The Great Rotumpkin • A Spooktacular Halloween Projection
by Local Artist Jeff Dobrow & the AV Company

Dancing skeletons, spooky pumpkins, bubbling cauldrons and a haunted house will all make appearances on the exterior of UVA’s Rotunda this weekend in celebration of Halloween this year!!
Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday, October 28-31 • 7-11pm
UVA's Rotunda • Open to the Public • FREE
Vignettes accompanied by haunting music will cycle over the outside of the centerpiece of the University, transforming the iconic building into a massive movie screen. The mini-shows might transform the Rotunda into a graveyard with jolly, dancing skeletons, a haunted house or an animated Halloween music box, with a rising moon and rotating, ghoulish pumpkins, caldrons, and purple skulls. You will have to come see to find out!!
Thanks to UPC, please join us for:
October 28th | Carnival Night: Kickoff the weekend by joining UPC for a spooky carnival-themed night in front of the Great Rotumpkin! DIY balloon animals, cotton candy, carnival games and more!
October 29th | Arts and Craft Night: Pumpkin painting AND face painting? What more could you ask for? Come out to see the Great Rotumpkin on October 29th, get inspired and do some painting!
October 30th | Cookie Night: Happy Halloween Eve! Journey to the Rotunda to watch the Great Rotumpkin projects and enjoy some free Insomnia cookies and other snacks!
October 31st | Costume Night: Happy Halloween! Think you have the best costume on Grounds? Come to the Great Rotumpkin to get your pictures taken in a photobooth and enter UPC's costume contest for a chance to win BIG!
Projection mapping plays with the evolving, fluid relationship between technology & art to produce interactive, immersive, and involving experiences. The show offers students and community members a way to experience art with one another. The energetic pop-up projections blend UVA’s prominent architecture with colorful lights and music in hopes of providing an uplifting, joyful, impactful, and engaging encounter that will leave you with a bit of wonder, curiosity, and maybe a new shared experience or memory to draw from.
UVA Arts, the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost and Vice Provost for the Arts, and UPC present The Great Rotumpkin!
THE GREAT ROTUMPKIN of 2021
Halloween Projection Mapping by local artist Jeff Dobrow
In the News:
- Spooky projections to shine on UVA's Rotunda • CBS 19 News • October 27, 2022
- Pick: The Great Rotumpkin | Hoo ghosted hoo? • CVille Weekly • October 26, 2022
- UVA is gearing up for the return of the “Great Rotumpkin” • NewsRadio WINA • October 19, 2022
- ‘The Great Rotumpkin’ reignites Halloween celebration on Grounds • by Leon Arceo • Cavalier Daily • November 1, 2021
- The Great Rotumpkin lights up the Lawn • by Anne-Parker Coleman • CBS19 • October 31, 2021
- It’s ‘The Great Rotumpkin’: Spooktacular Halloween Projection Show Coming to UVA • by Jane Kelly • UVA Today • October 28, 2021
Brighter Together: Projection Mapping at UVA
The energetic pop-up projections blend UVA’s prominent architecture with colorful lights and music in hopes of providing an uplifting, joyful, impactful, and engaging encounter that will leave you with a bit of wonder, curiosity, and maybe a new shared experience or memory to draw from.