The Great Rotumpkin returns this year from Thursday through Halloween, from 7-11 p.m. each night.
For three nights this October, Thomas Jefferson’s neoclassical masterpiece will undergo a supernatural transformation. The University of Virginia’s Rotunda will trade its daytime solemnity to become a vibrant, larger-than-life canvas of dancing skeletons, glowing jack-o’-lanterns and whimsical lights.
The beloved spectacle, known as the Great Rotumpkin, is officially back. After a one-year hiatus in 2025, the display of projection mapping, animation and music returns Thursday through Saturday, from 7-11 p.m. each night.
Initially created as a safe, socially distanced outdoor experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the spectacle is now a Charlottesville tradition, drawing roughly 10,000 attendees.
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The Great Rotumpkin’s origin story is rooted in ingenuity during a time of isolation. UVA Vice Provost for the Arts Jody Kielbasa recalled how the concept first took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We wanted to try and think of things that could bring the community together safely,” he said. Drawing on his experience leading the multimedia installations for UVA’s bicentennial celebration, Kielbasa proposed outdoor architectural projections on historical buildings around Grounds, including the Rotunda, the University Chapel, and the McIntire Amphitheatre, which Charlottesville artist Jeff Dobrow and the AV Company executed.
A collaboration between UVA Arts, the AV Company and Charlottesville artist Jeff Dobrow, the Great Rotumpkin uses projection mapping to illuminate the Rotunda with spooky animations and vignettes.
What began as a public safety measure – giving masked, socially distanced students a reason to step outside and share a communal experience – quickly captured the imagination of the UVA community. Chief creative officer for the president’s office, Matt Weber, and Kielbasa floated a nod to Charles Schulz’s classic Peanuts special, and the “Great Rotumpkin” was born.
These animations of ghosts, pumpkins and skeletons alongside musical tracks transform the Rotunda into an extraordinary canvas of art and light.
In the years leading up to its 2025 pause, Kielbasa said crowds grew exponentially, drawing roughly 10,000 students and community members.
“We heard from a lot of people, ‘Why? What happened to the Great Rotumpkin?’” Kielbasa said. “So we decided, with the support of President Beardsley, to bring it back.”
UVA Vice Provost for the Arts Jody Kielbasa and Matt Weber, creative director for the president’s office, are credited with conceptualizing the event to bring the community together in 2020 safely.
Bringing the Rotunda to life takes serious artistic talent. For the fifth consecutive year, the University is partnering with Dobrow, whose mastery of projection mapping allows him to bend and reshape the classical architecture with light, and the AV Company.
Kielbasa says he drew upon his experience leading the multimedia installations for UVA’s bicentennial celebration in spearheading the architectural projections for the Great Rotumpkin.
This year’s 8- to 10-minute loop features a rotating sequence of vignettes, blending fan-favorite classics with two brand-new original animations. The centerpiece of the show remains the iconic transformation of the Rotunda into a giant, glowing jack-o’-lantern.
Beyond the student-populated Lawn and Corner, the event is supported by UVA Arts, the Office of the Provost, Arts on the Hill and the University Programs Council to actively engage the wider Charlottesville community.
For Kielbasa, the magic of the event lies just as much in the audience as it does in the projection of images.
“When you see the students that come in costumes on their way to their plans, it’s really magical and a lot of fun,” Kielbasa said. “It’s very communal, very uplifting.”
UVA Arts, the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, Arts on the Hill and the University Programs Council come together to support the event.
Costumed students and Charlottesville residents are welcome to gather outside of the Great Rotumpkin to enjoy the spooky atmosphere and loops of animation and music.
Kielbasa said a core part of his mission is public-facing engagement. While UVA students populate the Lawn, the Corner and other places for Halloween weekend, events like the Great Rotumpkin deliberately remove the boundary between the University and the surrounding area of Charlottesville.
“Any time that UVA can successfully engage our community, I think that’s really important because we are all part of that community,” Kielbasa said. “Even the students that may live elsewhere, at least nine months of the year, they’re here in Charlottesville, and they’re part of this community.”
Media contacts
Executive editor, University Communications
mike.mather@virginia.edu (434) 243-3781
