Skip to content
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Shop

Grid Magazine Logo

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Shop
Work

Upgrading RVA’s Innovation Engine

By Ford Prior
Work

Richmond Entrepreneurs Launch Alps Dx to Modernize Lab Operations

By Richmond Grid
Play

Väsen Brewing Brings Beer, Community, and Kobop to Forest Hill Avenue

By Richmond Grid

#richmondgrid

More than 60 acres of prime farmland in Varina hav More than 60 acres of prime farmland in Varina have officially been transferred to the Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust as part of a broader effort to preserve farmland, strengthen regional food systems, and expand land access and ownership opportunities for farmers of color in Central Virginia.

The conservation initiative, led in partnership with @capitalregionlandconservancy, Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District, and others, protects more than 54 acres of prime farmland along New Market Road near @virginiacapitaltrail. 

The Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust is a BIPOC-led nonprofit organization focused on supporting resilient regional food systems through greater community control of land access and ownership.

“The biggest risk to farming is development pressure and rising land values. The biggest impediment to farmers is having land tenure and ownership of the property where we work and invest to improve soil health and provide needed food for the community,” said @duronchavis, Board Chair of the Central Virginia Agrarian Community Land Trust. 

“CVACLT was founded to help address both of these challenges and we appreciate the partnership that CRLC has afforded us to secure these 60 plus acres.”

The property also carries important Civil War and United Colored Troops history, along with environmental conservation significance in eastern Henrico. Follow @capitalregionlandconservancy and @duronchavis for more.
One of our favorite Richmonders, Barry Bless, aka One of our favorite Richmonders, Barry Bless, aka “The Professor,” is widely known for writing music and playing a range of instruments, from the accordion and piano to various instruments made from gourds. On Thursday, May 21, you can catch @professorbless at Live at the Branch, another mini-concert hosted in one of the most majestic settings in Richmond.

Barry has performed at the Virginia Opera, the Virginia Folklife Festival, Virginia Arts and Letters Live, the James River Film Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Classical Revolution RVA, and the World’s Largest Gourd Show, just to name a few. He has also busked in Richmond and Cuba, as well as performed in India. Throughout it all, he maintains that his favorite place to play is in the kitchen.

The Professor is calling this concert “Transcending Time and Space through Rhythm and Place.” It will include music and stories inspired by local places, people, and events, viewed through a global perspective.

Admission is $35 and includes light refreshments and drinks from the bar. Live at the Branch is sponsored by The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

📸 Photo by Barbara Shore
Saturday’s launch of the Volunteer Market proved y Saturday’s launch of the Volunteer Market proved yet again that Richmonders show up when it comes time to give back. Here, local residents shopped for ways to support their community from an impressive lineup of purpose-driven organizations positioned throughout Gallery5 (@gallery5arts). 

This first-of-its-kind event, designed by @josh__epperson, created an opportunity to get connected and involved with local organizations while enjoying a bite to eat, a favorite drink, and live local music. 

The event brought together some of Richmond’s most impactful organizations doing meaningful work across the region, from mutual aid and housing to youth programs and environmental efforts. The following local organizations were featured in the inaugural event:

Girls For A Change (@girlsforachange)
Better Housing Coalition (@bhc_rva)
Southside ReLeaf (@southsidereleaf)
Happily Natural Day (@happilynaturalfestival)
RVA Repair Cafe (@repaircaferva)
Beyond Boundaries (@beyondboundariesrva)
RVA Community Fridges (@rvacommunityfridges)
ReEstablish Richmond (@reestablishrichmond)
RVA Light (@rvalight)
Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project (@rrfpva)

This unique initiative aims to lower the barriers to supporting the causes Richmonders care about. Whether you’re new to Richmond, want to become more involved in your community, or already volunteer regularly, this event offers a welcoming place to start. Follow @richmondvolunteermarket for more details!
Markiss Blowfish, the voice of the farmers market Markiss Blowfish, the voice of the farmers market this morning at RVA Big Market! 

There’s a good chance you’ve heard the music of Mark Branch, better known around Richmond as @markissblowfish, drifting through the trees @growrva’s RVA Big Market and South of the James Market over the years. 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mark served in the Army before eventually making Richmond home in 1991. A member of the McGuire VA Veteran Band, former Richmond City school bus driver, father of three, harmonica player, songwriter, and longtime street musician, Mark didn’t begin playing blues harmonica and writing songs until the age of 40. To support his songwriting, he picked up the guitar and never looked back. 

