CULTURE

Where to Watch the World Cup in Richmond

Where to Watch the World Cup in Richmond

We looked into getting World Cup tickets. Apparently, FIFA believes everyone has a trust fund. For those of us who do not, Richmond has the next best thing. Over the next month, bars, breweries, restaurants, and soccer pubs across the city will fill up with people...




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How Richmond College Students Fit Into the Growing Thrift Economy

Editor’s Note: This piece was written by a student at Randolph-Macon College as part of a feature writing course. RVA Magazine is committed to giving space to young writers across Virginia and will be publishing several student works from this class over the coming...

Snow Law, Beer Runs, and a Market That Never Closed

In my twenties, snow days in Richmond were not a crisis. They were a gift.  You walked to the local market, and back then there were only a handful, stocked up on whatever counted as “supplies,” and then wandered off under the sacred banner of “snow law.” That...

Famous / Not Famous People: Photographer Matt Licari

Over a decade ago, some of Matt Licari’s earliest published photographs appeared in our printed pages, back when he was living in Richmond. Since then, Licari has gone on to become a sought-after editorial photographer, shooting globally recognized actors, musicians,...

A Look Back at United Blood 2025

Editor’s Note: This article reflects on United Blood’s return back in April 2025 and is a preview of what is in store for 2026. Words and photos by Cristian Espinoza The sleeping giant walks the earth again. After a five-year hiatus, United Blood returned to Richmond,...

“I Am the War on Drugs”

Editor's note: In December 2025, the The Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales wrapped its final public meeting on the future marketplace. This interview with Eric Spencer happened at a CSBA meetup at Bingo Beer Co. in Richmond. Eric Spencer said it...

Photo | Nettspend x Vans Keep It Local at Laurel Skatepark

Richmond's Nettspend and Vans turned Laurel Skatepark into a canned food drive that was part skate scene, part community pull-up, built around a simple ask: bring something that helps someone else eat. For readers who may not know him yet, Nettspend is one of Richmond’s most visible breakout artists of the last few years. You can read about him...

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The Best of RVA Magazine 2025

As we close out the year, here’s a look at some of the most impactful stories we published in 2025. Over the past year, we covered Richmond as a living system under pressure, focusing on the people, culture, and policies that shape daily life and determine who gets held up or left behind. Thank you to everyone who read, shared, challenged us, and...

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How Locals Mike Shea and Jonathan Facka Made ‘The Light’

Editor's Note: This story that begins, as too many do, with a clown in someone’s DMs and ends with a camera duct-taped to a toy train. The first thing to know is that Mike Shea tried to make a normal introduction. In his mind, it was a filmmaker reaching out to a musician he admired. In Jonathan Facka’s mind, it was a man in full clown makeup...

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Photo | What Suitcase Joe Found at Skid Row University

I hadn’t seen him in years. Then I caught his pop-up photo show in an alleyway gallery in Oregon Hill a few months back. The images were real life. Honest. Some of them tough to even look at. Street people, prostitutes, gang bangers, punks mid-fight, scenes in bars, bikers, protests, pain, and joy all jammed into the same wall. But it wasn’t just...

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The Lights Are On! Richmond’s Tacky Lights Season Has Begun

Tacky Lights season has officially kicked off, and the region is glowing again. From tight city blocks to wide Powhatan backroads, homes across Central Virginia have thrown the switch and settled into that familiar holiday tradition of trying to outshine the neighborhood. Most displays stay lit through New Year’s Eve, which gives you plenty of...

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