5th District Community Action Team Meeting on Friday

Randolph resident Gregory Day has posted an agenda for the April 12th meeting of the 5th District Action Team. More information is available on their FaceBook page.

5th District Community Action Team Meeting (5CAT)
Friday April 12, 2013
7:00p.m.
Melvin A. Fox Manor
18 W. 27th St. 23225
Meeting Called to Order
Prayer
Minutes of March 8, 2013 meeting
Presentation ——————–Sandra Turner / Turning Point Mental Health Services LLC
Old Business:
RPS Football / VHSL—————Everette Fields / Deborah Butterworth
Grayland Ave./ Harrison St. Intersection:
Gate Way
Bridge Parking
Janes Walk ———————————John Spain
New Business:
Donations for Janes Walk
School Board Rally
Town Hall —- Candidates Forum
City Council Information ——————————–Honorable Parker C. Agelesto
School Board District Forum – Closing of Schools – Group Participation (45 mins.)
*At the end of this discussion/brainstorming, 5 CAT will vote on what we will support as a group.

New business topics for next meeting
Next Meeting Date / Place
Meeting Adjouned

Renegade Market: Open and Counting Down!

Byrd House Renegade Market Tuesday 3 to 6 pm.

From Byrd House Market email:

Gorgeous Weather at BYRD HOUSE RENEGADE MARKET…Great Anticipation for a Beautiful Spring, y’all.
CSAs at Byrd House Market

ORIGIN FARMS – www.originsfarm.com
EPIC GARDENS – www.epicgardens.com
FAITH FARM – faithfarmfoods.blogspot.com
BYRD FARM/RURAL VIRGINIA MARKET – www.byrdfarm.org
TOMTEN FARM – tomtenfarmva.org

wbch.org (about WBCH)
gracearentseducation.blogspot.com (about the library)
eatgoodgrowgreat.blogspot.com (all things food, health, culture, and good growth)
_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Byrd House Bash Celebrates 90th Anniversary of William Byrd Community House

From press release:

Byrd House Bash Celebrates 90th Anniversary of William Byrd Community House
Evening of entertainment, food tastings and live and silent auctions at Historic Tredegar will raise money for community-minded nonprofit

RICHMOND, VA (April 3, 2013) – William Byrd Community House, a social services organization that helps children, families and individuals address immediate challenges and build self-sufficiency, turns 90 this year.
To celebrate, the nonprofit is hosting its fourth annual Byrd House Bash fundraiser at Historic Tredegar on Saturday, April 27 from 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit William Byrd Community House programs and services that assist the community’s most vulnerable.

Presented by NewMarket Corporation, the 2013 Byrd House Bash will feature a silent auction, a live auction, live music from The Good Birds, light fare from local restaurants and more. “This is a special year for the Byrd House Bash since we’re celebrating our 90th anniversary,” said Shelia Givens, executive director of William Byrd Community House. “It’s exciting to be able to reflect on the work that we’ve been able to do in Richmond so far and the ways we can benefit the community moving forward. We’re looking forward to celebrating with friends, sponsors and the community. They make our work possible.”

Comfort, Camden’s Dogtown Market, The Continental and other local restaurants will offer light fare and tastings. Beer and wine will be provided by Hardywood Park Craft Brewery and Barboursville Vineyards respectively.

The silent auction will feature items such as portrait packages from Cliff Bruce Studio, a custom jewelry piece by Jay Sharpe and oil change and state inspection packages from Midas of Richmond. New to this year’s Byrd House Bash, the live auction will include a one week Wintergreen vacation stay; dinner for six at Mamma ‘Zu plus limo ride, a one night stay at the Jefferson Hotel and a Redskins Fan package with a signed RGIII jersey, four tickets to a taping of Redskins Nation and two custom Redskins cornhole boards.

“We’re thrilled to sponsor this year’s Byrd House Bash and know that our contribution will directly benefit programs and services that help some of Richmond’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Bruce Hargrove, vice president of corporate resources at NewMarket Corporation. Other generous event sponsors include Hunton & Williams and CRT/tanaka.

