COMMUNITY




more in community

New Menu, Who Dis? Get Tight Gets Tighter.

Randy O’Dell has a posse. The co-owner of Get Tight Lounge, and owner of En Su Boca, and beloved bars and restaurants of RVA legend, has always known how to attract incredible talent in his kitchen and behind the bar. He’s joined forces with Drew Schlegel in keeping...

The Byrd Theatre Is Still Richmond’s Palace of Dreams

Christmas Eve, 1928. Richmond is cold and the city is dressed for the holiday. On West Cary Street, a crowd gathers outside a building that wasn't there six months ago; a French Empire facade rising up in the middle of a neighborhood that had no idea it was about to...

Tired of Guessing | What Adult Literacy Looks Like in Richmond

Editor’s Note: The following essay is by Mary Graham, CEO of READ RVA, a Richmond-based nonprofit focused on adult literacy. I learned early not to assume anything about who can read. A man once stopped me on Broad Street. He held out a scrap of paper with an address...

Viral Video Sparks Questions About Cancer-Causing Gas in Richmond

A new Instagram video circulating among Richmond residents is raising questions about ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas used to sterilize medical equipment, and whether local facilities and warehouses could be contributing to an underrecognized public health...

Photos | Thousands Gather for No Kings Protests Across Richmond

Two separate “No Kings” demonstrations took place across downtown Richmond on Saturday, March 28, drawing crowds to both Kanawha Plaza and Monroe Park as part of a coordinated nationwide day of action. The first gathering began earlier in the day at Kanawha Plaza,...

Remembering WRIR Founders and Leaders in a Year of Loss

Over the past six months, three people foundational to WRIR 97.3 FM, Richmond’s volunteer-run station built outside the expectations of corporate radio, rooted in a love of music, giving locals a voice, and creating space where there wasn’t any, have died. All from...

No Red Carpet, Just Films! James River Film Festival Is Back

Every spring, I look forward to one of Richmond’s best film traditions, the James River Film Festival. With the mantra “Eclectic Celluloid for the Cinematic Soul,” the James River Film Society curates programs spanning a wide range of subjects and styles. It’s always...

Babe Improv Might Be The Funniest Thing in Richmond Right Now

There’s a moment during a Babe Improv set where you realize two things at once. First, they have no idea what they’re about to do next. Second, it’s all going to work out somehow. That tightrope is what makes it work, and when you have two people this in sync, it...

No Red Carpet, Just Films! James River Film Festival Is Back

Every spring, I look forward to one of Richmond’s best film traditions, the James River Film Festival. With the mantra “Eclectic Celluloid for the Cinematic Soul,” the James River Film Society curates programs spanning a wide range of subjects and styles. It’s always enlightening, informative, and inspiring. This year, the festival will run from...

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James River Film Festival 2026_RVA Magazine 2026

Babe Improv Might Be The Funniest Thing in Richmond Right Now

There’s a moment during a Babe Improv set where you realize two things at once. First, they have no idea what they’re about to do next. Second, it’s all going to work out somehow. That tightrope is what makes it work, and when you have two people this in sync, it turns into something genuinely laugh-out-loud entertaining. Richmond duo Babe...

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Babe-Improv-by-R.-Anthony-Harris_RVA-Magazine-2026

Hemp Retailers Say New Virginia Cannabis Law Would Shut Them Down

With a major cannabis bill now awaiting Governor Abigail Spanberger’s decision, Virginia hemp retailers, farmers, and small business advocates are urging her to step in before it becomes law. The Cannabis Small Business Association (CSBA) and a coalition of hemp businesses are calling on the governor to use her amendatory authority to revise key...

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Virginia-Hemp-by-R-Anthony-Harris_photo-by-Elsa-Olofsson_RVA-Magazine-2026

Recreational Cannabis Retail System Approved by Virginia Legislature

Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation that would create a legal retail market for recreational cannabis in the Commonwealth, ending years of uncertainty after possession was legalized but sales remained illegal.  The bill passed the General Assembly on the final day of the 2026 legislative session, with the House voting 64–32 and the...

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Virgnia-Cannabis-Law_Jeff-White_RVA-Magazine-2026

The Man Who Sold Richmond on a Flying Squirrel

Editor’s note: With Richmond’s new CarMax Park opening soon, it felt like the right time to revisit how the Flying Squirrels first took root in the city. We had the chance to speak with Chuck Domino, the veteran minor league baseball operator during that transition. Photo of Chuck Domino (left) and Todd "Parney" Parnell (right) When Richmond’s...

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Chuck Domino_Richmond Flying Squirrels by R Anthony Harris_RVA Magazine 2026

I Was To Inherit A Capitalist Nation

The ceilings were all collapsing. The moldering roof was seeping through to the drywall and paint inside. What was once a small emerald speck of mold above the shower had turned into a fuzzy kaleidoscope of blacks and pinks and grays and greens that coated the entire top of the room and filled it with a smell so pungent that I couldn’t spend more...

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American Dream Essay by Eric Kalata_photo Bruno Guerrero_RVA Magazine 2026