Events
First-ever ‘Sports Backers Fitness Festival’ announced for September 18 in Chimborazo Park
The free festival will feature fitness stations, exercise demos, and local vendors.
The first-ever Sports Backers Fitness Festival takes place on Saturday, September 18, Sports Backers announced today. The festival promotes the fitness and outdoor activity opportunities available in Richmond and runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Chimborazo Park at 3215 E. Broad Street. Participation in the Fitness Festival is free, but attendees are asked to register beforehand.
The free festival features classes and demos led by members of Sports Backers’ Fitness Warriors program. The community health initiative trains area residents who have talent, passion, and potential to be professional fitness instructors for Richmond’s communities with the highest rates of chronic disease. Fitness Warriors currently lead free classes six days a week throughout the Richmond region, both in person and virtually, and the classes are geared towards all levels of fitness.
Fitness Warriors will lead sessions during the Fitness Festival in a celebration of active living and to help encourage participants to make physical activity a daily habit. A variety of activities and modalities are available throughout the day, including yoga, Pilates, Zumba, resistance bands, and high intensity interval training. The festival also features local health and fitness vendors to help guide participants on their active living journey. A vendor application is available at www.tfaforms.com/4924659.
”The Sports Backers Fitness Festival brings together many of our region’s most enthusiastic and passionate fitness leaders for a day of high-energy fun,” said Tiffany Copeland, Director of Fitness Warriors for Sports Backers. “At Sports Backers, our mission is to inspire people from all corners of our community to live actively. The festival supports this mission by encouraging attendees to sample a wide variety of activities and learn innovative ways to add active living into their lifestyle on a daily basis.”
Sports Backers is partnering with several corporate and nonprofit sponsors, including the RVA Community Development Corp., to deliver the inaugural Fitness Festival. These partnerships build connections with a wide range of community members and share the message of the importance of active living.
“We’re excited to help sponsor this event because Fitness Warriors reflects our values of economic empowerment and community-based leadership,” said Elaine Summerfield, Board President of the RVA Community Development Corp., a nonprofit that is working to support and sustain community assets and economic opportunity, with a particular focus on Richmond’s East End.
Additional supporters of the Sports Backers Fitness Festival include Markel, Mutual Assurance of Virginia, and the Market @ 25th. More details on the Sports Backers Fitness Festival are available at www.sportsbackers.org/events/fitness-festival.
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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