Tickets are available in two tiers. A $50 ticket includes open bar with beer and wine. A $30 ticket comes with two drink tickets (beer and/or wine). All tickets include food from local restaurants, live music, a silent auction and a live auction. To purchase tickets, please visit http://byrdhousebash2013.eventbrite.com/# or call 804- 643-2717. For more details and the latest updates on the event, go to the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/590586094302189/?fref=ts. Parking for the event is free and available in the Tredegar lot next to the event site.

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5K Run/Walk to Remember This Saturday

The Virginia War Memorial will host their 2nd annual 5K Run/Walk to Remember on Saturday, April 6 at 8 am. The route goes through Oregon Hill and Hollywood Cemetery. Between 8:30 am and 9:30 am there will be 500 participants traveling on the streets.

The event will only close 2nd Street from the Lee Bridge to Byrd Street the morning of the race. No others streets will be closed. Soldiers from Ft. Lee will be along the race route directing participants.

Venture Richmond To Release Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday Cheers Schedule

In exciting local entertainment news, the public/private partnership Venture Richmond announced plans to release their schedule for a new concert series that would take place every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday summer evening at their proposed new amphitheater.

While a full listing will not be available until Friday of this week, some of the bigger names that rumored to be part of this series include metal band Trixter, American Idol country singer Danny Gokey, rapper Machine Gun Kelly, goth rocker Marilyn Manson, hip hop’s Keyshia Cole, Nickelodeon’s Fresh Beat Band, and megastar David Bowie (supporting his new album). There were also hints that there would be multiple performances by ‘Center Stage Stars’, subsets of the Richmond Symphony that play at reduced rates (minimum wage). Local band “Six Sheets to the Wind”, which plays yacht rock’ from the ’70’s as well as ’90’s ‘skacore’ has been suggested as one of the opening bands, with more to be announced.

Oregon Hill residents were both enthralled and disturbed by the news. “WoooooHoooooo!” exclaimed VCU sophomore Rich Berry. In contrast, the Overlook Condo Association immediately released a statement in protest, mainly due to sound concerns. “This goes against the deal”, said one Overlook resident who wished to remain anonymous. In response, a Venture Richmond said that “While it is true we told Overlook residents we would not host Friday Cheers at the amphitheater, that was before the Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday Cheers series was developed.”

In other news, the City government announced a plan to raise admission taxes and release new nightclub restrictions.

Peace Essay Contest Deadline for Entries is April 22

From email announcement:

The deadline for entering the Richmond Peace Education Center’s 2013 Peace Essay contest is April 22, 2013. The theme for this year’s contest is “Learning to live in peace.” The writing prompt asks students to think and write about the roles their families or other care-givers play in teaching them about peace. They are further asked to write about how this teaching affects their actions in the community and the world; and to support their ideas with examples from their personal lives and from history and current events.

The contest is open to any elementary, middle, or high school student in Virginia. It offers a top prize of $100 in each of four grade divisions: K-3, 4-5, middle, and high school. Seven additional cash prizes are also awarded in each division.

Entry forms, along with contest rules and a conplete description of the writing prompt are available at www.rpec.org, or by emailing rpec@rpec.org.

‘Les Mis’

“Les Misérables” runs March 26-31 at the Landmark Theater.

Style magazine featured an interview with actor Andrew Varela this past week. An excerpt:

Based on Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, the popular musical follows the lives of the proletariat in post-Napoleonic France. Weaving through uprisings, tuberculosis and poverty, Claude-Michel Schönberg’s emotive and melodious score has entertained American audiences since it first crossed the pond in 1987. The show comes to the Landmark Theater next week.

Though audiences may be familiar with the show through last year’s film adaptation, Varela says there’s nothing like seeing the musical as it was meant to be performed. And for those familiar with the stage version, this production is quite different from the original ’87 staging.

“We had a meeting with Cameron [Mackintosh, the musical’s producer] about doing the show in a much more modern way,” director Laurence Connor says. “I think the original production was quite an eclectic sort of production. It was very theatrical, and it was quite romantic in many ways. We took a slightly more realistic approach. [It’s] a bit grittier in places.”

This production eschews the minimalist sets and features new costumes and orchestrations. It also does away with the show’s signature rotating stage, a revolutionary set piece in all senses of the word in 1987. Instead, today’s musical uses high-definition projectors and plays off some of Hugo’s illustrations.

“It is every bit as powerful musically as the original,” Connor says, “it’s just a different way of telling the story.”