HFFI Events

Architecture 101 Walking Tour  – April 11

During the Victorian era, a charming custom involved gathering at cemeteries for picnics to spend time with deceased loved ones. We are going to re-create that tradition with tables under the trees  at the City Cemetery  Cohosted by the Historic Cemetery Consortium. 

Sesquicentennial Preservation  – May 23

How do you preserve 250-year-old buildings? In honor of National Preservation Month, we will use the Lewis Store (1749) as a case study. 

Modern Architecture Trolley Tour  – June 14

Check out mid-century homes on this trolley tour of Fredericksburg neighborhoods. 

Revolutionary Pub Tour  –  July 2  & October 15

To celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary, we are going to run this popular pub tour three times this year!  Visit and drink in some of Fredericksburg’s 250-year-old buildings.  

The American Revolution the “Spirit of Service” in Fredericksburg –  July 16

Join HFFI preservationists in conjunction with Ken Burns’ PBS documentary to explore how the American Revolution affected people and places in George Washington’s hometown, from his era to present, at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

Fielding Lewis Gunnery and James Hunter’s Iron Works  August 15

Visit the sites of these two arsenals of the Revolutionary War, featuring drills from the First Virginia Regiment.  

By George! Walking Tour September 12

Explore Fredericksburg in the footsteps of George Washington Visit his favorite places in town, including bars, stores, and homes of his friends and family. 

Sacking of the City Walking Tour   September 19

Before the assaults at Sunken Road, Union troops looted and pillaged the city of Fredericksburg.

Retrace their steps to learn how property was “scattered and smashed and thrown everywhere.”

Normandy Village Walking Tour     October 10
This 1950s suburb exemplified the mid-century lifestyle. We will also explore the Fairgrounds neighborhood and learn about the early days of the Fredericksburg Fair. 

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55th Annual Candlelight Tour: A Revolutionary Experience in Colonial Fredericksburg

Date: December 13 & 14, 2025

Time: Saturday from 11 am–4 pm; Sunday from 12 pm–4 pm

*Special Ticket: Cocktail Party with Colonial Entertainment Saturday Evening from 6 to 8 pm at Historic Smithfield (11031 Tidewater Trail), Fredericksburg, Virginia*  

Cost: $35—$75; children under 12 are free

Click here for more information!

Celebrate America’s 250th birthday in historic downtown Fredericksburg by taking Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc.’s 55th Annual Candlelight Tour. Step back in time for a colonial Christmas experience while learning about the people and places that enrich the story of our historic city at the most magical time of year! 

Visit the city’s iconic colonial sites, each beautifully decorated in authentic, historic fashion. Walk in the footsteps of American patriots, including George Washington and Generals George Weedon and Hugh Mercer, along with many less famous revolutionaries.  

Boost your support for the 2025 Candlelight Tour and Historic Fredericksburg – become a sponsor; place an advertisement or personalized message in our 2025 tour booklet, or volunteer to help ensure the success of this annual community-wide event! 

Cellophane Plant Tour

Join us on the first-ever tour of the former cellophane plant. The Sylvania/Avisco/FMC Plant was the largest cellophane plant in the world and saved Fredericksburg during the Depression. Your ticket will include a tour of the factory complex where you will learn about cellophane production, the industrial Art Deco architecture, and the plant’s impacts on the town and its 2,600 employees. You’ll tour two former plant buildings— the A. Smith Bowman Distillery and the Factory Apartments. A pop-up museum will feature plant brochures, magazines, a scrapbook, and other artifacts, as well as offering an opportunity to share memories.

**Sorry, this tour is SOLD OUT!**

Tickets are $15, $12 for members. Purchase at the Lewis Store, 1200 Caroline St.

*Tours will start every half hour and last about ninety minutes.*

Where is the factory? It is on Route 2, just beyond Lansdowne Road . Turn onto Joseph Mills Drive from Route 2, then turn left on Main Street, pass Maltese Brewing (best bet for GPS), then go two more blocks until you see our cellophane tour signs. Park in the big lot on the right. 

Location: 11900 Main St. Fredericksburg, VA 22408

Time: 1:00-4:00. Tours will start every half hour and last about ninety minutes. 

