Building Something Here

Meet Cody Banks, find three things worth doing this weekend, and see how the Route 29 bypass changed downtown Culpeper.

Culpeper works best when people decide to contribute something to it.

That idea runs through our conversation this week with Cody Banks, founder and creative director of Banks Marketing & Design. Cody talks about building locally, mentoring young entrepreneurs and choosing collaboration over competition as Culpeper grows.

Then we move from who to know to what to do.

The weekend ahead offers three very different versions of Culpeper: one last 3rd Thursday concert, a new drive-in-style family movie night and the annual Harvest Days Farm Tour.

And our Did You Know looks back at the road project that changed downtown Culpeper by making it much easier to drive right past it.

People build towns. Roads reshape them. Events give us reasons to gather in them.

Here is this week's Culpeper HQ.

On October 31, GATHER heads to Ovoka for Nightfall at Ovoka: Ember & Mist. Just 56 guests will gather for five courses built around Ovoka Wagyu, open-fire cooking, wine, local ingredients, live Latin jazz and a few surprises along the way. The setting is part of the menu, with autumn color, firelight, mist and one extraordinary Virginia landscape.

October 31 | Ovoka

Cody Banks built a creative company in Culpeper. His bigger story is about mentorship, keeping work local and believing collaboration can beat competition.

Start the weekend early with live music Thursday, a movie under the stars Friday and a countywide farm tour Saturday and Sunday.

This week brings live music downtown, a family movie under the stars and a countywide look at Culpeper’s working farms.

Culpeper Downtown 3rd Thursday Summer Concert Series- September

Thu, Sep 17 · 5:00 PM | The Depot, Culpeper

Close out the 2026 concert season with En’ Novation, food, drinks, a kids area and an evening downtown.

Culpeper Downtown Fall Family Movie Night

Fri, Sep 18 · 7:30 PM | Heritage Park, Culpeper

Bring chairs or reserve a drive-in space for Home, plus food trucks, children’s activities and free snack bags.

Culpeper Harvest Days Farm Tour

Sat, Sep 19 · 10:00 AM | Culpeper County Farm Tour (multiple locations), Culpeper

Explore nine farms and agriculture-related businesses during this free, self-guided weekend tour of working Culpeper County.

In 1972, the new U.S. Route 29 bypass made it possible for through motorists to skip Downtown Culpeper.

The Museum of Culpeper History puts the consequence plainly. The bypass was "to the detriment of many small businesses."

A road can redirect traffic in a day. Building a strong downtown takes people choosing it again and again.

Good food is better around a shared table. Join the Culpeper HQ Dinner Club to hear about upcoming dinners and gatherings before the seats disappear.

Who is quietly making Culpeper more interesting, useful, welcoming or connected?

They do not need a giant company or an impressive title. In fact, the people who do not think of themselves as "feature story material" are often exactly who we are looking for.

Tell us who Culpeper HQ should know next.

See something good happening around Culpeper?

A new business, interesting person, community project, unusual event, local milestone or story everybody seems to know except us?

Pass it along.

There is a particular point in September when Culpeper starts to change.

The mornings get a little cooler. The light shifts. Porches, farms and downtown start looking like Fall before the calendar quite gets there.

Maybe that's part of why this week's issue feels especially Culpeper to us. Farms around the county are opening their gates. People are gathering downtown, watching movies outside and planning dinners around a fire.

A good town isn't one big thing. It's a lot of people deciding, in their own way, to add something to it.

Fall is almost here. We think Culpeper wears it pretty well.

With ❤️ from Culpeper - Malinda & Tim