Local Events Calendar

Free Amateur Radio License Classes Begin Oct. 15 in Spotsylvania

The Rappahannock Valley Amateur Radio Club (RVARC) will hold free classes this fall for anyone interested in earning a Technician Class amateur radio license, the entry-level license issued by the FCC.

Classes begin Thursday, Oct. 15, and meet every Thursday through Nov. 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sessions will be held at the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Substation at Spotsylvania Towne Centre, across from LensCrafters. Participants will have the option to take the license exam on Nov. 12.  All ages and experience levels are welcome.

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, lets licensed operators talk with other people across town and around the world, experiment with electronics, and help with emergency communications when other systems fail.

People curious about the hobby can meet local operators before classes begin at the club’s Jim Steele Memorial Tailgate hamfest. It runs Saturday, Oct. 3, from 8 a.m. to noon at Robbie Campbell Airfield, 6900 Patriot Highway in Spotsylvania. Admission is free.

For more information, visit https://rvarc.club or email kv4tz.rvarc@gmail.com.

When a misunderstanding catapults him to unexpected internet fame, Evan Hansen becomes an unlikely symbol of hope for a grieving family and discovers a sense of belonging he has never dared imagine. But navigating a world fractured by loneliness and driven by social media comes at a cost, and Evan must ultimately reckon with the gap between the life he has carefully constructed online and a truth he can no longer outrun. This Tony Award-winning musical from the songwriters behind The Greatest Showman and La La Land soars with raw emotional power, delivering a deeply human story about connection, identity, and what it truly means to be seen.

November 5 – 22, 2026

Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 pm

Sundays, November 8, 15, & 22 at 2:00 pm

Season Pass Exchanges Begin October 16

Box Office Opens October 22

Pay-What-You-Can Preview November 4

AfterWords November 8

Sensory-Friendly November 14 at 2:00 pm

When a misunderstanding catapults him to unexpected internet fame, Evan Hansen becomes an unlikely symbol of hope for a grieving family and discovers a sense of belonging he has never dared imagine. But navigating a world fractured by loneliness and driven by social media comes at a cost, and Evan must ultimately reckon with the gap between the life he has carefully constructed online and a truth he can no longer outrun. This Tony Award-winning musical from the songwriters behind The Greatest Showman and La La Land soars with raw emotional power, delivering a deeply human story about connection, identity, and what it truly means to be seen.

November 5 – 22, 2026

Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 pm

Sundays, November 8, 15, & 22 at 2:00 pm

Season Pass Exchanges Begin October 16

Box Office Opens October 22

Pay-What-You-Can Preview November 4

AfterWords November 8

Sensory-Friendly November 14 at 2:00 pm

Stafford County Public Schools in partnership with Stafford County Fire & Rescue and volunteer fire stations, will again partner with Operation Warm, a national non-profit organization, to support Stafford students in need of a new winter coat. Across the division, nearly 1,500 coats have been requested by school counselors to support their communities. Through this annual partnership, the community has an opportunity to create a lasting impact. For every $25 raised, Operation Warm provides a new coat for a child in need.

For families facing financial strain, the cost of a warm winter coat can compete with other essential expenses. Through a longstanding partnership, Stafford Schools and Stafford County Fire and Rescue, together with community partners, provide new coats to local students. Over the past decade, the effort has distributed nearly 30,000 coats and raised more than $500,000 for Stafford children. A warm coat helps students stay comfortable on cold days and take part in outdoor activities. Together, our community helps students feel cared for and ready to learn.

To help support local children this winter, make a tax-deductible donation through the online fundraising page. Every donation, no matter the amount, will help provide children in the community with brand-new winter coats!

Donate by check:
Issue to: Mountain View Fire and Safety Assoc. with Memo Line Operation Warm.
Mail to: Mountain View Fire and Safety Assoc. at PO Box 2528, Stafford, VA 22555

Donate by credit card:
Visit www.staffordschools.net/operationwarm

Donate by another method:
Please contact Ms. Hannah Loving, Family & Community Engagement Specialist, at lovinghe@staffordschools.net or (540) 993-3437.

Come see us near the food court at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre Mall on Saturday, 11/07/2026 from 10:00am to 9:00pm and Sunday, 11/08/2026 from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

See our trains operating on our O-Gauge and N-Gauge modular layouts. Club members will be available to answer your questions regarding model railroading and our club’s activities.

We are a non-profit organization that supports community activities such as: clubhouse open houses, scouting, museums and local community events throughout the region and our Annual Christmas Train Show, which will be held this year on December 12th and 13th, 2026 at the Eagles Lodge.

See our web site at https://www.rmrailroaders.com/ for further information.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RMRailroaders/

Join us for an Open House and get an overview on student life, academic programs, hear from our three Colleges, and take a campus tour. We recommend these free programs for high school juniors and seniors and transfer students.

