Always a good time..Private party..Bday celebration, great DJ..And I didnt even have to fight that…read moretunnel closure...

Oh how I miss live races. Okay to be completely honest this was one of my least favorite races…read more That being said I still have a few amazing memories from each race weekend and I'd kill for any kind of race at this point so they're still getting 4 stars from me. Usually held Labor Day weekend it is a HOT one. Or there's a tropical storm. Either way the conditions can be pretty brutal. Definitely come prepared for anything and remember the final stretch to the finish doesn't have any shade. Oof it's a hard one. The good news in when conditions due to a tropical storm have been particularly bad they are pretty generous with their transfer options. That came in handy one year. Even in the heat the half marathon course is pretty neat. You run by the ocean, past the aquarium, and on a military base. Even better the course is mostly flat with the exception of a bridge. Rock n Roll races are always a good time. They definitely are missing a lot of true local touches. It's very corporate and that's okay! That also means everything is BIG! Big start, finish, course entertainment. The afterparty beverage sponsor could use an upgrade though.

I'm a local and have participated a few times so I figure I'll leave a review bc it seems some of…read morethe others are not from locals who don't know the area. This race weekend is a ton of fun and is well-run and well-coordinated with the city. It is at the beginning of the hurricane season for the East coast so there are sometimes weather issues but by no means is this an annual thing and often, the weather is beautiful and sunny (maybe too hot) during this weekend. It is almost always Labor Day weekend for this race which means it is the American Music Festival as well so there are several concerts at the beach on the oceanfront stages (there are several) at 5th, 7th, 17th, 24th and 31st. Some are free and you can bring a lawn chair to sit on and some you have to pay for with larger headliners. The convention center of Virginia Beach is where the expo is and this is a well-run expo with a lot of participants Brooks comes and sells a ton of merchandise and many other race vendors. Plenty of parking at the convention center and it's easy to navigate and get your race gear. The course is flat and easy with very little grade change. There are three races you can participate in: a 1-Miler, a 5k and the Half Marathon. The courses take you around the resort part of the city and onto the Virginia Beach boardwalk where you run along the ocean and, during the right part of the day, is absolutely beautiful. If you stay in the resort area in a hotel anywhere between 5th-31th street you will be more than close enough to walk to everything (though the convention center is a hike from 31st) and there are tons of great, fancier places to eat all around as Virginia Beach is a bustling resort city like Catch 31 at the Hilton, Eat: An American Bistro and Becca at the newly renovated Cavalier hotel (at around 40th St). The ViBe creative district has tons of farm-to-table shops like Commune and Esoteric as well as art murals all over. Coffee shops abound with Bad Ass Coffee, May's Parlor, Three Ships Coffee Roasters. Lolly's local-made ice cream is delicious. Shopping is niche and cute with North End Bag Company and the Old Farmer's Market near Java Surf Coffee and Cafe on Saturday mornings. At 1st Street and Rudee Inlet there are boats, jet skis and parasailing excursions you can rent and pay for for a day as well as night cruises and dolphin watching excursions you can join (for a cost of course). If you venture further down to Shore Drive you can tour the Cape Henry lighthouse which was the first lighthouse commissioned by the US government. You can also visit the nearby 2,888 acre First Landing State Park for a hike along the water at sunset with an entrance off Shore Drive or at 64th street. Bubba's fish house and many other shops and restaurants can be found on Shore Drive another 20 minutes away. For shopping, live music, and more trendy things to do (Lululemon, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn) Town Center is a short 20 minute easy straight drive down Virginia Beach Blvd to Cheesecake Factory, Finn McCools, California Pizza Kitchen and a ton of other things to see and do. All those things are within 20 minutes. I didn't even mention the things to do and see in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Hampton all within an hour drive. Even further (a couple hours) are the historic Williamsburg and Jamestown areas and if you want to ride some coasters you can always venture to Busch Gardens amusement park. Bottom line: this is a great race, with adorable medals, and it is always exceedingly organized. I live here in the city, as well as travel a lot for races to Disney in Florida and California, and I enjoy the ones in my hometown the most. Call me biased. If you come for this race weekend here and don't at least sample all the foods, see the art murals, listen to the bands, and enjoy the beach and lighthouse, then you've really missed out.

Wow, what a great historical site. I had never been and it was fascinating. Plenty of parking and…read moreindoor and outdoor things to see. I recommend anybody who visits the area to go. A great experience for kids also. They also have a very nice gift shop and restaurant.

