CULTURE




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The Force is Strong with the Richmond Symphony

Royal fanfare and martial drums over a 20th Century Fox logo… A classic fairy tale opening line in silence, and then, BAM! - STAR WARS! The text recedes quickly and is replaced by scrolling prose setting up the epic adventure ahead. Brassy horns, violins, the drums!...

Kids In The Hall’s Dave Foley Was at GalaxyCon 2023!

Whether it's Kids in the Hall, Newsradio, A Bug's Life, or one of the many other things he has been in and known for, fans of legendary comedian and comic actor Dave Foley were ecstatic to welcome him to his first visit to Richmond as part of GalaxyCon 2023's largest...

An ‘Eclectic Celluloid For The Cinematic Soul’ Weekend

Begun out of two VCU departments - Art History and Photo & Film - in 1994, and later becoming a nonprofit on its own, the James River Film Society has presented "ECLECTIC CELLULOID FOR THE CINEMATIC SOUL" for 29 years. Since 1999, my personal attendance and...

Queer Theater In the Heart of Richmond

In the vibrant heart of Richmond's ever-evolving Scott's Addition neighborhood, Philip Crosby, the Executive Director of Richmond Triangle Players, has been a trailblazer in the world of theater for over a decade. As the first full-time employee of the company, Crosby...

From Publishing to Producer: An Interview With Christian Detres

I recently caught up with Christian Detres, part of the original crew of RVA Magazine and a good friend, who helped me understand what the magazine could be and how to get there. From his beginnings in publishing to his current role as a producer in the world of art...

GalaxyCon Richmond 2023 Shines with Largest Attendance to Date

A couple of weeks ago, GalaxyCon Richmond made its annual return to the Greater Richmond Convention Center for a weekend of celebrities, cosplay, panels, and kinship among fellow nerds from every fandom in creation. Judging by the turnout, it's highly likely that you...

Let’s Get Weird! The Berry Fruity Clown World of Fruit Salad

Clowns. The word immediately conjures up white faced weirdos in puffy silks running around at a circus. This of course is just one type of many clowns and is a deeply Americanized and niche version of clowning that just happens to have the most public attention. In...

Full Capacity: An Interview With Joe Machi

This week, Joe Machi comes to Richmond's Sandman Comedy Club. In preparation, Gabe Santamaria talked to him about open mics, the New York comedy scene, and growing a patchy beard, among other things. I got to chat with the hilariously lovable Joe Machi this week. I’ve been following his stand-up for a few years now and he’s always stuck out....

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Questioning The System: Eileen Cabiling’s Basurero

We sent Ryan Kent to the Richmond International Film Festival. He came back raving about a short film from the Philippines called Basurero. So we got him to interview Basurero's director, Eileen Cabiling -- who, it turns out, has some strong connections to Richmond. I know nothing about film. I’ve never even seen GREASE. Do you know...

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A Scanner Brightly

With 21st century digital tools including NFTs, Richmond-based gallery Eden Airlines is giving artists unprecedented opportunity to receive compensation from their artwork and make the creative life more sustainable. When the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) craze burst forth from the cryptosphere, it was met with equal parts derision and enthusiasm in...

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Exploring Greek Comedy With Yannis Pappas

The "Tzatziki King," Yannis Pappas, comes to Sandman Comedy Club this weekend. In advance of his three-night stand, Gabe Santamaria sat down with him to talk about history, Jeff Bezos, and how comedians are really just theatre kids. This week I got to talk with the unapologetically Greek comedian, Yannis Pappas. Known for his characters and...

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Richmond Comedy Gets A Pick-Me-Up

At the height of the pandemic, when pretty much everyone needed a good laugh, Jack N' Minor's Pickup Comedy Show began bringing live standup to the RVA masses in a socially distanced outdoor environment. Gabe Santamaria spoke to the men behind the wheel of the only Richmond comedy show that takes place in the bed of a pickup truck. In the midst...

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Tit For Tat

Getting a tattoo isn't a decision you should make lightly. Here's RVA Mag's guide to everything from deciding when to get tattooed to figuring out where you should go in Richmond to get the best possible version of the tattoo you want. A tattoo is a wonderful way to mark your journey, have a keepsake of something memorable, and use your skin as a...

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