5th Annual OhSociT Oregon Hill Soccer Invitational Tournament

Scheduled for May 28-29 at 980 Idlewood (former WBCH field).

From FaceBook event page:

This is a friendly “pickup” tournament to benefit
format will be:
1. six teams. one of those team will be the tournament team for players without a team.
2. Player fee will be a $20 donation for guys and $10 for girls (we should raise 1k for our charity at that level!) To register: send email and paypal payment to oregonhillnumina at gmail.com (Please note if you are a team captain. If you are a player already on a team, please include the team name in your email. If you are a player without a team and just want to play on the tournament team, please indicate that also in the email)
3. 7 vs 7 no offsides.
4. Team captains will be required to put a $30 non-refundable deposit to hold their team spot (that money will be fully refunded once the team rosters a minimum of 7 players) So FORM UP YOUR TEAMS NOW AND EMAIL ME
5. Team rosters will be “UNLOCKED” for throughout the round-robin preliminary rounds. Once elimination rounds begin (on that Sunday), however, no new players will be allowed to be added to the roster.
6. WE ARE LOOKING FOR SPONSORS

Check out photos from the 3rd Annual by clicking here.

Birdhouse Farmers Market Press Release

This was previously announced, but here is the official press release:
From press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 4, 2016

CONTACT: Ana Edwards, Interim Birdhouse Market Manager
byrdhousemarket@gmail.com
(804) 404-3817
BirdhouseFarmersMarket.org

“Byrd House Market” Reborn as
“Birdhouse Farmers Market” at New Location!

Richmond, VA – Birdhouse Farmers Market will open for business May 3rd, 2016 only a few blocks from its old location in a beautiful urban park setting! After the closing of William Byrd Community House, the historic Oregon Hill social services agency which hosted “Byrd House Market”, a group of dedicated farmer/vendors and food system and community advocates banded together to make sure the market continued in its 10th year. It was as important to remain convenient to our loyal customers as it was exciting to anticipate extending access to fresh, healthy foods to new customers. Our new home in Randolph fits that bill. We’ll have ensure we could offer SNAP EBT to new customers. In addition to the face painting, food demos, and kids’ activities in a park setting, this year will feature a weekly Pop-Up Library by the Richmond Public Library.

Farmer/vendor-led, BFM will continue to be healthy food focused, with a diverse group of vendors such as Amy’s Organic Garden, Sub Rosa Bakery, Faith Farm, Ninja Kombucha, and more. The new location offers some great additions such as expanded on and off street parking, easy access to GRTC (Bus #10) and I-195/Downtown Expressway, and the complementary amenities of Petronius Jones Park (playground, pool, vita path, and abundant green spaces).

Opening Day: May 3, 2016!
Market Days: Tuesdays, 3:00 – 6:30 pm from
May 3 through November 22, 2016
Location: Behind Randolph Community Center swimming pool
on Grayland Ave.
(Google Maps: “1507 Grayland Avenue, 23220”)

Key Details:
-Convenient weekday market option
-Vibrant urban market in park setting, centrally located in the heart of the city
-Unique weekly pop-up library provided by Richmond Public Library
-SNAP EBT welcomed
-Market will remain food-focused, on farmers and other food vendors/producers
-Will continue to serve the Randolph, Oregon Hill, Downtown, Carver, Jackson Ward, VUU/VCU and Fan neighborhoods as it has since 2007

About: Since 2007 Birdhouse Farmers Market has provided a flourishing weekday farmer’s market in the heart of Richmond. It has focused on supporting local farmers and providing fresh local food to the Randolph, Oregon Hill, VCU, Downtown, and other nearby neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food. Our organizational partners are Enrichmond Foundation, Richmond Public Library, and Shalom Farms. Our site partners are Randolph Community Center and Second Baptist Church. Learn more at BirdhouseFarmersMarket.org.

Copy for Public Service Announcement:

Birdhouse Farmers Market returns in May for a 10th season! A SNAP EBT market with great fresh foods in an urban oasis with many of your favorite local vendors! Featuring a weekly RPL Pop-Up Library, face painting, food demos, kids’ activities. Visit birdhousefarmersmarket.org for details and to sign up for weekly updates. Vendors can apply there too. Convenient to VCU, Oregon Hill, Byrd Park, and the Fan via bicycle or foot, our new spot is behind the Randolph Community Center Pool, at 1507 Grayland Avenue between Allen and Randolph, just south of the Downtown Expressway. Can’t wait to see you on May 3rd (and every Tuesday Rain or Shine through November) at Birdhouse Farmers Market!

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GRC Update Update

Paraphrased from neighbors who were able to attend yesterday’s meeting about the update to the Gladding Residential Center at Laurel and W Main:

Meeting with VCU yesterday and these facts came up- the new high rise first year housing building will be 12 stories tall, taller than both the Altria Theatre and the VCU School of Engineering.
VCU has posted on their web page drawings of the proposed dorm here:
http://www.housing.vcu.edu/grc-project/
Meeting attendees expressed concerns about how the sunlight in Monroe Park will be affected during certain times of year.
As of now, the private company leasing the property and building/managing the dorm WILL be responsible for taxes to the city but that issue still needs to be followed.
Nothing official yet but VCU is looking at disallowing the first year students living in the center from having cars as of the 2017 academic year.
To many peoples’ relief, the historic Branch Bath building will be retained and incorporated into the new building design.
There are concerns about the future of the rest of the lot. Residents do not want just a surface parking lot at this location or, on the other end of the scale, a building over four or five stories. It is important for the University to respect the scale of the adjacent Oregon Hill Historic District.
It’s important that VCU reiterate and hold previous promises that it will not expand into the south side of Cary Street or any further into the Oregon Hill Historic District.