Northern Virginia Magazine reported on the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art's move after more than 70 years at the Oceanfront to a new building on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus. The 35,000-square-foot, $25 million building gave the museum more than 20 percent more exhibition and education space than it ever had at the beach. The two exhibitions, Nina Chanel Abney's The Pursuit of Happiness and Seamless: Art and Design, closed on August 16.
Meanwhile the Oceanfront is gearing up for a busy week. In three days, the 64th Annual Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships takes over the stretch between 1st and 5th Streets for more than 80 hours of surf heats, BMX demos, cornhole tournaments and a pageant that has run since the Jaycees started the whole thing back in 1963. That same week, Funk Fest Beach Party sets up at 30th Street with a free lineup that includes Big Daddy Kane and Cameo. Both events sit on the city's list of gatherings expected to draw more than 10,000 people a day, the kind that trigger road closures and dedicated parking guidance from the city's Resort Management Office.
Virginia Beach has a mix of experiences this August: the museum's new campus location, restaurant activity and recurring markets, alongside the upcoming surf championship and Funk Fest. Together, they show how activities and businesses are spread across the city.
The museum that left the boardwalk
MOCA's move wasn't a renovation. It was a full departure from more than 70 years of Oceanfront address. The new campus location gives the museum a different setting for its work. On August 14, more than 70 local artists filled the galleries for the Monster Drawing Rally, a live art fundraiser, offering an early example of public programming at the campus.
Down at the Oceanfront, the city is about to host a full week of the surfing championship. The event is produced by the all-volunteer Virginia Beach Jaycees. Its general manager, Tony Pellino, described the group's role in a World Surf League report:
"Mainly in the shadows producing their largest fundraiser and give-back to their community."
That quote reflects the Jaycees' role in producing a major annual event at the Oceanfront, while MOCA's move marks a new campus chapter for the museum.
More summer restaurant activity
The museum wasn't alone. Look at where the restaurants that opened or reopened this summer actually landed, and a pattern shows up fast.
Chic's Laundry took over a former laundromat in northern Virginia Beach and turned it into a modern Mid-Atlantic kitchen, house-baked sourdough pizza crust and all. Vang's Sushi Shack, a walk-up and drive-thru concept from the owner of Sushi Vice, opened in the Haygood Shopping Center with a graffiti exterior and rolls built around Hot Cheetos and garlic chili crisp. Sleepy Cowgirl Coffee, which started as a vintage horse trailer, opened its first sit-down location at La Promenade in the Hilltop district. The Lucky Penny set up near Naval Air Station Oceana with pool tables, a live music stage and a daily happy hour, its menu leaning into the country's 250th anniversary with smashburgers named after U.S. presidents. And Biscuits & Bird, a new concept from Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the country's largest Hardee's franchise operator, is under construction at 3342 Virginia Beach Boulevard, the former Hardee's site at Celebration Station.
These restaurants are in Hilltop, Haygood, near Naval Air Station Oceana and along Virginia Beach Boulevard. Their addresses show the range of locations represented among this summer's restaurant activity.
Oceanfront dining options
None of this means the Oceanfront stood still. Atlantic Park, the new dining and retail development anchoring the Resort Area, added The Grill this year, a modern American, wood-fired restaurant helmed by Chef Roberto Santibañez with a Miami-inspired menu of steaks, fresh seafood and vegetarian dishes. Ocean Eddie's Seafood, a longtime Oceanfront fixture, added its own move this summer with a new rooftop patio over the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier for oysters and tropical drinks.
These additions give visitors another reason to explore the Resort Area beyond its major events.
This week at a glance
| If you're headed to an event or attraction | If you're staying in the neighborhood |
|---|---|
| Coastal Edge ECSC, Aug 23-30, 1st to 5th Streets, free, expect 10,000+ daily attendance and road closures | Sleepy Cowgirl Coffee, La Promenade, Hilltop, open now for pastries and lattes |
| Funk Fest Beach Party, Aug 28-29, 30th Street, free general admission, doors 4:30pm | The Lucky Penny near NAS Oceana, daily happy hour, live music stage |
| The Grill, Atlantic Park, wood-fired steaks and seafood | Vang's Sushi Shack, Haygood Shopping Center, walk-up and drive-thru |
| MOCA's exhibitions Nina Chanel Abney and Seamless closed Aug 16, Virginia Wesleyan campus | Chic's Laundry, northern Virginia Beach, dinner and cocktails |
The rhythm that doesn't need a headliner
Not everything worth doing this month has a festival name attached to it. The ViBe Creative District, tucked between Pacific Avenue and Parks Avenue near 16th to 22nd Streets, runs on its own schedule regardless of what's happening at 1st Street or 30th Street. First Fridays bring monthly pop-up art shows to the district. The Old Beach Farmers Market runs every Saturday from April through October. VB Flea sets up its vintage and antique market the third Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 607 19th Street, with a smaller night market the first Friday of the month from 6 to 10 p.m. at the same address.
None of that requires a parking plan or a 10,000-person crowd advisory. It's the part of Virginia Beach summer that was never designed to be loud in the first place, and it's still there after Funk Fest packs up and the surf tour moves on to its next stop.
If you do head toward the Oceanfront for either big event later this month, a few practical notes worth keeping: the city treats anything over 10,000 daily attendees as a major event with its own traffic diversion plan, the 9th Street and 25th Street garages tend to be the first to fill during race-adjacent events, and Hampton Roads Transit runs year-round and seasonal bus routes into the Oceanfront if you'd rather skip the parking search entirely. The city's VBAlert text service will flag closures in real time if you're the type who likes to know before you leave the house.
The takeaway for anyone who lives here
For residents, the useful takeaway is that a busy event calendar is only one part of the city's summer rhythm; local destinations and recurring activities offer other ways to spend time around town.
Keeping up with local businesses and activities matters when you're trying to understand a neighborhood as a place to put down roots rather than just visit for a weekend. If you're the kind of person who notices these things and finds yourself wondering what else has shifted in this city lately, ELG Consulting Group spends every week paying attention to exactly that kind of local detail. Reach out any time you want a conversation grounded in what's happening across Virginia Beach.