Museums have always served as anchors in their communities - local gathering places where a town's…read morehistory and culture is shared and preserved. In the 21st century, museums must find new ways to serve as community anchors, by collaborating with other organizations, by helping local schools prepare students for the future, and by harnessing technological advances to expand their reach. This year's conference will offer fresh insights as well as tools your museum can use to remain a stable community anchor long into the future, during times of smooth sailing as well as in the midst of rough seas.

This festival is not only ideal for people like me who love the music and arts culture, but it is a…read moreperfect way to expand people's horizons and hopefully/possibly spark creativity in people. This was my first year attending the festival. Unfortunately, I have not been able to attend the previous years. Very happy that I attended. My huge thing is the music bit of the festival, that's what initially draws me in about it. I left thoroughly pleased with the musical line-ups. I am more than happy that I can now state that I have seen Electric Guest performing, they were phenomenal on stage. There were breaks I took from the music, and just breaks between music sets. I was extremely excited to see that they had set up a silent disco area. I have heard awesome things about headphone/silent parties, and how it has become a huge thing in Europe. I have wanted to make a party myself at home that way, but it's not the same thing. However, the moment person I was with and I saw it, we wanted in, but we just didn't want to leave the stage quite yet. All the other stands/booths this year were perfect for the event. I wish there were more, but like I said, I hope events like this spark more creativity in the arts. I did not get any food over there, but there was a small selection. I do like food trucks, but sadly there wasn't much selection. Please attend this event. It is worth every minute and it is absolutely FREE, except for all the things being sold (duh).

This is a great event with so much growth potential. I felt that for this being the 4th year of…read morethis event it was quite small. About 20 vendors art, jewelry, soaps and even hula hoops. I would have liked more but it was a decent variety. For the music there were 2 stages. I would have liked if they wouldve had bands playing at both stages at the same time. Instead there a different band played on one stage and then as soon as they were done a different band played on a different stage. Nice to have a continuous flow with no huge down time but I would have preferred to bounce from stage to stage. I didnt try any food but it all smelled amazing. Overall it was ok, not amazing or terrible. Im just glad it was free.

Fantastic experience! My 13 year old son said, "Wow" right after we left. He loves history…read more Very knowledgeable and friendly staff! They have a scavenger hunt for the kids to get them engaged. Really smart. This is our second visit. $2 for adults and kids under 18 are free. You get to see the worlds oldest ham and peanut! Definitely a must visit. Check them out!

uhm got to be the best darn museum iv ever been to, I LOVE THE HAM, this was originally a school…read moreproject on where I wanted to go for vacation and I accidentally looked up fun facts about virginia insted of fun facts about Barcelona (don't ask idk how I misspelled that) and the ham poped up, and what used to be a stupid joke turned into me actually getting to see the ham! and Iv got to say I did talk about it a lot and my parents wanted to go to the beach for vacation so we chose Virginia Beach! (We do live like 18 hours away) so due to my lack of spelling , and brain cells I proud to say iv seen the oldest ham in the world! (and peanut)

Great guided tour with a lot of history provided. The property and castle is under restoration. I…read morelove American history.

Wow, wow, WOW! What a fascinating place! So much history!…read more My friend and I went for a ghost tour on a Saturday night. The woman who ran our tour is named Sarah and she is a direct descendant of one of the original families that lived there. Also assisting with the tour was a man named Kenny from a paranormal research group in Richmond. Kenny considers himself a sceptic. His organization (I can't remember the name), works to document data, analyze the data, and try to come up with a scientific reason for the "paranormal" incidents. Both Sarah and Kenny have LOADS of knowledge! They shared a lot of history and stories with our small group. They also provided K2 meters that detect energy fluctuations. The stories were absolutely fascinating, first-hand, and some very recent (including with Kenny the sceptic). While we were finishing our tour, we heard a loud thunk on the wooden floor of the landing where we were, as if it had been struck with a boot or solid-heeled shoe. Then the floor was vibrating in a progressing manner as if someone was walking across the floor. One of the light-up cat toy balls on the floor was lighting up like crazy and several of the K2 meters were lighting up. So how about that?! A tour WITH paranormal activity! What a fun experience! I cannot wait to go back!

Nice place for boys to play ball. Only downside is bathrooms are not very good since they're all…read moreportapotty Fortunately, they're close enough to enough businesses to take a short drive to use a good bathroom.