Category Archives: community

‘Dirtwoman’ Documentary Benefit

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There is documentary being filmed for one of Oregon Hill’s most infamous progeny and Richmond’s most famous drag queen, Donny Corker, aka ‘Dirtwoman.’ In order to raise funds and capture memories, the Sound of Music studio, now in Scott’s Addition (1710 Altamont Ave.), will be holding ‘Dirtwoman Toast’ on Sunday, May 21, at 7 pm. The admission cost is $10.Part of the proceeds will go to producing the documentary and part of them will go to Corker to help defray medical cost hardships.

Excerpts from recent Style article:

Everyone over a certain age has a Dirtwoman story. Corker’s antics as Richmond’s most well-known 400-lb. drag queen are legendary, from the 1993 pin-up calendar to running for mayor, to his years as Mrs. Claus at the annual Hamaganza. Just as noteworthy is Corker’s pre-Stonewall role-modeling: He’s been unabashedly out as gay since he was a teenager.

In the works is a documentary about Dirtwoman that began 15 years ago on the occasion of Corker’s 50th birthday with an event at Caffeine’s featuring go-go boys, drag queens and people sharing their own Dirtwoman tales. Now at 65 and with major health issues, Corker’s life story is on track to finally be completed by local video producer, Jerry Williams.

“This is the culmination of my 45 years as a video producer and director,” Williams says of the passion project. “I’ve never had a story that I was willing to commit a year of my life to making, but this is it.”
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For those who missed Dirtwoman’s glory years, the Toast is also an opportunity to hear anecdotes from a life so colorful that even John Waters’ biggest star, Divine, was a fan. And for those curious about how the name Dirtwoman originally came about, let’s just say it involved some inappropriate behavior in the back seat of a cop car and leave it at that.

From the FaceBook event page:

The TOAST is being held to compile stories from Donnie’s fans for the documentary. Everyone who attends will be invited to spend a few minutes on stage with Donnie to pay tribute and share their favorite memories. There will also be a special “private” studio for people who would prefer not to go on stage. People are encouraged to bring any pertinent photos or other memorabilia.
To have an idea of timing, Williams requests that people who want to speak, please email him at TVJerry@TVJerry.com.

Special Recycling Today/Litter Pickup Tomorrow

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Reminder- Today
May 6 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
The City of Richmond , Clean City Commission and Department of Public Utilities- Stormwater Utility will be hosting a special recycling collection event on Saturday, May 6 from 10 am – 2 pm at 6807 Midlothian Turnpike (former Kmart store location). Electronics, document shredding ( up to 5 boxes) , and pesticides, herbicides, and *oil based paints (*ONLY) will be accepted for recycling.
City recyclers can drop off their 24 gallon green bins for reuse in city schools since residents now have 95 gallon green recycling cart with a blue lid.
There are fees to recycle CRTs televisions and CRT monitors. CRTs require special handling due to the leaded glass and mercury they contain.
$10 fee for CRT Items < 27” diagonal width $20 fee for CRT Items = or > 27” diagonal width
Pay by cash or check.
Bring unwanted electronics such as:
Computer systems (hard drive, CPU)
Computer accessories (cables, wires, keyboards, mice, speakers, etc.)
Printers, scanners & copiers
Fax machines
VCRs & camcorders
Stereos
Telephones

As for tomorrow, Cherry Street neighbor Jimmy Blackford is calling for a litter cleanup-

I invite you to join our Oregon Hill Litter Pickup this Sun. 5/7 at 11am. We’ll meet in parking lot of Fine Foods Market 700 Idlewood Ave. I will supply grabbers, bags & gloves. Enjoy the nice
weather & get some exercise. Will take about an hour. But you can cut out whenever you want. (best, jimmy & joe)

Oregon Hill “Neighborhood Shrine”

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Style Magazine has an article this week about artist Barry O’Keefe, who wants to build a series of public sculptures or edifices that provide “a way for people to connect as part of building a neighborhood sense of community”.

The article makes it sound like it is already happening:

Grants provided the funding to build the first five boxes. Ultimately, he’d like to start casting the shrines in bronze so that they can become permanent neighborhood fixtures, but in the meantime, he’s looking for funding to build more of them out of wood.

And right now, he’s working with the Richmond Public Arts Commission to get permission to place others, hopefully this summer. Currently, he’s looking at Patrick Henry Park in Church Hill, Abner Clay Park in Jackson Ward, Oregon Hill Park in Oregon Hill and the McDonough Community Gardens in Woodland Heights. O’Keefe grew up on Forest Hill Avenue, so he’d like to see more on Southside.

