Destination Bedford

Music Bingo
2026-05-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-28 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-06-04 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-06-11 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Apocalypse Ale Works, 1257 Burnbridge Road, Forest, VA, 24551, United States
This is where the fun of bingo meets the excitement of your favorite tunes! Each round features hit songs across various genres, and you’ll mark your card to the beat. Win the coveted Music Bingo chain, gift cards, and of course, ultimate bragging rights! It’s a lively and unique way to enjoy great music, compete with friends, and score awesome prizes. Don’t miss the fun!

Live Music @ Apocalypse Ale Works
2026-05-15 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-05-22 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-05-29 19:00 - 22:00, 2026-06-05 19:00 - 22:00 | Apocalypse Ale Works, 1257 Burnbridge Road, Forest, VA, 24551, United States
Come to Apocalypse Ale Works for great beer and live music. For more information and to see who is playing each week, click here. Food by Bunker 42 Bar Bites will also be available for purchase!

Armed Forces Day Parade
2026-05-16 11:00 - 12:00 | Downtown Bedford
In observance of Armed Forces Day, a military parade through downtown Bedford will honor the U.S. Armed Forces’ 250 years of securing and protecting our freedoms.

Live Music at Harvest Moon
2026-05-16 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-17 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-23 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-24 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-30 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-31 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-06 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-07 13:00 - 17:00 | Harvest Moon Marketplace, 14917 Moneta Rd, Moneta, VA, 24121, United States
Come see live music at Harvest Moon Marketplace! Click here to see who is playing this weekend!

Enjoy beer, wine, meads, ciders, and non-alcoholic drinks, along with delicious food and great shopping at the Marketplace. Free admission and free music!

Spring Cabaret at the Bower Center
2026-05-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Bower Center for the Arts, 305 North Bridge Street, Bedford, VA, 24523, United States
Come to the Bower Center to see a Spring Cabaret with Wynn Creasy & C.W. Markham III.
$20 in advance/$25 at the door.
Click here to purchase tickets and for more information!

National Maritime Day
2026-05-22 10:00 - 17:00 | National D-Day Memorial, 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford, VA, United States
U.S. Merchant Marine veterans receive complimentary admission to the Memorial. (Admission is always free for Active-duty service members.)

Memorial Day at the D-Day Memorial
2026-05-25 11:00 - 13:00 | National D-Day Memorial, 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford, VA, United States
Join the National D-Day Memorial for their annual Memorial Day ceremony, paying tribute to the fallen men and women who gave their lives in service to our Nation.
Please bring your own chair. No food in plaza. No pets (service animals welcome).
Free admission until noon. Guided tours begin at 1PM.
Click here for more information.

Wander & Awe Foraging Clinic
2026-05-26 18:30 - 19:30 | Bedford County Parks and Recreation, 1257 County Farm Rd, Bedford, VA, 24523, United States
Come learn what tasty treats and healing properties nature can provide while you explore the original grocery store, the great outdoors!
Wander: They will have a short intro into foraging safety and wildcrafting etiquette, following by a short hike where we explore what edible & medicinal plants & fungi are in season!
Awe: You will cover different resources, tools, ways to ID, look-alikes, various uses, history, and traditional practices regarding the plants & fungi. Plan on learning 10-15 different plants/Fungi each session.
Families are encouraged and all ages are welcome! You will be typically hiking less than 1 mile each session unless otherwise noted in the event discussion.
Meetings will be the LAST Tuesday of each month, Mar-Oct Sessions start at 6:30pm.
Sometimes the locations will change, click here for any updates.

The Day is Past & Gone
2026-05-29 18:30 - 20:00, 2026-05-30 18:30 - 20:00 | Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, 687 Poplar Forest Dr., Forest, VA, 24551, United States
Playwright Teresa Harris’s original drama returns to Jefferson’s plantation for two additional performances.
Drawn from real-life experiences of the men and women who were enslaved at Poplar Forest, the trilogy explores the complexity of their lives and their struggles to survive. Join Harris, the cast and Poplar Forest’s archaeology and interpretation staff for a Q&A following the performance.
Bring your friends and family, a picnic and a blanket or chairs, and experience a little-known but important part of Poplar Forest’s history brought to life. NOTE: The performance consists of three vignettes performed at three different locations on the property. We recommend bringing chairs, blankets, picnics, etc. that are easy to move.
Tickets are $20/adult, $10 for youth ages 6-17 and college students (with valid ID), $5 for children under 6.
Tickets will be available online until 5pm the day of the show. Tickets will still be available at the door both nights. Rain Date: May 31

Spring Rodeo
2026-05-30 15:30 - 22:00 | Wind Vineyards, 15772 Moneta Road, Moneta
Who is ready to see cowboys on bulls at Smith Mountain Lake!?!? Join us on May 30 for our Rodeo at Wind Vineyards Smith Mountain Lake. BLM Bull and Rodeo Company will be at Wind Vineyards for all of your Cowboy entertainment!
Bring the whole family and register your kids for Mutton Busting and mini bulls. Food trucks will be available as will beverages including award winning Wind Vineyards wine, cold, fresh sangria and wine slushies to cool you down, as well as hard cider, sodas, water, and more.
The event is rain or shine.
Tickets are limited and non-refundable!
No pets allowed Absolutely no outside drinks allowed!

