Help celebrate the Downtown Mall by joining this fun event.
Join us in celebrating 50 years of the heart of Charlottesville with a community lantern parade, light show, and more this July 3rd!
July 3rd, 2026 marks 50 years since the Downtown Mall opened, as part of a movement of pedestrianizing Main Streets around the United States in the 1970s. Since then, most have closed in the intervening decades with only a few remaining as places where communities can come together to shop, dine, create, and enjoy. We hope you can join us in celebrating 50 years.
10:00 AM - Tour of Downtown Mall by Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society
12:00 PM & 2:00 PM - Tour of "Then and Now: Charlottesville in the 1970s" at the Vault Virginia
4:00 PM - Mall Birthday Party with FREE ice cream & entertainment (Central Place)
5:30 PM - Baaba Seth Show at Friday's After Five (Ting Pavilion)
7:00 PM - Don Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires at the Paramount hosted by Monticello (ticketed - purchase and learn more here)
8:30 PM - Meet for the Lantern Parade leaving from Ting Pavilion, led by the Elby Brass Band
9:00 PM - 50th Light Show on the Code Building
The lantern parade will follow a route down the Downtown Mall led by the Elby Brass Band, starting from the Ting Pavilion at 8:30pm. Bring your own lantern or there will be a limited number available on site. Want to make a lantern? Find inspirations and tutorials on our Pinterest here and make one at home or join one of our lantern workshops led by local artists Miranda Elliot-Rader, Melissa Goldman, Annie Temmink, and the Raging Buffalo Glass Studio here. No pets, fire, or candle-lit lanterns please.
