WTF?!

Photos | Richmond Halloween Parade 2024 by Michael Simon

Photos | Richmond Halloween Parade 2024 by Michael Simon

The Richmond Halloween Parade returned for its 19th year, hosted by All The Saints Theater Company. A Richmond tradition, this parade has always been more than just a celebration—it’s a platform for protest. This year's theme, A Funeral March for Silence, served as a...




more in community

Be Kind, Rewind! Welcome to Monster Video

On a hot day in June, while visiting The Veiled Mirror and talking with them about collecting old books and DVDs, I was told that next door would be opening as a VHS video store soon. All throughout July, several of my friends who knew of my movie library habit...

Skip the Chains! A VCU Student Guide to Cheap-ish Local Eats

It’s that time of year when the U-Hauls come rolling in, parents are circling the block looking for parking, and thousands of new VCU students are about to move in and get their first real taste of Richmond. There are about 4,500 new students and 1,500 transfer...

Thousands of Lanterns to Light Up Dorey Park

The Water Lantern Festival is back in Richmond on Saturday, August 22nd. Think thousands of personalized glowing lanterns floating on the water, with live music, food, and generally good vibes moving along with them. You get a lantern to make your own. On...

Richmond’s Famous Romantix Mural Gets a New Chapter

For a decade, the mural outside the Romantix adult store, formerly Taboo, on Midlothian Turnpike has been one of Richmond's most debated pieces of public art. Now it's gone, replaced by a new collaboration between tattoo artist and muralist Jesse Smith and Miami-based...

As Funding Shrinks, Richmond’s Safety Net Is Full

She decided to finally leave. Maybe it was after years of abuse, or after one violent night too many. Maybe it was the first time she truly believed that if she stayed, she might not survive. Whatever brought her to that moment, making the call took courage.  On...

Seeing Richmond Through Their Eyes

Editor's Note: Writers Block is an occasional series featuring personal essays, reflections, and creative nonfiction from Richmond-area writers. In Seeing Richmond Through Their Eyes, Gabriella Ryan shares how a month spent showing her Italian cousins around Richmond...

Phish Announces Two-Night Richmond Run at Allianz Amphitheater

Phish is bringing its legendary live show back to Richmond for the first time in more than three decades. The Vermont jam band has announced an eight-show October tour that includes a two-night stop at Allianz Amphitheater on October 6 and 7. Richmond is one of just...

Can Firehouse Put Richmond on the National Theatre Map?

In the electric and perpetually sincere terrain of Richmond’s theatre culture, there are institutions that do more than merely reside, they lead. They serve as a measure of our city's potential beyond its natural aspirations. I've witnessed Firehouse Theatre inhabit...

Timmy Danger and Punks for Presents Wrestle for Charity

I found Timmy Danger lounging casually beside a fire pit, drinking a dark beer. It was a Friday afternoon in the dying days of summer, and the man whose last name is "Danger" was looking decidedly docile. He greeted me with a warm smile and a firm handshake wearing standard street clothes in the realm of a button down and jeans. I could not help...

Read More

NPR’s Tiny Desk Suffers Brutal Annihilation by GWAR

In a cataclysmic convergence of rock-and-roll thunder and rain-soaked spectacle, a legion of space-faring monstrosities donned their battle-torn bodies with electric guitars, primed to ignite chaos on the sacred turf of the NPR headquarters. As the celestial vault above shed tears, it seemed as if the legendary Oderus Urungus himself, presiding...

Read More

GWAR on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series 2023

Best Of VA Missed Connections: November 24 – November 30

Looks like we all made it through another Thanksgiving -- and more importantly, another trip through the retail hellscape that is Black Friday. So today, if all you really want for "Giving Tuesday" is for someone to give you a kiss: never fear, Missed Connections are here. And from crushes on EMTs with nose piercings to guys from out in the...

Read More

Best Of VA Missed Connections: November 17 – November 23

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections from around the Commonwealth, where I sometimes worry that we are getting entirely too fancy and losing touch with our roots. This week's bumper crop of wine tastings, Japanese restaurants, and the always-ritzy Starbucks definitely makes me a little nervous. But Richmond, you always come through, and...

Read More

Best Of VA Missed Connections: November 10 – November 16

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where we find lurkers everywhere. At the stoplight, at the PTA meeting, at the junkyard, and as always, at the grocery store. We've even got married people creeping on also-married yoga instructors down the block. I'll bet yoga instructors and personal trainers get that kind of thing all the time. By...

Read More

Best Of VA Missed Connections: November 3 – November 9

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where we learn the thing we've always known about moving: it sucks to do it alone. In fact, it sucks so bad that you might resort to Craigslist and fake a romantic connection with someone who broke their arm just to see if their friend with the truck is still available. I mean… maybe that's what's...

Read More

Best Of VA Missed Connections: October 24 – November 1

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where we can all learn, once again, that Halloween brings out the freaks (or, at least, the freak inside each one of us). From plantation ghosts to sexy Velmas, the costumes take all forms, and everybody's into it. But it's not all Halloween hijinks this week. We've also got dogs orchestrating a...

Read More

Best Of VA Missed Connections October 20 – October 26

Hey, welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where the looming shadow of Halloween envelops our entire week. If you're still trying to figure out what sort of costume you're gonna wear this year, you might need a momentary escape from these sartorial anxieties. Rest assured, that's exactly what we've got for you in this week's installment...

Read More