Category Archives: community

First Day Walk

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Pine Street neighbor Stephenie Harrington is organizing a ‘First Day Walk’. From her announcement:

Tuesday, January 1st
10am

Meet at gazebo on S. Pine St, we plan to head over to Belle Island promptly at 10 o’clock. Kids, strollers and dogs on leashes welcome. Please comment below or message me if you plan to join us.
We may get some sprinkles but forecast looks quite warm.
Happy New Year!

By the way, if you are planning something further away- you may want to check out this post on the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s website about Virginia State Parks First Day Hikes 2019.

New Benches For Our Parks

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OHNA President Todd Woodson shared the good news:

The Tool Bank’s Toby Vernon, the City’s Vicki Campbell and I unloaded 6 beautiful new picnic tables built by volunteers with materials paid for by the Tool Bank into Oregon Hill Parks this morning. 2 in Pleasants Park, 2 in Holly St Playground and 2 in Samuel Parsons Linear Park.

OHNA Holiday Message

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From Todd Woodson, Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President:

Dear Friends and neighbors

A reminder that there will be no OHNA meeting in December.

We look forward to a fruitful year in 2019 and wish you the same. We have a lot of irons in the fire. I’ve been told 2 picnic tables should be delivered to Pleasants Park tomorrow! I have also resubmitted a request for street trees as our wish wasn’t granted last year. The projected procurement budget for tree planting in 2019 is $479,000 so we certainly should get some attention. The Richmond Tree Stewards should be coming through pruning anytime, they told me, so say hi if you see them.

Be safe and enjoy the holidays! Try and reach out to a neighbor if you can, especially the elderly and infirm and enjoy our wonderful community.

See you in January!

Todd.

Neighbor Helping Lead Effort To Save Grace Street Music Venue

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Bobby Egger, Pine Street neighbor and proprietor of Vinyl Conflict record store and label, has announced his involvement in an effort to make sure 929 W. Grace Street remains a music venue.

From his Facebook post:

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working with a couple friends. This was just an idea and it simply whirl-winded into a reality. After speaking with so many of you yesterday, I realized we need to act on this rather than brainstorm.
Myself, Gabe Lopez and Harry Pinnix want to keep 929 West Grace Street a venue, just like all of you do.
I’ll keep this brief, I believe in this space. We will be taking the proper loans to make this right. We will continue to bring you the entertainment that you have enjoyed in this location for the last few decades. There is plenty that needs to change and we are already working to make sure that the space will adapt and update how it needs.
Help us share this link, there is a long road ahead of this, but I am confident in this decision.
yours in punk
-Bobby Egger

Click here for the GoFundMe.com page associated with this.

Also, if you are so inclined, click here for some history of 929 W. Grace.

Important Message To VCU’s Board Of Visitors

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From message:

Dear VCU Rector Hall,

In good faith the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has engaged in the VCU master planning process. We have repeatedly and respectfully made the request for written commitments that: 1). VCU will not encroach further south of W. Cary Street into the Oregon Hill Historic District, and 2). VCU will respect Oregon Hill by limiting the height of any buildings across Cary Street from the Oregon Hill Historic District to 3 or 4 stories.

Unfortunately, at this point VCU has not agreed to this reasonable request. We note VCU has made similar written commitments to the Fan and Carver neighborhoods. We do not understand why VCU is unwilling to offer a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with your adjacent neighbors to the south at the same time that VCU does have a MOU with the nation of Cuba. You are probably aware of the long history of encroachment into Oregon Hill by VCU.

We, therefore, respectfully ask that the VCU Board of Visitors agree to the reasonable request for these two written commitments so that the “Town/Gown” relationship between Oregon Hill and VCU can continue to prosper with mutual good will.

Sincerely,

Todd Woodson, President
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association

Bread and Puppet Theater Visiting Richmond Next Week

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I hope everyone reading this is familiar with the wonderful Oregon Hill Halloween Parade. The roots of the entity that organizes that parade, the All Saints Theater Company, go back to the Bread and Puppet Theater, which is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance and slapstick. Its shows are political and spectacular, with huge puppets made of paper maché and cardboard. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side, the theater has been based in the North East Kingdom of Vermont since the early 1970s. Now, the world Famous Bread and Puppet Theater visits Richmond again as part of a rare 14 week tour across the continent and back!

Here is some information on the two Richmond appearances:

Grasshopper Rebellion Circus
Wednesday Dec. 5th
Doors 7pm/ Show at 7:30pm
Suggested Donation/Sliding Scale: $10-25
Randolph Community Center
1415 Grayland Ave.

Basic Bye-Bye Show
Friday Dec. 7th
Doors at 6:30pm/Show at 8pm
Richmond’s Rumput will be opening the show at 7pm!
Suggested Donation/Sliding Scale :$10-25
Highpoint Gallery
3300 West Broad

After the performance Bread and Puppet will serve its famous free sourdough rye bread with aioli, and Bread and Puppet’s “Cheap Art” – books, posters, postcards, pamphlets and banners from the Bread and Puppet Press – will be for sale.

For more information, please visit the FaceBook event page by clicking here.

Mouth To Feed At Vinyl Conflict

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From Bobby Egger at Vinyl Conflict:

One of our customers had a creative and unconventional idea for taking some donations for the needy in these cold times. We’re accepting Socks, Beanies, scarves and anything else that will help the less fortunate keep warm this season. I don’t think the box will fit jackets unfortunately.
This box is inside Vinyl Conflict (324 south pine street)

OHNA Meeting Tonight

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From online announcement:

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting tonight at 7pm at St Andrew’s Church!!! Here is the agenda:
-7:00pm Meeting called to order.
-7:05 Proposed Minutes of October meeting considered for acceptance
-7:10 Update from RPD
-7:15 Update from VCU Police
-7:20 Update from VCU liaison
-7:25 Update from Councilman Agelasto’s office
-7:35 Presentation from Know Your Rights training group- Elizabeth Hunt
-7:45 Discussion and update on picnic tables and new plants for Pleasants Park aand volunteering to clean up Holly Street Playground (still waiting on update on stabilization procedure for Holly Street Playground).
-7:55 Discussion of Drainage issues in the alley between 300 blocks of Laurel and Pine.
-8:05 Discussion of initiative- possibly installing a dog run in Parsons Linear Park next to wall.
-8:10 Election of officers for 2019
-8:30 Meeting adjourned.