Arts & Culture

Harrisonburg offers more than just an ideal location for your business. Harrisonburg offers Work & Life In Balance. From kid friendly museums to symphonies, you’ll find many ways to unwind and enjoy all the Arts and Culture of a booming city.

Forbes Center for the Performing Arts

Experience the excitement of the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts at James Madison University, featuring five remarkable venues, each unique and acoustically designed to perfection. The Forbes Center diverse slate of entertainment includes dance, theater and music performances by nationally recognized artists and JMU students and faculty. The center also features rotating art galleries, entertainment for children and more.

Court Square Theater

Located in the heart of downtown, Court Square Theater’s 260-seat theater presents a slate of cultural programs, including live music and theater, as well as foreign and independent films in a beautiful intimate setting. Court Square Theater also may be rented for special events and meetings.

The Virginia Quilt Museum

Founded in 1995, The Virginia Quilt Museum is the Official Quilt Museum of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Museum promotes a unique blend of Virginia’s art and cultural heritage. Charged with a mission of “celebrating and nurturing Virginia’s quilting heritage,” the Museum offers three floors of rotating, curated gallery space.

Smith House Galleries

Located downtown, the Smith House Galleries feature revolving, monthly exhibitions that focus on local artists.

Festivals

Harrisonburg International Festival
This family friendly event is free, with plenty of food and crafts available for purchase, and activities for visitors of all ages.

Rocktown Beer and Music Festival
Every year, 3,000 people attend the event, celebrating good beer, good living, good music and a great community.

African-American Festival
Enjoy an afternoon of entertainment, fellowship, activities, crafts, art, music, food, exhibitors and more.

ValleyFest Beer and Wine Festival
Enjoy regional wines, craft and microbrews, food and live music while browsing the wares of crafters and artisans.

Bach Festival
A week-long festival promoting appreciation and understanding of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Rockingham County Fair
Good old fashioned family fun with games, rides, events and live music.

Kids Activities

Harrisonburg is home to 12 parks, including the accessible A Dream Come True Playground.
Explore More Discovery Museum
- The museum engages young minds through interactive, multi-sensory learning experiences that promote a greater understanding of themselves and their world, all while having fun.
The Shenandoah Valley is home to the best caverns in the U.S., including Luray Caverns, Grand Caverns and Shenandoah Caverns.
James Madison University Planetarium
- The planetarium offers free Saturday shows for kids.
James Madison University Summer Children’s Theater
Summer camps are offered by Harrisonburg Parks and Rec, James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite University and Explore More Discovery Museum.
The Shenandoah Valley Kids Trail provides a guide to family-friendly activities, attractions, and events in the region.

Shenandoah Valley Experiences

Fields of Gold Trail
Pick your own fruit in one of our orchards, stroll through a farmers’ market, savor a wine tasting, tour a working farm, celebrate at a farm festival, or feast on a locally-grown meal at one of our farm-to-table restaurants.

Beerwerks Trail
The Valley offers some of the best craft beer in the country, but this is more than just a brewery trail. The Beerwerks Trail also provides great ideas for outdoor adventure, dining, lodging and music.

Music

Music lovers all of types can find the sounds they enjoy throughout the year. Live music can be found in restaurants, theaters and vineyards throughout the region. During the summer, recurring concert series includes:

Food

Downtown Harrisonburg was the first Culinary District created in Virginia. The last 10 years have witnessed an explosion of restaurants in the city. The restaurant scene is lively and diverse with several Harrisonburg restaurants having received national recognition, including:

The Little Grill Collective – recognized in Time magazine’s 240 Reasons to Celebrate America
Cuban Burger – recognized in Esquire magazine as the Most Over the Top Burger in Virginia
Bella Luna Wood Fired Pizza – named 1 of the top 10 Italian restaurants in Virginia by the website OnlyInYourState

Come experience the diversity and exceptional quality of the Harrisonburg food scene.

“Harrisonburg provides an ideal context for the highly technical work we perform for the U.S. Government. We are ideally located next to many excellent colleges and universities, which provide exceptional talent, and close enough to DC and Northern Virginia that we can conveniently interface with our customer and partners. To me, it comes down to quality of life. Our employees have very short commutes and there are a plethora of activities in the area that suit almost every interest.”

Mike Goertzen, Sr. Program Manager, Serco

“As Rocco considered options for our expansion, we were pleased with the partnership that Harrisonburg Economic Development provided as we worked our way through plan reviews, permit approvals, and inspections. It was helpful to have an ombudsman guiding us through the process. We are excited that we have the opportunity to continue to grow and invest in Harrisonburg.”

Fontaine Canada, President, Rocco Building Supplies