Virginia Peninsula Community College’s involvement in the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience hasn’t been 2½ centuries in the making, but it has been more than a year.
As David Garrett, the theater manager, was going through his on-boarding process last May, VPCC President Dr. Towuanna Porter Brannon asked him how the College and its theater department could be involved in the Virginia 250 celebration. Garrett had been approached by colleagues on the VA250 planning commission looking for students to help with scenery for the organization’s July 4 event. However, that involved just a few students. Garrett wanted more opportunities for the College.
“In looking at other ways that we could connect the campus for Virginia 250, I saw the mobile museum,” he said.
He wanted to do something outside, and the parking lot of Templin Hall came to mind.
“This parking lot is gorgeous,” he said. “It’s giant. It’s got beautiful trees around the outside. There’s a pond at the back of it.”
Garrett applied in October or November to host the exhibit. He was hoping for earlier dates to beat the heat but likes having it right after the Fourth of July.
“Please bring it on,” he said.
The traveling museum comes to the Hampton Campus in the Templin Hall parking lot from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, there will be what Garrett calls a “sendoff celebration” for the exhibit with a performance from Stan’s Big Band in the Dr. Mary T. Christian Theatre after the exhibit closes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the concert. The exhibit and the musical entertainment are free and open to the public.
“The idea was like we’re saying, thanks a lot, glad to host you guys, safe travels,” Garrett said.
That’s not all Garrett and the theater department have lined up for the month. The College’s summer operetta, “The Gondoliers,” will run July 23-26. Tickets are available through the College’s new box office website. Prior to the performance Saturday, July 25, the box office will be renamed in honor of former VPCC professor Cheri Beth Beasley, who passed away July 25, 2025.
“She’s the person who really elevated theater and performing arts here on our campus,” Garrett said. “Our friends, family, and community are invited to gather with us at 5 o’clock on the 25th to celebrate and then stay for the show that night.”
“The Gondoliers” is a satire on class distinctions set in Victorian England and involves sibling rivalry and unrequited love.
“In true Gilbert and Sullivan fashion, nothing is logical,” said Garrett, adding the songs are stupid, silly and fun.
The performance will feature an orchestra of nearly 20, one of the largest for a community college, Garrett said.
“We’re a student-led campus production, and we perform with a larger pit than places like Peninsula Community Theater, Smithfield, or Williamsburg Players,” he said. “And they sound awesome.”