The Northern Neck 250 Discovery Symposium is an annual collaboration of historic sites and museums that focuses on bringing new research to the community during the Semiquincentennial of the United States. This year’s theme, “The American Experiment” will be covered over two days on Sunday, November 8 and Monday, November 9.

An “All-Access Pass” can be purchased for $40* and includes all NNK250 Discovery Symposium events, a boxed lunch, and access to the evening reception. Alternatively, visitors can register for the keynote lecture, sessions, or lunch individually. Tickets for Feuding Founders  are purchased separately. *Not including fees. Only orders placed by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, November 4 are guaranteed a boxed lunch. The options are chicken salad, ham & cheddar, or turkey & swiss (all served with lettuce, tomato and condiments on the side) with bagged chips, pickle, a cookie and bottled water.

Sunday, November 8, 2026

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Feuding Founders/NNK250 Reception (Dining Hall, 792 Great House Rd

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Join us for an evening keynote lecture at the Stratford Hall Council House by University of Mary Washington Professor of History and American Studies Dr. Krystyn Moon, who will explore the meaning and legacy of the American experiment. $15 admission. Registration is $10 to attend this lecture virtually.

Monday, November 9, 2026

Spend the day at Stratford Hall with scholars and practitioners from across the Northern Neck sharing new discoveries in history and archaeology. Accessible presentations from partners including George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Stratford Hall, Menokin, and others will highlight ongoing research and what it reveals about the region’s central role in the nation’s founding.

9:00 – 11:15 a.m. Session 1: “Challenging Authority” in the Stratford Hall Council House. $5 admission. Registration is free to attend this session virtually.

Speakers: Dr. Julia A. King (St. Mary’s College of Maryland), Kayla Payne (Menokin), Dr. Tayzhaun Glover (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Topics: Bacon’s Rebellion, Self-emancipation in the Northern Neck and Chesapeake

12:00 – 12:45 p.m. Lunch: Stratford Hall Dining Room. $20 box lunches are available for preorder through Wednesday, November 4. 

12:45 – 3:00 p.m. Session 2: “Between the Roof and the Ground: Architectural History and Archaeological Discoveries in the Northern Neck” and “Northern Neck Findings from the Collection of the Library of Virginia” in the Stratford Hall Council House. $5 admission. Registration is free to attend this session virtually.

Speakers: Kerry Gonzalez (George Washington Birthplace National Monument), Dave Myers, Raina Regan, Kyle Keister (Virginia State Parks), Lisa Manderson (Stratford Hall), Eric Johnson (Library of Virginia)

Topics: Building X at the George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Stratford Hall East Steps, Westmoreland State Park history and cabin renovations

The Feuding Founders is a multi-site public history initiative that humanizes Silas Deane, John Jay, and the Lee brothers of Virginia—men who were in conversation, in collaboration, and sometimes in conflict with one another.

The day opens with a special guided tour of Menokin, home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, in Richmond County. Lunch at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County will be followed by a brief presentation and opportunity to hear from historians representing each partner institution as they build a more layered, more human portrait of Jay, Deane, and the Lees—their relationships to power and to one another. A special guided tour of Stratford Hall, cradle of the revolutionary generation of Lee brothers and sisters precedes a reception that concludes the Feuding Founders event and precedes the evening keynote lecture of the NNK250 Discovery Symposium: The American Experiment. The Symposium speaker is Dr. Krystyn Moon, Professor of History and American Studies at the University of Mary Washington. 

An “All-Access Pass” can be purchased for $55* and includes all Feuding Founders events, a boxed lunch, and access to the evening reception. Alternatively, visitors can register for the lunch, roundtable, or Great House tour individually. Tickets for the NNK250 Discovery Symposium(opens in a new tab) are purchased separately. *Not including fees. Discounts are available for Friends of Stratford members. Only orders placed by 11:59 PM on Wednesday, November 4 are guaranteed a boxed lunch. The options are chicken salad, ham & cheddar, or turkey & swiss (all served with lettuce, tomato and condiments on the side) with bagged chips, pickle, a cookie and bottled water.

Join us in partnership with the James Farmer Multicultural Center, as Laura Feller discusses her book, Being Indigenous in Jim Crow Virginia: Powhatan People and the Color Line, which explores how Virginia’s Powhatan peoples navigated racial discrimination and segregation while preserving and asserting their Native American identities. Through the experiences of Tidewater Virginia Indians, descendants of the seventeenth-century Powhatan chiefdom, Feller examines the challenges they faced and the strategies they employed to maintain, reclaim, and redefine their identities from the 1850s through the Jim Crow era.