5 Things

Sports, parties, and music! You know how we do! And by “you,” I mean “another town who might be looking at us with one eyebrow raised because they think they have more fun stuff to do.” Take a gander at this list, other town, and get that eyebrow back where it belongs.

January 30, 2014; 7:02 AM • by Susan Howson

Family-oriented? Check out 5 Things for Families. You won’t be sorry, and you won’t miss naptime.

1. VCU vs. Richmond

No, no, not the age-old battle of Virginia Commonwealth University versus the rest of us for parking and seats at Edo’s Squid for dinner. But the basketball teams of VCU and UR, the Rams versus the Spiders! This “cross-town rivalry” is a highly anticipated game that tends to get blood pumping all over the city. Watch it on ESPN2; head to the Siegel Center; or just stay home, keep an eye on Twitter, hide your head in a blanket, and hope the suspense doesn’t kill you.

Saturday, February 1st • 11:00 AM
Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad Street (or ESPN2)
Tickets are technically sold out, but watching it on TV is freeish!

2. River City Segs Black History Month Tour

Kick off your Black History Month celebrations and considerations with a thrilling yet educational Segway tour! River City Segs will take you through some local points of interest, like the old slave trading district, Maggie Walker’s stomping grounds, and Brown’s Island, all the while TALKING you through lots of history, like our Commonwealth’s role in Brown v. Board of Education. Imagine all of this taking place while you scoot along on futuristic people-movers!

Wednesdays through Sundays in February • 2:30 – 4:30 PM
River City Segs, 1805 E. Grace Street
$29.50 + optional tip

3. Richmond Ballet’s Ever After Party

I hope your fairy godmother isn’t off vacationing somewhere, because now is the time to hand her that wand and tell her to spruce you the @$#% up! It’s time to hang out with the RB crew for their annual benefit ball. As Cinderella is just a couple of weeks away, you’ll be treated to a theme that, you have to admit, works pretty dang well for a ball. There’ll be a live auction, food and drinks, beautiful dancers milling about, and I’m really hoping that at midnight, the clock ominously strikes twelve, while everyone sprints for the nearest grand staircase, leaving shoes everywhere, and crossing their fingers that Prince Charming picks them up. Spoiler alert: he’s not invited. Actually, I have no proof of that. Drop shoes wherever you like, sister!

Saturday, February 1st • 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM
MeadWestvaco, 501 S. 5th Street
$75

4. Full Moon Fever at Hardywood

If you’re like me, you hate two things: winter and when Tom Petty music isn’t playing. The best way to show winter that you mean business is to blast it with loud strains of “American Girl.” You can’t be icy and gloomy during that song! You just can’t! Hardywood releases its Bourbon Sidamo (an imperial stout) while Full Moon Fever, The Shangri-Lords (dudes singing girl-tunes from the 1960s), and Fear of Music (Talking Heads tribute) celebrate all sorts of decades as we all join together to tell that groundhog he better man up and face his weak, weak shadow-phobia once and for all.

Saturday, February 1st • 2:00 PM, see site for individual band showtimes
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, 2408 Ownby Lane
Free!

5. The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl! As always, one team runs frantically into another team on a field of beautiful green, while grocery stores everywhere toss bags of tortilla chips and jars of queso dip at you. For those of us who can’t tell a Statue of Liberty play from the actual Statue of Liberty (we’re also terrible at basic American history), there are always the ads to watch. I’d say find something else to do if you felt like it, but it’ll be like a dusty abandoned Old West town with tumbleweeds and bleached skulls out there. Stick to a cozy space and just become comfortable with eatng a lot of snacks.