Step Into Virago AlleyExploring and celebrating the place we all love to call home.
VOL. 302 / Step Into Virago Alley
Meet this week’s guest editor, Ash Moore, Managing Director of Virago Alley, the organization behind the Richmond Ren Faire. With nearly a decade of experience in nonprofit arts, Ash has worked with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond Symphony, and most recently the Richmond Performing Arts Alliance, providing marketing, fundraising, and programming support.
Ash serves as Board Secretary for Spectre Percussion, Virginia’s only independent open percussion ensemble, and is also involved with Gallery5, an award-winning, community-driven visual and performing arts center located in Historic Jackson Ward at the heart of Richmond’s Arts District. Through their work at Virago Alley and in their volunteer roles, they advocate for the arts as a vehicle for community building and social cohesion.
In their free time, Ash can be found taking a modern dance class or exploring ways to connect with their inner whimsy. This week, Ash is sharing tips for exploring and celebrating this place we all love to call home.
Take it away, Ash …
Richmond Ren Faire After Parties
Keep the party going at the official Richmond Ren Faire after parties. Each night features a local lineup of high-energy performances in the place where it all started — our favorite community arts center, Gallery5.
Gallery5 celebrates its 21st birthday this week, marking over two decades as a launchpad for local artists and community groups.
Catch the Roll 4 crew at the Richmond Ren Faire by day, then head to Coalition Theater by night for a grand adventure. Assemble your party and join this month’s Roll 4 D&D one-shot campaign, where the fate of the players rests on the roll of the dice — and your wild suggestions.
Come in your best Ren Faire costume for half off tickets at the door.
WRIR’s Spring Fund Drive kicks off this weekend, serving as one of their largest fundraising initiatives of the year. WRIR is the voice of the community, airing underrepresented music, news, and views to provide a platform for cultural diversity in Richmond.
This spring’s T-shirt design was created by Silly Genius, featuring the statement: “Get ready for a revolution of sound and a revival of soul. Over the hood, through the streets, and right into your brain.” The line includes a nod to the Sega game Jet Set Radio, paying homage to pirate radio.
Virago Alley’s mission is to provide an accessible and inclusive platform for the exploration, education, and preservation of historical martial arts and artisan trades. The Richmond Ren Faire is the organization’s largest initiative to carry out that mission, serving as a celebration of our local arts and culture communities. The RVARF is a massive collaborative effort, activating small businesses and a range of artisans representing various practices and mediums. This project invites people to participate in crafting the world they want to see reflected around them, with an emphasis on community building and the power of creating together. Virago Alley has a lot on the horizon for the rest of this year, including the expansion of educational programming, additional events, and maybe even a new headquarters.
Be a BuddyExploring and celebrating the place we all love to call home.
VOL. 301 / Be a Buddy
This week, we're welcoming back Sofia McDaniel, J.D., as our guest editor. Sofia is a local business leader, K–12 education advocate, girls lacrosse coach, and passionate champion for expanding access and opportunity for young people. With experience spanning K–12 innovation, sport leadership, and community partnerships, she is dedicated to advancing meaningful change. Her work is increasingly informed by a focus on public health and how we can better support real outcomes for young people.
In addition to her professional work, Sofia is deeply committed to advocacy and service. With two siblings with autism, she has a personal connection to the intellectual and developmental disabilities community and is a dedicated supporter of inclusive programming through organizations like Best Buddies.
Sofia is also an SEA Fellow with Empower Schools and loves to noodle on how to make educational options more accessible for all parents and families alongside state education leaders from across the nation.
This week, Sofia is here to share her tips for exploring and celebrating this place we all love to call home.
Take it away, Sofia ...
Best Buddies Friendship Walk
Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through one-to-one friendships, leadership development, integrated employment, and inclusive living programs, Best Buddies is transforming the way communities understand and embrace inclusion.
In Richmond, Best Buddies plays a critical role in building connections between students, families, and professionals. It creates spaces where individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not only supported, but celebrated. For me, this mission is deeply personal. With two siblings with autism, I’ve seen firsthand how life-changing inclusion, friendship, and opportunity can be. Best Buddies is not just an organization, it’s a movement toward a more compassionate and accessible world.
