9 Towns in Virginia With Unique Traditions
As one of the oldest US states, Virginia has some of the oldest and weirdest traditions in America. Over hundreds of years of country-shaping conflict and harmony and millennia of Indigenous influence before that, Virginia produced everything from peanuts to ponies, which are now novelties that are celebrated in small settlements far off the beaten path. Uncover nine such Virginia locales with annual unique traditions and offbeat celebrations.
Pennington Gap
Tobacco use is down, but you wouldn't know that in Pennington Gap. This 1,600ish-person town hosts the Lee County Tobacco Festival, which is dubbed the "longest-running tobacco festival in the state of Virginia." It began in 1949 as a celebration of the county's tobacco harvest and now comprises a crafter's alley on Main Street, food vendors, and stage entertainment in the Pennington Pharmacy parking lot, bouncy houses behind the Verizon store, and a parade along Morgan Avenue. This parade is considered the oldest annual parade in Lee County. See it for yourself on October 26, 2024.
Urbanna
Virginia is called the "Oyster Capital of the East Coast" and Urbanna annually defends that title with the Urbanna Oyster Festival. Each November, tens of thousands of people shuck and jive through this town of roughly 500 residents. Raw, steamed, fried, stewed, roasted, and Rockefeller oysters are gobbled during the two-day event, which has been running since 1957 and declared the state's official oyster festival since 1988. With a VIP ticket, one can visit six oyster tastings, six beer tastings, six wine tastings, two oyster shooters, hospitality tents at the Town Marina, Craft Beer Event, and Wine Tasting Event, plus get priority seating at the oyster shucking contest.
Emporia
As a coastal state, Virginia's connection to oysters makes sense to an outsider. Its connection to peanuts, however, is a little more confusing. Yet Virginians have pride for shelled peanuts like they do for shelled mollusks, which they show at the annual Virginia Peanut Festival in Emporia. Believe it or not, Emporia is part of America's northernmost peanut-growing hub. It has thus celebrated its nuttiest crop with the Virginia Peanut Festival since 1949. In September, one can attend the fest and peep the peanut-made LOVEwork sign before hopping over to nearby Wakefield. There you can sample gourmet peanuts at Virginia Diner, Plantation Peanuts, and the Wakefield Peanut Company, as well as attend its Peanut Harvest Festival.
Staunton
Staunton is a city with about 26,000 residents and tons of Victorian architecture. Naturally, it is nicknamed the "Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley" and hosts Queen City Mischief & Magic. During each September going back to 2016, Staunton has transformed into a Wizarding World complete with quidditch, a firebolt race, and a Hogwarts reunion banquet. Yes, this is a Harry Potter fest in semi-rural Virginia. Many of Staunton's businesses participate by dressing up and offering magical goods. The owner of the Baja Bean restaurant founded the festival.
Floyd
Floydfest may not sound magical, but it rivals Queen City Mischief & Magic as the most mystical festival in the state. "Music. Magic. Mountains." is the motto of this five-day outdoor event that has been held in Floyd, Virginia, since 2002. Thus, for 22 years, the sounds of Gregg Allman, Lauryn Hill, Ziggy Marley, and Matisyahu have mixed with substances to create blue grass in the Blue Ridge Mountains. At least, that's how it appears to the eyes and ears of festivalgoers. In addition to the three Ms of Floydfest, Floyd welcomes an extra M (movement) for the annual Floyd Yoga Jam and yet another M (motorcycles) for the Crooked Mountain Moto Rally.
Abingdon
Abingdon is a town of about 8,400 people in the Appalachian Mountains. Each summer since 1949, the town has celebrated its Appalachian culture with the Virginia Highlands Festival. The fest was founded by actor and director Robert Porterfield, who also founded Abingdon's Barter Theatre. Unsurprisingly, the theater serves as a festival venue alongside the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards, Moonlite Drive-In Theatre, Martha Washington Inn & Spa, Delta Blues BBQ, and many others. These places provide a comprehensive sampling of Appalachian art, history, cuisine, and nature.
South Boston
South Boston is a town in south-central Virginia that hosts the Virginia Cantaloupe Festival—primarily for those who think oyster and peanut traditions aren't weird enough. Virginia's melon-bration began in 1981 at John Wade’s farm in tiny Turbeville, later moved to South Boston's Halifax County Fairgrounds, and now takes place at South Boston's Berry Hill Resort. Its 44th edition happened on July 26, 2024, and featured a beer truck, live music, photo ops, and hundreds of cantaloupes served by D&D Skins. Mark your calendar to get your farm-fresh cantaloupe in 2025.
Chincoteague
Chincoteague spans an entire eponymous island but has only about 3,400 people. More notably, Chincoteague and adjacent Assateague Island have 200-plus feral ponies that are herded each July for the Chincoteague Pony Swim. With the help of "Saltwater Cowboys," ponies and their spring-born foals swim at slack tide from Assateague to Chincoteague to the delight of tens of thousands of spectators. To raise money and keep the pony population stable, the foals are auctioned the next day. A day later, the adult ponies swim back to Assateague.
This tradition dates to the 1800s, became official in the 1920s, and was popularized by the 1947 novel Misty of Chincoteague and its 1961 film adaptation. The movie is screened for free throughout the week at the Island Theatre.
Winchester
With a population of roughly 28,000, Winchester is a larger community in the state. Yet it is dwarfed by the 150,000 to 200,000 people that come for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, which is one of the oldest and most popular annual events in Virginia. It began in 1924 as a one-day celebration of "the bloom" and is now a 10-day extravaganza that honors Winchester's status as the "Apple Capital of the World." But that is not the only unique fest in this small city. Being the birthplace of singer Patsy Cline, Winchester has been hosting the Patsy Cline Block Party for 14 years. It is held in and around the Patsy Cline Historic House.
Despite its name, Virginia is an older state that has had a lot of action over the past centuries. That action produced unique traditions, many of which are observed annually in small communities. From the Lee County Tobacco Festival in Pennington Gap to the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon to the Chincoteague Pony Swim in Chincoteague, don't forget to check out rural Virginia's celebrations on your next tour through the Old Dominion State.
