5 things

It’s tax day!!! If you’re not too broke (and not too busy sobbing into your checkbook), here are some great things to enjoy in the good old RVA this weekend.

April 15, 2010; 6:00 AM • by Valerie Catrow

It’s tax day!!! If you’re not too broke (and not too busy sobbing into your checkbook), here are some great things to enjoy in the good old RVA this weekend.

1. Flying Squirrels First Home Game

Oh snap, it’s finally happening! The Richmond Flying Squirrels have been at it all week, but they’ll be playing for their hometown fans for the first time (and CRUSHING the Reading Phillies) this evening. We’re being promised fireworks, skydivers, and a dramatic entrance from Nutzy! Tickets for tonight’s game are sold out (womp womp womp), but you have chances to see the Squirrels play Friday through Wednesday, with great giveaways scheduled for each game. The RVANews crew will be there tonight, so make sure you stop by to say hi. We’ll be the loud ones eating our weight in nachos. Or that might just be me.

• Thursday, April 15, 7:05pm (but we hear doors are opening around 4:30, if you’re an early bird)
• The Diamond on Boulevard
• $6 to $10

2. Southern Women’s Show

Shopping, food, crafts, and probably lots of ladies calling you “honey” and “sweet pea.” Come on!

• Friday, April 16 (10am to 8pm); Saturday, April 17 (10am to 7pm); Sunday, April 18 (11am to 5pm)
• Richmond Raceway Complex (602 E. Laburnum Avenue)
• $8 for adults, $5 for kids ($7 “friends pack” available)

3. Riverdance

Yes. As in this:

Ok, that’s an old video, but it captures the “WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH THEIR FEET?” quality well. Also: leather pants for dancing? Plus, I hear that once this tour is over, Riverdance will be no more. Get it while you can!

• Friday, April 16 (8pm), Saturday, April 17 (2pm and 8pm), Sunday, April 18 (2pm and 7pm)
• Landmark Theatre (6 N. Laurel Street)
• $33.50-$53.50

4. Civil War and Emancipation: the 150th Anniversaries

2011-2015 in Richmond is set to be ALL about the history as we commemorate the 150th anniversaries of the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 and the end of slavery in 1865. To kick things off, over 15 museums and coordinating institutions are teaming up to bring you a day of free amazing activities to help you brush up on your Richmond Civil War knowledge. There is WAY too much going on to mention it all, so here’s a PDF of the day’s schedule of events.

• Saturday, April 17, 9:45am to 4pm
• Various locations (see website for details)
• Free!

5. Chalk Up the Town

It’s a simple plan: gather a bunch of people in one of Richmond’s best spots and bombard the place with some sidewalk art. Organizers will be passing out over 30,000 pieces of chalk (donated by Carytown Merchants Association), and anyone and everyone is invited. Let’s give them a great turnout! (But remember: no nakey, threatening, and/or political/religious drawings.)

• Saturday, April 17, noon to 5pm
• Carytown (just look for the crowd, I suppose)
• Free!

If none of these look particularly compelling (although I can’t imagine why), perhaps I can interest you in our Events Calendar for more ideas?

And as usual, if you’d like to give special shout-outs to happenings this weekend, leave them in the comments!

(Don’t forget: If you’ve got an event in the works that you’d like to see featured, send it our way.)

As the editor of RVANews, Valerie Catrow spends most of her time wrangling people over email and muttering to herself about the content calendar. She also contributes to our parenting column while maintaining her own blog, Made in Richmond. It should be noted that she loves tots, both the potato and child varieties.

April 15, 2010 6:00 AM 3