Image courtesy of Farm Aid
Farm Aid 2026 moves to Virginia this year.
Virginia Beach spends most of its promotional energy on summer. This fall it has a stronger case to make — a first-ever Farm Aid, a contemporary art biennial opening in a brand-new museum building, a national LGBTQIA+ sports tournament and a dinner where you don't learn the address until the morning of.
Here's what's on the calendar, and what's still To Be Determined.
Willie Nelson brings Farm Aid to the Oceanfront
The headline event is Farm Aid, landing at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater on Saturday, Sept. 26 — the first time the benefit has come to Virginia Beach in its four decades.
The bill is deep. Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff anchor it, joined by Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Sierra Ferrell, I'm With Her, Amythyst Kiah, Jesse Welles, Mon Rovîa, Lily Meola and Chris Pierce.
Between sets, the festival's HOMEGROWN Concessions serve food built from ingredients grown by farmers using ecological practices, and the HOMEGROWN Village runs hands-on exhibits on soil, water, energy and farming.
Tickets run roughly $85 to $350 and are available at FarmAid.org/2026. Farm Aid has disabled dynamic pricing for the event.
Art, culture and one very large dance
Made in VA Biennial opens Sept. 11 and runs through March 7, 2027 — the first edition to be staged in Virginia MOCA's new home on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus. The show has been running since 1994 and features work completed within the last two years by artists based across the Commonwealth. This round drew enough submissions to fill the open call to capacity for the first time.
FilFest USA returns to Rudee Loop Oct. 2–4, free and open to the public. Virginia Beach's Filipino cultural festival has run since 2015, with performances, music, dance and food, and this year makes a second run at the Guinness World Record for most Tinikling dancers.
Stonewall Sports holds its 12th annual National Tournament Oct. 22–25, in partnership with its Norfolk chapter, drawing close to 3,000 LGBTQIA+ athletes and allies. Competition spans ultimate frisbee, billiards, dodgeball, pickleball and beach volleyball across the Virginia Beach Sports Center, Hampton Roads Soccer Complex, the Oceanfront and Pinboys at the Beach, with socials and a closing awards night rounding out the weekend.
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center opens Mission Botanica, a changing exhibit on plants and trees, Oct. 3 through Jan. 10, 2027. The aquarium says it is reworking its Halloween programming this year but has not yet released details.
Over Labor Day weekend, musician and surfer Donavon Frankenreiter hosts the Rhythm & Ride Retreat at Atlantic Park — a two-day, all-skill-levels program of surfing, food and music that ends with a public after-party and concert.
Three ways to eat
Beard at the Beach, Sept. 21 at Zoe's Steak + Seafood, gathers chefs from across the region for a single collaborative multi-course dinner honoring Coastal Virginia cooking. It's presented by the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association and Virginia Eats + Drinks as a Friends of James Beard Benefit, hosted by food journalist and chef Patrick Evans-Hylton, who has covered the state's food scene for three decades.
Hidden Table debuts Oct. 26 as a reservation-only dinner with a twist: you buy a ticket without knowing the restaurant. The location is revealed the day of. Ticketing details have not been announced.
And in November, Evans-Hylton and Virginia Eats + Drinks will attempt the world's longest oyster po-boy at the Virginia Beach Sports Center, timed to Virginia Oyster Month. The date has not been set, and organizers say the Guinness certification is still in process.
Getting around, and looking ahead
New this season: Pinky's, a pedicab service running the length of Atlantic Avenue. Local entrepreneur Stanton McDuffie launched the custom steel-framed cabs in 2025 for short hops between parking, the sand and dinner reservations.
One for the longer calendar — the Patriotic Festival returns to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for Memorial Day weekend 2027 after several years in Norfolk, with Bailey Zimmerman, Ella Langley and Riley Green headlining. That's not a fall trip, but tickets are already on sale.
Virginia Beach is roughly 200 miles from Alexandria, about three-and-a-half hours by car without traffic.
