore galleries, shops, restaurants, nonprofits and more on the first Friday of every month at RVA First Friday along and around Broad Street. Free to attend, fees for shopping.

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Holiday fun with a popular Grateful Dead cover band. The Richmond Music Hall requires proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result for entry. Fee for tickets.

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In this festive production, viewers find C.S. Lewis at his home near Oxford on Christmas Eve hosting a group of Americans who are Christmassing in England. They are about to experience an unforgettable assortment of Yuletide recollections which stimulates a whole range of emotions – curiosity, laughter, gladness and even some tears. Above all, they will discover how an encounter with JRR Tolkien forever changed Lewis’s Christmas celebrations. Fee for tickets.

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Welcome back the Dominion Energy Christmas Parade for its 38th annual parade celebration featuring colorful floats, giant helium balloons, high school and college marching bands, princesses, superheroes and returning favorites including the trademark Wells Fargo stagecoach, the VCU Peppas and Legendary Santa! The parade also airs LIVE on WTVR CBS6. Free event. Rain or shine. The parade starts at the Science Museum of Virginia at 10:15AM, travels eastbound on Broad Street and ends at 7th and Marshall Streets in downtown Richmond.

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The greatest story ever told. The most majestic music ever conceived. Be there for the greatest moments from Handel's Messiah with the Richmond Symphony, Richmond Symphony Chorus, and soloists. Plus, other Baroque classics to brighten your holiday musical celebration. Fee for tickets.

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This Makers Market features new makers monthly ranging from candlemakers and crafters to confections and works of clay. Head to Manchester’s Basic City Beer Co., a dog-friendly brewery, for an afternoon of shopping and supporting local RVA makers.

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Each year, boaters decorate their boats and converge on the James River for a parade that marks the beginning of the holiday season. Grab the family and gather at one of the several viewing sites: The Rocketts Landing Wharf, Virginia Capital Trail, Ancarrow's Landing and Libby Hill Park (from a considerable distance), to see the boats and enjoy the waterfront holiday entertainment. Free event.

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The Nutcracker makes its triumphant return this 2021 holiday season! Accompanied by the Richmond Symphony, Clara and her adoring Nutcracker, the glittering butterfly and dancing Russian bear will once again charm audience members of all ages. This is the final opportunity to see this version of our beloved production before it's reimagined for 2022. Fee for tickets.

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Save the date and join The Valentine for some winter cheer on their picturesque block of East Clay Street! There will be hot beverages, family crafts and games, and live music. You can also take a self-guided tour of the historic Court End neighborhood and hop on a shuttle to visit nearby cultural sites for open houses and other activities. Free event.

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All of your favorite Broad Street Arts District businesses have come together to create a fun program to both help you finish your last minute shopping and quench your thirst!

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On Friday, the 17th and Saturday, the 18th, simply pick up a score card at one of the participating businesses below, visit at least six, get your score card marked and you'll qualify for a free drink at the Lobby Bar at Quirk Hotel!*

• 707 Clothing
• Someday
• 68 Home
• The Spot RVA
• It's a Man's World
• Quirk Gallery
• Jolene
• Ledbury
• Mod & Soul
• Verdalina – free handmade holiday ornament with purchase
• Chilalay
• Rotate
• The Collective

*drink certificate good at Quirk this Friday or Saturday only

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The Holiday Villages is a multicultural holiday market shopping experience featuring local goods, art, food, music and the best of Richmond culture. This open-air market features a family-friendly experience filled with music, programming, and independent artists and vendors. While shopping, you can support the Shockoe Bottom restaurants too! Free to attend, fees for vendors.

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Join RVA Black Farmer’s Market and The Exclusive Blacklist as they present a merry time celebrating the holiday season with a vendor market, food vendors and live music happening in the heart of the Jackson Ward neighborhood. Free to attend, fee for vendors.