Ed 326: Mood Boosters, Armenian Food Festival, Fish & Chips
Happy October!
How’s it going over there? This last week or so has been a doozy, news-wise, and one of our go-tos when that’s the case is to lighten the mental load a bit for you. Here are a few things that have made us smile lately as we’ve been scrolling around:
This contender for the Perfect Pitch Filter Challenge
The motivation we all REALLY need ahead of the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday szn
The dream concept for this running club
Otherwise, in these tough times for Southwest Virginia and beyond, I’ve seen folks share about Charity Navigator, which has been a great resource for me to figure out where exactly I can apply my own resources to those impacted by Hurricane Helene, affected communities in Israel and Gaza, and more. And here’s your friendly reminder to make sure you’re taking care of yourself, too — it’s a lot right now; we know 💙
Keep scrolling for RVA’s latest social news, including the unusual Egyptian Building, seafood demand, Frida Kahlo’s work, and more.
PODCAST
WEATHER
Wednesday: Cloudy; high of 76°, low of 62°
Thursday: Sunny; high of 79°, low of 60°
Friday: Partly cloudy; high of 80°, low of 59°
HAPPENINGS
Wednesday, 6:30 - 8:30 pm: AUTUMN CANDLE POUR PARTY
Thursday, 6:30 - 7:30 pm: LASER SHOW: PINK FLOYD
Friday, 11 am - 8 pm: ARMENIAN FOOD FESTIVAL: DAY 1
CITY GUIDES
1. THE TRENDSPOTTER: OCTOBER 2024
Image Source: Hollywood Cemetery
RICHMONDER TO KNOW
Overlook One at Hollywood Cemetery: Hollywood Cemetery is one of our favorite Richmond icons, but it’s *especially* beautiful this time of year. One of the many things to see on the sweeping property is the view from Overlook One. To the east of the Palmer Mausoleum, the area features Georgia granite and stunning views of the James, the Kanawha Canal, the River City skyline, and more. FWIW, the temps are in the 70s over these next few days — perfect strolling weather.
THE LATEST:
Image Source: VMFA
Image Source: Fort
Image Source: @beaucouprva
Image Source: Ironclad Coffee Roasters
SOCIAL NEWS
Beyond the Myth: VMFA is gaining excitement for its highly anticipated exhibit coming in April. “Frida: Beyond the Myth explores the defining moments of Kahlo’s life as depicted through her self-portraits, still lifes and works on paper from the beginning of her career in 1926 until her death in 1954. Shown alongside photographs by the friends, family members and fellow artists who knew her best, the exhibition lifts the veil of myth that continues to obscure Kahlo as an individual. Visitors can admire her jewel-like paintings up close while learning about the deeply personal context and traumatic events that inspired her work, thus gaining insight into this remarkable artist who used her creativity to overcome emotional and physical pain. The exhibition also celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Mexico that influenced Kahlo throughout her life.” (Press Release)
This looks quite good: The British Embassy opened downtown last week. The English-inspired restaurant specializes in fish and chips and other classics from across the pond. Owners Joy Supanya and Jon Niemiec, Joy’s UK-born husband, brought the concept to life after much success serving fish and chips for lunch at their Henrico spot, Thai Won On. Stop by for bangers and mash, fried fish sammies, sausage rolls, and sticky toffee pudding, or as they told Richmond mag, “the world’s best dessert.” (Richmond magazine)
Imagination has no age: Fort is the newest spot in the Westhampton area for kiddos’ open-ended and imaginative play. As they put it, Fort specializes in creating and curating beautiful, sensory-rich, loose-play parts that inspire imagination, and in addition to their in-house sensory play collections, they search high and low to bring you a curation of brands they love and trust to inspire your little ones’ imaginations. The founder, Jodie Vaughn, is a mother to three boys and former pediatric occupational therapist, so she’s got plenty of experience in TLC for tiny tots. To begin with, peep the Big Boxes, Little Boxes, and Tiny Tins Fort offered on-site. They slide open and offer a choice of curated small-world themes for sensory play, like construction, coastal, and dozens more. (Instagram)
Speaking of new spots around town: We’ve got two more for ya — Sugar & Twine’s sit-in cafe and Shop Two Three. Sugar & Twine has revamped its cafe space and opened to the public again, next-door to its current walk-up window, and Studio Two Three opened its own retail space for all your handprinted-treasures needs. (Instagram, Instagram)
You’ll catch us shelling out a lot this season: Historically during the fall, demand for seafood spikes in the River City. One theory points to folks coming back from their vacay spots on the shore for the colder months. If you’ve got a hankering outside of beach season, Beaucoup is just one of many great Richmond options, but this week also hosts the inaugural Richmond Oyster Week. So, if you’ve got that one hankering, in partic, there are options aplenty, now through October 7 — Alewife, Birdie’s, and Lillian Oyster Hall are just some of our faves. (Oyster Week RVA)
Point us to the sea-salt bagels: Richmond does a lot of things well, and it’s starting to look like we may be able to add “bagel shops” to the list. Baltik’s Bagel opens this month on Forest Hill Ave, and personally, we’ll be heading straight for the softy — “a softer bagel that prevents your toppings from squishing out of the back of a harder bagel.” Look, too, for a classic breakfast sandwich, a variation of avocado toast, The Smokeshow (featuring gouda and chipotle aioli, among other mouth-watering fixings), and lots more when you peruse the menu and the new digs taking over the former Go Bird location. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
MORE LINKS YOU’LL WANT TO CLICK
🌮TBT El Gallo is moving operations to a full-service restaurant at 2614 W Cary St. An opening date is TBA. (Instagram)
💭DYK about Richmond’s history of the unusual Egyptian Building? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
☕️Add to your fall-foods bucket list Ironclad’s viral Pumpkin Brioche Bun with pumpkin pie spice cream cheese drizzled with bourbon maple syrup, stat. (Instagram)
☕️Virginia Rep hit its emergency fundraising goal. (Richmond BizSense)
Image Source: The National
Weekly Giveaway
The National: GWAR
So they say, the story of GWAR is carved across the history of this hopeless planet, but GWAR themselves are not of this world; their story begins far past Uranus, in the deepest reaches of space, where the beings known as GWAR were warriors in the Scumdogs of the Universe, an elite fighting force in the army of the Master of All Reality. Catch them here, on planet Earth, where the original Ancient Aliens became the cultural force they are today.
This week, we’re teaming up with The National to give away two pair of tickets to the GWAR show on Saturday, November 9, at 8 pm! It’s malignance defined.
To enter, tell us: What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever seen?
Last week: Congratulations to last edition’s winner, Brittany Woo, for winning the Hardywood giveaway!
Image Source: Already Richmond
Member Perks
Already Richmond
Need a little BOOst to your wardrobe? Already Richmond is on a mission to provide quality gear to sport our city pride — and they just released a Halloween drop.
As a member of The Richmond Experience, you get 10% off all apparel at alreadyrichmond.com using code ALREADY10.
New + Trending from RVAx
SAVE THE DATE
👋
Hey, new members!
We’d like to welcome 18 new members this week: Myrna P., Reaghan R., Rachel C., Jo G., Eric E., Angie A., Caitlin A., Grace V., Lindsay M., Tobias H., Ev E., Kalie G., Lauryn K., Natalie A., Wesley C., Lisa C., Heather W., and Sue A., 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 326 of The Weekly Insider.
Catch you next Weds!
- The Richmond Experience
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