vol. 91 / bullseye 🎯Coming at you with three quirky and offbeat activities this weekend!
VOL. 91 / BULLSEYE
This week we’re taking aim at unlikely summer activities—from tossing axes with friends to blitzing RVA with books to trying your hand at highfalutin' mini-golf to sipping craft beer while playing street-side shuffleboard.
Cheers to the weekend! Read on…
Virginia
Axe Company
Just an axe throw away from Short Pump sits the Virginia Axe Company, a recreational axe and knife throwing venue that invites you to take aim. The 3,000 square foot facility offers Richmohders a chance to grab a 5-pound axe and take a swing in one of its 5 throwing pits. Locally owned, Virginia Axe Company is part of an edgy new trend in entertainment options nationwide that offer an alternative way to get an adrenaline fix with friends and fam. So if you’re in need of a little lumber jack action in your life, head out to Goochland to throw some axes this weekend. And not to worry, Virginia Axe uses regionally repurposed timber cut targets from already downed trees. Corporate team building events, birthday parties, private lessons, and bachelor/ette parties are available!
Still looking for the perfect summer read? Or maybe you have some beach reads to swap out? Join the Friends of the Richmond Public Library for a reverse scavenger hunt this Saturday. Teams of 3-5 people will meet at Blue Bee Cider in Scott’s Addition at 3 pm to pool together a collection of books for re-homing that they've gathered in advance. From there, the group plans to blitz the books across Richmond's 30+ Little Free Library locations! Teams will document each "blitz" on Instagram using #rvabookblitz and the Little Free Library charter number for each little library that the team stocks. After the blitz, join other book lovers at 5 pm at Blue Bee Cider for an after party complete with cider prizes for the teams with the most creative pics, most books, and the most libraries stocked. It’s $10 to participate, with 100% of registration fees supporting the Friends of Richmond Public!
Step inside Hotel Greene this weekend and you’ll be transported to a fictional hotel in the 1930s where a bellhop will check you in for an evening filled with mini-golf, cocktails, and tasty eats. Housed in a former hotel at 508 East Franklin Street, Hotel Greene opens today and offers Richmonders a chance to tee off in the lobby and play their way down the halls and throughout the hotel that has been retrofitted with a course by an internationally renowned mini-golf course designer. Along the way, enjoy classic cocktails, club sandwiches, and other menu items inspired by the times. Or go straight to the good stuff, and stop at the shot station.
Vitals:
Hotel Greene / Opens July 25 / 508 E. Franklin Street
BONUS TIP: Väsen's Anniversary Festival
25+ breweries plus six bands, streetside shuffleboard courts, an archery station, and disc golf! That sounds like our kind of block party. On Saturday, Väsen Brewing will host an epic anniversary bash in Scott's Addition from noon to 7 pm. Session #1 will kick off at noon and Session #2 at 3 pm. The brewery will be closed to the general public, so make sure to snag tickets (word has it that the VIP tickets come with a special beer table with a “secret stash” and commemorative swag! In addition to new beers by Väsen, the festival will include participating breweries like The Veil Brewing Co., Triple Crossing, Commonwealth Brewing Company, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Tabol Brewing, Aslin Beer Company, and more! And the all-star lineup of bands will feature Chance Fischer, Minor Poet, Mikrowaves, Calvin Presents, Paulo Franco, and Weekend Plans. As a mission driven brewery, Väsen will also offer a nonprofit village with local charities, like Keep Virginia Cozy and BridgePark, there to share their mission. Cheers.
Run—don't walk—to this week's medley of events, gatherings, and activities. We're talking mounds of tacos, roving goats, good causes, and rooftop brews.
Ready. Set. Go...
Dogtown Beer
and Tacos Festival
Our friends at Dogtown Brewing Co. received their Certificate of Occupancy, health permit, and ABC license this week. That means, the Dogtown Beer and Tacos Festival is a GO this Saturday from 2-10 pm! The inaugural festival will go down in multiple locations: the back parking lot of Dogtown Brewing with food and beer stations plus live music, inside Dogtown Brewing’s first floor restaurant and game room mezzanine, and on the rooftop bar (playfully referred to as the Wooftop). While the brewpub won't host its official Grand Opening until Saturday, July 27, the Beer and Tacos Festival this Saturday will offer a sneak peek of the new digs and menu prior to opening its doors. Expect beer releases in cans and on draft from the new brewery and a festival menu boasting the likes of tacos, street corn, guacamole stations, and oysters. Our beer writer, Eric Jackson of Uncap Everything (pictured), will be following the Dogtown Brewing story at richmondgrid.com as it unfolds this Saturday and over the weeks ahead.
