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Downtown News

Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday Roundup

November 13, 2024 by AnnMarie Hall

Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful holiday filled with food and love, but it can also be a stressful time between cooking and cleaning and hosting family and friends. But, downtown is here to make your life a little bit easier this season! Some downtown restaurants will be open for festive dinners on Thanksgiving Day, and some are preparing to take pre-orders for pick-up. With Thanksgiving also comes Black Friday, and there will be some amazing sales going on in the stores downtown that you won’t want to miss! Find out more about the Thanksgiving and Black Friday events/specials below. more

Open for Business: Downtown Harrisonburg Guide for Family Weekend, International Festival & More!

September 20, 2024 by Emily Winter

Harrisonburg will be bustling on Saturday, September 28, 2024, during JMU Family Weekend, the Harrisonburg Farmers Market, and the Harrisonburg International Festival. You can find local foods and goods, explore boutiques, enjoy the festival or just have a great meal out. Downtown is ready to welcome you! more

JMU’s Lifelong Learning Institute: Combatting the Loneliness in Downtown Harrisonburg & Beyond

August 8, 2024 by Emily Winter

With loneliness and isolation reaching levels of epidemic proportions across the United States, many organizations have taken notice. From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Main Streets across the globe, people are working to band together to help members of their communities forge new and meaningful relationships. One such organization combatting loneliness in downtown Harrisonburg and beyond is James Madison University’s Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) - an organization that encourages people around retirement age to become more engaged in their community through a variety of events and programs. more

Friendly City Events: Where Visions Come to Life

July 25, 2024 by Haley Thomas

Nestled in the heart of Downtown Harrisonburg, Friendly City Events has quickly become a beacon for local gatherings and celebrations since its inception just over seven months ago. Taron Bryant, the visionary behind this vibrant venue, sat down with HDR to share more about his journey from idea to execution and the thriving community space he's created. more

Blue Streaks and Future Rocktown Band Join Forces to Open for Levitt AMP Harrisonburg Music Series

June 28, 2024 by Haley Thomas

Wednesday evening, Harrisonburg and Rockingham’s high school bands joined forces, donned their matching tie-dye T-shirts and marched onto the Turner Pavilion lawn. With approximately 1,400 community members in attendance, the marching bands kicked off the first show of HDR’s Levitt AMP Harrisonburg Music Series. more

This Month’s Ticketed Events – April 2024

April 6, 2024 by Haley Thomas

Wondering what upcoming downtown events you need a ticket for? Look no further. more

Friendly Faces of the Friendly City: Charles Hendricks of The Gaines Group Architects

April 3, 2024 by Meghan Johnson

Welcome to the Friendly Faces of The Friendly City! In celebration of Architecture Week April 14 - 20, today's interview is with Charles Hendricks, Principal Architect, Sustainability Director, Marketing Director, and Business Manager of The Gaines Group Architects located here in downtown Harrisonburg. more

Study Spots in Downtown Harrisonburg

February 27, 2024 by Annette Williams

Grace + Main Coffee Shop features outdoor and indoor seating that is a perfect environment for studying! This coffee shop is on the edge of the James Madison University (JMU) campus so students have easy access with the added benefit of being able to use JMU's Flex option for payment. With such a cozy interior you can definitely stay a while and enjoy your food, beverage, or hunker down to get some work done! Grace + Main is open Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 4 PM (With lunch being served from 11 AM to 4 PM), and Sundays from 7 AM to 11 AM. Be sure to drop by and check out this wonderful option to get all your studying done.  more

2024 The Love that Downtown Built

February 15, 2024 by Annette Williams

Happy Valentine's Day downtown Harrisonburg! As you may have seen last year, we created The Love that Downtown Built feature as part of our twentieth-anniversary celebration at Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance. This year we decided to copy ourselves because we loved the feature so much, so if you get the chance to head on over to our Facebook and Instagram, you will some of the sweetest love stories that downtown was a part of. Check out the full collection of stories below! more