5 Things

Someone said to me yesterday, “I told my out of town friends that this was the worst possible weekend to come to Richmond to visit.” Move over, Eeyore! There are zero weekends as exciting as the weekend ahead of us.

March 31, 2011; 12:00 AM • by Susan Howson

Someone said to me yesterday, “I told my out of town friends that this was the worst possible weekend to come to Richmond to visit.” Move over, Eeyore! There are zero weekends as exciting as the weekend ahead of us.

1. First Fridays Art Walk

Let’s just get right to it, none of these warm-up Thursday events for us. No! You must get plenty of rest on Thursday night, because you will absolutely need it. On Friday night, stroll up and down Broad Street with about a trillion other people. Get used to this feeling, because it’s going to happen to you a number of other times this weekend.

• Friday, April 1 (5pm – 10pm)
• Broad Street, starting at Belvidere-ish and moving eastward
• Free, except for all the local art you will snap up

2. Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K

Join a seriously insane amount of people as they run amok all over town…if you’ve registered already, that is. Our beloved 10K sold out this year at 41,000 registrants, and it will certainly be a sight to see. This week, Sports Backers announced its intention to turn the enormous cluster into a RAMPEDE of VCU school spirit, which is at once inspiring and terrifying. Go show your support for various Richmond institutions, just don’t slip and call it the Martin’s 10K, whatever you do.

• Saturday, April 2 (8:30am)
• Basically anywhere along Monument, the Monroe Park area, and Broad Street just west of Belvidere
• Spectatorship is free, parking may require that you sell your soul

3. VCU Rams vs. Butler Bulldogs

People, I know this will sound crazy, but I feel strongly that you are doing a disservice to yourself if you watch this from the safety of your own home. Find a place, get there early, and allow yourself to retreat to your happy place when someone sprays beer upon you when VCU wins. You will want to hug every Richmonder, every monument, and every dang lamppost, and the effect is not as ridiculous if you are in your living room hugging the arm of your couch. Just saying.

• Saturday, April 2 (6:09pm)
• Venue of your choice
• Free, but stock up on beer to spray

4. Capitol Square Walking Tour

You’ll need a brunch laced with plenty of bloody Marys, but afterwards, clear your head with a leisurely stroll around our fair Capitol Square. For reals, guys, it has a lot of super interesting history (for example, did you know that in 2008, the author of this very 5 Things got married on the Bell Tower steps?? Oh, and Thomas Jefferson did some stuff at some point, no big deal). Anyway, let’s be honest, at this point you will be so used to functioning as a small part of a large crowd that you will find yourself drawn to events like this, so as not to feel oddly isolated.

• Sunday, April 3 (2pm-4pm)
• Capitol Square’s 9th and Grace Street Gate
• $10 ($5 for members of the Richmond History Center)

5. STRUT @ RVA Fashion Week

VCU’s annual fashion show is the highlight of RVA’s very own Fashion Week, which is a great opportunity for the up-and-coming stars of the fashion world to get some clothes on some models and show us all what we’ll be wearing when they’re in charge. You’ve had a really busy weekend, you deserve to sit down and be entertained. So show VCU that your love doesn’t stop at athletics, and get ye to the Siegel Center.

• Sunday, April 3 (doors at 4pm, show at 5pm)
• Siegel Center
• $15 for General Admission, $20 for VIP, $8 for VCU students

March 31, 2011 12:00 AM 2