I am Chair of the Best Buddies Friendship Walk in Richmond and serve on the Advisory Board for Best Buddies in VA/DC. This walk brings together families, friends, and supporters to celebrate friendship, acceptance, and opportunity. Join me on April 19 for a day of unity and support at this historic event, which fosters genuine friendships, promotes inclusivity, and raises vital funds for Best Buddies in Virginia & DC.
“Structure: A Study in Fashion” is a runway show during RVA Fashion Week, blending art, design, and purpose. This show brings together a collective of emerging and established designers to explore form, movement, and storytelling through fashion, all while supporting the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative.
Featuring designers like Albie Sweets, C Renee, Constantine Atelier, Convertino Couture, N5 Couture, Suigens, and more, the show promises a dynamic mix of couture, streetwear, and experimental design.
To me, it’s fashion with intention. Events like this highlight not only Richmond’s growing fashion scene, but also the power of art to bring people together around something meaningful.
Vitals:
“Structure: A Study in Fashion” at RVA Fashion Week / Saturday, April 11, 2026 / 6PM-10PM / Deco at CNB, 219 East Broad Street
Earn The Sunrise
On Wednesdays at EVLVE Training Club, personal trainer Jesus Martinez, “Baby Gesus,” leads participants through a high-energy workout session before the sun is up. He really makes you “earn the sunrise.”
I always say you will never regret a workout. Earn the Sunrise gives you community and a great way to start your day. You may even be lucky enough to have Baby Gesus roll the “dice” and earn 15 extra push-ups.
Best Buddies is the largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of the 200 million people worldwide with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Programs offered by Best Buddies empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure jobs, improve communication and advocacy skills, and live independently, while also offering support for their families. There are over 100 chapters and more than 42,870 people impacted. In our area, the Virginia & Washington, D.C. chapter offers a variety of ways to develop one-to-one friendships, join or volunteer, donate, attend an event, advocate, and more.
BridéExploring and celebrating the place we all love to call home.
VOL. 300 / BRIDE´
Meet Bridé Baker, this week’s guest editor of Here Weekly. Bridé is the President of the Virginia Center for Public Press, a.k.a. WRIR 97.3 FM, Richmond’s independent radio station. She is a published writer, editor, and co-host of the podcast Novel/Film, a monthly conversation focused on the adaptation of published works to film or television.
She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2016 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. In 2020, she spent a year at Gladiator Publishing House in Copenhagen, Denmark, completing her professional editorial apprenticeship.
Born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, Bridé speaks fluent Danish and is a literature enthusiast who believes both genre fiction and literary fiction have their place. This week, Bridé offers her tips for exploring and celebrating this place we all love to call home.
Take it away, Bridé ...
The Forecast for Public Arts and Media
Join The Valentine and guests for a conversation about the landscape of public, independent, and community-supported arts organizations in Richmond. Hear from CultureWorks about new data on the local economic impact of public art, and explore how our community can reimagine public art as a key component of the common good. Plus, hear from local arts and media leaders about the challenges their organizations are facing in this moment. I’m excited to join the panel tonight representing the Virginia Center for Public Press, alongside Tanesha Powell, Executive Director at ART 180, and Elizabeth Dolan Wright, Founder of the CommonWealth Public Art Fund.
Richmond Moon Market, Gallery5, and Art 180 are closing the street and lining the block with local artists and vendors for a spectacular outdoor, night market and block party in historic Jackson Ward and featuring local artists and vendors, food trucks, performers, and more.
WRIR-LP 97.3 FM is an all-volunteer, nonprofit community radio station. It is the largest low-power FM station of its kind in the country. Our volunteers run the station. That includes everyone from the President of the Board to the newest member to walk in the front door. WRIR airs underrepresented music, news, and views to provide a platform for cultural diversity in Richmond. In other words, we play what other stations won’t. We are also a true community radio station. This means we are locally owned and, by charter, can never be bought out by a non-local entity. WRIR also represents the community through its many volunteers. WRIR’s FCC license to operate is held by the nonprofit group Virginia Center for Public Press (VCPP).
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