Ed 167: The Trendspotter, Upcoming Concerts & Shows, Best Taco Spots
Hey, y’all! 👋
Did you see? HGTV published an article about the 11 Black-Owned Businesses in Richmond, Virginia You Have to Visit — we love it when RVA gets national recognition!
WEATHER
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy; high of 77°, low of 63°
Thursday: Sunny; high of 84°, low of 63°
Friday: Mostly sunny; high of 88°, low of 68°
HAPPENINGS
Wednesday, 6 pm: BareSOUL Community Yoga + Meditation at 17th Street Market
Thursday, 4 - 7 pm: Innsbrook Farmers Market - Summer Edition
Friday, 6 - 8 pm: Rhythm On The River '21
CITY GUIDES
1. The Trendspotter: August 2021
2. Music Roundup: Concerts & Shows Happening Now Through Labor Day
3. Summer Fun: Beach, Lake & River Destinations Within 1.5 Hours of Richmond
RICHMONDER TO KNOW
Michelle Mercurio: Self-proclaimed brand catalyst, author of the upcoming book “Be The Plan,” and host at CreativeMornings/Richmond. If you’re not familiar, CreativeMornings is a free monthly breakfast lecture series that takes place in 220+ cities across 67 countries, and Michelle leads our chapter here in Richmond. (You’ve probably seen her sporting a "We believe in giving a damn" shirt around the city, whether you realized it or not.)
P.S. The next free CreativeMornings/Richmond event will take place virtually on Friday, August 20 at 8:45 am — mark your calendar to snag tickets when they become available on Monday, August 16 at 10 am to reserve your spot.
Keep scrolling for RVA’s latest social news, including a roundup of 804 Day events happening today, the wildly different yet equally mouthwatering food pop-ups going on this Saturday and Monday, the can’t-miss festival coming to Carytown this Sunday, a just-updated happy hour in The Fan that we can’t wait to check out ASAP, and more!
THE LATEST:
THIS WEEK
It’s August 4, aka 8/04, aka 804 Day, aka RVA Day! If you’re looking to celebrate, you’ve got plenty of options:
804 Day - RVA Party at Buskey Cider, 3 - 9 pm: Enjoy local drinks, a dog costume competition (with prizes!), and a few rounds of Richmond Trivia from our friends at Why Richmond Is Awesome
RVA Day Market at Main Line Brewery, 5 - 9 pm: Shop local art, jewelry, home decor, and more while sipping craft beers or seltzers at this artisan market
804 Night in Funnville, 6:35 pm: The Flying Squirrels celebrate all things RVA as they take on the Reading Fightin’ Phils at The Diamond
Friday, Friday, gotta shop local on Friday. That’s how that Rebecca Black song goes, right? Either way, that’s what we’ll be singing to ourselves as we make our way to the First Friday Pop-Up Shop in Scott’s Addition!
Happening this Friday, August 6 from 5 - 10 pm, this pop-up market will feature works by MEANS™, Days Of Rage, AMERIKANA, David Rose Visual Design, and Studio Two Three, along with music from DJ Peace and a polaroid photo booth by Ken Kwaku Jr Photography. As our girl Rebecca might put it in music: Fun, fun, fun, fun, lookin’ forward to the weekend.
Saturdays are for sliders. White Castle? Nah, we’re talking about Smash Castle. Harold and Kumar WISH they could get it on this Smashed RVA takeover at Hatch Cafe!
This Saturday, August 7 from 5 - 8 pm, you can stop by this Southside pop-up spot to snag some scrumptious Smash Castle Sliders made with Seven Hills beef patties, American cheese, Smash sauce, and beef fat onions, served on brioche sliders from Back Alley Bakes — OR opt for the Vegan Smash Sliders prepped with roasted shiitake mushrooms, soy, garlic, and spicy vegan mayo, served on brioche sliders from Back Alley Bakes.
Either way, it’ll be $15 for four sliders and an order of Smash fries, or $25 for eight sliders and two orders of Smash fries. Order up!
Weekend forecast: Cloudy with a chance of watermelons. The 39th Annual Carytown Watermelon Festival is officially returning to Richmond this 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.
Monday meal plans = made. Young Mother, a Japanese food concept from local chef Daniel Harthausen, will return to Adarra in Jackson Ward for its fifth pop-up experience this Monday, August 9 and trust us, you don’t want to miss it.
