Ed 166: Watermelon Festival, 804 Night, Nearby Beach & Lake Trips
Hey, y’all! 👋
The results are in, and we’re not going to be adding a “dose of cuteness” section to The Weekly Insider moving forward… but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to sneak in an adorable animal once in a while (like this sweet border collie Milo who enjoys brewery hopping his way through Richmond). Consider this your occasional cuteness warning!
WEATHER
Wednesday: Mostly sunny; high of 94°, low of 71°
Thursday: Partly cloudy; high of 93°, low of 71°
Friday: Partly cloudy; high of 90°, low of 67°
HAPPENINGS
Wednesday, 6 pm: Death at the Disco: Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre at Dancing Kilt Brewery
Thursday, 8 pm: Afro-Zen Allstars at Festival of Arts 2021
Friday, 5 pm: Road to the Porch: Live in Richmond at Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop
CITY GUIDES
1. Summer Fun: Beach, Lake & River Destinations Within 1.5 Hours of Richmond
2. 25 of RVA's Best Taco Spots for Authentic, Fusion & Everything In Between
3. Your Guide to RVA Happy Hours, Every Day of the Week
RICHMONDER TO KNOW
Johnny Phan: VCU grad, local real estate agent, and captain and manager of Cutaway One South, a seven-man elite amateur cycling team based here in Richmond… And the Cambodian Cycling Federation recently announced that Johnny — a Cambodian-American whose parents are originally from Cambodia’s Battambang province — will join the Cambodian Cycling Team to compete in the Southeast Asian Games.
The 2021 SEA Games were originally scheduled for November 2021 in Vietnam, but have been rescheduled to spring 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. We look forward to learning the new dates once they have been finalized so we can cheer Johnny on from RVA!
Keep scrolling for RVA’s latest social news, including the opening of a brand new riverfront brewery (the 42nd brewery for the greater Richmond area!), a can’t-miss event happening this Thursday with craft beer/video games/tacos/a live DJ, the highly anticipated return of a fan-favorite local summer festival next weekend, new updates on the curated collection of local food vendors coming to Richmond’s new food hall this fall, and more!
THE LATEST:
THIS WEEK
Get ready to see lots of “I’m on a boat” captions. The Lilly Pad is officially booking private charters, corporate events, and overnight stays on a 60' Ocean with a 3 stateroom, 3 bathroom layout!
Whether you're interested in a couple's cruise, a fishing trip, an overnight stay, a team-bonding event, or just want to have dinner on the water (literally), the folks at The Lilly Pad have your back with custom packages tailored just for you. You can shoot them an email or give them a call to set up your excursion of choice.
This isn’t even an ad, y’all — we just think it’s ridiculously cool that The Lilly Pad has made it so you don’t actually have to own your own boat in order to hang out on one! We’ll catch you on the water.
Clean up, then cook out. Spend your Sunday afternoon with local nonprofit Keep Virginia Cozy picking up litter at Jefferson Park as a part of a pop-up clean-up. Once you’ve restored this Church Hill gem to its clean and beautiful state (the clean-up should run from about 12 - 1:30 pm), stick around for a community cook-out with a group of rad people, overlooking one of the best skyline views in Richmond.
KVC leader Brian will be grilling hot dogs and burgers (both regular and vegan), but he noted that participants are welcome to bring anything else they’d like him to toss on the grill and he'll cook it up! Find more details here.
Man, are we grateful that live performances are back — and are we excited to get our tickets to this one! Beginning TODAY (Wednesday, July 28), the Richmond Triangle Players will present The Pink Unicorn. This award-winning show by Elise Forier Edie and directed by Raja Benz traces one mother’s journey from apprehension to tolerance to acceptance.
You can see The Pink Unicorn onstage at the Robert B. Moss Theatre in Scott's Addition (1300 Altamont Ave) through August 15. Tickets start at $10 — get yours here.
Meanwhile, further down the block: Stars, moons, and pinball. Just two months ago, local biz DawnStar Video Games (a retro gaming/anime/kawaii shop and arcade in Scott’s Addition) officially opened their pinball room called The Starcade at 1507 Altamont Ave, where a $10 entry fee gets you all-you-can-play access to all the games you want from Wednesday - Sunday, 11 am - 7 pm. This is not to be confused with The Mooncade, which is in fact a "horror arcade" that can be found at DawnStar's sister business Wax Moon Records (a vinyl record and video store) just up the street at 1310 Altamont Ave, open Wednesday - Sunday from 11 am - 6 pm.
To tie this back to this week’s news, DawnStar will be hosting their biggest event EVER this Thursday, July 29 at Tabol Brewing: Not one but two Super Smash Bros. tournaments from 5 - 9 pm, with music from local artist F1NG3RS and food by TBT El Gallo. You don’t want to miss it!
COMING SOON
Alexa, play Watermelon Sugar. That ought to get you in the mood for the 39th Annual Carytown Watermelon Festival, officially returning to Richmond, not this weekend but next weekend on Sunday, August 8!