Click here for tickets.

When We Went In: The D-Day Experience in Light and Sound
2026-06-05 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-06-06 19:30 - 21:30 | National D-Day Memorial, 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford, VA, United States
It’s the immersive experience everyone is still talking about and asking to see again!
When We Went In, the National D-Day Memorial’s exclusive, nighttime masterpiece is back by popular demand with a new prelude to honor America’s 250th anniversary!
Created for the National D-Day Memorial by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech – When We Went In is an immersive nighttime presentation that transforms the Memorial’s grounds into a stunning, multi-media sensory experience. Using the Memorial itself as the dramatic backdrop for the narrative, this outdoor show retells the story of the Normandy invasion through first-hand accounts of the men and women who lived through June 6, 1944, with authentic film footage, archival photographs, and wartime illustrations. The soundscape – from the roar of aircraft and gunfire to moments of solemn silence – delivered in surround-sound makes viewers feel as if they are in the throes of the historical moment and the triumph of eventual victory. The combined light-and-sound storytelling approach creates a vivid re-enactment of D-Day’s pivotal events, aiming to educate and emotionally engage the audience with the experiences of those who were there.
The show’s title comes from the first line of “Omaha Beach,” a poem by World War II veteran Peter Thomas. Thomas’s poetic account of landing at Omaha Beach acts as a thread connecting the entire narrative experience. Throughout the presentation, the words of participants – drawn from letters, oral histories, and diaries – give voice to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and nurses of D-Day. Grounded in these true stories and memories, rather than fictional dramatization, When We Went In is as close as it gets to having lived D-Day.
When We Went In exceeded attendance estimates during its first run in June 2024, as part of the Memorial’s 80th anniversary of D-Day commemoration events. The intimate, shared experience connected with a modern audience while conveying the hope and fear that young participants felt on D-Day.
Click here for more information.

82nd Anniversary of D-Day Commemoration
2026-06-06 11:00 - 21:00 | National D-Day Memorial, 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford, VA, United States
The 82nd Anniversary of D-Day will be observed in a special ceremony at 11am at the National D-Day Memorial.
Memorial hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on June 6 with free admission all day. Guided tours will begin at 1 p.m. Ceremony guests are encouraged to bring a chair. No coolers or food in the plaza. No pets (service dogs welcome). Visit dday.org for full event information and to view the live stream of the ceremony.
The keynote speaker will be Drew Dix, the first Special Forces Medal of Honor recipient. Throughout the day, guests can also experience living historians, book signings, special displays, and more.
The evening concludes with a musical performance by Letters from Home and a showing of When We Went In: The D-Day Experience in Light and Sound. This was created for the National D-Day Memorial by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech and is an immersive nighttime presentation that transforms the Memorial’s grounds into a stunning, multi-media sensory experience, bringing the story of D-Day to life.
Click here for more information.

Jefferson & Adams: A Stage Play
2026-06-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, 687 Poplar Forest Dr., Forest, VA, 24551, United States
Join Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest as they welcome Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Abigail Adams in a presentation of “Jefferson & Adams” a stage play written by Howard Ginsburg. Based on the collection of letters between these prolific founding fathers – and one equally astute wife – the play fuses compelling political thoughts with passionate personal beliefs. Jefferson & Adams traces the period from the inception of the Revolution through the politics of two presidents to the wisdom of men who have lived long lives, as well as reveals each of the three as thoughtful, persevering, dedicated, innovative, relevant – and human.
$25/adults, $20/college students and youth (ages 6-18), $7 for children under 6 plus taxes and fees

Jefferson's Curiosities
2026-06-11 18:30 - 20:00 | Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, 687 Poplar Forest Dr., Forest, VA, 24551, United States
About the Series: Thomas Jefferson was a man of many varied interests. Join us at Jefferson’s “best dwelling house in the state” as we delve into topics he found particularly fascinating from travel to culinary, leadership to religion. Each talk in the series includes a wine and cheese reception following the presentation.
Tickets are $25/each or $100 for all five Curiosities Series talks
2026 Jefferson’s Curiosities Series Events:

Jefferson’s Travel through the Germanies (Travis McDonald): February 19, 2026 6:30 p.m.

What Made Jefferson a Great Leader? (Dr. John Ragosta): March 26, 2026 6:30 p.m.
Jefferson and Trist’s Wild Mississippi Scheme (Karen Chase): May 7, 2026 6:30 p.m.
Jefferson’s Curiosities: Hearth Cooking (Rachel Deddens): June 11, 2026 6:30 p.m.
Jefferson & Religion (Nathan Taylor): September 24, 2026 6:30 p.m.
