Cool things happening on the Shore this weekend

Chincoteague Bird Walk

Watch snow geese and tundra swans gather to migrate to their Arctic breeding grounds. Late February is peak season for these magnificent birds at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR). Eastern Shore Master Naturalists in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service will lead a bird walk on Saturday, Feb. 28, 8.30-10.30 am. Meet at the Bateman Visitors’ Center. Newcomers are welcome.

2026 Winter Arts Festival

Saturday, February 28^th is the latest edition of the Eastern Shore Community College Winter Arts Festival, from 10am-2pm, in the college’s Academic Building on campus in Melfa. In exciting news, this year’s event will host the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Mobile Exhibit from Richmond, which will debut its latest theme on the Shore, entitled “Virginia as America: Navigating Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

In 1953, VMFA became one of the first museums in the world to have an Artmobile. For four decades, as many as four Artmobiles toured 59 exhibitions and served more than 2.5 million Virginians. Due to conservation concerns and the fragility of traveling works of art, VMFA replaced the program in the early 1990s with a Statewide Partners program to deepen partnerships with schools, community centers, and museums around the state.

Renamed VMFA on the Road, the traveling museum relaunched in October 2018 as a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled trailer equipped with Wi-Fi and interactive components that meet 21st-century expectations. In the fall of 2023, the museum acquired a new trailer with even more space for art and visitors.

This year’s new exhibit that will debut at ESCC on February 28^th, explores the American ideal that was first expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The evocative phrase “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” founded a nation on a promise of “inalienable” rights, a promise that has endured for 250 years.

From the collection at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 14 works of art- paintings, prints, and decorative objects- provide an alternative lens by which to understand our past, encouraging us to consider the hopes and challenges of those founding principles and their persistent relevance for realizing a “more perfect union.”

Organized by VMFA, this exhibition is in recognition of VA250, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the Independence of the United States. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Susan J. Rawles, VMFA’s Elizabeth Locke Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts.

The unit will be located at the entrance of the ESCC Academic Building on campus in Melfa, where both floors will be featuring a wide variety of local and regional artists and crafters displaying their work. In addition, a special room has been designated to host displaced artists from the Historic Onancock School Community and Cultural Center, where a January fire caused damage. An information station will be available on how to support their repair efforts at the school.

Tots-To-Teens: Fossils

Eastern Shore of Virginia Habitat for Humanity’s Freezin’ for a Reason

The Eastern Shore Habitat for Humanity invites you to participate in the 29th Annual February Freeze, to be held on February 28, 2026 at the beautiful Cape Charles Beach from 12—5. Participate as an individual or as a team in soliciting pledges to take a ‘dip’ in the Bay or support our Celebrity Dipper if you choose not to take ‘the plunge’! All funds raised go towards providing opportunities for local families to purchase quality, affordable housing.

10th Annual Shore Little League Oyster Roast

RSMH Auxiliary event: Fire & Ice on Feb. 28

Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital Auxiliary announces its 4^th annual Fire & Ice event to be held on February 28 from 4:30-8:30 p.m. at Mallards at the Wharf in Onancock. This indoor/outdoor event is a great opportunity to catch up with friends and dispel the winter blues while waiting for spring to arrive.

Tickets are $80 per person and include hearty fare, s’mores, firepits and a complimentary drink from the bar. A bourbon tasting is also available for purchase, adding an extra touch of warmth regardless of the weather.

The Auxiliary thanks early sponsors Accomack Storage, Lynn Gayle, High N Dry, Bev and Charlie Misuna and State Farm Bart Holland for supporting Fire & Ice.

Tickets are available for purchase through the post pinned to the top of www.Facebook.com/riversideshorememorial or online at https://bit.ly/fire-ice-2026.