Midsummers Charlottesville
Editor’s Note: This year’s Midsummers weekend is officially, err unofficially, July 12-14. You are invited to keep it off the radar.
Your Survival Guide
Ah, Midsummers- the Easter’s of the post-80’s classes. A time for reunion, discovery, and some good-hearted debauchery, when the convenient parking spaces are all suddenly filled, and the corner bars come to life once again. Whether you’re an incoming first year, a returning student, seasoned veteran alum, a visitor for the 4th, or a new Charlottesville resident, here’s how to make it through the weekend entertained and unscathed.
Summer Bacchanal
Midsummers (the weekend between UVA summer sessions, serving as an unofficially-official reunion weekend for students) arrives at the peak of a dry summer’s dog days. Not wanting to stay too far, students generally stick to the Corner, meaning that Charlottesville’s historic Downtown area will be as ready as ever to serve you a walking tour, a craft cocktail, and a plate or two of unfairly delicious food.
Returning Students
You probably have a plan for Midsummers, and a few brunch contingencies that will fizzle into you eating Bodos or, better yet, a Gus Burger at The White Spot. Or, here’s a fresh idea: lick your wounds in the morning with a Boba BOGO (buy one, get one FREE) from Kung Fu Tea, the new bubble tea spot on West Main near The Standard. Sweetest hair of the dog you’ll ever taste!
Remember your lessons from last year, bring a phone charger, and don’t sing so hard you fall off a table at The Virginian.
New Hoos
Midsummers is likely your first foray into UVA culture. There will be a lot of students sitting on roofs, singing, dancing, and sipping from sticky solo cups; there will be a lot of UVA ambassadors (the people in the yellow neon vests) hanging around; there will be a lot of Charlottesville police officers trying to keep you from walking in the street. I know it’s tempting, but try not to walk in the street.
Do: Go check out the parties at Wertland apartments; make friends, stay hydrated, and wear close-toed shoes. This is not the time for summer wedges or rainbows unless you want a beer pedicure and a guaranteed skinned knee.
Don’t: Do anything you don’t want to see on TikTok. Midsummers is a prime opportunity to embarrass yourself for the rest of college- try not to.
Alums
Okay, this is where it gets interesting. If you’re not crashing with that one friend that stayed in Charlottesville, make some hotel reservations now. The airbnbs are probably full. We recommend The Draftsman, if you can foot the bill, because it’s close, it’s swanky and it even has some local wahoo ownership.
The busy weekend means: call ahead at wineries, watch out for Uber surge, and take the opportunity to check out one of the new brunch places on West Main, where you’ll have a quieter environment to catch up with old friends over bubbly and bloodies.
New Residents: If this is your first “big weekend,” stay calm. Traffic will be a little worse than usual, and avoid driving through grounds or the corner unless you absolutely have to. Do take the opportunity to grab a Lime around the corner or take a walk through grounds, though- UVA is part of Charlottesville, even if sometimes it seems like another world, and the camaraderie of Midsummers is totally infectious. Let some students teach you the Good Old Song, and relive your own college days with a beer from the balcony at Michael’s Bistro, errr make that Trinity…looking out over The Corner.
New Residents
If this is your first “big weekend,” stay calm. Traffic will be a little worse than usual, and avoid driving through grounds or the corner unless you absolutely have to. Do take the opportunity to grab a Lime around the corner or take a walk through grounds, though- UVA is part of Charlottesville, even if sometimes it seems like another world, and the camaraderie of Midsummers is totally infectious. Let some students teach you the Good Old Song, and relive your own college days with a beer from the balcony at Michael’s Bistro, errr make that Trinity…looking out over The Corner.
