On tap this week, our guest editor Robey Martin is coming at you with three solid tips (and perks)! Robey, you might say, lives a double life here in Richmond. During the day, she balances human resources and contract staffing for Remx Specialty Staffing. On those very same days, she serves as an online/tv/print personality who features food, spirits, and culture throughout the region. She’s also the co-host of the food podcast Eat It, Virginia, creates Richmond's restaurant Hot List for WTVR CBS 6, and is regularly found penning articles for the likes of Richmond Grid, Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly, and BeerAdvocate, just to name a few. Take it away, Robey!
Unconventional
Fine Creek Brewing is nestled in Powhatan, idyllic with a large porch, cozy Adirondack chairs, and farm-to-table food victuals. On Saturday, the porch (and the brewery) will play host to the Wild and Weird Spring Festival. Here you can enjoy their award-winning beers alongside other local craft breweries and cideries. The event offers funky and sour brews, and of course -- eatables prepared to match by their chef Sarah Tocco!
Eat Restaurant Partners is gearing up to open yet another new restaurant. Fatty Smokes, in Richmond's Arts District, is a modern space that will feature dry-rubbed, slow-cooked pork, chicken, and brisket with 50 different types of bourbon. The plan is to open the restaurant on April 20 and allow Richmonders their chance to be a taste-maker! For more info, listen to Eat It, Virginia on your preferred podcast app.
Perk: Be one of the first to check out Fatty Smokes. The team at Fatty Smokes is offering a bonus taste-maker opportunity as part of their #EaterEGGhuntRVa campaign! Head to either @hotchickrva or @richmondgrid at 11 a.m. on April 19 for a chance to win a special Eater Egg containing two tickets for their opening night!
As a former Hollywood celebrity stylist (think Kerry Washington), Jammie Baker has heard the “I have nothing to wear” refrain. And when seasons change, the sentiment only grows. Relying on collaboration and honest listening, Baker is half closet counselor and half style sage. Her new Spring Edit Guide (free, free, free and free) has heaps of wardrobe encouragement with a light guiding touch. Where to find the magic? Hop over to her instagram @jammiebaker_ or peep her website.
Grid magazine's maker shop, called Grid Supply Co, is now offering these sweet hand-stitched leather beer holders, complete with a bottle opener, made in a workshop on Broad Street by our friends at Awl Snap. This locally made beer holder is created from cognac brown saddle leather that smells oh so wonderful.
There’s no place like here. The degree to which Richmonders are connected reflects the strength and resiliency of our community. But community connection doesn’t just happen, it’s the result from having connections on multiple levels — starting with one’s connection to self.
Sydney Lester, this week's guest editor, has rounded up three suggestions to help you connect with this place we call home. Sydney is the CEO of Chic Stripes, a personal styling company and the founder of Style Camp, a transformative 6-week guided virtual program to help women find, hone or reset their personal style. Take it away, Sydney!
Connect
Silently
Sometimes all you need is a good book, comfy chair, strong drink, no talking and … a bunch of other people? Silent Reading Party, created by Sarah Choi, encourages you to create an intentional quiet space in your calendar for reading the old fashioned way and made more fun with a few twists, like eclectic drink menus ordered via paper and pencil and the presence of people who do not talk to each other ... at all. The demand for the Silent Reading Party has turned into a set-your-alarm type situation and now has enough silent readers for two groups in Richmond and one in Charlottesville. Reading has never been a more fun - or silent - way to connect. Follow @silentreadingpartyrva and @silentreadingpartycville on Instagram to find out about the date and location of the next Silent Reading Party.
The Rebelle Community calls itself a club without a clubhouse and is made up of women who are seeking an alternative to the traditional networking and women's group experiences. From panels featuring women sharing the nitty gritty behind all the things they quit (six figure jobs, marriages), to creative workshops tuning into one’s physical body to make life decisions, to mixers (with both lots of bubbly and thoughtful nonalcoholic options), this is the place to connect authentically and build relationships.
