We're over the moon to have Reese Williams (a.k.a. Queen Reese) as our Here Weekly guest editor this week! Reese is a bright light in the Richmond music community; to know her is to love her. She's able to promote her beloved music community for a living, as the Chief Communications Officer for Shockoe Records and the Studio Ambassador for In Your Ear Studios! She also hosts the weekly concert series Shockoe Sessions Live and its companion podcast This Room Sounds Great. and produces and hosts her own podcast titled Spying on Humanity. Also, Reese has been a voice actor for over 25 years! She enjoys this work because it allows her to be obnoxiously animated, yet socially acceptable. She’s lent her talent to live radio, animation, mobile apps, voicemails, commercials, corporate videos and singing backup vocals.
For kicks, Reese enjoys roller skating, trivia nights, bird watching and walks around the city. She's often followed around by her sweet pup Rosie, who is the official mascot of Shockoe Sessions Live.
This week, Reese serves up her recommendations for ways to experience and support the vibrant music scene in RVA!
Take it away, Reese...
804 Day
in Shockoe Bottom
This is a celebration of Richmond! This is an evening of fun and inspiration focused on reminding us that the “804,” RVA, Richmond, Virginia shares a human harmonic. We come together to dance, sing, eat and drink as one community...together. The vision is to create an annual event that highlights Shockoe Bottom as a place of creativity and impact on the entire Richmond metro area through music and collaboration between the art, business and nonprofit communities! A block party with three stages of music to provide entertainment, while non-profit organizations will share the impact they are having on our community, and vendors can share their creations.
Enjoy an evening at Gallery5 surrounded by the Richmond music community as well as vendors who specialize in services that help to grow a musician's career. Live music by Gordy Michael, Goodnight Daniel, FLKL, and Weekend Plans. Come meet vendors who specialize in services that help to grow a musician's career AND see a concert jam packed with some of the 804's best talent.
To put a cherry on top of this amazing event, ticket and raffle proceeds will benefit local community group LIV - Life Is Valuable. Come ready to mingle, support locally and listen to some great music!
A weekly concert showcasing Richmond’s GOLDMINE of music talent! In person and livestream, presented by Shockoe Records and In Your Ear Studios. Tuesday's show (August 8) is smack in the middle of Richmond Music Week and features Richmond rockers Flight Club. Pulling influence from their southern roots, the group takes the gritty blues and classic rock tones they were raised on and adds a dose of punk rock intensity. Blending them together to find a soulful sound, full of heart, delivered raw, passionate, and true.
Born from the neighborhood from which it derives its name (Shockoe Bottom), Shockoe Records seeks to project into a vibrant and vital future by celebrating and uplifting the region’s musical talent. The neighborhood, having evolved from its troubled history and decades of struggle, is now resonant with diverse and inclusive art and culture. By tapping into the Richmond area’s groundswell of new voices and sounds, Shockoe Records aims to be a parallel to this movement, bringing forth an array of artists from varied racial, ethnic and gender identity backgrounds.
Shockoe Records is a label whose objective is to disrupt today’s unsupportable music business model with a focus on amplifying the voices of artists. This involves a more cooperative approach than that of top-down management of traditional labels. Shockoe Records provides artists with more autonomy, and most importantly, does not and will not own an artist’s intellectual property. Instead, the label will facilitate a host of services including marketing, booking, merchandise production, sync licensing, album production, and more to bolster the artist’s career efforts. The Shockoe Records team wants its curated roster of artists to not only survive, but to thrive.
Ultimately, Shockoe Records plans to expand the music community by nurturing talented artists, connecting them with local businesses, educating through mentorship, and promoting new music in our schools. The foundational purpose will always be to provide support for the Richmond area’s musicians and the music they make.
Meet this week's guest editor, Ann Flippin, Executive Director of the Autism Society of Central Virginia (ASCV)! Ann leads a team of motivated staff members who are creating unique and inclusive programs and events all over the region for individuals and loved ones impacted by Autism–the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States. Along the way, she’s creating a movement we can all be part of. Ann’s been recognized by Style Weekly as a 2023 Top 40 Under 40 honoree, and in 2022 the Autism Society of America named the Central Virginia organization Affiliate of the Year.
This week, Ann serves up her recommendations for upcoming events and ways to celebrate inclusivity in this place we love to call home.
Take it away, Ann...
On the James
with Beyond Boundaries
My 32-year-old brother Jamie has autism, and we’ve participated in many ASCV programs together throughout our life. Recently, we enjoyed a pontoon boat ride on the James with fellow ASCV members. Jamie is never one to sit still, but as soon as the boat left the dock his demeanor shifted dramatically to calm and happy. It was the longest amount of time my brother and I have sat and enjoyed an activity together in years!
We are grateful to organizations like Beyond Boundaries and King Fish Boat Rentals who partner with us to make adventures like this possible for individuals with disabilities like my brother. You can see more inclusive programs here.
Vitals:
On the James / James River / Next Up: Rafting, July 28th, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
RVA Duck Race
& Festival of Inclusion
We’re hard at work getting our ducks in a row to create another memorable RVA Duck Race & Festival of Inclusion, Presented by CoStar Group, on August 5.
