Events & News

Pawpaw Festival

  • August 23, 10:00AM-4:00PM
  • Historic Endview
  • Free admission; bags to collect pawpaws available for $5 donation (cash only) while supplies last; a limited number of pawpaw saplings available for cash donation

Celebrate Virginia’s largest native fruit at Historic Endview’s fifth annual Pawpaw Festival, presented in partnership with the Virginia Peninsula Master Naturalists! Enjoy free pawpaw tastings, raffles for pawpaw saplings, and for a $5 donation, get a bag to collect your own pawpaws from the grounds. There will be pawpaw-and nature-themed kids’ activities as well as educational booths and talks by the Peninsula Master Naturalists, Leave No Trace, Newport News Parks and Waterworks, Bee Haven Apiary, Butterfly Society, Monarch Watch, Newport News Master Gardeners, Fox Lady Press, FrogWatch, VIMS, and Tidewater Oyster Gardeners. Be sure to bring your lawn chair to enjoy the live music and food for sale. The historic house will be open for free self-guided tours.

Coffee with a Historian: The Marquis de Lafayette, Hero of Two Worlds

  • August 2, 10:00AM-11:00AM
  • Paperbacks Ink, 9716 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA 23607
  • Free admission; coffee and pastries are available for purchase
Join us at our neighborhood bookstore, Paperbacks Ink, for an informal opportunity to learn about the Marquis de Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds. Chat with a historian and purchase some coffee and breakfast items from their café! Participants will get a $2.00 off admission coupon for the Virginia War Museum valid through January 1, 2026. We can’t wait to meet you!

Up in the Air with Balloons

  • August 9, 10:00AM-3:00PM
  • Lee Hall Mansion
  • Free admission for Hampton Roads-area library card holders; all others pay regular museum admission

Enjoy a day at Lee Hall Mansion that is all about balloons! This family-friendly program will include a balloon-themed puppet show and hands-on history and science tables! You will also be able to take a guided tour of the historic house and learn about how observation balloons were used here during the Civil War.

As part of the Explore with Your Library Card series, this program, along with museum admission on August 9, is free for anyone with a Hampton Roads-area library card. For all other guests, the program is included in regular admission of $8/adult, $7/senior, $6/child (7-18), and $20/family. Children under 7 are free.

Tots & Trains

  • August 16, 10:00AM-11:00AM
  • Lee Hall Depot
  • $3/child; free for adults

Bring your little ones to Lee Hall Depot for Tots & Trains! This fun morning outing includes a train-themed story and a craft in our freight room. We will also have a photo opportunity available with a surprise train visitor and will play a game!  

Program admission is $3.00 per child. Adults are free. To visit the rest of the museum, grown-ups should purchase regular museum admission tickets. Museum admission is $8/adult, $7/senior, $6/child (7-18), and $20/family. Under age 7 is free.