5 Things

Susan Howson — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:46:02 +0000

Fall is sort of here! Let us embrace it with sweatshirts and cookies and dancing and more dancing (the professional kind, thank goodness). If it gives you any “It’s all too soon” response, make nice. We don’t want fall to hand us right over to winter.

1. &@$#! An Exhibition of Comic Artists

It’s not often that an event comes around that is as intriguing as it is well-named. But the &@$#! exhibit at Gallery5 wins my exclusive Best Named Thing award this week.¹ Comic artists are real artists, dammit, and we should celebrate national as well as local talents all month long with this fascinating exhibit depicting the current state of comic art. This Friday, hit up the opening reception during your Art Walk and learn some things while giving your eyes the gift of the unexpected. (Oh also, they have a really beautiful and informative website. Check it the @#$% out!

Fri. Sep. 7 • 7:00 - 10:00 PM
Gallery5, 200 W. Marshall St.
Free!

2. DJ Big Chair at Balliceaux

Dance party connoisseurs and timid dance-to-Justin-Beiber-alone-in-your-bedroom aficionados: listen up. Have I found the dance night for you. DJ Big Chair² spins monthly at Balliceaux, and the man is a studied crowdpleaser. He’ll play the hits, he’ll play the Stones, he’ll play whatever he believes you will dance to, as he scans the room with a practiced eye. Believe me, I’m both the connoisseur and the aficionado mentioned above, and I'm surprised every time at how great this dude is at what he does. Fun times all around, delicious cocktails with your name on them, and plenty of people-watching

Fri. Sep. 7 • 10:00 PM
Balliceaux, 203 N. Lombardy St.
Free!

3. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Don’t you roll your eyes at me! NASCAR is fun, and it’s fun for everyone. I have it on very good authority that there are few Things as entertaining as car racing, and neither you nor me can argue with that until we’ve tried it ourselves. A big part of the Sprint Cup Series, the Federated Auto Parts 400 is more exciting than it sounds. Denny Hamlin HIMSELF competes this Saturday night. There are some stakes involved. I don’t pretend that I fully understand it all, but I don’t HAVE to pretend that I’m not swept up in the drama. It’s irresistible. Head to the site yourself and become emotionally invested in the driver of your choice.

Sat. Sep. 8 • 7:00 PM
Richmond International Raceway, 600 E. Laburnum Ave.
$50 - $105

4. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer Bake Sale

You’ve seen it before--enthusiastic kids waving factory made signs that say “COOKIES FOR CANCER,“ ready to pounce on your wallet before you enter the grocery store. I’m with you, dude, but you can just spend a couple of bucks and walk away with a delicious box of cookies. Oh wait, and HELP CANCER RESEARCH. Girl Scouts, anything to add as a rejoinder?

Sat. Sep. 8 & • 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Carytown
A couple of bucks, and don’t be stingy

5. Jessica Lang Dance at the Modlin Center

If you’re not a slightly ungainly frequent visitor of the town’s dance productions, like some of us, you may not have heard of Jessica Lang. Believe me, you have to see this @$#%! Her stuff is beautiful, from the heart, and avant-garde. Join Jessica’s own company as they perform at the Modlin Center on Sept. 14, but get some insight into the mind of a genius choreographer next Wednesday as she discusses her process. C’mon, it’ll be fun, and you can come up with a Which Richmond Ballet Dancer Do You Spot In the Audience bingo game.

Wed. Sep. 14 • 7:30 PM
Modlin Center for the Arts at University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way
$8-$15

— ∮∮∮ —

Footnotes

It’s so exclusive that they don’t even know they’ve won it. But we know. We know. ↩
DISCLAIMER: that DJ is my husband. But I’d happily leave his DJ night for a better one if it existed. Such is my loyalty to dancing (greater than my marriage loyalty, I guess). But when it comes down to it, there truly is no better one in town. And I’ve looked. ↩

Photo by taberandrew

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