Join the Valentine for some holiday cheer on our picturesque block of East Clay Street! Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, enjoy a performance and partake in refreshments and family crafts. New this year, stop by the Valentine Garden for a Mini Holiday Market featuring Richmond makers including PawPaw Books, So Camp!, Three to the Em Prints, Lindsey Schwartzkopf Art, and more!
This event is free and open to the public!
As always, be sure to tour the historic Court End neighborhood and hop on a free trolley for open houses and other activities at nearby cultural sites including: the American Civil War Museum’s White House of the Confederacy, the John Marshall House, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Monumental Church, Masons’ Hall and the Shockoe Institute!
Performers:
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Honors Chamber Ensembles: This program offers advanced students the opportunity to deepen their musical growth through focused chamber music study. Performing in a small ensemble fosters leadership, independence, and collaboration—skills that build confidence and elevate musicianship.
Fox Elementary School Choir: The Fox Elementary School Choir brings together talented young voices to share their love of music. Enjoy a variety of songs from this group under the direction of dedicated faculty.
Minds in Motion Ambassadors: Minds in Motion Ambassadors is made up of over 40 advanced Minds in Motion students in 5th and 6th grades who participate in an after-school scholarship class twice a week. This diverse group of youthful, high-energy dancers learn to combine movement and rhythmic patterning into exciting and intricate choreography. The program also enables students to transition to classes at School of Richmond Ballet.
VA Opera’s Tunes & Tales: Tunes & Tales! brings the art of storytelling through words and music to everyone! Join us on an enchanting journey into the world of children’s literature and music where colorful characters and stories come to life with new and familiar tunes from opera and beyond. Perfect for children and adults alike, your whole family will be delighted by this interactive program!
Klezm’Or’Ami’m: Klezmer is dance party music with a Jewish soul. It started in Eastern Europe in the last century when small groups of wandering musicians – usually clarinetists, trumpet players and violinists – traveled from village to village, playing for both Jewish and non-Jewish events and audiences. Klezmer arrived in America beginning in the early 1900’s and adopted a few of the customs of its new homeland, most notably, the piano.
Trolley Stops:
The American Civil War Museum’s White House of the Confederacy: With a mission to explore the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War, the American Civil War Museum operates three sites. The White House of the Confederacy, the wartime home of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, provides a lens by which to explore the lives of enslaved people as well as the Davis family.
The John Marshall House: The John Marshall House served as the home of John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, from 1790 until his death in 1835. Today, the John Marshall House preserves the largest collection of original Marshall family belongings, offering visitors an intimate look at Marshall’s personal life alongside his distinguished political career during the formative years of the American republic.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church: Founded in 1845, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has stood across from Richmond’s State Capitol for more than 180 years. A parish of the Diocese of Virginia, St. Paul’s is recognized on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Today, this historic downtown church continues its tradition of worship, music, and community service. Visitors are warmly welcomed to experience St. Paul’s and its enduring place in Richmond’s history.
Monumental Church: Historic Richmond invites you to Monumental Church, a National Historic Landmark completed in 1814 as a memorial to the victims of the Richmond Theatre Fire (1811), one of the worst urban tragedies in early American history. Designed by famed architect Robert Mills, the church was built on the theatre site as a worship space and memorial to the over 70 individuals who died in the fire. Historic Richmond has stewarded the building since 1983, preserving its architectural and cultural significance.
Masons’ Hall: Historic Masons’ Hall. With its cornerstone laid in 1785 it is America’s oldest Masonic lodge building. Founding fathers John Marshall and Edmund Randolph heavily influenced its building and upon its completion it was used for community gatherings, entertainment, balls, religious services, city council meetings and court sessions. Visitors have included the Marquis de Lafayette and King Edward VII.
The Poe Museum: The Poe Museum is a literary museum in Richmond, Virginia, dedicated to the mission of illuminating Poe for everyone, evermore.
The Shockoe Institute: Expanding Freedom, the Shockoe Institute’s exhibit, immerses you in the history of America’s struggle to expand human freedom. Through seven distinct sections, you will learn about the origins and growth of racial slavery in America. You will reflect on Richmond’s rise as an epicenter in the national trade of enslaved people and how racial slavery touched virtually every aspect of American life before the Civil War. At the conclusion of the exhibit, you will have an opportunity to act on what you’ve learned and consider how to put this history to work to improve our civic life.
