5 Things

Beer, football, more football, rodeos, Smash Mouth—the city is powered by testosterone this weekend. Let’s just go with it and see where it takes us.

August 1, 2013; 7:38 AM • by Susan Howson

Looking for things to do with the smaller versions of yourself? Fire up the family wagon and take a looksee at 5 Things for Families.

— ∮∮∮ —

1. Virginia Beer Live

They say that every ten seconds, a Virginia craft brewery is born. Taste the labor-fruits of 20 breweries at the first annual Virginia Beer Live! To make sure you have a little something to protect your stomach lining from the onslaught of suds you are about to subject yourself to, this indoor festival will feature food from Boka Tako Truck, Rappahannock, Popkin, and more. Worried about getting tipsy and having no music to dance embarrassingly to? Fear not! There will be bands playing. And, honestly, even if there weren’t, just let your body do what it wants to do, man.

• Friday, August 2nd • 5:30 PM
• Richmond Coliseum, 601 E. Leigh Street
• $17-$37

2. Electric Football Game Art Show

If you didn’t catch our piece on ADA Gallery’s upcoming show honoring the Electric Football Game, take a few minutes to catch up. I’ll wait. Doo doo doooo, hmm hmmmmm, zooba zooba zoo…oh, hey! Welcome back. Weren’t you just so surprised that Electric Football has such a rabid following? Don’t you kind of want to paint some figurines? Or at least see a million of them? This show is cool, has a historical bent, and is slightly outside of the First Fridays comfort zone, which is why it’s so intriguing to us. Plus, there’s an afterparty at Balliceaux!

• Friday, August 2nd • 6:00 PM
• ADA Gallery, 228 W. Broad Street
• Free!

3. Redskins Fan Appreciation Day

I spent an evening this week rubbing elbows with a Redskin. Our chairs backed up against each other at En Su Boca, and I was annoyed that the enormous dude behind me couldn’t push his chair in more, and the elbow rubbing was starting to get on my nerves. My husband said, “That’s a Redskin. I can tell because he’s crazy muscular, his wife is beautiful, and his child is really well-behaved.” I looked at my toddler, who was standing on his chair, spinning around in slow, weird circles with a shredded, wet napkin around his neck like some sort of hip, diaphanous scarf, caught a glimpse of my post-work Courtney-Love-lite complexion in a mirror, and decided it wouldn’t be too bad to be a Redskin. Then I’d get to hang out with upwards of 20,000 fans on Saturday, signing autographs and flooding everyone’s Instagram streams. RELATED NOTE: If you’re not interested, you’re better off avoiding Scott’s Addition aka RVA Sports District like the plague.

• Saturday, August 3rd • camp opens at 9:00 AM, autographs begin at 12:00 PM
• Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center, 2401 W. Leigh Street
• Free!

4. Virginia Stampede Pro Rodeo

Rodeos! One of America’s most unique and most questionably ethical sporting events. Besides the usual calf roping, bronc riding, steer wrestling (come cheer me on!), and bull riding, there will be live music, party zones, food, and a whole lot of gasping. Bring your own seat to the general admission areas or get a ticket for the grandstand. If you haven’t tried a rodeo, now’s the time to watch the epic battle of man versus cow and/or horse.

• Friday, August 2nd – Saturday, August 3rd • gates open at 6:00 PM, rodeo at 7:30 PM
• Colonial Downs, 10515 Colonial Downs Parkway
• $15-$55, with discounts for children

5. Under the Sun Tour 2013

SomeBODY once told me you gotta go see Smashmouth¹
When they play here with Sugar Ray-ayyy
You’ll think “Bro, this is awesome,” when you hear the Gin Blossoms
Take you back to the Niii-iiinetay-ayyys

That’s right, people old enough to remember the mid-to-late 90s! That time of saturated colors and zoot suits, chinstrap beards and chin muffin goatees. Smashmouth, Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray, Vertical Horizon, and Fastball are teaming up to fight crime using inoffensive, catchy tunes as their weapons. You can’t turn back the clock to 1998, but you can just drive out to Innsbrook sporting a barbed wire tattoo and some chin art, and just get right into the next best thing.

• Wednesday, August 7th • 5:00 PM
• Innsbrook Snagajob Pavilion, 4901 Lake Brook Drive
• $20-$32

Future Things

• Jammin’ on the James Concert Series at Wilton House – see schedule
• Watermelon Festival – August 11th
• Anthem Moonlight Ride – August 17th
• Summer Arts Education Day Camp – August 22nd
• Ride for Jim – August 24th
• [Purple Martin Festival] – August 24th
• Fall Line Fest – September 6th-7th
• VCU Broad Street Mile – September 28th
• David Sedaris tickets now on sale – October 19th

— ∮∮∮ —

Photo by: Anne Aurelia Lewis

August 1, 2013 7:38 AM 0