Opening Day at Birdhouse Market on Tuesday

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While the “Byrdhouse Market” is no longer in the neighborhood, its still a great thing to visit and support.

From the FaceBook event page:

Birdhouse Farmers Market opens for the season on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017 at 3 pm. Here’s what’s new and happening:

Our website! It’s beautiful and has pages to feature our vendors, partners, activities and the food! Check it out, sign up for our weekly the newsletter and tell us what you think! BirdhouseFarmersMarket.org

New vendors! Joining your familiar, fabulous farmers and food-makers at Birdhouse Market. New vendors include Josh’s Jungle, Dragonfly Farm, Ellwood Thompson’s, River City Bakery, J.M. Stock Provisions. Check them all out on our new website’s Vendor page! BirdhouseFarmersMarket.org/vendors

New Cooking Demos! Starting on Opening Day (Tuesday, May, 2nd) J. M. Stock Provisions, a local butchery, joins the market to host cooking and food preparation demonstrations. Every other week, JMSP (an ardent supporter of BFM since its retail store opened at 1531 West Main St. 23220) will pair up with BFM vendors to demo recipes you can prepare at home from market ingredients.

New Weekly Concert Series! Opening Day kicks off the first Tiny Nest Concert Series with THE BUSH LEAGUE @ 5:30 pm: This season we have transformed our occasional music performances at the market into a concert every week. The opening act is The Bush League which combines rock, soul, funk, and gospel to create “RVA Blues” which has been heard from NYC to the Gulf of Mexico and their latest CD may be up for a Grammy for Best Blues Album. www.thebushleague.com

Celebrate National Asparagus & Strawberry Month @ BFM! Shop at BFM for fresh local Asparagus and Strawberries and be sure to check the BFM’s schedule of food demos by J. M. Stock Provisions featuring recipes for both these popular early spring crops.

Birdhouse Farmers Market is convenient to VCU, Oregon Hill, Byrd Park, and the Fan via bicycle or foot, our new spot is next to the Randolph Community Center Pool, at 1507 Grayland Avenue between Allen and Randolph, just south of the Downtown Expressway. Hours: Tuesdays 3 – 6:30 pm. SNAP EBT, Credit/Debit cards, and cash accepted.

And many thanks to our 2017 sponsors and partners: Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream, Ellwood Thompson’s, Enrichmond Foundation, J. M. Stock Provisions, Randolph Community Center, Second Baptist Church, Shalom Farms, and Tricycle!

Sixth Annual Hollywood Cemetery Picnic Coming Up

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Set for May 7, a Sunday.

From FaceBook event details:

Pack a picnic basket, bring a blanket and relax to sounds of great entertainment at Hollywood Cemetery.

Guided trolley car tours will be provided. An ice cream truck and hotdogs will be on site.

Performances by the Oak Lane Band and St. Christopher’s School’s acapella group BEAUX TIES.

The picnic is free to attend. Please RSVP Nancy Shepherd at (804) 648-8501 or email her at nshepherd@hollywoodcemetery.org for a reservation.

Interview With Beth Marschak, Richmond Earth Day Founder

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Style magazine has a nice interview with Beth Marschak, one of the founders of the Richmond Earth Day celebration (and a former Oregon Hill resident).

Here’s an excerpt:

Beth Marschak, now an HIV prevention specialist, was 20 when she helped organize the city’s inaugural Earth Day at Monroe Park in 1971.

In a nod to Saturday’s yearly acknowledgement of the planet, Style spoke with Marschak about some of the progress made — and to worry about the future.

Style: Why did you want to bring Earth Day to Richmond?

Marschak: I was in a student group at Westhampton-University of Richmond called S.H.A.M.E – Studying and Halting the Assault on Man and Environment. That was back when people liked names like that.

Most of the people in our group were science majors. I was a chemistry major at that time. People had a fairly sophisticated view of the problems affecting the environment and ecology from a scientific standpoint.

And, of course, if you looked at the James River back then, it was terrible. Sewage was going directly into the river. You would not want to get into it. Now people tube down it and swim in it and fish. You could not do that then. You wouldn’t put a toe in it.

So it was really one of those things where, right here in this area, you could see some major impacts from not having policies protecting clean water, clean air.

She also recently wrote a letter to the Planning Commission, asking that they spare remaining mature trees in Monroe Park. However the Planning Commission voted in favor of removing the trees.