COMMUNITY




more in community

The Lost Cause Boys’ Club

“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...

Rest Easy, Adam Turck

When RVA Magazine approached me about becoming their regular theatre critic, I was tickled at the idea. I hadn't been too involved in the local scene, but I had been very critical - of everything, always. I was curious as to the state of quality.  Regional...

Writer’s Block | Poems by Kaylee Walton

A Sunday series from RVA Magazine featuring writers from Richmond and VirginiaWriter’s Block is RVA Magazine’s Sunday series highlighting contemporary writers working in Richmond and across the Commonwealth. Each week, we feature original poems, short stories, or...

What the F@ck is Orange Wine?! (and Where to Find It in Richmond)

And no, it’s not made from oranges.. The first time I encountered orange wine (or skin contact white wine), I was wowed by the color and it’s presentation. It’s gorgeous. This beautiful, amber-hued liquid danced around the edges of my swirling wine glass. I gave it a...

The New Corner Store: How Vape Shops Took Over Richmond

A former Richmond smoke shop owner breaks his silence on selective enforcement, shady distributors, and the regulatory loopholes driving Virginia’s booming gray market. In neighborhoods across Richmond, it’s hard to miss them: brightly lit vape shops glowing with LED...

What Does Trust Look Like? Richmond Artists Offer an Answer

A 100-foot brick wall in Richmond’s Fan District now carries a word in bold ghost-sign lettering: RELIABILITY. Painted by local artists Noah Scalin and Alfonso Pérez Acosta, it’s the first in a four-part series of murals under the banner Trust Buildings, part of the Mending Walls RVA public art initiative. Each mural will center on one...

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Trust Buildings Mending Walls_photos Katrina Hecksher Jones_RVA Magazine 2025

Fourth of July 2025 in Richmond: Fireworks, Festivals, and More

Some of the best Fourth of July celebrations in Richmond aren’t on any official list. They’re happening in backyards, driveways, and cul-de-sacs, surrounded by folding chairs, coolers, and whatever’s still working on the grill. If you’ve got good friends and a halfway decent Bluetooth speaker, you’re already doing it right. But for everyone else,...

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Richmond Fourth of July 2025_photo by Isaac Martin_RVA Magazine 2025

Writer’s Block | Poems by Jennifer Jurlando

A Sunday series from RVA Magazine featuring writers from Richmond and VirginiaWriter’s Block is RVA Magazine’s Sunday 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 four...

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Summer Wine Survival Kit | Refreshing Bottles for Under $20

The super-scorcher summer weather is here, and we are steadily melting in Richmond. For us, it’s way too hot for full-bodied, tannic red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Merlot, and Shiraz. We need to feel hydrated and refreshed, not bogged down further by the heat with a heavier wine. When shopping for wines this summer, try to avoid...

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Echoes from the Sea | Part I: Into the Deep End

Editor’s Note: Mark Pryor isn’t a journalist. He’s not a career aid worker or a social media activist. He’s a regular guy, a bartender in Richmond, who took a month off from Get Tight Lounge and a few other familiar haunts to volunteer with Sea-Watch, a German humanitarian organization that runs rescue missions in the Mediterranean. When he told...

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Echoes from the Sea | Part IV: Waves That Don’t Break

Read the first chapters HERE. May 8th, 2025 RHIB crew about to head out. Photo by Kenya-Jade Pinto The call came over the night radio channel to prepare for rescue at 4:40am. A small fiberglass boat with about 50 people on board, according to Alarm Phone. The bridge had briefly spotted it — a pale white flash of something solid in the pre-dawn...

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