Richmond, VA – The Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) is pleased to announce the museum’s events and programs for October.

HYBRID (IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL) PROGRAMS

Banner Lecture - The Constitution of Virginia
Thursday, October 7 at 12:00pm

In this Banner Lecture, join the VMHC and A.E. Dick Howard for a discussion about the successive revisions of Virginia’s Constitution since 1776 and the debate it reflects over how we define the political community.

Banner Lecture- Edgar Allen Poe
Thursday, October 28 at 12:00pm

In this Banner Lecture, join the VMHC and writer Catherine Baab-Muguira for a lively and informative look at Edgar Allen Poe and how his life can teach us counterintuitive lessons on achieving creative success.

These programs are free and will be live streamed on the VMHC Facebook and YouTube channels. Due to construction, a small number of in-person tickets will be available for VMHC members ONLY, by advanced registration on the event listing page. (Not a member yet? Join today!)

VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

Movie Mythbusting - Defiance
Tuesday, October 12 at 7:00om

Join the VMHC, the Virginia Holocaust Museum, and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia for a special Movie Mythbusting event. This program will focus on Defiance, a Holocaust film with connections to the Violins of Hope exhibits.

This program is free, but registration is required.

Commonwealth Classroom - The Other Madisons
Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm

Join the VMHC for a virtual program with author Bettye Kearse that will discuss her powerful book that is part personal quest, part testimony, and part historical correction about this history of her family. Bettye will be joined in conversation by filmmaker Eduardo Montes-Bradley and Christian Cotz, CEO of the First Amendment Museum in Augusta, Maine.

This program is free but registration is required.

Curator Conversations -Violins of Hope
Monday, October 18 at 10:00am

One violin survived the horrors of Dachau and Auschwitz; another is dedicated to a brother and sister who played concerts in the ghetto of Vilna; and a third recalls the powerful attraction of a klezmer band to a young boy who escaped Eastern Europe and would later open a violin shop in Israel. Each instrument in the Violins of Hope collection tells its own story of resilience and survival.

In conjunction with the VMHC’s participation in Violins of Hope-Richmond, Israeli violin maker Avshi Weinstein—son of Violins of Hope founder Amnon Weinstein—will join Andrew Talkov, VMHC Sr. Director of Curatorial Affairs, to discuss Violins of Hope and reflect on the powerful stories behind the instruments currently on display at the VMHC.

This program is free and exclusively for VMHC members, but registration is required.  (Not a member yet? Join today!)

IN PERSON PROGRAMS

Member Mondays at Virginia House
Monday, October 11 at 4:30pm or Monday, October 18 at 4:30pm

Member Mondays are back for the Fall season! Enjoy a respite in the beautiful gardens at historic Virginia House with your own picnic or curated refreshments from local purveyors, including cheese plates from Truckle Cheesemongers and bottled cider from Blue Bee Cider.

These events are free and exclusively for VMHC members, but registration is required. (Not a member yet? Join today!)

Concert – Violins of Hope
Sunday, October 24 at 5:30pm                           

Join the VMHC and musicians from the Richmond Symphony for an intimate chamber concert performed on instruments preserved and restored as part of the Violins of Hope project.

The concert will feature the music of Manuel Ponce, Joseph Haydn, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Gershwin, and will celebrate one of the enduring themes of Violins of Hope as stated by the project’s founder, Amnon Weinstein, whose inspiring words remind us that during the darkest days of the holocaust, “wherever there was music; there was hope.”

For more information and details on all these programs, please visit www.virginiahistory.org/events.

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The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society — a private, non-profit organization established in 1831. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation. For use in its state history museum and its renowned research library, the historical society cares for a collection of nearly nine million items representing the ever-evolving story of Virginia.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is located at 428 N Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond’s Museum District. Hours are Monday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the galleries and museum shop, Monday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the research library. For more information call 804.340.1800, visit VirginiaHistory.org, or connect on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   

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