With its entertaining and educational exhibitions and powerfully cool air conditioning, a visit to the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) (428 North Boulevard ) is the perfect family activity for a hot summer afternoon.

If you haven't heard about the "crazy dumplings" at a new local restaurant, you soon will. Foodies have been abuzz lately about a new eatery called the Fanhouse, located at the intersection of Floyd and Robinson.

Featuring paintings and animations by Marcie Paper

"I've always tried to model our sound after my favorite records from the late Sixties and early Seventies without sounding dated," says guitarist and vocalist Jon C. Brown of Horsehead, explaining, "I see us as a traditional American rock and roll band."

Nestled among West Grace Street storefronts sits a nondescript building marked with little more than the number nine on its facade. Once a 7,500 square foot shop stocked full of washers and dryers, the 1930s digs now boast new tenants touting state-of-the-art production studios and is home to a creative interchange for freelance graphic designers, mixers, editors, videographers and photographers.

Let's face it -- plopping a For Sale sign in the middle of a freshly manicured lawn just doesn't cut it anymore. Even during the best of times there's a need for a little marketing whiz-bang in order to move the finest Richmond shanty.

These days there's a lot of hubbub over sustainable design in the residential market. But with 35 million Americans living in regions threatened by hurricanes, it's high time we introduce disaster recovery shelters into mainstream chatter.

Thinking Outside the (Window) Box with Watershed Architects

Corded phone in hand, Joel Erb launched his career in gadgetry in middle school. Armed with a sales script and a trial version of the first Flash software, Erb aimed high, pitching web services to the top brass at Calvin Klein, Armani, and Hugo Boss.