VMFA On the Road Celebrates America’s 250th Birthday in Harrisonburg June 5-6

HARRISONBURG, VA – Get a head start on celebrating America’s 250th birthday this year with a June 5-6 visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) Artmobile in downtown Harrisonburg.

The free exhibition, Virginia as America: Navigating ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,’ features curated works from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts permanent collection. Visit during First Fridays of the Valley June 5 (5-7 pm) and Saturday, June 6 (9 am to 1 pm). VMFA On the Road will be located in the parking area behind Smith House Galleries (311 S Main St).

The traveling exhibition’s visit to Harrisonburg is coordinated by Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) and sponsored by the Rockingham County Circuit Court.

VMFA notes that “The spirit of rebellion that sparked the American Revolution and transformed the North American colonies into a United States was decades in the making, and the ideas that catalyzed it continue to shape American debate and dissent today.”

The exhibition features three parts:

• LIFE – The Birth of a New Republic
• LIBERTY – Individual Rights under the Law
• PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS – Becoming and Defining “American”

Among the featured works is an engraving based on John Trumbull’s painting of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress by its primary authors (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston).

Paintings and engravings of significant moments in American history are interwoven with personal representations of that story: a gold box presented to Major Benjamin Wolfe in 1794; Joseph Spengler’s birth certificate (circa 1800) based on a Germanic folk art tradition; and a Wedgewood Factory medallion by Henry Webber.

Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) is located at 311 South Main Street in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Programs are supported in part by ACV’s 2026 Strategic Partners: Kathy Moran Wealth Group, Riner Rentals, and Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC).

A 501(c)3 nonprofit, ACV is dedicated to cultivating the arts, creating experiences, and connecting communities throughout the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Since it was established in 2000, ACV has grown into a multi-faceted community organization that fosters innovative partnerships among area businesses, civic organizations, schools, and artists. Today, ACV manages Smith House Galleries, funds local art projects through its Advancing the Arts grant program (awarding more than $532,300 since 2001), supports public art initiatives, and coordinates monthly First Fridays of the Valley community gatherings.

ACV is supported in part by the City of Harrisonburg and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly. To learn more, visit valleyarts.org.

This press release was provided by Martha Hemingway at Arts Council of the Valley.