
Creative Sprint RVA: Richmond Schools, Businesses, and Entrepreneurs Get Creative
By Noah Scalin and Mica Scalin When you think of creativity, what comes to mind? Is it an artist painting a picture or an author writing a book? Is it yourself? As siblings from a family of artists, we never questioned that we were creative, but when we started teaching creativity to the business […]

Shop and Sip Roaring Pines
Drew Dayberry is an advertising man gone rogue. He is the owner and operator of Roaring Pines, a general store and soda shop in Union Hill. Walking through the front door of Roaring Pines is like walking through time. The walls are made mostly of frosty gray-green pegboard decorated with American-manufactured goods: brooms, galvanized buckets, […]

This is Major
Communities are built through stories. When we tell stories that inspire and engage us, we inevitably build stronger communities. But it also takes dedicated people to share narratives that have the power to change. At the intersection of powerful stories and community engagement live two men: Mike Kemetic and Marshall “Major” Taylor. A Powerful Story […]

Gears in the Garden: Bike Gardens In Bloom At The Center of the Universe
A green bike with a yellow seat and an American flag sits in front of Cross Bros. Grocery with a country cured ham hanging from the handle bars. Nearby, two bikes – one baby blue and the other hot pink – sit atop the Ashland Theater marquee covered in lights. Decorated bikes sit in front […]

Exhibits, Helmets, and Community
With its knack for connecting the past with the future, The Valentine has launched “In Gear: Richmond Cycles,” a rich collection of photographs, bikes, and historical objects that span several centuries of cycling. Curated by David Voelkel, the exhibit celebrates all things cycling – from 19th century high wheel bikes to the local stories of […]

How We Roll: Richmond’s Inner-City Youth Cycling Program
By Craig Dodson What does cycling have to do with low-income kids from public housing? Nothing and everything. When I started Richmond Cycling Corps (RCC) in 2010, it was merely a project: a “let’s see what would happen if …” kind of thing. Well, in our first year, a group of four kids from Fairfield […]

Wheels of Change: The Library of Virginia and the Bicycle Boom
By Dana Puga The “Bicycle Boom” refers to a period during the 1890s when cycling was at its height. There seems, however, to be another bicycle boom taking place in Richmond these days. And the Library of Virginia is in the thick of the action. Located in the heart of downtown Richmond, the Library of […]

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 […]

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 […]