From when we started the raffle in 2017 to 2023, we have had 328 prizes awarded (not including early birds). Of that number, 9 people have won twice, and one person won 3 times! So while some folks have won multiple times there are WAY more who win than you might have expected (over 300!). Below is a list of prize winners from our previous five raffle seasons.

2024 Winners:

2023 Winners:

2022 Winners:

2021 Winners:

2020 Winners:

2019 Winners:

General ticket sales start online and at select sales locations on Monday, April 28. Tickets will be available at sales locations until Thursday, July 24, and online until the morning of Saturday, July 26, unless all 5,000 tickets are sold out.

Past ticketholder can purchase their 2025 Friendly City Fortune raffle ticket early and be entered into an exclusive drawing on April 28 for $1,000 cash + 5 FREE tickets. The presale begins Thursday, April 24, and is online only. Ticketholders will receive an email with the exclusive link.

Presale emails went out on April 22. If you have not gotten a link, ensure that your email did not go to Spam. Search for emails that came from tickets@friendlycityfortune.com. If you still cannot find your link, please email downtownharrisonburg@gmail.com with your first and last name and email so that we can verify your purchase and resend you the link.

Your ticket numbers will be located at the bottom right corner on the front page of your ticket, below the prize list of your ticket. Online ticket purchasers will be able to download a PDF of their ticket on the confirmation page and in the confirmation email.

Many of you asked for randomized Friendly City Fortune raffle ticket numbers and we are excited to introduce them to this year’s raffle! Tickets numbers no longer need to be sold in sequential order.

You will still have two lucky ticket numbers and two chances to win, but when you purchase multiple tickets, your tickets will come from a randomized pool of number pairs. This also includes tickets purchased at sales locations! 

Remember – there’s an added benefit to purchasing multiple tickets. When you purchase nine tickets, you get a tenth ticket for FREE!

It’s simple! If you buy your Friendly City Fortune raffle ticket by midnight the night before the Early Bird drawing date, you will be entered to win cash and additional raffle tickets in a bonus prize drawing.

So, if purchase a ticket by 11:59 PM on May 15, you will be entered into the Early Bird drawings on May 16, June 20 and July 11 and the main raffle on July 26. Plus, every ticket has TWO different numbers that could be called, doubling your chance to win!

If you win during an Early Bird drawing, your ticket number is still eligible for other Early Birds and any of amazing the prizes during the main raffle at the end of July plus you will have additional entries into the raffle!

Early bird drawings will be held at 217 S Liberty St. #204, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 and livestreamed at fb.com/downtownharrisonburg. You do not need to be present to win.

Pendleton Community Bank (Downtown Harrisonburg)

57 S Main St
Lobby Hours
Monday – Thursday 9 am – 4 pm
Friday 9 am – 5 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed
Drive-Thru Hours
Monday – Friday 8 am – 5 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed
Cash, Credit, or Check

Pendleton Community Bank (Route 33)

41 Monte Vista Dr
Lobby Hours
Monday – Thursday 9 am – 4 pm
Friday 9 am – 5 pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed
Drive-Thru Hours
Monday – Friday 8 am – 6 pm
Saturday 8 am – 12 pm
Sunday Closed
Cash, Credit, or Check

NEW: Steven Kia (Harrisonburg)

3340 S Main St.
Monday – Saturday 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday: Closed
Cash Only

Jon Henry General Store (New Market)

9383 N Congress St
Open Daily 9 am – 6 pm
Cash, Credit, or Check

Rockingham Cooperative Ace Hardware (Bridgewater)

601 N Main Street
Monday – Friday 8 am – 6 pm
Saturday 8 am – 5 pm
Sunday Closed
Cash or Check Only

Myers Ford (Elkton)

13959 Spotswood Trail
Monday – Friday 8 am – 6 pm
Saturday 9 am – 4 pm
Sunday Closed
Cash or Check Only

To see a full list of prizes, scroll up, or click on this link.

Buy your tickets early to be eligible for our Early Bird drawings. April 28 (exclusively for past ticket holders), May 16, June 20 & July 11 we’ll be giving away $1,000 and FIVE free tickets.  Buy your tickets before those dates to be automatically entered! Early Bird winners are still eligible for the main drawing on July 26.