We were driven to take this longtime beloved Richmond event and add important elements to embrace neurodiversity and create accommodations so everyone in our local autism community can enjoy the festival - thus creating our “Festival of Inclusion.” We’ll feature community partners with activities, sensory zones & sensory rating scales, sign language interpreters, the quiet zone, and more. In addition, we have food trucks, beer, live music, entertainment, and of course, the iconic duck drop and race. Someone goes home with a $10,000 grand prize sponsored by fas mart®, among other unique local prizes. We invite all to come out and join us for a day of fun and inspiration on Brown's Island on August 5!
My kids and I recently attended one of the Children’s Museum’s Special Nights and got to experience the space exhibit “Moon to Mars.” They tried on space suits then build and launch their own rockets! The exhibit will be in town until August 13, so be sure not to miss it! The museum hosts its free “Special Nights” for families with children with disabilities on the third Friday evening of each month.
We are proud to include the Children’s Museum as one of our first partners in our newest program Autism Friendly Communities, made possible with a “Boost” Investment from the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond. Our staff collaborates with business partners to evaluate, adapt, and expand aspects of their business to make it more accessible to our local autism community. Next week, all four KidMed Pediatric Urgent Care centers will officially become designated “Autism Friendly Communities.” Saxon Shoes and The Children's Museum will complete the program and earn their designations next!
We envision an inclusive community where high-quality autism services and support are accessible to all. Our team aims to support, empower, and build connections to improve the lives of all in our local autism community.
Want to get involved? We are always seeking volunteers! You can make a tremendous impact in the lives of the individuals and families we serve. Whether individually or as part of a group, volunteers play a vital role in our mission.
Many volunteer opportunities involve working directly with the youth and families we serve, including mentoring and providing childcare monthly support groups. We also have volunteer opportunities for administrative office support and event support.
Meet this week's guest editor, Elizabeth Redford! Founder of Tablespoons Bakery and co-founder + executive director of the Next Move Program, Elizabeth has worked in the field of special education for the last 14 years. Elizabeth launched Tablespoons to serve as a job training and supported employment site for young adults with developmental disabilities. After its inception as a popular farmer's market stand in 2017, the bakery opened to the public in 2021 in a converted 1930s house in the Westover Hills neighborhood, just blocks away from the original market stand.
A speaker, consultant, advocate and curriculum developer, Elizabeth was named the 2017 Change Agent of the Year by Chamber RVA and was recognized on the 2018 Top 40 Under 40 list by Style Weekly. More recently, she was named the 2019 Distinguished Young Alumna by St. Catherine’s School, featured on the 2020 and 2022 Bold Women of Richmond Lists by Richmond Magazine, and awarded the RVA Power Women Award in the category of Higher Education for 2023.
When she’s not busy with all things Tablespoons, Elizabeth enjoys kayaking, antiquing, and walking her adorable pit bull, Violet. She lives with her family in Forest Hill, very close to the bakery.
This week, Elizabeth serves up her recommendations for upcoming events and ways to celebrate inclusivity in this place we love to call home.
Take it away, Elizabeth...
Sportable:
River City Rumble
The River City Rumble Wheelchair Rugby Tournament is the first of its kind in this region! It will be led by our friends at Sportable and will take place this weekend, July 14-16 at Highland Springs High School. Sign up to volunteer, or attend and cheer on the athletes! Teams from coast to coast will participate.
Vitals:
River City Rumble / Highland Springs High School / 200 S Airport Dr, Highland Springs / July 14-16, 2023
Humble Haven Yoga
Studio
I highly recommend dropping by and experiencing any of the class or program offerings at Humble Haven Yoga. Our friends and partners at the studio are launching a brand new yoga class for children with disabilities. We can't wait! They also regularly offer inclusive programming for our graduates.
Consider dropping by the Robinson Theatre Community Arts Center for a HIIT the Weights class (2 full body rounds + core + cool down stretch and breathe) with Brandy W. Stoney on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:15 am – 7:00 am. You can also reach out to Brandy on Instagram @_beeesquad_ to schedule a private session. As the chief movement officer at Beee Squad, she's always ready to help get women, and especially women of color, into lifting and wellness.
Tablespoons is a nonprofit bakery that works each day to combat the 70% unemployment rate for young adults with developmental disabilities. We serve up job training and supported employment, in addition to a variety of cookies, sammies, muffins, cookie dough pies, and Ironclad Coffees. You can root our students on, see what's in the case that day or learn more about our mission on social media at @Tablespoonsbakery.
And, we have Cookie Club next week! Brand new flavors for July, including our take on Good Humor Popsicle flavors, will hit the case on July 18th.
Our larger non-profit, Next Move, also has the annual Capable Exhibition currently open at The Virginia Museum of History & Culture. The exhibition is open to the public and features portraits of adults with disabilities who live in Virginia and are making the Commonwealth better! It invites all of us to see a more inclusive future and celebrate the disability community. The annual campaign is live at @nextmoveprogram.
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