Where to take your Thanksgiving visitors in Richmond
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Wendhurst Drive in Henrico will light up on Thanksgiving Day. Image: Courtesy of Michael Simon Photography via Richmond Region Tourism
Picture it, sometime Thursday evening.
- The turkey is cooked and eaten, the Thanksgivings shared, the dishes are done, and now you've got all these people just sitting around, taking up the full sofa and not using any coasters.
Why it matters: We're here to help.
State of play: If you have people coming to visit Richmond for the holiday weekend — or you're local looking for something to do — we've got you covered.
Zoom in: Here are nine awesome RVA things to do this week, weekend and beyond.
- Mix and match to be the perfect host.
🎷 Kick off the fun Wednesday night at Get Tight Lounge in the Fan with No BS! Brass as they play selections from "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."
- No BS goes on at 9pm. Tickets are $12.12.
🖼️ Hit up VMFA, Richmond's art museum is open 365 days a year and free every one of them.
- While you're there, pop into their ongoing Holiday Bazaar next to Floris tearoom in the building behind the museum. The Bazaar will be closed Thanksgiving day, but open Black Friday.
🎄Pile your guests in the car for a self-driven tacky lights tour.
- The Times-Dispatch compiles the annual list and found 10 RVA houses that will be all aglow beginning T-Day.
🗿 Take one of the rare tours of the defunct Presidents Park just outside of Colonial Williamsburg and peep the broken remains of 42 giant presidential busts.
- Tours are happening Friday at various times and tickets start at $38.
🪦 Pay your respects at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond's 135-acre very tourable garden cemetery.
- It's also the final resting place for two former presidents, six Virginia governors and one founding member of a costumed metal band GWAR.
🚂 Chug on over to The Science Museum of Virginia for its 47th annual Model Railroad Show.
- This year's show opens Friday and features nine model train displays, including a Star Wars and Lego one. Adult tickets are $17.50.
🎢️ Get a thrill at Kings Dominion's WinterFest, which opens Friday and runs select dates through Jan. 4.
- There will be light displays, festive music and food, ice skating and some roller coaster rides open for kids of all ages. Adult tickets are $49.99, but as of press time there was a flash sale bringing the price down to $19.99.
⛲️Take in Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.
- It was voted the best botanical garden holiday light display in the nation by USA Today last year. Open daily except for holidays. Advance tickets are required and are $22 for adults.
⛸️ Hit the ice at Stony Point Fashion Park's ice skating rink any day after Thursday.
- Stake tickets (with or without skate rentals) are $16.
🥂 Toast the season with a visit to one of the nearly two-dozen holiday pop-up bars happening around town this year.
- *Some won't get started until early December.
Go deeper: Things to do in Richmond for the 2024 holiday season