Admission to the event is free, but plan to bring cash for watermelon slices ($1 per bowl from The Shriners!) and other street vendor specials including wine, beer, and more.
From 10 am - 6 pm, you’ll be able to enjoy watermelon delights of all kinds from the entrance of Carytown to the Byrd Theatre, with live music from local bands at six different locations throughout the entire festival! Event parking is located at City Stadium and side streets surrounding Carytown — more details here.
Holy mackerel, a new brewpub in Hopewell? Yep, and it’s called Holy Mackerel Small Batch Beers! This new riverfront brewery and seafood restaurant is in its “soft opening phase” at 700 Jordan Point Rd, overlooking the James River where it meets the Appomattox River.
Though Holy Mackerel’s flagship taproom is located in Fort Lauderdale, its Virginia location is operating under local ownership just 30 minutes from downtown Richmond. Expect a selection of Holy Mackerel's own craft beers like the "Panic Attack" strong ale, "No Name" IPA, "Haus Arrest" lager, and more. You can follow them on Instagram here, or sign up here for their SMS "perks" program to get a sneak peek before they officially open (among other rewards).
The BIGGEST culinary event of the season. The Indie Chefs Reunion 2021 is coming to Richmond for three nights only, from Thursday, August 5 through Sunday, August 8, and tickets are expected to sell out fast — so snagget yours here while you can.
Each evening throughout the reunion will feature 12 different chefs cooking 12 different courses with the goal of taking their dinner guests on a culinary journey and fostering a community of like-minded and talented chefs from across the country. Think of it less as a dinner and more as a secret party!
You can even take things up another notch by purchasing a VIP ticket, which entitles you to early arrival with extra snacks and cocktails, as well as prime seating immediately in front of the live cooking action. Hope you’re hungry!
Speaking of chefs, the first official chef-in-residence at Hatch Local will be… Chef Lee Gregory! You already know his work from Richmond mainstays like The Roosevelt, Southbound, and Alewife. Now, Chef Lee is bringing a new concept called Odyssey Fish to a year-long residency at this new food hall soon opening in Richmond’s Manchester neighborhood.
Chef Lee has described Odyssey Fish as a “more accessible Alewife,” with seafood dishes ranging from $10 to $18. This will be one of seven local vendors coming to Hatch Local Food Hall in fall 2021, which will also feature two bars and a market with courtyard dining, an outdoor patio, and live music.
Weekly Giveaway
Richmond Flying Squirrels
Next Wednesday, August 4 is 804 Day (because it’s 8/04, get it?) which means that the Richmond Flying Squirrels will be hosting a very special home game kicking off at The Diamond at 6:35 pm and featuring:
804 Night in Funnville - A celebration of all things RVA
Wine & K-9s - Enjoy $5 glasses of wine from 5:30-7:30 pm, PLUS dogs are admitted to the game for free
Since this event sounds like such a blast, we’re giving away two tickets to this very game against the Reading Flying Phils!
To enter to win: Tell us your go-to ballgame snack from the concession stand! We’re big fans of Squirrelly Fries, personally.
Last week: Congratulations to Megan S. for winning our World of Mirth giveaway!
Member Perks
Mise En Place
When we’re feeling sick of cooking our usual recipes and tired of ordering take-out — and in general, when we’re just in the mood to learn something new and try something tasty! — we like to make our way to Mise En Place for a virtual dinner party.
Richmond's premier culinary center, Mise En Place specializes in creative cooking experiences like their upcoming online classes Happy Birthday Harry Potter on July 31 (ft. Yule Ball beef goulash, sherbert lemon ice pops, Weasley's canary creams, and Hagrid's chocolate birthday cake) and Island Vibes on August 5 (ft. tropical rum punch, honey pepper coconut shrimp with a spicy mango dipping sauce, Caribbean chicken over rice and beans, and Doubles from Trinidad).
Members can use code RVAX for 10% off at checkout — you can snag your spot at an upcoming class here!
new + trending from RVAx
SAVE THE DATE
👋
Hey, new members!
We'd like to welcome 48 new members this week: Danielle S., Mary B., Amanda R., Lauren D., Molly B., Rebecca E., Carly N., Sarah B., Sarah D., Marissa H., Brandon B., Samantha W., Saajan S., Amanda M., Kimberly F., Michael N., Caroline C., Katie S., Narissa R., Molly S., Jennifer E., Danica H., Gary W., Laura P., Lauren S., Sara R., Brian R., Ashley L., Cassidy W., Tiffany B., Lori G., Kaylyn S., Katie T., Clara L., Amy S., Kathryn M., Sara A., Vanessa D., Lisa D., Matthew L., Agota B., Lori H., Lia F., Jessica L., Eric W., Sarah W., Victoria S., and Jacquie S., we're so glad you're here!
It takes a village, so let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, feedback, tips, or recs! Thanks for reading edition 166 of The Weekly Insider.
Have an awesome week & weekend!
- The Richmond Experience
OUR LOCAL PARTNERS