For decades, he’s busked in Shockoe Slip and performed at local markets, bringing a blend of blues, soul, folk, and lived experience to Richmond’s sidewalks and gathering spaces. His songwriting talent has earned recognition from the Virginia Organization of Composers and Lyricists, including awards for Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year.
A new kind of “market” launches this weekend in Ri A new kind of “market” launches this weekend in Richmond, one where instead of buying things, you show up to give something back.

This Saturday, May 9, the first Richmond Volunteer Market, designed by Josh Epperson (@josh__epperson), will bring together a lineup of local organizations and Richmonders looking for ways to get involved. Hosted at Gallery5 (@gallery5arts), the event will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

This first-of-its-kind event will offer local organizations a chance to connect with Richmonders ready to “shop” for ways to support their community, all while enjoying a bite to eat, a favorite drink, and live local music.

Expect live music, a food truck, a full bar, and some of Richmond’s most impactful organizations doing meaningful work across the region, from mutual aid and housing to youth programs and environmental efforts. The following local organizations are featured in the first event:

Girls For A Change (@girlsforachange)
Better Housing Coalition (@bhc_rva)
Southside ReLeaf (@southsidereleaf)
Happily Natural Day (@happilynaturalfestival)
RVA Repair Cafe (@repaircaferva)
Beyond Boundaries (@beyondboundariesrva)
RVA Community Fridges (@rvacommunityfridges)
ReEstablish Richmond (@reestablishrichmond)
RVA Light (@rvalight)
Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project (@rrfpva)

Founder Josh Epperson started this unique initiative to lower the barriers to supporting the causes Richmonders care about. Whether you’re new to Richmond, want to become more involved in your community, or already volunteer regularly, this event is for you.

Richmond Grid is proud to serve as a media sponsor for this first-ever event.

➡️ Follow @richmondvolunteermarket for more details! 

📸 Logo by @mindhatch
🎉It’s National Travel and Tourism Week, and there’ 🎉It’s National Travel and Tourism Week, and there’s no better time to welcome Katherine O’Donnell, President & CEO of @visitrichmondva, as our guest editor for Grid’s partner publication, @here.weekly.

For more than 20 years, she has helped the region shine, turning tourism into a force for community impact. At her core, she’s a builder who believes tourism can make the Richmond Region stronger, more connected, and more vibrant.

A graduate of the @urichmond, Katherine came for school and stayed for the community. She started out creating maps and visitor guides and worked her way up to leading the organization, where she now sets the strategic vision, priorities, and long-term sustainability of Richmond Region Tourism while aligning its work with the region’s economic prosperity and quality-of-life goals. Along the way, she has championed initiatives including @outrva, @visitblkrva, and the launch of Virginia’s first Tourism Improvement District. 

We’re honored to have Katherine join us this week as she shares her tips with our #hereweekly newsletter subscribers for exploring and celebrating this place we all love to call home. Her recommendations include @vmfamuse’s India’s Great Mughals: Art, Power, and Opulence exhibition; Give Me Liberty reenactments at @st._johns_church_rva; the Always Revolutionary digital trail; @discoverrichmondtours; and Richmond Region Tourism’s free I Am Tourism workshop. 

Here subscribers, make sure to check your inbox later this morning for Katherine’s issue to drop. And if you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s free at hereweekly.com.

#noplacelikehere #richmondva

Live (View all)

Live

“Horizon” by Høly River – Music Video Review

By Erin Provencher
Live

From Indian Raags to Virginia Stages: Prabir Trio’s Live EP ‘Jivant’

By Erin Provencher
Live

Parkinson’s Awareness Month in Richmond: A Story of Empowerment, Not Just Awareness

By Carson Spicer
Live

Dear Richmond: After the Storm, The Sun Still Rises

By Carson Spicer

Work (View all)

Work

Upgrading RVA’s Innovation Engine

By Ford Prior
Work

Richmond Entrepreneurs Launch Alps Dx to Modernize Lab Operations

By Richmond Grid
Work

A Trailblazing Partnership: Alliance for Building Better Medicine’s Supply Chain Webinar Series

By Richmond Grid
Live

How a Gift Became a Full-Time Gig

By Patricia Moore

Play (View all)

Play

Väsen Brewing Brings Beer, Community, and Kobop to Forest Hill Avenue

By Richmond Grid
Play

GFAC PARTNERS WITH JR. NBA TO LAUNCH GIRL ACTION TEAMS IN RICHMOND

By Richmond Grid
Play

DISHING UP SUPPORT FOR PODIUM RVA

By Richmond Grid
Play

Jamaica House is Back, Bigger and Brighter

By Richmond Grid
Grid Magazine Logo
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Shop