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Founders Day Weekend

  • Outdoor
  • Family Friendly

Join us for a special Founders Day weekend celebration at Monticello, honoring Thomas Jefferson’s 283rd birthday and bringing together community and conversation to reflect on the ideals that shaped the nation.

Bronze-patinated, full-length statue of Thomas Jefferson created in 2008 based on existing statues, portraits, and surviving clothes worn by Jefferson
  • All Guests Free; registration required

Join us for a special Founders Day weekend celebration at Monticello, honoring Thomas Jefferson’s 283rd birthday and bringing together community and conversation to reflect on the ideals that shaped the nation. Together with the University of Virginia, Monticello marks the enduring role of American institutions in carrying those ideals forward, inviting us to consider how history continues to inform life today. 

Save the date – tickets coming soon! 

Weekend Schedule

Character, Service, and the American Experiment: A Conversation with General Jim Mattis and David M. Rubenstein  
Saturday, April 11, 2026 

4:00 p.m. 
West Lawn 

We’ll kick-off Founders Day with a featured public conversation between General Jim Mattis and David M. Rubenstein, exploring leadership, civic responsibility, and the enduring challenges of American democracy. Set against the iconic backdrop of the West Lawn, this discussion brings contemporary voices into dialogue with the ideas that shaped the nation’s beginnings. 

Community Partners Showcase
Sunday, April 12, 2006

Meet local community partners, discover shared missions, and celebrate Jefferson’s birthday with a complimentary cupcake. All weekend long, children of all ages can enjoy hands-on activities at the Mountaintop Activity Center, along with engaging performances by historian and actor Bill Barker, bringing Thomas Jefferson to life through lively interpretation. 

Annual Wreath Ceremony 
Sunday, April 12, 2026 

1:00 p.m. 

On Sunday, Founders Day culminates in Monticello’s long standing annual wreath-laying ceremony, commemorating Jefferson’s 283rd birthday. The United States Army will place the presidential wreath, accompanied by performances from the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps.  

About the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals

Each April, Monticello and the University of Virginia—two enduring American institutions founded by Thomas Jefferson—come together to commemorate his birthday, known locally as Founders Day. Central to this tradition is the presentation of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals, which honor visionary leaders whose work reflects the pursuits Jefferson valued most and continues to shape the nation’s civic and cultural life: law, citizen leadership, architecture, and global innovation. 

The medals are the highest external honors bestowed by the University of Virginia, which grants no honorary degrees. Presented during Founders Day, they connect Jefferson’s enduring ideals with the work of people shaping the world today. 

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