FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 20, 2025
Media Contact: J.A. Lyon, Director of Marketing & Communications, jlyon@monticello.org
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private, nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello, announced today its Feast of Reason programming, a dynamic series beginning in June 2025 and continuing throughout the summer. Inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s legendary dinner parties—where great and often unlike minds gathered to exchange ideas over food and drink—Monticello’s Feast of Reason seeks to connect the community through conversation on the things that bring us together, even when we disagree about how to achieve them. Hosted at Monticello, in Richmond, and in downtown Charlottesville, each event will use an exclusive card deck with question prompts to spark conversation on issues large and small.
“Feasts of Reason at Monticello invite us to gather in the spirit of curiosity, courage, and community—values that animated the founding generation and continue to shape our national conversation,” said Jane Kamensky, president of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. “By bringing together engaged audiences on topics big and small, over food and fun, we hope to spark meaningful conversations that connect past and present, scholarship and public life.”
Monticello will offer four ways to participate in a Feast of Reason:
Feast of Reason in the Courtyard – June 14
On June 14, Monticello will kick off Civic Season with a Feast of Reason in the courtyard of the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center at Monticello. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Food and beverages from the Monticello Café and award-winning wine from Monticello’s own Jefferson Vineyards will be available for purchase. Register here.
Feast of Reason in Richmond – June 22
On June 22, join Monticello for an afternoon of feasting and conversation at Richmond’s Virginia Museum of History and Culture. Registration is free and food and beverages from VMHC’s Museum Café will be available for purchase. Register here.
Feast of Reason in Downtown Charlottesville – June 28
On June 28, join Monticello in downtown Charlottesville at South Street Brewery, owned by Blue Mountain Brewery, for an afternoon Feast of Reason. Registration is free and food and beverages will be available for purchase. Monticello Mountain Ale, the organization’s beer created in partnership with Blue Mountain Brewery, will be available for purchase. Register here.
Feast of Reason and Founding Friends, Founding Foes – June through October 2025
On June 20, Monticello will launch a special package that includes an evening Founding Friends, Founding Foes Tour followed by Feast of Reason. All tickets include a $25 food and drink voucher. A special discount for the evening tour and Feast of Reason is available for students who present a valid college ID. This package will be offered on Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the summer. Tickets are available here.
Beginning this summer, the Feast of Reason card deck will also be available in The Shop at Monticello, for people to play at home.
Feast of Reason images and assets available for download here.
About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas and inviting them to experience the power of place at Monticello and on its website. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site, and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, the foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit monticello.org.