Tickets: $15, $12 for members. AVAILABLE HERE

Cemetery Trolley Tour

Date: Sunday, October 19, 2025

Location: Thornton-Forbes-Washington Cemetery, Hunter Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Victory & Valor: WWII 80th Anniversary Dance at the USO

Take a Sentimental Journey as we transport you back to the 1940s. Experience historic V-J Day at the City of Fredericksburg’s original USO building!

Jokers, jills, and jivers get ready to swing as the Fredericksburg Big Band takes the reins and brings it home in the tradition of the local Kampus Kats and The Melodiers. Enjoy a Coke and a doughnut, but “Don’t touch that dial!” You may miss HFFI’s radio show.

Join in the patriotic spirit that defined an era as we honor the U.S. Armed Forces and those who helped on the Homefront. Whether you come dressed in your best vintage attire or “Mend and Make Do,” as they said in the song, “I’ll be seeing you.”

Date: August 15, 2025

Location: Dorothy Hart Community Center, 408 Canal Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Time: 8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Interested in sponsoring this special event? A range of opportunities to sponsor the weekend’s Victory & Valor events are available, starting at just $100. Contact Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. to learn how you or your business can help enliven local WWII history, enrich this memorable 80th anniversary, and support our work to protect, preserve, and revitalize cultural historic assets in the Fredericksburg area.

Victory & Valor: WWII 80th Anniversary Open House Blood Drive

Save the date for the Victory & Valor: WWII 80th Anniversary Open House on Saturday, August 16, 2025, and SIGN UP NOW to support our blood drive! 

Perhaps more important than buying war bonds during WWII, donating blood was one way for those at home to support allied soldiers on the frontlines. Promotional posters produced by the American Red Cross and other patriotic organizations appealed to donor’s life-saving power. 

Please join us as we dedicate a day of service to those who have so gallantly served us and donate blood in honor of your favorite WWII veteran or Homefront hero!

Victory & Valor: WWII 80th Anniversary Open House

Save the date for the Victory & Valor: WWII 80th Anniversary Open House on Saturday, August 16, 2025! 

Held at Fredericksburg’s first USO building in conjunction with Fredericksburg Parks & Recreation and various local organizations, this free event will entertain, educate, and engage the whole family in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of V-J Day. Participate in HFFI’s on-site blood drive and donate in honor of your favorite WWII veteran or Homefront hero! 

Saturday’s Open House will kick off with live music from Fredericksburg Christian School’s Enduring Freedom Honor Team followed by an authentic USO radio show in the old USO auditorium. A pop-up museum will share local WWII history, artifacts, and tasty wartime treats with attendees, while victory garden demonstrations, military vehicles, and family-friendly activities are sure to provide a blast from the past.  Local representatives from the VFW, American Legion, National Guard, USO, and non-profit organizations like Leashes of Valor will connect guests with the area’s active military community as we honor all those in service to America’s past, present, and future. 

Date: August 16, 2025

Location: Dorothy Hart Community Center, 408 Canal Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Interested in sponsoring this special event? A range of opportunities to sponsor the weekend’s Victory & Valor events are available, starting at just $100. Contact Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. to learn how you or your business can help enliven local WWII history, enrich this memorable 80th anniversary, and support our work to protect, preserve, and revitalize cultural historic assets in the Fredericksburg area.

Revolutionary Pub Tour

Join HFFI Wednesday, June 18th from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill by visiting some of our 250-year-old buildings in Fredericksburg.  This tour includes 8 blocks of walking, five stops, three bars, and one free drink.

$25 for HFFI Members

$30 for the General Public

Includes 1 glass of wine

Tickets: HERE

Lost & Saved Walking Tour

Join the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation on Saturday, May 17, from  10 a.m. – 2 p.m., as we celebrate Preservation Month with a Lost and Saved walking tour. Discover the story of how significant buildings have been lost while others have been preserved. Learn how HFFI is actively working to save at-risk historic buildings and how you can help the city to meet its preservation goals. This tour highlights the vital importance of historic preservation in safeguarding not only our past but also the future of our unique city. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with Fredericksburg’s history in a tangible and meaningful way, and learn how you can help preserve it!

Tours at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m.

Tickets: $10 HFFI Members $15 General Public

Tickets: HERE

By George!  

This walking tour explores Fredericksburg by following in George Washington’s footsteps. Visit his favorite places in town, including bars, stores, and homes of his friends and family. This tour will cover 1.5 miles in two hours, with several sitting breaks throughout. Commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first day of the American Revolution, the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
Saturday, April 19, 2025, 10:00 A.M.

