The pedestrian bridge to Belle Island has been re-opened after it was closed yesterday.
Crews are busy repairing lines.
Two reminders- look for the annual winter solstice celebration and the 2026 Park Calendar from Bill Draper Photography is on sale now and the proceeds benefit the parks mission!
Above graphic from City’s Parks & Rec Department.
From social media post:
There is an active water main break around the Suspension Bridge to Belle Isle. While we work to have it repaired, the bridge will be temporarily closed. Access to Belle Isle from the southern route (Reedy Creek) is still open.
Stay tuned for updates!
While Oregon Hill neighbors are organizing caroling for this Saturday evening, the Grace & Holy Trinity Church is hosting caroling in Monroe Park on Sunday.
“The Greater Richmond Children’s Choir, Hood Temple Music Ministry, RVA Street Singers, Grace & Holy Trinity Vocal Ensemble, and a brass quintet will lead Christmas carols for this fifth annual holiday event. There will be a holiday market, food trucks, and fun children’s activities starting at 3:00 p.m. The brass quintet music will begin at 4:15 p.m. with caroling following at 4:30 p.m.”
By the way, if you are not a fan of traditional holiday fare, you may want to check out this playlist by David Byrne, who had a show at the Altria Theater earlier this year-
https://www.davidbyrne.com/radio/david-byrne-radio-presents-christmas
The last Oregon Hill neighborhood Association meeting included an informal report from the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities
– Holly Street Playground Updates (Provided by Ryan Rinn)
• Work has started on the restroom upgrades which will include:
◦ Resizing the doors to be ADA Accessible
◦ A new roof
◦ New fixtures
◦ New automatic locking doors that will be set to open at sunrise and lock at sunset (if anyone wants to see the mechanism they can check out the new modular restroom facility in Bryan Park by the playground there)
◦ New paint
◦ ADA access ramp into facility
• We are awaiting guidance from DPU regarding some stormwater upgrades they have planned for the site before we plan other major improvements to the park. We should know by the end of October what their work schedule will be and what impacts it will have on the park, and planned park upgrades
• We have received permission to move a playground we had slated for another site, and issued a purchase order for, to Holly Street. I will be working with the representative from Kompan to provide some options for the community to review based on the approved conceptual plans.
◦ I do not yet have full details on what this means, except that the $400K budget will go further to implement additional community priorities beyond the playground features. I will be able to provide a full update in November.
Oregon Hill Community Block Party Movie – Saturday, October 25 at Dusk in Pleasants Park! Join the fun, celebrate our community.
Block Party begins at 4:00 pm.
Screenshot
From announcement:
(This Friday at 7pm) join us in Pleasants Park for the final movie of our 24th season of our Oregon Hill Community Movies for a showing of Robert Redford’s The Natural.
The Natural is a 1984 American sports drama film starring Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, a gifted, but troubled, baseball player. Directed by Barry Levinson and based on the 1952 novel by Bernard Malamud, the movie is known for its mythic, romanticized portrayal of baseball and its dramatic, feel-good ending.
As always, free refreshments served: grilled hotdogs, sides, desserts, and beverages.
Editor’s note: Actor Robert Redford, a true ‘movie star’, passed away earlier this month. He will be remembered for a magnificent body of work, but he will also be fondly remembered for 1) his environmentalism, 2) his support for young and emerging movie talent.
From FaceBook event page:
Join us for our Outdoor Movie in Oregon Hill’s Pleasants Park. We will be showing “Fly Away Home.”After Amy (Anna Paquin) loses her mother in a car accident, she must uproot her life and move to Canada to live with her father, Thomas, (Jeff Daniels), an oddball inventor with whom she has no relationship. She initially struggles to find her her place in her new home, but things change when she stumbles upon a collection of abandoned goose eggs. When the eggs hatch, Amy and her dad work together teaching the motherless birds to fly south for the winter, and their relationship blooms.
As always free refreshments served: Grilled hotdogs, sides, desserts, and beverages.
Note New Start Time: 7:00 PM
Rita: What should we drink to?
Phil: I’d like to say a prayer and drink to world peace.
