5 Things

Film nerd? Art nerd? Comic book nerd? Small-batch alcoholic beverage nerd? Philanthropic nerd? All of you have your work cut out for you this weekend. PS – Philanthropic nerd, you’re the best kind of nerd.

November 20, 2014; 7:25 AM • by Susan Howson

1. Afrikana Film Festival: Contamination and Finding Fela

It is nutso how we ignore films from the entire rest of the globe, lumping them into “Best International Picture” at the Oscars and sticking them all in one genre on Netflix. The Afrikana Film Festival just says no, bringing really great movies (short, feature, and documentary) from the “Black diaspora” to Richmond, Virginia! As part of their Noir series, you can see the short film Contamination this Friday, then the feature-length documentary Finding Fela on Sunday! Film it up, people! I strongly recommend visiting the site to read more about the filmmakers and watch some trailers.

Contamination:

• Thursday, November 20th • 7:00 PM
• Candela Books + Gallery, 214 W. Broad Street
• Free!

Finding Fela:

• Sunday, November 23rd • 7:30 PM
• The Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary Street
• $10 in advance, $12 at the door

2. InLight

InLight is here! Art projects that can only be appreciated in the dark? How very! Cruise over to Monroe Park and see what incredible art people can make out of things that glow. Thomas Edison, how proud of us you’d be. You’d also glory in the variety of foods available at the food carts, and probably be confused by the fact that our children do not roll hoops down Main Street.

• Friday, November 21st • 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM
• Monroe Park, between Main and Franklin on one axis, and Laurel and Belvidere on the other
• Free to attend, bring cash for food trucks and possibly parking 

3. Midas of Richmond Thanksgiving Food Drive

This is less a Thing to Do and more a Thing to Help Others. Mark Smith of Midas of Richmond is my absolute favorite radio personality, and he is just a couple of years of ads away from getting me to give blood! By far the best radio spots in the history of radio. Anyway, their food drive happens in the parking lot of the Short Pump location, and they’ll be accepting non-perishables. They’ll also probably fill you in with alarming statistics surrounding hunger in Richmond, which are both sobering and inspiring. So much so that you may want to get Deeper Involved. And as the holidays commence and the cold sets in, there’s no better time.

• Saturday, November 22nd – Sunday, November 23rd • all day!
• Midas of Richmond – Short Pump, 11463 W. Broad Street
• Some non-perishable items

4. Virginia Moonshine Festival

Cider Week rolls on? Who cares (me, a lot)! There’s the Virginia Moonshine Festival at the Ol’ Dominion Building! $20 per day gets you a mason jar that you will then fill with moonshine, beer, and wine samplings. Feeling drunk as a country skunk? There’s food pairings to make sure this ‘shine isn’t pouring into your bloodstream through your empty stomach lining like curdled milk through grandma’s leaky sieve. I have no idea how to talk about moonshine.

• Saturday, November 22nd • 12:00 – 6:00 PM
• Richmond International Raceway, Old Dominion Building, 602 E. Laburnum Avenue
• $25 in advance, $45 at the door (must be 21 or over)

5. VA Comicon

Grab your spandex, make sure your leather bustier still fits, and get back over to the Richmond International Raceway for VA Comicon! It’s a cosplay spectacular with events like “Pro Wrestling Today,” “What is ‘Paranormal’?”, and “Cosplay Etiquette.” I can’t even make stuff up that’s better than that, so I won’t try! Go find your kindred spirits, nerds. We all deserve our day in the sun.

• Saturday, November 22nd – Sunday, November 23rd • see site for times
• Richmond International Raceway Complex, Expo Hall, 600 E. Laburnum Avenue
• $20 for each day

Photo by: coba
 

November 20, 2014 7:25 AM 0