5 Things

Yes, Independence Day is over for another year. No, that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to a weekend of loafing around.

July 5, 2012; 6:33 AM • by Susan Howson

Yes, Independence Day is over for another year. No, that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to a weekend of loafing around. What do you do when you fall off the horse? You get back on the horse! Revisit old Richmond favorites and discover new Richmond traditions. OR ELSE.

1. Family Scavenger Hunt at Maymont

I dare you to read the following and then tell me this doesn’t satisfy a lingering childhood fascination with Maymont Park (and if you had the misfortune to grow up somewhere other than Richmond, I don’t know how to help you): bring your kids (age 4 and up) down to Maymont to compete in a family scavenger hunt! You get clues, crack codes, and run around petting goats, threading through bamboo forests, straining to spot bears, you know the deal. It’s a magical place, and it sounds like a super fun thing to do with your kids.

• Fri. Jul. 6 • 11:00 AM
• Maymont Park, 2201 Shields Lake Dr
• Free!

2. First Fridays Art Walk

Hey, remember me? First Fridays? Yeah, guess what, I’m still here even during the summer. And guess what else, strolling along Broad Street during a beautiful Virginia summer evening is second only to strolling along the beach barefoot as the tide starts to come in. OK, so it’s a distant second, but come do me a solid and bask in my performing arts, paintings, sculptures, music, and friscalating dusklight.

• Fri. Jul. 6 • 5:00 – 9:00 PM
• Adams and Broad
• Free!

3. Richmond Shakespeare Festival: Merry Wives of Windsor – Opening Night

The Richmond Shakespeare Festival is in its bajillionth year of charmingness, acting out the bard’s timeless lines outside of Agecroft Hall. Take a teen and blow his or her mind as the period-appropriate setting adds a level of authenticity they won’t get in their 9th grade English textbook. The Merry Wives of Windsor opens this Friday, so get your centuries-old comedy on and purchase thyself a ticket or call thyself a knave.

• Thurs. Jul. 5 – Sun. Jul. 29 • 8:00 PM
• Agecroft Hall, 4305 Sulgrave Rd.
• $14 – $28

4. Bike Lot’s Mural Premiere and Chili Cook Off

Do you like artists? Do you like it when they paint on large scales? Do you also like to eat chili? Do you also like to watch other people eat chili? Do you like bikes? Do you like competing? Do you like No BS Brass Band? Do you like The Garbers? If any of these are true, find your way to the Bike Lot this Saturday night. If all of these are true, this Saturday night is your Rushmore.

• Sat. Jul. 7 • 6:00 PM
• The Bike Lot (mysterious location somewhere in Manchester–try your luck messaging the event hosts on Facebook)
• Free!

5. Maharajas: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings

I have it on very good authority that the Maharajas exhibit at the VMFA is not-to-be-missed. We’re talking silver carriages, splendiferous bridal gowns, and all sorts of intensely ornate trimmings and trappings once owned by royal Indians. You’ve got about a month to fit this into your life, although I do warn you that once you’ve seen these elaborate artifacts, that $5 glittery nail polish you were so stoked to show off on Instagram is never going to look the same again.

• Daily through Aug. 19 • see site for daily times
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard
• $12 – $15 for non-members, free for members

July 5, 2012 6:33 AM 0