We were influenced to try Young Mother for ourselves after seeing a post about it from Richmond Times-Dispatch restaurant critic Justin Lo, and man, were we glad we did. Past pop-ups have featured dishes like Nikujaga (Tonkotsu broth with rice, oxtail, and kimchi), Chawanmushi (savory steamed egg and salmon roe served with rice), Nagaimo (braised mountain yam in Togarashi with shrimp), and more — all ringing in at under $20. It’s a steal, and a delicious one at that. Make your reservations (or if they happen to be full already, get on the wait list) here.
Wait, did someone say happy hour? Because PBR in The Fan just announced that theirs will now take place from 4 - 7 pm Monday through Friday and will feature $2 off drafts, rail drinks, and appetizers as well as $1 off house cocktails, seasonal cocktails, canned cocktails and beer, and wine by the glass. PLUS they officially brought back the “Old One/Cold One,” aka a 16 oz. PBR and a shot of rail liquor for $6!
We don’t even partner with these guys or anything, but this seemed like too good of a weekday deal not to share.
Looking for more? Check out YOUR GUIDE TO RVA HAPPY HOURS, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK and get ready to start making some decisions in the group text.
COMING SOON
Cannabis is coming to Carytown. According to Jack Jacobs over at Richmond BizSense:
“Green Leaf Medical, which operates the region’s only medical cannabis operation in Manchester, has signed a lease to open a retail dispensary in the former Need Supply storefront at 3100 W Cary St.”
This Carytown location is actually the second dispensary currently in the works for Green Leaf in Richmond — the first will be in Short Pump at 11190 W Broad St. The Short Pump location is expected to open in 60 days, while the Carytown location isn’t anticipated to open for another three to four months. But who will be able to shop there, and how? You can learn more about how it all works here.
Beats & Brews is back. If you like working out and drinking craft beer, then you’re going to love the upcoming Beats & Brews event coming to TURN Cardio Jam Studio and Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Scott’s Addition on Wednesday, August 25!
Instead of paying $22 for a drop-in class, Beats & Brews participants can pay $10 to join either a strength training class (at 5:30 pm) or a dance fitness class (at 6:30 pm) at TURN. Either way, after class, they'll head over to Starr Hill for a $4.50 TURN beer, reserved seating, and a food truck — plus door prizes including free class passes and swag from Starr Hill. You can sign up here.
Already a TURN member? Then this whole experience is totally free, including your first beer. Boom!
Weekly Giveaway
mod&soul
In celebration of 804 Day, we’re giving away this luxuriously soft 804 Crop Tee from local boutique mod&soul to show off your Richmond pride.
Not only does this cropped top look and feel great on, but 30% of this tee’s sales proceeds are donated locally to food banks serving our communities. Talk about a purchase you can feel good about!
To enter to win: Tell us your favorite thing about Richmond! Big or small, just something that makes you happy to live in RVA.
P.S. If you decide to buy one for yourself vs. waiting to see if you win this week’s giveaway, don’t forget that members of The Richmond Experience can use code RVAX20OFF100 for $20 off when you spend $100 or more! #MemberPerks
Last week: Congratulations to Donald S. for winning our Flying Squirrels ticket giveaway!
Member Perks
Triangle Rock Club
In case you’re unfamiliar, Triangle Rock Club is a state-of-the-art indoor climbing, fitness, and yoga facility boasting climbing walls up to 47-feet tall and 14,000 square feet of terrain.
They also host all kinds of fun member events like Boulders & Brews, Sunrise Yoga, Women On The Wall, Parents’ Night Out, and more!
Interested? Then we've got good news! TRC is hosting a membership sale throughout the month of August, so you can save $75 when you join this month. Their month-to-month membership gets you free guest passes, free unlimited fitness and yoga classes, and more. If you’ve been looking to try something new, now’s your chance to sign up and save.
Speaking of savings, members can use code RVAX for 50% off of Triangle Rock Club’s “Intro to Climbing” course, plus a 2-week free pass — sign up here!
new + trending from RVAx
SAVE THE DATE
👋
Hey, new members!
We'd like to welcome 26 new members this week: Julie C., Bailey R., Meghan M., Jo M., James R., Ferha M., Mariana K., Frank C., Casey M., Caroline R., Karen M., Angela B., Savannah M., Chancellor C., Sara H., Caroline B., April M., Tam S., Charlie S., Lauren M., Emily B., Emily W., Venkat V., Philip G., Devon B., and Olivia M., 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 167 of The Weekly Insider.
Have an awesome week & weekend!
- The Richmond Experience
OUR LOCAL PARTNERS
