Cycles of Kindness
By Patience Salgado Between this boy and his bike, there was a deep love. I completely get it: the wind blowing on your face and going faster than your legs can take you. It is all of boyhood in its perfect freedom. Then it happened. Just one look and I knew it was gonna be […]
Yoga Everywhere
By Leslie Strickler Richmonders work hard. We are a tough and resilient lot when we want to be. But we also understand the value of play, getting outside, and being active. While there are many ways to maintain our physical and spiritual core, there’s nothing quite like the practice of yoga to harness the power […]
On the Rocks: Ladies Who Climb RVA
My 30th birthday found me in Colorado, staring up at a sheer 45-foot rock face, strapped into a borrowed harness, and wearing shoes that were way too big. The climb was terrifying. Would the ropes hold? Would my belayer drop me? While my first send (climbing speak for making it to the top) wasn’t pretty, […]
I Am Tourism
Seven million visitors, $2 billion pumped into the local economy, 22,000 jobs, and a savings of nearly $600 in taxes per household. That’s the impact of tourism in the Richmond region. We all benefit. And we all have opportunity to help grow these numbers. “Hotel occupancy in the Richmond region is shattering records,” says Jack […]
Beauty Matters
It was 5:30 a.m. and 88 oversized, cast stone planters had just been delivered to a stretch of Jackson Ward between 3rd and 5th Streets. Lucy Meade, executive director of Venture Richmond, and Sharon Baum of Kirby’s Landscaping walked the site with a long punch list in preparation for the day ahead. This was the […]
Happy Tails
Good ol’ fashioned nature is a beautiful thing, bearing no boundaries and offering experiences that no man-made object could ever top. Being outside brings about a sense of freedom and excitement. Nobody or no being understands this more than our friend “the dog.” Some dogs are inside all day while their owners are working or […]
Chiocca’s Downstairs Deli
Writer’s block is the bane of my existence. How do I spell relief? A trip to Chiocca’s Downstairs Deli, an antediluvian throwback in the Museum District. Subterranean and hidden beneath a corner of Kensington and Belmont, this six-decades-old bar and sandwich dive has it all: torn seats, fading signs from defunct local bars and publications, […]
Raised On Adventure
When you venture deep into the wilderness, far from Richmond, it’s good to surround yourself with individuals who are mentally tough. A few summers ago, Joey Parent, an assistant director at VCU’s Outdoor Adventure Program, and I were picking our way down an isolated creek not far from Durango, Colorado. The setting was spectacular – […]
Dream Nation Project
About 10 years ago, longtime friends Shane Patrick Crews and Sam Anderson started talking about their childhood dreams. Crews had wanted to be a magician and Anderson, who came from a blue-collar family, had dreamt of being able to wear a suit to work every day. Both had followed their dreams, with Crews working as […]
Hammer and Anvil
The art and tradition of good blacksmithing – shaping, pointing, bending, splitting, and joining. These are some of the topics you might hear discussed at the Central Virginia Blacksmith Guild. Forging metal to create everything from furniture and sculpture to light fixtures and tools, blacksmiths in our area represent the self-sufficiency and do-it-yourself nature of […]