EVENTS

Bicentennial Festivities

Sippers & Lawn/Range Progressive Parties

What Friday night would be complete without a gathering in Room 7? Sippers will be hosted outside of Room 7, West Lawn, beginning at 5:30 pm. These special celebratory Sippers will include a wide selection of cocktails, including the Society’s special whiskey sour. Visit the room where it all began 200 years ago and share a drink with friends, old and new! Then we’ll move to themed cocktails and food in select rooms on West Range, East Range, and East Lawn. These parties will begin at 6:00pm filled with Society alums. Look for the full description and location in your welcome packet at check-in.

Bicentennial Meeting

Return to the Hall and dive once more into the debates, speeches, and literary readings that made our UVA Friday nights so special! The celebratory Bicentennial Meeting, hosted in Hotel C, will be gaveled in at 7:29, with content from across the decades presented throughout the evening. This curated night is one you won’t want to miss, whether you want to learn something new or give content of your own!

Poe Reading Contest

Quoth the Raven: “Once more!” Celebrate the literary tradition of the Society with a special edition of our annual Poe contest.  Ticket holders will be allowed to sign up for a short timeslot to present Saturday morning, with the winner being announced as part of the Bicentennial Banquet that evening. All guests and participants are welcome to come in and out of the Hall to listen to readings of Poe’s most famous works and honor one of our most distinguished members. 

Moomaw Oratorical Contest

Passionate about the state of global affairs? Want to elaborate on your love of environmental concerns? Yearning to speak on the current trajectory of modern movies? Then sign up to participate in our special edition of the Moomaw Oratorical Contest! Society members can sign up for a timeslot to present Saturday afternoon, and the winner will be announced during the Bicentennial Banquet. All guests and participants are welcome to come in and out of the Hall to listen to speeches on topics from pop culture to global affairs. Sign-ups and speech topics will be announced on the website prior to the Bicentennial.

Special Collections

Curious about the History of the Hall? Want to see the signatures of presidents and poets? The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is partnering with the Jefferson Society to display some of our most treasured artifacts. All guests are welcome to come and see the length of two centuries of student life, through the ways our Society handled tradition, change, war and peace at the University

Book Event: “Society Ties”

“Society Ties” is the history of the Jefferson Society, written by Thomas Howard, a Society alum. But the book is more than just a history of the Hall. It encapsulates student life at UVA over many years.  Meet the author, buy a book, get it signed, and more.  Stop by the Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Bicentennial Banquet

The capstone of the weekend, the Bicentennial Banquet is the true birthday party of our Society. As we turn 200, join us for a catered, black-tie optional dinner hosted in the brand-new Shumway Hall. Cocktail hour begins at 6:00pm and dinner at 7:00pm.

The night will include time to feast with friends, speeches to honor the Society’s history, its present, and its bright future, a retrospective video of memories of the Society, the announcement of several Bicentennial awards including the winners of our two contests, and toasts. Jefferson Journals from previous years will be available to take home as well. The festivities continue with one of the Society’s most popular informal traditions: the Night of 1000 Toasts. Celebrate with us all night long, and make memories that will certainly, in the future, be pleasing to remember. 

Pavillion Progressive Brunch

We are pleased to host a progressive Pavillion brunch Sunday morning, which will be run out of both the Colonnade Club and several West Lawn Pavilions. Weekend passholders can join us for a catered breakfast with fellow alums and get a chance to look inside the Pavilions which surround Room 7, and meet some of the current occupants! For those who are truly yearning for a taste of Charlottesville, Bodos will be provided as part of the event. (Photographer and Videographer will be Present)

Archives & Meet Ups

Interested to look back at some old minutes of the Hall? Want to see artifacts from your time in the Society? Want to spend more time in the Hall chairs? Visit the Hall Sunday afternoon, gain a curated look through the Hall’s archives, and enjoy meeting up with old and new friends.  For alums who cannot stay until July 14th, make sure you come by to sign the Bicentennial roll book. 

Roll Call & Oath

The day has finally arrived. On Monday, July 14th, 2025, the Jefferson Society will turn 200 years old. Throughout the weekend, a special Reunions Roll Book, filled with the names of attendees who register for this celebration and to be filled at future anniversary celebrations, will be available to sign, with a list of locations being made available on the Bicentennial website. On Monday morning, the Roll Book will be in Room 7, West Lawn. At 9:30 am, we will move from Room 7 to the Hall, where we will celebrate the Bicentennial of the Society with a recitation of the Society’s Oath, a roll call from the Reunions Roll Book, a brief speech by the President of the Society, and a final farewell to the weekend and hello to many years of Society life to come. There will be a special opportunity following the event for representations to be made at both the Essence and in the gardens around the Hall, which will be filmed as part of our Bicentennial Storybook process. Haec Olim Meminisse Juvabit! (Photographer and Videographer will be Present)