“Oh, I’m going to have a field day with this.” These were my exact words to friend and artist Kyle Epps as I got up from my seat at Firehouse Theatre Saturday night. As we shuffled out of the theatre into the lobby, I took inventory of the stack of insights Dominique...
It’s early afternoon at Kuba Kuba, and the place is buzzing. Coffee cups clatter, plates hit the counter, and over it all, Melissa Vaughn is already in motion. Before we’ve even ordered our food, she’s out of her chair, greeting someone at the table next to us like a long-lost friend, leaning in to compliment another patron on their work. ...
Over a century ago, engineers from the Edison Company hauled their bulky recording equipment from New Jersey to Richmond, Virginia. In 1909, they captured one of the first interracial recording sessions in American history: Polk Miller, a white Confederate veteran with a banjo, performing alongside a Black vocal quartet. Even though he broke...
“The rebel yell, reinforced by a glorification of the lost cause was everywhere manifest,” reported John Mitchell Jr., editor of the Richmond Planet, an African American weekly newspaper, at the time of the Robert E. Lee monument’s unveiling. It was the spring of 1890. Boxes adorned with Confederate flags held the 12-ton bust, as a faithful...
This isn’t your typical Renaissance faire. On Saturday, August 2nd, Warriors in Bloom takes over Agecroft Halll, not to rehash the old, but to reimagine it entirely. Organized by the nonprofit Virago Alley, this one-day festival puts the spotlight on the original disruptors the women and gender-diverse warriors from history who didn’t...
In this city of the dead, I felt the weight of history bearing down upon me, the accumulated whispers of the past echoing through the hollows of my ears like a mournful sigh. No one needs teachings to realize that this ancient place wields some mystery. The James River, a lifeblood of sorts, flowed quietly in the distance, but my immediate...
After Halloween winds down, we shifted into a quieter, more reflective space with the Day of the Dead weekend. Hollywood Cemetery, with its rolling hills and historic monuments, offers the perfect spot to pause, remember loved ones, and reflect on the city’s layered history. Photographer Kimberly Frost, along with publisher R. Anthony Harris,...
Richmond’s legendary intergalactic overlords, GWAR, are set to honor their late founder and frontman, Dave Brockie, with a permanent monument in Hollywood Cemetery, one of the city’s most historic resting places. The unveiling will take place on Friday, August 30, at 2 PM, and fans, friends, and fellow scumdogs are invited to attend and pay their...
An old piece of stone often holds more meaning than one might suspect, particularly in a city like Richmond. Although stone carved into monuments or statues may generate friction, a great deal more of it can remind us to ruminate on not only our history, but ourselves. On a recent afternoon, a tour guide from The Valentine took RVA Mag on a...
Long before the campaign rallies, the presidential debates, and the White House, Barack Obama was just another college freshman trying to figure out who he wanted to become. A newly released collection of photographs offers a rare glimpse into that version of Obama during his freshman year at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Taken in the early...
