Events
Great Backyard Bird Count Flies in this Weekend
This post is for the birds, literally.
We post our fair share of winged friends on this site. I’m mostly entirely to blame for the proliferation of plumed pals. If you share my same fascination with creatures that can defy gravity and come in so many shapes and sizes please consider signing up the Great Backyard Bird Count. If you’re interested in finding out even more about our local birds you can always go hang out with the Richmond Audubon Society.
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online at birdcount.org. Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from beginning bird watchers to experts, and you can participate from your backyard, or anywhere in the world.
Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, more than 160,000 participants submitted their bird observations online, creating the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird populations ever recorded.
The 23rd annual GBBC will be held Friday, February 14, through Monday, February 17, 2020. Please visit the official website at birdcount.org for more information and be sure to check out the latest educational and promotional resources.
It wouldn’t be a post about birds if I didn’t share some new bird photos. This is a Great Blue Heron spotted grabbing dinner at Chez Forest Hill Park Lake.
Community
Richmond Folk Festival Announces First Set of Performers
You’ll notice a well-known local band in the list performing at the best festival in the state of Virginia.
The Richmond Folk Festival returns October 13-15, 2023, and celebrates its 19th anniversary, having become one of Virginia’s largest events. The beloved festival draws fans each year to downtown Richmond’s riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness, and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional crafts, storytelling, and food.
The free event hosts 200,000 people over a three-day weekend. Featuring six stages and showcasing music and dance from more than 30 performing groups from around the nation and the world, the Richmond Folk Festival today announces the first eight artists of what will once again make up a culturally diverse and artistically excellent program.
“We are looking forward to showcasing downtown Richmond’s ever-changing riverfront once again for a beautiful weekend of music, dance, food, and crafts with the James River and our city skyline as the perfect backdrop,” said Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond. “This is the 19th year of the festival, and we couldn’t be more proud of its legacy in Richmond and across Virginia.”
The Richmond Folk Festival is presented by Venture Richmond Events in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum, and the City of Richmond.
Artists to be featured at the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival include:
- Baba Commandant & the Mandingo Band (Mandinka)
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso- Bio Ritmo (salsa)
Richmond, Virginia- Chuck Mead (rockabilly and honky-tonk)
Nashville, Tennessee- Genticorum (Québécois)
Montreal, Québec- Hālau ‘O Lilinoe (traditional Hawai’ian hula)
Carson, California- Kala Ramnath (Hindustani violin)
San Francisco, California- Melody Angel (Chicago blues)
Chicago, Illinois- Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (bluegrass)
Charlestown, Indiana
Events
PlanRVA Day on June 1st offers host of free learning opportunities
The Richmond region’s planning district commission is opening its doors to community members and partners next month for a day of learning and networking.
PlanRVA will host PlanRVA Day on June 1 from 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. at its new office at 424 Hull St. Rd. in the Manchester neighborhood. The event will focus on the topic of placemaking, the process of creating quality inclusive places where people want to live, work and play. Sessions will explore various aspects of inclusion and public engagement, with a focus on community connection through regional trails, public art and the environment.
The day will conclude with a film screening of the documentary “A River Called Home” with filmmaker Jess Wiegandt from 6-7:30 p.m. The film focuses on the journey of four women who launch at the headwaters of the James River and paddle to the Chesapeake Bay over three weeks, while conducting a water quality study.
“PlanRVA is where the region comes together to look ahead,” said Martha Shickle, PlanRVA’s Executive Director. “Regional collaboration and cooperation happens every day in Central Virginia. PlanRVA Day is an opportunity to celebrate the progress we’re making together to support quality of life and growth in the region. We hope you’ll join us for this exciting event.”
Attendees can tour PlanRVA’s office space and connect with staff and community partners throughout the day.
Sessions are free, but registration is required. People can sign up for single sessions or for the entire day.
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