COMMUNITY




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GWAR Asks Fans to Donate Blood in Support of Co-Founder Chuck Varga

GWAR is asking fans and the broader community to step up in support of co-founder Chuck Varga, who is currently battling cancer. “We are coming together to support Chuck Varga (The Sexecutioner), one of the founding members of GWAR, who is currently battling cancer,...

It’s Still Our City Ep. 20 | Katie Davis, Salvation Tattoo

“Katie Davis left home (Maine) at 16 and moved to Richmond Virginia. She started working in a tattoo shop at age 17. A total dream job for a music and art loving minor delinquent. While apprenticing and working full time, she also attended/graduated VCU with a BFA in...

Proof In The Park! Richmond Arts Park Gets Trial Run This Weekend

The City of Richmond is giving organizers behind a proposed arts park under the Manchester Bridge a one-day opportunity to test the concept in real time. Scheduled for Saturday April 25 from 12-5pm, the event will serve as a live proof of concept for what supporters...

Declining House Shows Signal Shift in Richmond’s Music Scene

Richmond’s do-it-yourself music scene is shifting as traditional house venues become less central, but artists and organizers say the community continues to adapt in new ways. This shift mirrors the national trend of independent venues struggling to make ends meet,...

Salon De Résistance | Art Against Power

Join us for Salon de Résistance on April 30 at Black Iris for an unfiltered conversation about the role of art and culture during times of political upheaval with three of Richmond's leading artists. This is a free event open to the public. Event...

Cannabis Justice Moves Forward in Virginia After Years of Debate

Virginia’s effort to revisit outdated cannabis convictions is moving forward again, though in a revised form that shifts how people access relief. Governor Abigail Spanberger’s amendments to SB 62 / HB 26 replace the bill’s original automatic resentencing framework...

Growing Virginia No Kings Movement Finds ‘Joy In The Resistance’ 

Virginia grassroots organizations are working to sustain and grow a movement following the nationwide No Kings protests on March 28. Dozens of organizations were involved in the demonstrations, including COVA Coalition, Indivisible, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Virginia Grassroots Coalition, We of Action, 50501 Virginia, League of Women...

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No Kings_Richmond_photo by Andrew Kerley_RVA Magazine 2026.

Declining House Shows Signal Shift in Richmond’s Music Scene

Richmond’s do-it-yourself music scene is shifting as traditional house venues become less central, but artists and organizers say the community continues to adapt in new ways. This shift mirrors the national trend of independent venues struggling to make ends meet, according to Forbes. Often operating out of rented homes throughout the city and...

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Declining-House-Richmond_RVA-Magazine-2026

Salon De Résistance | Art Against Power

Join us for Salon de Résistance on April 30 at Black Iris for an unfiltered conversation about the role of art and culture during times of political upheaval with three of Richmond's leading artists. This is a free event open to the public. Event page here. Art has never been neutral. Across generations, artists have either...

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Salon-De-Resistance_Art-Against-Power_RVA-Magazine-2026

Cannabis Justice Moves Forward in Virginia After Years of Debate

Virginia’s effort to revisit outdated cannabis convictions is moving forward again, though in a revised form that shifts how people access relief. Governor Abigail Spanberger’s amendments to SB 62 / HB 26 replace the bill’s original automatic resentencing framework with a petition-based process. The legislation is intended to give courts the...

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Cannabis Justice_Larry Farr_RVA Magazine 2026

A New Stadium, an Old Feeling, and Opening Night

There are seats that stretch the wall in left field next to the foul pole fifty feet from the opposing team’s bullpen. I was sitting four bar chairs down from the pole waiting for my friend to arrive so we could get a dog and a burger before there were any lines. I’d wanted to sit near the foul pole ever since I saw the years-later replay on...

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Carmax Park_Richmond Flying Squirrels_Ryan Kent_RVA Magazine 2026

Virginia Lawmakers Clash Over $1.6B Data Center Tax Breaks

State lawmakers will soon return to the Capitol after ending the General Assembly session without a budget, in part due to some debate whether to continue current tax breaks for data centers. The Democratic-led Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee put forth a budget that would end the tax exemption for data centers by 2027, and free up...

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Virginia-Data-Center-tax-Breaks-by-Alexa-Barnes_photo-by-Kacy-Lee, VCU-Capital-News-Service_RVA-Magazine-2026

Love Thy Neighbor

There was a new guy that moved across the street from me, a new neighbor, and every time he saw me on the front porch puffing away, he asked to bum a smoke. It got so incessant that I had begun smoking in the backyard instead, not wishing to part with any of my precious pack of cigarettes if it wasn’t to be consumed by me. After a couple of weeks...

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Love-Thy-Neighbor-by-Eric-Kalata_RVA-Magazine-2026

The Richmond Animation Festival Doubles Down This Year

For the 4th Richmond Animation Festival, the program expands to two nights of screenings.  First, on Saturday, April 25th, the Shorts program curated by Jordan Bruner and Zack Williams will screen at Studio Two Three, and the feature screening of Julian Glander’s Boys Go To Jupiter will play at The Byrd, Sunday, April 26th. Starting in 2023,...

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Richmond Animation Festival 2026 by Todd Raviotta_RVA Magazine 2026

Writer’s Block | Two Poems by Cameron Ritter

Writer’s Block is RVA Magazine’s series highlighting contemporary writers working in Richmond and across the Commonwealth. Each week, we feature original poems, short stories, or essays. Just real voices writing right now. This week, we’re featuring two poems by Cameron Ritter. His work leans into observation and dialogue, pulling from everyday...

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Poems by Cameron Ritter_RVA Magazine 2026