This is not your ordinary meditation center. Brought to life as a collaboration between two women-owned businesses, Shockoe Slip Yoga and Fantastically Fit, the Mindfulness Bar is committed to “making silence sexy.” From a menu that lets you book a “shot” of meditation, “by the bottle” group workshops, or a “total detox” that brings on-site consulting + meditation to you, you’ll find that connecting mindfully doesn’t have to be taken so seriously. Want to ease in? Schedule a seasonal “On the Rocks,” a 45-minute walking meditation to the James River and back.
The spring issue of Richmond Grid, a collaboration with Coffee With Strangers RVA, is now available! This issue of Grid was co-produced with guest editors, Matt Pochily and Kelli Lemon, and is designed to explore the positive impact of strangers throughout the Richmond community. Contact us if you'd like Richmond Grid delivered to your local business, organization, or good cause. And follow Richmond Grid on Instagram and Facebook for daily news that celebrates RVA.
vol. 74 / from there to here 🌱Bring faraway places + ideas into your galaxy.
VOL. 74
Let's get to it! Meet this week's guest editor: Jason Roop, the former editor in chief of Style Weekly. He's also the founder of the public relations and content marketing firm Springstory. We're honored to have Jason share his tips for exploring this place we call home. Take it away, Jason!
March will go out like a lamb this weekend, with temperatures heading back to the mid-70s and the promise of bright days ahead. Last week’s vernal equinox, with the arrival of spring, passed through the constellation Pisces. Years ago it came through Aries — in Greek mythology, a golden ram, for you VCU fans. Time, space and distance can intertwine in fascinating ways — elements of storytelling that stick in the mind and linger through generations. Some Richmond experiences bring faraway places and ideas into our own galaxy this weekend, traveling from there to here.
The Women's
Theatre Festival
One story starts in Africa, with a 17-year-old named Chaku. She’s sold into slavery in the play “Message From a Slave,” written by Margarette Joyner, artistic director of the Heritage Ensemble Theatre Company. It’s “a moving tale of love and resilience that would deliver a powerful message at any time,” theater critic Julinda Lewis writes. “In My Chair” features Richmond performer Eva DeVirgilis sharing her own story in a one-woman show. Both plays are among those featured in The Women’s Theatre Festival, featuring four local theater companies and Richmond’s talented female artists. It kicked off Wednesday and runs through April 20. Photo by Destiny Martinez Photography.
In 1993, Peter and Françoise Kirkpatrick started what has become an internationally renowned festival. Directors, cinematographers, actors and fans travel to Richmond each year along with a massive portfolio of work. You could feast on these films till you no longer need the subtitles. Pick a feature off the full schedule and go. Or try out the short film series, which runs Saturday and Sunday mornings at The Byrd Theatre. Stay to wander through a perhaps star-studded Carytown. If Can Can Brasserie is full, head across the street for other international flavors at Tulsi Indian Cuisine. Get started with an order of warm garlic naan, with its fresh cilantro, and rosemary & thyme kulcha.
From San Diego to Charlotte, masters of motion bring their new choreography to Richmond for a unique showcase. Among the artists traveling to town is one who’s already here — Lauren Lambert, a senior at the University of Richmond, whose work recently was featured at the University Dancers’ spring concert, “In/Motion.” Check out three performances of eclectic dance works on Saturday and Sunday at The Grace Street Theater. Photo by Christopher Risch Photography.
Sometimes you need to get on the road. For a day trip and the best gouda you’ll ever taste in your life, head to Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Crozet. I visited the other week, where Sister Claire told me about the milk that came from Mennonite diary farmers in the Shenandoah Valley, and the cheese that’s been made at the monastery since 1990. You can buy a 2-pound wheel (cash or check) and take it to the nearby Stinson Vineyards to enjoy with your wine tasting.
Do you have a Virginia road trip you’d like to recommend? Send it along to Jason and sign up for his free Springstory newsletter for communication tips, resources and advice on storytelling.
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