view all events

May Faire 2025 will be a 2-day event!

When:
Where: Mathews County Historic Court Green

Please join us on the podium, Saturday, May 3, 9:15 am, on the Court Green 

This year’s Mathews May Faire  is a newly expanded two-day heritage festival, “A Rural Life: Country Stores, Post Offices and Wharfs,” May 2 and 3, 2025. This year’s festival will focus on the places where people gathered and worked. We will go back in time via photos and stories, uncovering memories of life in Mathews when general stores, post offices and wharf activities were essential to a way of life and commerce in the county. 
view all events

MATHEWS MUSEUM CLOSURE

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

Mathews Museum will be closed to the public until the end of January, for renovation
as well as preparing for the opening of our new exhibits.
view all events

MEMBERS ONLY RECEPTION 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

A preview reception and review of new exhibits, for Museum members, prior
to grand re-opening of museum, February 1. Light refreshments will be served.
view all events

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

Saturday, February 1, the Museum will reopen.
Our recognition of African American History month will include an exciting exhibit,
“Towards Freedom,” on loan from the Hampton Museum. Learn the story of men,
women and children who escaped slavery to seek the possibility of freedom at Fort
Monroe.

The exhibit explores critical questions surrounding slavery and the individuals who
changed the world by their actions just one month into the American Civil War.
On May 25, 1861, three young men, Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James
Townsend, escaped to union-held Fort Monroe near Hampton and petitioned for their
freedom. In response to their actions, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, commander of
Union forces in the area, proclaimed them "Contraband of War."  Word spread and
enslaved people brought their families and gathered by the thousands at Fort Monroe,
known by the Contrabands as "Freedom's Fort." The exhibit looks at the lives of these people who came to Hampton, and who in many ways became political activists by moving toward freedom.
 
Treasured Handmade Quilts Will Be on Display

Additionally, a special invitational quilt exhibit will feature handmade or owned/acquired
items by members of the local Mathews Bay quilters, as well as items contributed by
Mathews residents and invited artisans who wish to share their talents. Some of the
items were acquired by Guild members from travels near and far. There is no charge for
the exhibit and reservations are not necessary. The Museum is open on Saturdays,
10:00 am until 2:00 p.m. Please plan to include these events in your schedule for
February. For further information call 804-695-4664.
view all events

EBENEZER BAPTIST CHOIRS AND JOSHUA ALLEN 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

In a repeat of last year’s enthusiastic reception, join us at the Cobbs Creek Arts
Center, 61 Cobbs Creek Lane, Sunday afternoon, to hear the wonderful voices of the
Men’s Chorus and the Women’s Chorus of our local Ebenezer Baptist Church.
The groups’ most recent performance was before an appreciative audience at a
Christmas sing-along at Mathews Central United Methodist Church. The men’s chorus
has been in existence for over 25 years and is well known throughout the area.

*Also on the agenda is a concert performance by renowned artist, Joshua Allen, of
Richmond, a classically trained vocalist, who will sing as well as perform sacred and
secular songs on his handmade instruments. He learned traditional hymns while trailing
a plow and mule with his father and grandfather, on a North Carolina plantation. He will tell the story of his instruments, such as the African ox horn flute, made from animals used on farms. Mr. Allen, a former Marine and a former Mr. Virginia, will share his deep and resounding voice with us as he tells the story of his musical journey. We invite you to enjoy the afternoon at the Arts Center. There is no charge for this event and reservations are not necessary.
view all events

FREEDOM'S FORTRESS 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

A movie which depicts the story of Fort Monroe, will be shown. Empowered by a legal loophole, thousands of enslaved Africans escaped and found refuge at a Union-held fort during the Civil War.

Doors open at 6:30, movie begins at 7:00. Movie runs approximately ½ hour.
view all events

ROTARY CHILI COOK-OFF

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

4:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the Piankatank Ruritan Center

One of the Museum’s traditions is support for our local Rotary Club where the Museum
competes with other Mathews organizations in a Chili Cook-Off. We invite you to come
and support us Saturday, February 8, at this fundraising event on the day before the
Super Bowl !! Come and vote for the Museum as the #1 chili maker and take home a
quart for the game. Tickets are available at a cost of $20, through Museum members,
or, send an email to www.mathewsvamuseum.com or leave a message at 804-505-1277 and we will get back to you.
view all events

 MUSEUM ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

7:00 pm at the Museum; Members only

Annual membership meeting for all board members, museum members and volunteers
to discuss and vote on policy and procedures for the year of 2025, and renewal of
memberships for 2026.
view all events

ST. PATRICK'S DAY DINNER AND WOMEN'S NATIONAL HISTORY MONTH 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

Once again, the Museum is planning a St. Patrick’s Day event to be held at Kingston
Parish. There will be a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner and dessert, with an
after dinner Irish coffee. A wine and beer cash bar will be available. In addition, an
offering of fine woolen items from Ireland will be offered in a raffle. Tickets may be
purchased beforehand at MCVIC, Haskins Bayside as well as the Museum. More
details to come!

*In March we plan to celebrate Women’s National History Month. Mathews has an
incredible number of women owned businesses, covering a diverse range of services.
We wish to recognize these many women-owned small businesses, retailers, and
restaurant owners in the county. Look for details, as they develop, on our website.
view all events

MAY FAIRE 2025- A Rural Life: Country Stores, Post Offices & Wharfs

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

“A Rural Life: Country Stores, Post Offices and Wharfs”
This year, a two-day county fair-type of event, with crafters, food trucks, and entertainment, a children’s corner, Pound Cake contest, photography contest  and our traditional May Pole dance. May Faire is sponsored by the Mathews Museum, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025. Visit www.mathewsvamuseu.org for information.
view all events

A VA250 ALL AMERICAN CONCERT 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

The Mathews Museum is pleased to co-sponsor, along with the Mathews VA250, a
concert at the high school, featuring The Courthouse Community Orchestra, under the
direction of Staff Sergeant Jarrett Kocan of the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America
Band. Join us at the Mathews High School auditorium as we memorialize the 249th
anniversary of the May 15 creation of Virginia’s Declaration of Independence. The
concert will begin at 6:30 pm. There is no charge for this event.
view all events

 WILLIAMS WHARF 

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

Mathews Museum will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year! We are planning a
community-wide event Saturday, September 13. Look to our website for details as they
develop, at www.mathewsvamuseum.org.
view all events

MORE THAN A  CENTURY OF QUILTS ON DISPLAY

When:
Where: 200 Main Street, Mathews, VA

Watch for upcoming news about the quilt exhibit that will open Thursday, October 3, at a special member only reception. *The collection will then be on exhibit to the public, from October 5 through late December.  One of the oldest family names in Mathews County is Diggs, with  that family’s presence dating back centuries. Their legacy runs deep in the county and physical evidence will show that, when nearly 30 quilts all from the Diggs family dating as far back to the Civil War era, are on display at a special quilting exhibit, “Threads of Our History: Quilts of Mathews Virginia.” The Museum is both proud and excited to be able to  display this exceptional piece of Mathews history.
*Please note that times vary with Museums Hours of Operation