Charlottesville represented at Day 3 of #TomTomFestival. 🔥
The Community Partner Programs, Innovation Summit, and the Downtown Mall Block Party had the whole city alive.
If you missed it, today is your chance to be part of it! Block Party Day 2 and Community Partner Programs are happening all day long. Full schedule 👉 tomtomfoundation.org/schedule-2026
📸 Photo credit: @alisafoytik
#TomTom2026 #Charlottesville
Block Party Day 2 starts at 3pm today and goes until 9pm. 🎉 Rain or shine.
🛂 Grab your Block Party Passport and check out all your favorite bars, restaurants, and shops!
Individual performances will be dependent on rain, but the party will go on! 🙌
📸 @meredithmckownphotography
#TomTomFestival #Charlottesville #BlockParty
We were incredibly excited to welcome @bennettsvillage as a Community Partner at this year's #TomTomFestival! 🏀
Bennett's Village was part of the Downtown Mall Block Party on Saturday, bringing a Wheelchair Obstacle Course that drew in kids, parents, and curious passersby alike, all wanting to give it a try. The Charlottesville Cardinals were on hand to show everyone the ropes.
Then Sunday morning at the Key Center, the crew was back for wheelchair pickleball and basketball, giving the whole community a chance to see the game from a new angle and walk away thinking differently about what play can look like. ♿
Together with UVA Kinesiology and Charlottesville Adaptive Parks and Recreation, Bennett's Village showed that inclusive spaces aren't a nice-to-have. 💛 They're essential.
Which Community Partner would you love to see back at Tom Tom next year? 👇 Let us know in the comments.
📸 @alisafoytik
What a night. 🎉 Crowdfunded Pitch Night always brings the energy, and the 13th Annual event was no different. 13 entrepreneurs, three minutes each, and a room full of people ready to invest in what's next.
Every single founder who took the stage was amazing, and the Charlottesville entrepreneurial community showed up in full force to prove it.
The results:
🏆 The Crowd's Choice Award went to hobski (Tala + Fares Habbab), who secured the most online and in-person votes and donations, raising $2,540 from the crowd.
🏆 The $5,000 Grand Prize, awarded by @cicville , went to Eat Better Today (Troy Robinson).
And then something special happened. The nonprofit @blackambitionprize was in the room, heard the pitches, and decided to match the Grand Prize on the spot. Troy Robinson walked away with $10,000!
In total, the crowd raised $6,030 for this year's entrepreneurs, with every dollar going directly to the founders. 🙌
Thank you to everyone who showed up, voted, and invested in our region's next generation of entrepreneurs.
📷 @alisafoytik
Let's keep the momentum going! 🙌
The 14th Annual Tom Tom Festival was an extraordinary week, and none of it happens without community. More than 94% of our 25,800 attendees participated free of charge or through scholarship pricing. That openness is central to who we are, and it only exists because of people like you.
Two ways to get involved:
🔹 Make a one-time gift to support future festivals and year-round initiatives.
🔹 Join the Tomorrow Society, an annual program of talks, workshops, and gatherings keeping the momentum going beyond April.
With your support, the work doesn't end in April. It grows.
Support Tom Tom at the link in bio.
📸@benevolent_photographer
#TomTomFestival
#Charlottesville
This year's Tom Tom Festival Civic Futures Summit helped bring together voices from business, nonprofits, government, and service providers to ask a hard question: What would it actually take to address homelessness in our region? That conversation is continuing.
The State of Homelessness: Community Conversations is a new series from @brach.coalition.for.homeless , @cville_salvationarmy , @havencville , and @pacemshelter .
📆 Thursday, May 14 | 12--1pm
📍 @vaultvirginia | 300 East Main Street
Hear where things stand, how these organizations are working together, and what's on the horizon. Q&A follows.
RSVP and learn more ➡️ blueridgehomeless.org/event-details/state-of-homelessness-community-conversations
📷 @alisafoytik
Grief is one of the most universal human experiences. And yet, for many people, it does not simply fade with time. 🕊️
On May 21, Dr. Kim Penberthy, Professor at UVA's Division of Perceptual Studies and Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences, brings decades of clinical work and cutting-edge psychedelic research to a conversation about healing, consciousness, and what happens when loss doesn't let go.
Join us. Registration required. Visit the link in bio.
This year's festival drew over 25,822 unique attendees across 5 days of bold ideas, creative community, and celebration. 🙌 313 speakers. 63 performing acts. 200+ sessions and events, with 93% offered free or with scholarship options.
But the story doesn't end there. We want to hear from you.
💬 Whether you have a testimonial to share, feedback to offer, or ideas for 2027, your voice helps shape what Tom Tom becomes next. Let's make 2027 the best Festival yet! tomtomfoundation.org/festival-recap-2026
📷 @ezeamosphotography
The 2026 Festival photo galleries are live! 📸
The 14th Annual Tom Tom Festival transformed Charlottesville into a canvas of ideas, music, and connection. For five days, the city pulsed with energy as thousands of people stepped into conversations, onto stages, and into shared spaces with a sense of possibility.
This year's theme COURAGE was a call to show up for brave conversations, brave actions, and to boldly bridge divides. And Charlottesville delivered. 💜
👉 Go relive the moments at the link in our bio. If you post a photo please tag the appropriate photographer :)
📷 Photo's in this post taken by @alisafoytik
#TomTom2026 #TomTomFestival #Charlottesville #MusicArtIdeas
Here's to our courageous community! 🙌
The 14th Annual #TomTomFestival energized Charlottesville with ideas, music, and connection. For five days, thousands of people stepped into conversations, onto stages, and into shared spaces with a sense of possibility.
In light of the 250th Anniversary of America's founding and the 50th anniversary of Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, this year's theme COURAGE called on us to show up for brave connections and bold community. And did we ever.
We want to hear from you. Share your Festival story and check out the full recap 👉 Link in bio.
📸 @benevolent_photographer
