From Monroe Campaign press release:

Richmond, VA—On Saturday, January 15, starting at 12 p.m. in Monroe Park, the All the Saints Theater Company will host Party in the Park in support of the Monroe Park Campaign. It will be open to all ages and completely free of charge. Families are encouraged to attend.

Party in the Park is an afternoon-long festival. The Campaign has received its 1000th petition signature in its quest to keep the park open during renovations. All the Saints plans on celebrating by throwing a party the likes of which the old park hasn’t seen in years. Like all good parties, there will be plenty of food and music but most importantly, there will be a very tangible sense of solidarity. Groups and businesses from all across Richmond have come together to support the Campaign as well as to celebrate spending a nice afternoon in the park. All the Saints will set the scene by parading around with their iconic larger-than-life puppets, boats and dragons, while a diverse mash-up of local artists perform a series of powerful unplugged sets. A face painting station and a market offering tons of free clothing, toys and books will also be available. While old man winter may not be so accommodating, attendees can expect a delicious spread of warm food and drinks to keep them going during the course of the day.

The Monroe Park Campaign is a coalition of churches, feeding groups, radical organizations, as well as concerned citizens that have come together upon hearing about the Monroe Park Advisory Council’s plans to shut down Monroe Park during renovations. For a period of 9-18 months, the council plans on fencing off all 8 acres of the park making it inaccessible for students, homeless people currently living and socializing there, weekly feeding programs as well as anyone else who may use the park. The Campaign is working to keep at least 25-50% of the park open during the entire duration of construction and to prevent the hiring of any private security task force to police the park after renovations, especially since the master plan calls for reducing the “apparently homeless population” as one of its goals. Ultimately, the Campaign hopes to influence the type of renovations that are being planned for the park, in the hopes of making it a friendlier place for everyone.

The All the Saints Theater Company is an experimental art and theater group, responsible for puppet parades, spaghetti dinners, circuses and endless subversive street theater in Richmond.

DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 15 • 12 – 4 p.m. − Suggest coverage between 1:00 and 3 p.m.

LOCATION: Monroe Park
620 W. Main Street
Richmond, VA 23220

Bands/Artists that will perform at the event include:
No BS Brass, Dave Watkins, Pedals On Our Pirate Ships, Diamond Center, Gull, Julie Karr, Lobo Marino, Better Not Makeouts, Alison Self, Canary O’ Canary, Cmilk and Reeverb Collective, Just Plain Sounds Hip Hop Collective and more

Companies that have donated food/supplies to the event include:
Lamplighter’s Roasting Company, Crossroad’s Coffee and Ice Cream and Café Gutenberg

Also got an update:

just wanted to update you on the band list, if you do plan on posting all the bands that will be performing at PITP. Canary O’ Canary will not be performing but Gandhi’s Gunmen will be. If you could make those changes, it would be very much appreciated.

Oh, we also put together a little teaser video for PITP if you’d like to include it or use it in any way: http://vimeo.com/18520547

The Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (M.O.R.E.) are doing some more trail work on Belle Island tomorrow and could use more volunteers. Click here for more details, including how you can get involved.

Oregon Hill is lucky to have these folks helping with our adjacent city parks.