Do you love beautiful river views? Do you love goats? We do too! Herds of Goat Busters, an eco-friendly brush clearing service that taps into the natural appetites of goats, will make a grand appearance at the Wilton House Museum. Built in 1753, the Wilton House was previously located about 7 miles below Richmond along the James River. Today, Wilton and its collections can be found west of the city at 215 S. Wilton Rd. Known for its jungle to backyard transformations, goats from the Goat Busters will be on hand for Running of the Goats this Friday to help Wilton House maintain its green landscape. The famed City Goat will be in attendance and there will be plenty of family-friendly activities and free first-floor tours of Wilton House Museum from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm. And make sure to hang around for a bit after the goats arrive for a question and answer period with the herd owner.
Every third Thursday through October, dog lovin’ runners can join Running Buddies at the Richmond SPCA at 5:30 pm and run to Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (Richmond location). The Running Buddies program provides homeless dogs with much-needed exercise to give their health and happiness a boost while awaiting adoption. Thanks to local Running Buddies volunteers, dogs at the SPCA have an outlet for their energy—and you’re invited to join them on a 2.25 mile long run with beer at the finish line. Runners of all levels are welcome to join Run with the (Richmond SPCA) Dogs each week for free. The group will be led by Running Buddies representatives (active volunteers with the Richmond SPCA who have completed dog handling classes). With the exception of the adoptable four-legged guests, this is a human-only run so make sure to leave your own pup at home or with a friend who awaits your return to Hardywood for some Food Truck Court fare after the run!
Plan Ahead: Väsen Brewing is hosting its 2nd year anniversary BLOCK PARTY on July 27th in Scott's Addition with an all-star list of bands, 25+ breweries, cideries, meaderies, food trucks, outdoor activities (like archery, disc golf, shuffleboard, fly fishing), and surprises! There will be two sessions (session #1 from 12 pm - 3 pm and Session #2 from 4 pm - 7 pm). Get your tickets early!
It’s that time of year for summer picnics, road trips with friends, backyard shenanigans, and exploring this place we call home. We’ve rounded up three quick recommendations to keep your summer lovin’ at an all-time high this week. Let's get to it...
Lakeside
Love Shack
There’s nothing we love more than recommending a little old place where everyone can get together. That place this week is SB’s Lakeside Love Shack, a funky Lakeside favorite known for its big personality, energetic fanbase, and overall good vibes. Owned by Sarabeth Hagen, this 1,300-square-foot neighborhood watering hole offers a playful menu where you might find items like the Big as a Whale Breakfast and Funfetti French Toast, a smattering of Love Potions, plenty of hangover cures, and even breakfast-to-go bags. There’s also a tiny hidden patio, live music, and a rockin’ happy hour. Best of all, the Lakeside Love Shack is brimming with genuine neighborhood love, where “Lakeside is the best side.”
Bonus tip: After you treat yourself to the Lakeside Love Shack experience, head down the street to Pulp Fiction RVA, a juice-moothie truck known for its exotic and natural blends, that just opened a brick and mortar location in the former Early Bird Biscuit digs at 5411 Lakeside Avenue. Pulp Fiction RVA was inspired by women and focuses on promoting self love.
Grab some friends and pile in, it’s time for a summer movie under the stars at a drive-in theater. Yes, this slice of quintessential Americana still exists and there’s an option only a short drive from RVA. While many drive-ins have closed over the years since their debut in the 1930s, a new crop of theaters have dusted off the concept. Over at the Goochland Drive-In Theater things are going strong thanks to the authentic drive-in environment they’ve created with an updated, sharp digital projection and sound provided via FM signal in your car. Goochland Drive-In typically offers double-features of new and current-release movies for $8.50. You heard that right, that’s two movies for less than the cost of seeing one movie in those fancy pants multiplex cinemas. And what’s a drive-in without a snack bar! We’re talking classic American eats—corn dogs, BBQ, popcorn, candy, and frozen treats. Well-behaved pets on leashes are welcome too. Showtime at dusk!
Celebrate love, unity, and our diverse community at the RVA Reggae Jerk Fest on Brown’s Island this Saturday. Reggae, originating in the tough neighborhoods of Kingston, Jamaica, carries a message of peace and brings people together. And the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated reggae music as an intangible cultural heritage. In RVA, you can celebrate all things Reggae this Saturday while enjoying an impressive Caribbean rum tent experience, Caribbean Jerk Chicken by 10 of the best jerkers around, arts and crafts, and live performances by the likes of Mighty Joshua (pictured), Ever-G, Mystic Vibrations, Emanuell Wildfire Wilson, and more.
Go
