Category Archives: community

Nov. 11 Community Food Drive

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From announcement:

November 11, 2011
Community Food Drive
Every week the Oregon Hill Baptist Center and
Pine Street Baptist Church provide food items for
households and homeless individuals in need.
This weekly food program is only made possible
through donations from people like you!
Join your neighbors on
Friday, November 11
5:00 – 7:00 pm • Pleasants Park
for a community food gathering at the corner of
Laurel and Albemarle Streets.
Drop off staple food items and enjoy a FREE
grilled beef or veggie hot dog and beverage.
Help support this important food ministry.
Questions: Call Jennifer Turner @ 804 648-1353

Jack o’lantern Tour

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As with past years, Oregon HIll gets some imaginative pumpkins. Next year, if have any money, I will put together some sort of jack o’lantern contest. Don’t forget the parade on Monday (and be mindful that some folks will be trying to get home from work to be with their kids).

Last Official Market Day

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Oct. 25 at BHM: Apple Cider Pressings, Storytime with Caroline, Eating Good and Growing Great with the Renegades!
Note from BHM manager Ana Edwards:

Dear BHM Shoppers, Visitors, Friends, Playmates, Volunteers, Neighbors and Passersby,

Our final 2011 market day is upon us and we have our USUAL WONDERFUL ARRAY of (certainly!!) the freshest, most delicious, accessible, affordable and inspiring foods a farmers market can have! We can thank our farmers and food-crafters, vendors, staff and volunteers, but we also must thank YOU!

Thank you for supporting Byrd House Market – as a market, as a community gathering place and as a program of William Byrd Community House. The feedback I get most commonly is that ours is “a great market” or “my favorite market”. When I ask Why? the the typical responses are “great food selection” and “it has a real community feel”. That makes me feel good. When I took on the role of market manager, more than anything else I wanted to NOT get in the way of a great thing and I think I’ve been successful at that. Our challenges have included parking, weather and the economy, but by and large Byrd House Market works well and is determined to do great.

Looking forward, WBCH will be visioning just how to make this market better. Your input is critical to my ability to imagine and our ability to plan for any improvements or changes to process, site/facilities, equipment and programs. Please think about what does make it work and what would make even better and send me your suggestions. (Unless you want me to craft you a survey??)

You never know what we can do, working together.

Thanks for a great season and I will see all you Renegades at the Market!

Ana Edwards, Manager

The Future of Our Alleys?

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One reoccurring question on this community news site concerns the future of our alleys. Oregon Hill, one of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods, sadly had many of its alley stripped of their historic cobblestones by the City and developers years ago (Where did they go?). Over time, their surfaces have been made either loose gravel or smooth pavement. The results have been less than desirable.

In the alleys that have been paved, residents have experienced more cars speeding and more rain runoff. In the alleys still with gravel, giant potholes, huge ruts, and spillover into streets (as in the picture below on the 500 block of S. Cherry) develop.

Things have recently come a head in the 100 blocks above the expressway (wryly known as the Oregon Heights) and have been discussed a bit on the City’s SeeClickFix system.

Continue reading →

Liz Canfield Recognized By Style Magazine

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I meant to post this earlier-

Style Magazine recognized Pine Street neighbor Liz Canfield as part of their “Top 40 Under 40” list.

A great excerpt from the printed profile:

Canfield is vigorously committed to bettering the community she loves. When she isn’t teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University, she’s involved with a number of campus programs, including the Equity and Diversity Committee and Safe Zone workshops designed to combat homophobia and heterosexism by training faculty and staff.

Canfield also volunteers with the Richmond Peace Education Center, Art 180 and Girls Rock RVA, among others. For the past five years, she’s leveraged her creative genius to organize the Richmond ’Zine Fest and curate the Von Gribley Reading Series at Chop Suey Books.

“I see the struggle for social justice as intersectional,” Canfield says. “I try to make my work reflect that. I also see art, activism, and the pursuit of knowledge as thoroughly integrated, so my classes and community work often show that integration.”

Canfield says she believes in the power of incremental change and encourages communities to take care of each other. “It is the small scale change that keeps folks going,” she says. “I think many folks don’t try because they think they can’t do it, but they can. We gotta start with ourselves, our own neighborhoods and communities.”

Congratulations, Liz!

Greenhorns Documentary At Byrd Market Tuesday

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From the Byrd House Market blog:

…after market we’ll be hosting an outdoor film screening and panel discussion – Shalom Farms is presenting The Greenhorns – a very groovy film about young people choosing the farming profession and way of life.

Figure around 7:20 pm. The 50 min. film will be followed by a panel discussion with local young farmers.

More on 2nd Street Connector Proposal

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Blogger extraordinaire C. Wayne Taylor has post up now on City Hall Review that evidently quotes a city official.

“I don’t have any documentation on emergency access conditions in the area of the proposed Second Street Connector. I checked with Lory Markham and she doesn’t either.”
James Hill, Principal Planner
Division of Planning & Preservation
Department of Planning and Development Review

This raises more questions about the motivation, need, and the rush to create this new street, which would intersect or go over the canal.