Fall Break in Richmond

The Bonner Center for Civic Engagement encourages University of Richmond students to use their Fall Break to take advantage of the exciting offerings of the Richmond region and learn about the city in which they study and live.

Friday - Sunday: Richmond Folk Festival

Last year the Folk Festival attracted more than 220,000 people to downtown Richmond's riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness and variety of American culture through music, dance traditional crafts, storytelling and food. The Richmond Folk Festival has become one of Virginia’s largest and most-loved events of the year and has been voted as the best musical festival in Richmond several years running. The 2019 Festival will bring a new and similarly amazing list of performers, artists and exhibitors. Learn more on the Folk Festival website.

Free shuttles to the Folk Festival will leave from the Transportation Hub, outside Tyler Haynes Commons.

Saturday: South of the James Farmer’s Market

Are you a fan of crisp outdoor weather, food trucks, slow grown sausage, and freshly glazed donuts? The CCE has planned a morning at South of the James Farmer’s Market on Saturday, October 12 from 10:00a.m.-1:00p.m. If you are interested in this opportunity, we encourage you to sign up in SpidersEngage to reserve transportation.

Monday: City Shuffle

Calling all adventurous Spiders! Spend an afternoon building new friendships and discovering the city of Richmond with the CCE’s City Shuffle program. You’ll have an opportunity to enjoy the treats, sights, and sounds of Richmond on a self-guided adventure. After City Shuffle concludes, teams will reassemble on campus to reflect and share their experience. City Shuffle will take place from 12:30p.m. to 5:00p.m., registration available here.

Students are strongly encouraged to request both University of Richmond Uber access as well a student GRTC pass from Transportation Services.

Tuesday: Study + Service

The Center for Civic Engagement is hosting a DIY service project and study break on Tuesday, October 15th from 1:00p.m.-4:00p.m. The CCE Think Tank will be stocked with snacks and supplies for DIY service projects, and you can pop over to the CCE office to assemble furniture for a CARITAS housing program. We hope you'll join us and spend the last day of fall break with creative focus and community engagement! Registration is not necessary, but encouraged.

Community Engagement

If you want to give back to the Richmond community during Fall Break, you can get connected to a service project through a volunteer opportunity. Transportation is avaialable; please contact Natalie Thatcher by October 11th more information.

• GoochlandCares is seeking volunteers on October 15th and October 16th to help with set-up and breakdown at an annual event.
• Create an account with Transcribe Virginia, and spend time transcribing historical documents.
• Participate in the East End Cemetery Project cleanup on October 12th.
• Visit HandsOn Greater Richmond for a listing of daily volunteer opportunities.

Self-Guided Richmond

We encourage you to explore the museums of Richmond over Fall Break! To see available transportation options, visit the Transportation website. Some of our favorite museums include:

• Virginia Historical Society
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
• Black History Museum*
• Maggie Walker House*
• American Civil War Museum
• Tredegar Iron Works
• VCU Institute for Contemporary Art
• Beth Ahabah Museum & Archives
• The Valentine

*Take an Uber with University of Richmond’s Uber account to UR Downtown; both locations are within a quick 10-15 minute walk. Note that the UR Downtown Uber service is only available Monday through Friday, 9:00a.m. to 5:30p.m.

And if you are already near UR Downtown, be sure to check out: the City Hall Observation Deck, Capitol Square, and Richmond on Broad Cafe.