There are three ways that you can get free raffle tickets!

1. When you purchase nine tickets, you get a tenth free! The tenth ticket will automatically be sent to you if you purchase your tickets in one transaction. If you spread out your purchases during the raffle season, please email downtownharrisonburg@gmail.com for your bonus ticket.
2. You can win additional tickets by purchasing your ticket early! All tickets purchased by midnight the day before the Early Bird drawings will automatically be entered to win $1,000 cash and five free raffle tickets. Click “How do Early Bird Drawings work?” to learn more.
3. Raffle tickets are being given away this season from our media partners at iHeart Media, Harrisonburg Media Group, and WNRN. Listen to local stations around the Early Bird drawings to learn how to enter.

No! You do not need to live in Harrisonburg, or even Virginia, to enter the Friendly City Fortune raffle! Tickets can be purchased online from anywhere in the United States here.

If you win a prize that you do not want, you can instead accept half the cash value of the prize as your award. For example, if you win the Stevie Ray Vaughan Fender Guitar & Amp and opt to take the cash payout, you will get half of the MRSP value of $2,500 as a check (~$1,250).

Proceeds from the Friendly City Fortune go towards HDR’s mission to build Downtown Harrisonburg as a destination where businesses thrive and people enjoy memorable experiences. Here is some of what past raffle proceeds have helped fund:

• Small Business Assistance – small businesses can apply for Bricks & Clicks grants through HDR that help improve their marketing and build their business as a downtown destination. Past recipients include:
  • Dinamic Cuts – modernized its business operations with a new Point of Sale System to help with bookkeeping and easy payments, online scheduling, and a new sign
  • Bittersweet Bakery – installed a walk-up window for improved customer pick-up service
• Beautification Projects – we strive to make downtown a beautiful space with public art and other projects
  • Language of Love sculpture – located behind the Arts Council building, the vision for the installation was for the piece to be a welcoming area where people could sit and enjoy lunch or coffee or children could play on it. It is teeming with people on nice days and during the farmers market so we are excited it was a bit hit!
  • Northern Gateway Installation – we are contributing funds and time towards the development of a new installation near Merge Coffee to welcome visitors from the north side of town into downtown
  • Committee of Joy Projects – this committee is working on miniature installations for public viewing
• Festivals & Events – HDR puts on a series of annual events that help bring the community together including the Independence Day Fireworks. HDR partners with the City of Harrisonburg to have a firework celebration for public viewing and raffle proceeds help make sure that the display is spectacular.
• Showcasing Downtown Harrisonburg – from holiday campaigns, commercials, and dining guides, we are able to showcase the wonderful asset that Downtown Harrisonburg is to our local and neighboring communities through raffle proceeds

What are we looking to fund this year? Here are some of the projects that are on the horizon:

• Even more downtown mural art to reflect downtown’s vibrant culture
• Implementing an accessible downtown initiative to make downtown more welcoming to people with disabilities
• Updated light pole banners project featuring duck designs from local students

To select the winners of the four Early Bird drawings and main prize drawing on Saturday, July 26, we use four electronic bingo ball machines to draw four balls numbered from zero to nine. Numbers are drawn at random and checked against the ticket database to verify they are sold ticket numbers and to whom. All numbers drawn will be recorded, including unsold numbers. If unsold numbers are drawn, new numbers will be drawn. Winning sold-ticket numbers will be verbally announced during the drawing, and posted on HDR’s social media, and www.friendlycityfortune.com.

The drawing will be livestreamed online and a link to the video will be posted on www.friendlycityfortune.com. Ticket holders may also attend the live drawing on Saturday, July 26, barring any public health considerations that make gathering hazardous. HDR employees will call and/or email the winners directly to arrange to claim the prize during the week following the drawing. You can see previous livestreams on our YouTube and Facebook playlists.

Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance is authorized to conduct the Friendly City Fortune mega raffle by the Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs under the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under permit number G-26-38093-12753.

Each $100 raffle ticket gives you TWO numbers to win cars, trips, cash, and more on Saturday, July 27!

Plus, all proceeds benefit Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance’s mission to build downtown Harrisonburg as a destination where independent businesses thrive and people enjoy memorable experiences. It’s a win-win!