Daytrippers and travelers looking to spend a week or longer in Virginia Beach get what they expect from an idyllic summer vacation along the seashore: delicious seafood, broad sandy beaches, great finds at antique stores and lots of unencumbered free time. But Virginia Beach also heats up at different times throughout the year with more energetic events.The Verizon Wireless American Music Festival is the biggest annual music event on the East Coast. The nation's top headliners all convene on the beach, playing all the hits currently heard on various radio stations across the country. The festival features more than 50 concerts on 10 different stages, including the 17th and 24th Street oceanfront parks and stages all along the boardwalk. Most performances are free, and the ones that do charge admission cost only a nominal amount per ticket.
The Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon puts a different spin on the concert scene. This 13.1 mile race keeps runners motivated with live rock 'n' roll bands playing at every single mile along the way. World-class athletes compete for a $100,000 prize purse. Not only are the music and the money big draws for marathon runners, but the nearly pancake-flat oceanfront course makes it a great race for beginning runners. (There's no Heartbreak Hill here, like in the Boston Marathon.) The action-packed weekend also includes a free two-day Sports and Fitness Expo at the Pavilion Convention Center. If you want to enter the race, do so early; it's limited to 15,000 runners and walkers and 1,700 volunteers. Sports fever continues to run through Virginia Beach with the Columbus Day Soccer Tournament. It's the most prestigious boys' soccer competition on the East Coast, and has expanded to feature 425 teams from 14 states and Canada with top soccer athletes aged 9 to 19.
Music and sports aren't the only major events here. The holidays inspire their share of festivities with phenomenal lighting displays. The Chic-fil-A Holiday Lights at the Beach event features a nautical theme. Visitors can view over 300 displays of lights along the boardwalk from the comfort of their cars. The nominal charge includes a holiday cassette to play in the background as you drive by the displays and there is live entertainment all along the way. The Founders Inn also gets visitors and locals in the holiday spirit with light displays and live entertainment. Plus you can step back in time for a classic Christmas with the events hosted here. Take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city, listen to a dramatic reading of the Christmas Story by period actors, build a genuine gingerbread house and enjoy sugar plum tea along with your carols.You might not have thought to spend December in a seaside town, but the special events which abound here prove the real secret of the city: the charm of Virginia Beach is timeless.