2011 in review: Q3

We’re moving right along in our recap of the year that was 2011. In this installment, we take a look at July through September. This quarter started out with fireworks, but ended with a hurricane.

December 29, 2011; 10:27 AM • by RVANews staff

Over last couple of days we’ve been taking a look at 2011, and just when we thought things couldn’t get more exciting a large and rather windy lady by the name of Irene blew into town. But first, let’s start things off on a more jovial tone.

Richmond got things going with the RVA Fireworks on the James event. While America was celebrating her birthday, two new restaurants opened. Citizen opened as a prime lunchtime spot downtown, and the Roosevelt opened in Church Hill–both to good reviews. It wasn’t all happy news on the restaurant front, however. Sprout in the Fan closed its doors, and Chef Nate boarded up Louisiana Flair.

We got to learn about some prominent Richmond figures. First up was Tracey Thorne-Begland, who was discharged from the Navy twice for being gay before becoming a Commonwealth’s attorney. Jakob Helmboldt became the city’s first ever Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Trails coordinator. We also heard from Shaka Smart about his thoughts on VCU’s Final Four run and the future of Rams basketball.

First Fridays had some issues with a large influx of teens crowding into downtown both during and after the art walk. Problems persisted so much that the September event was cancelled. We got to see a black-and-white take on First Fridays through an amazing photo series. A downtown barbershop added their two cents as well.

The knowledgeable folks at Spacebomb Records got us hip to Dub. Burlesque shows are a huge deal in Richmond, but they ran into a legal snafu at a local club. Another big deal: Richmond was awarded the hosting duties for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships. President Obama came to the University of Richmond to promote his employment legislation. A lot of people came out and made a lot of noise–speaking of noise, the city also passed a new noise ordinance.

A lot of figurative noise was made in anticipation for the Harry Potter move. We collected tweets from the midnight premier. Nerds and non-nerds also rejoiced at DC Comics rebooting their characters like Batman, Superman, and others, beginning with all-new issue #1s. Graffiti artist Mike Broth talked about serving jail time and why he wants to write a book about his experiences. Our beloved Dave Brockie of GWAR fame kept his memoir hits coming. And, while the fashion may not be GWAR appropriate, there were certainly a lot of hats (and horses) at the Virginia Derby.

People wondered about where their curbside recycling went, and so we went and looked. While we were at it, we also debunked the myth that Richmond is a dangerous place for pedestrians. With Steven Spielberg filming Lincoln in town, we decided to see how extensive Richmond’s past with Hollywood has been. We also found out about Richmond’s many weird and somewhat exotic libraries, as well as Amy Black who tattoos nipples on the reconstructed breasts of cancer survivors.

Hurricane Irene came tearing through Richmond. It toppled trees, and cut off the power for several thousand in the city. It also caused a boat/restaurant to sink into the James. A lot of Richmonders were kept up to date about Irene through the august efforts of Weather Dan, and so we thought it was appropriate to highlight our remarkable weather man. While Dan is staying with us, Patience Salgado had to say goodbye. However, she hasn’t slowed down–she was featured in Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine.

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Photo by: kozmicdogz2