$10 for HFFI Members.

$15 General Public

Tickets: SOLD OUT

Date & Time: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Location: Central Rappahannock Regional Library 1201 Caroline Street 

Join us Saturday, March 15, 2025 for our Annual Membership Meeting and Preservation Awards in the theater of the Rappahannock Regional Library located at 1201 Caroline Street Fredericksburg VA 22401.

Take a ride down Historic Route One when it went right through downtown. We’ll go down Princess Anne Street, up Lafayette, and then loop back around on the Bypass, pointing out notable buildings along the way. Each guest will receive a souvenir program full of historic photos. 

Sunday, November 10, 2024 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Meet and park at the Fredericksburg Shopping Center 501 Emancipation Hwy  (where the Firestone is, across Route One from JMHS)

Tickets $25 for HFFI Members $35 for the General Public

Tickets available HERE

Fredericksburg Lafayette Bicentennial Commemoration

As a part of the Commemoration, a series of lectures about Lafayette, his world, and his important military and diplomatic roles during the Revolution are offered. The lecturers are presented by noted authorities on their topics, many with publications in their areas of expertise. They are joined by Fredericksburg area scholars from our historical and cultural organizations, who also possess deep knowledge about Lafayette, and in particular, Lafayette’s connections to our City. All lectures are free and open to everyone.

Date & Time: March 2024-November 2024

Tickets: Most events are free to the public Overview of events available HERE

The Other Side of the Tracks

Join HFFI and neighborhood residents as we explore the history and evolution of Darbytown’s backstreets where a melting pot of working-class residents and local family businesses flourished for more than 200 years.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

2:00-4:00 pm

2 tours of 15 people each

Both leave at 2:00

Tickets HERE

Tickets: SOLD OUT

PUBLIC LECTURE:  

THEIR STUFF and THEIR STORIES: CIVIL WAR SOLDIERS in FREDERICKSBURG

Date & Time: Thursday, October 17^th at 7:00 P.M.

Location: Auditorium of the Downtown Central Rappahannock Regional Library, 1201 Caroline Street

Presented by Kerri Barile Tambs & Cameron Boutin of Dovetail Cultural Resource Group, a Mead & Hunt Company

A large area in Fredericksburg bordered by Rte. 3, Cowan Boulevard, and Interstate 95  and known as the Hylton Tract is about to be developed.  In such cases, archeological investigations are required as well as a public reporting of the results.

Dovetail Cultural Resource Group, a Mead & Hunt Company, has completed their research and will report on its findings in that area at this presentation sponsored by the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. as well as the local Civil War Roundtable of Fredericksburg and the Rappahannock Valley Civil War Roundtable.

The area saw hard fighting on May 3-4, 1863, in the Salem Church Ridge fighting during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Thousands of soldiers fought in this region during the course of the Civil War, most notably in four major battles between 1862 and 1864 and in hundreds of encampments.  The military operations have been carefully studied.  While details of the soldiers’ experiences are often not explicit in official records, careful study of archival documents and archaeological sites can come together to help tell their story.  This talk will focus on the lives of the soldiers during the war and their time in Fredericksburg as told by what they left behind.

The lecture is free.  There will be time for questions.  Doors will open at 6:30PM.  Light refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the talk.

To be clear, this is not a meeting of a City commission or any entity dealing with the future of this property but is a public reporting of what has been found there by this archaeological organization.

Date & Time: August 22, 2024 6 p.m.- 8 p.m.
Tickets: HERE

Civil War Walking Tour

From Fairground to Battleground to Burying Ground

This walking tour will explore the “bloody plain” of the Battle of Fredericksburg in the years before, during, and after the Civil War.

July 20, 2024  7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Meet at the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitors Center on Lafayette Blvd in the large lot in front that borders Willis St.

Date & Time: July 20, 2024 7:00pm-8:30pm
Tickets: Available NOW HERE $10

Costumed reenactors will demonstrate and discuss the evolution of women’s fashions through four periods: Early Regency (1814), Late Regency (1824), Civil War (1864), and Victorian (1884). Tea and cookies will be served. Guests will also be given a tour of the historic 1816 Masonic Lodge. 

This event celebrates the 200th anniversary of General Lafayette’s 1824 tour of America. Presented in conjunction with Emily Taggart Schricker, the Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society and the Lafayette Bicentennial Commission.

Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.
Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge No. 4 Meeting Room, Hanover Street Entrance

Tickets are $10

Available HERE

Rock Around The Block

Mid Century Style at Normandy Village

Celebrate Mid Century style at Normandy Village, Fredericksburg’s first postwar suburb. Located just over Route One along the river, this subdivision has nearly 300 houses, most built in the 1950’s. We will have lots of activities for the whole family. Check in at Northside Baptist Church at 445 Woodford Street. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 on the day of the event.
Your ticket includes:
-Interior tours of five homes
-Live Music
-Historic walking tour
-Vintage lawn games like badminton and croquet
-Classic cars
-Cooking demonstrations
-Exhibits on Link Wray and Patsy Cline, vintage tablecloths and aprons, purses and hats

Date & Time: May 25, 2024 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Cost:  $12 in Advance $15 Day of.  Children 3-18 years $6 Advance $8 day of.  Children 2 and under free
Tickets: AVAILABLE HERE

Tunnel Vision Tour

This is your chance to see the famous Fredericksburg Tunnel! You will get to explore the 40-foot tunnel and ponder its possible uses. Afterwards, you will tour the Hay Scale Alley building at 826 Caroline Street, replete with fascinating stories about ghosts, famous visitors, shopping, and the Civil War. Your tour includes wine and cheese, a cupcake from Fredericksburg Cupcake, a discounted voucher for Juan More Taco, and a commemorative booklet. This is only the third time the tunnel has been opened for a public tour, so tickets will go fast!

Date & Time: Saturday April 27th 
3:00 p.m. Tour or 4:30 p.m. Tour
Tickets: SOLD OUT

Architecture 101 Walking Tour

Learn to identify architectural styles and elements using Fredericksburg as your classroom.

Date & Time: Saturday, March 30, 2024 1PM
Tickets: SOLD OUT

HFFI Annual Membership Meeting

Open to all HFFI Members

Not a member of HFFI or need to renew?

Become an Annual Member for 2024 by clicking here or join/renew at the meeting on March 9th.

You can email office@hffi.org to confirm your current membership status or with any questions.  Please RSVP through this link HERE.

Date & Time:
Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 1-3 p.m.
Location: Fredericksburg Country Club 11031 Tidewater Trail

Bombed in the Burg Tour

Join us Thursday, February 22nd for our Bombed in the Burg Pub Tour.  Tour three different pubs while getting a history relating to the Civil War, WWII and The Cold War.  $25 for the General Public and $20 for Members.  Drinks not included.

Date & Time:
Thursday, February 22, 2024 
5-8pm 

Tickets: SOLD OUT

Spirits & Spirits Pub Tour

Come celebrate All Souls’ Day with us! Ghost enthusiast Stephen Sollohub will regale you with stories about local spirits as we imbibe spirits at local bars. The tour will last three hours, hit four bars, and cover 1.3 miles. One tour only!

Date & Time:
All Souls Day Thursday November 2, 2023 5-8pm

Tickets: AVAILABLE HERE
$20 members/$25 nonmembers (drinks not included)

Jewish Fredericksburg Walking Tour:

Tour the locations of the many Jewish shops and businesses that dominated Fredericksburg in the 20th century. Learn about their overwhelming contributions to civic life and philanthropy.

Date & Time: Rescheduled due to rain
Sunday, October 15, 1pm & 2pm 

Tickets:  
$10 members/$12 General Public

Warehouse Walking Tour:

Learn about the early industrial age of Fredericksburg in the area around the train station. The owners of some of the warehouses will take you on a tour inside their buildings and explain how they have been re-adapted for their businesses.

Spanning both sides of Lafayette Boulevard, the warehouse district is a reminder of Fredericksburg’s industrial and agricultural past. Learn about the history of this area and tour the inside of several warehouses, including the famed Purina Tower! This tour has a lot of walking, so we will take a break at 25 30 Espresso, where we will treat you to a coffee.

Warehouse Tour starts and ends at 600 Jackson Street at the RACSB parking lot.

Date & Time:
Sunday, October 1, 1pm, 2pm, & 3pm

Tickets: Get tickets HERE
$30 

December 9-11, 2022

Registration Required

Find more information and tickets HERE

June 25, 2022

Two tour times — 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.  $10 HFFI Members/$12 General Public

Tours will take approximately 2 hours and participants are asked to wear sturdy walking shoes!

Click here for more information on how to Sponsor an HFFI Event.