The 2025 Charlottesville Dogwood Festival has been cancelled. Organizers hope to bring the celebration back in 2026, but the future of the 76-year-long tradition is murky.
Founded as the Apple Harvest Festival in 1950, the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival got its current moniker in 1958. Beyond the name change, the festival has seen a multitude of evolutions over the decades—including the scaling-down of the event and its offerings.
While fireworks, amusement rides, and “local royalty” are mentioned on the Dogwood Foundation website, the attractions have been notably absent from the celebration in recent years. The Dogwood Foundation, the local nonprofit that runs the celebration, has cited a decline in attendance and increased costs as contributing to changes to—and this year’s cancellation of—the festival.
The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival celebrated its 75th anniversary last April. Photo: Jack Looney.
