COMMUNITY




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Writer’s Block | Poems by Anna Leonard

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...

Metro Sound Is Still Here. Richmond Just Keeps Making It Harder.

When Mark Szafranski bought the building at 117 West Broad Street in 1991, the property was in disrepair. Water seeped from the upper floors, the windows were falling in, and downtown Richmond was, at the time, more forgotten than revitalized. But Szafranski, a...

Waitress is the Show for Anyone Who has Ever Worked a Double

A woman works in a diner. The kind with refills, regulars, and fluorescent lights that never quite turn off. She’s married to a man who doesn’t deserve her. She bakes pies that are better than most people deserve. And she wants out. That’s Waitress, more or less....

Richmond Showed Up. Now the Real Work Begins. Get Involved.

Richmond showed up this weekend. We’ve got to hold our leaders accountable—applaud them when they get it right, and hit the streets when they don’t. But protest is just one part of the work. If you were out there—or even if you wanted to be—don’t let it end with the...

Richmond Ranked a Top 10 City for Millennials in New National Study

Richmond has been ranked one of the top 10 metro areas in the country for Millennials, according to a new study by SmartAsset. The city landed at #7 overall, up from 15th place last year, marking one of the largest jumps in the national rankings. The annual study...

Why Norfolk’s NEON District Works—and What Richmond Can Learn

In 2013, a two-day event transformed a neglected stretch of Norfolk, Virginia, into a pop-up arts district. It wasn’t a city plan—it was a vision. Volunteers opened temporary galleries in boarded-up storefronts. Food trucks rolled in. Sidewalks were painted with...

WRIR 97.3FM Marks Two Decades with a Richmond Mini-Fest

Richmond Independent Radio (WRIR-LP 97.3 FM) is hitting the big 2-0, and this is not just some tired “anniversary” event, it’s a vibe. Since 2005, WRIR has been the soundtrack of Richmond’s wild, ever-evolving cultural landscape. As the largest low-power FM station in the United States, WRIR has lived up to its promise of being the loudspeaker...

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The Big Dipper Summit | Where Business and Culture Actually Collide

The Big Dipper Innovation Summit kicked off today, and if you’re not here yet, well, you’re already behind. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill business event—it’s where culture and business smash together in ways that actually mean something. Skeptical? We get it. But when these worlds collide, the opportunities are real. This is the spot to start...

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How Zoning Reform Can Address Richmond’s Housing Inequality, by Councilmember Ellen Robertson and Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick

“I never would have thought that I would be the minority in my neighborhood,” said Sandra Bowman, a Black resident of Richmond’s East End.  She told an interviewer last year that the recent arrival of white neighbors has led to changes.  That shift has also brought frustration.  “If a brick comes up in their sidewalk,” she said of...

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Municipal Waste | 25 Years of No Mercy

When you think of Richmond’s heavy music scene, four names immediately come to mind: Lamb of God, GWAR, Avail, and Municipal Waste. These are the bands that have bled into the city’s veins and shaped the sound of this place over the last several decades. And this past weekend, Municipal Waste took a well-deserved victory lap to celebrate 25 years...

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