Tom Tom Festival’s 13th Edition Breaks Records and Celebrates Community Evolution & Growth

Charlottesville, VA — The 13th Annual Tom Tom Festival, held from April 16–20, 2025, wrapped up its most vibrant year yet, with 26,959 attendees, marking a 4.4% increase over 2024. The Festival welcomed 276 Speakers and 80 performing acts at over 190 sessions and events. The festival was also highly accessible, with 93.2% of the events offered on a Free or Pay-What-You-Can basis. 

The Festival was hosted by the Tom Tom Foundation, whose mission is to connect communities for a brighter tomorrow, and was presented in partnership with UVA Innovates, Virginia Tourism, RL Beyer Custom Homes, the City of Charlottesville, and Ludwig Kuttner. 

Anchoring the festival was the EVOLVE Conference, a four-day gathering of innovators, educators, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders committed to shaping the future. Sessions highlighted the transformative power of collaboration and creativity, with standout panels including Democracy 2026, featuring Monticello’s Jane Kamensky and UVA’s Karsh Institute’s Melody Barnes, which explored the region’s unique contributions to the national narrative as the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches. A dynamic conversation on Innovation Clusters brought together UVA President Jim Ryan, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders, and Albemarle County Executive Jeff Richardson, illustrating cross-sector coalitions working to move the region forward. The Conference also tackled urgent and emerging topics—from AI and business strategy to climate resilience, the future of work, and reimagining education through a whole-community lens.

The Downtown Mall Block Party returned as a beloved centerpiece of the weekend, transforming downtown Charlottesville into an open-air celebration of music, food, and art. 20,531 attendees joined on Friday and 21,671 on Saturday, packing the streets for performances, immersive art installations, and pop-up experiences that brought EVOLVE’s themes to life. 

This year also saw the expansion of the Community Partner Program, with over 50 local organizations contributing events and activities—from wellness workshops and neighborhood gatherings to interactive exhibits and youth showcases. The program embodied the spirit of co-creation, amplifying grassroots energy and voices from every corner of the region. 

Pitch Nights and Innovation Showcases helped raise funds for emerging startups. The Crowdfunded Pitch Night raised $9,600 of community donations and investment, for the crowd favorite Chanterelle Cafe (founder Carrington Epperson) and grand prize winner the Charlottesville Food Coop. The University of Virginia’s ECUP distributed $50,000 to student ventures, including a First place prize of $20K to Land Credit (Custis Colemen), Second place prize of  $15K to Métopi (Miles Lanham) and third place prize of $10K to TalentBeam (Danny Holloway). A total of 35 startup businesses showcased at Tom Tom. 

The Festival launched with a Speaker & Patron Launch Party at the newly opened UVA Contemplative Commons in partnership with the Contemplative Sciences Center, and featured UVA student DJ, Jonny Cody, and welcoming toasts from UVA Innovates, Michael Lenox, and the CSC Director of Research, Michael Sheehy, both of whom also served on the EVOLVE Conference Steering Committee. 

Additional highlights include:

• Long Term Impact: The Festival featured numerous projects and initiatives that will continue in the months ahead in line with the Tom Tom Foundation’s impact statement. Over 100 community leaders joined the “Education Innovation Summit: A Community Schools Mindset”, hosted by the City of Promise and African American Teaching Fellows, with meetings continuing this summer. The Jefferson Innovation Summit hosted by UVA Innovates, UVA Darden’s Batten Institute, and Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation convened 22 delegates from across the state to develop a policy playbook towards Catalyzing Innovation in the Commonwealth that will be released this summer. The Civic Futures Track specifically detailed projects that would continue into the future, with feedback being compiled and will be shared with regional leadership in June.

  
  

• Attendance: Overall, the Festival attendances totaled 49,016. The attendances were discounted down to 26,869 to reflect unique attendees who attended multiple events. Total attendances reflected: 1,466 Conference Badge Holders, 42,202 Block Party Attendees, 2,094 Signature Event Attendees such as Dance Series, Porchella, and Mixers, and 3,254 Community Partner Event Attendees. 
  

• Finances: The Tom Tom Foundation will issue a financial report of the Festival in the months ahead, continuing a trend in 2024, when revenues and expenditures were included in the 2024 Annual Report. As a 501c3 nonprofit, the Tom Tom Foundation Form 990s have been available for public review since its inception in 2013.
  

• Sponsors: The Festival enjoyed the financial support of 51 cash and in-kind sponsors. Presenting sponsors included UVA Innovates, Virginia Tourism, RL Beyer Custom Homebuilders, the City of Charlottesville, and Ludwig Kuttner. Additional support came from Friends of Charlottesville, and UVA Health. 

  
  

The complete 2025 Recap can be found here, alongside an opportunity for the public to offer feedback and testimonials.