5 Things

Guys, the winter. IT MIGHT BE FINISHED?! But let’s be honest, we all say that every week. This weekend isn’t being TOO hopeful, bringing you lots of indoor theater, music, movies, and copious drinking. Spring can take its time, maybe.

February 20, 2014; 6:00 AM • by Susan Howson

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

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1. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

You know how it’s always like, “Hey, theater industry, how about a play about professional wrestling?” Kristoffer Diaz heard your pleas and wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an underdog who takes on a champ. What will happen? Will you actually get to throw chairs from the audience? Will you laugh and cry and be thoroughly entertained? That last part, I can promise you. Firehouse Theatre always brings it, and it’s a venue that you can’t help but like.

• Through March 8th • see site for times
• Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W. Broad Street
• $35 with discounts available

2. Richmond Symphony Presents Mozart: Symphony No. 34

Held in the more intimate environs of the St. Augustine Catholic Church, conductor Erin R. Freeman pairs Mozart with Handel (as sung by the Richmond Symphony Chamber Chorus) for a cheerful Friday evening of beautiful music. If you miss it Friday but think you can get up to Randolph-Macon on Sunday, by all means, head northward!

• Friday, February 21st • 7:00 PM
• St. Augustine Catholic Church, 4400 Beulah Road
• $20 with discounts available

3. RVA Bluegrass Marathon Jam

I love how bluegrass is cool despite itself. An almost universally respected genre, bluegrass owes its widespread appeal to its dancey fun and poignant beauty (a combination we all wish we had). This annual event raises money for military families (it’s free, but you’re encouraged to donate). And while it involves 28 actual bands, you’re also welcome, nay, URGED, to bring your own acoustic instrument and play away! The idea is so overwhelming that it just might work (and has before!). Also featured: food trucks.

• Saturday, February 22nd • 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
• Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center, 2880 Mountain Road
• Free! (Donations encouraged)

4. Virginia Wine Expo

Wine! A solid reason to keep living, and also a reason why sometimes there are typos in this column. The annual Virginia Wine Expo never disappoints, showing off the ol’ fermented grape juice of our state’s booming wine industry. You get a crystal Reidel wine glass just for doing the Walk-Around Grand Tastings. Sometimes you’ll find something you love, sometimes you’ll find something you’re not that into, but one thing’s for sure: you will find Richmond Limousine waiting to take you home (for a 10% discount) and we suggest you make use of them.

• Saturday, February 22nd – Sunday, February 23rd • see site for times
• Greater Richmond Convention Center (among other venues), 403 N. 3rd Street
• See site for various prices

5. Matinees with Miss Maggie: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow

The Maggie Walker Historical Foundation presents the award-winning PBS series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, in four matinees each Sunday in February. This Sunday concludes the whole shebang (but it’s OK if you’re just now tuning in) with the fourth and final installment, “Terror and Triumph.” Afterwards, park rangers will do a little Q&A, answering your questions about Jim Crow laws and their intersection with the life and times of Maggie Walker. It’s a good way to celebrate Black History Month and a good way to get your brain back in motion after the Wine Expo. Just a thought.

• Saturday, February 22nd • 1:00 – 2:30 PM
• Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, 600 N. 2nd Street
• Free!

Future Things

• RVA Film Festival • February 27th – March 2nd
• Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 • March 1st – 2nd

Photo by: RuffLife

February 20, 2014 6:00 AM 0