Dominion Riverrock Festival This Friday, Saturday

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Look for running, biking, and lots of visitors.
Listen for music.

From the festival website:

Dominion Riverrock is the East Coast’s premier outdoor lifestyle festival, bringing athletes, spectators, musicians, and even dogs to Brown’s Island for a two-day festival against the backdrop of Richmond’s downtown riverfront. The party begins on Friday with performances by Big Gigantic and Perpetual Groove, a 5k mud run, and acrobatic kayak and freestyle bike competitions. Then, join in the fun Saturday in high-adrenaline activities both in and around the river – like the James River Scramble 10k trail run, mountain biking, kayaking, Ultimate Air Dogs and much more. The festival culminates with a performance by Yonder Mountain String Band. New to the event in 2011 are bouldering and Stand Up Paddleboarding. With additional musical performances, food, exhibits and more, Dominion Riverrock is a must-do for people of all ages.

Click here for schedule.

Attempted Burglary At 821 Cafe

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Look like more of the same for 821 Cafe, which is a shame, given the great business they are doing.

From this morning’s police report:

4th Precinct
BURGLARY ATTEMPT (COMMERCIAL)
5/8/11– 5/9/11 11:30 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
825 W. Cary St.
Unknown persons tried to break into the walk-in coolers behind the 821 Café.

They deserve more support, especially as the student crowd lessens for summer vacation.

Fire in Parson’s Row

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I heard from a friend that a fire had broken out in one of the Parson’s Row condominiums. For those who are not familiar, these condos were built behind the Parson House, as part of a highly touted preservation project.

This morning I went over there to survey the damage. It looks like it was in the back of the 605-H unit. The front looks ok, but the back of the residence that faces Belvidere Street does not.

The unconfirmed rumor on the street is that this was caused by a careless cigarette. If true, this is disturbing given other fires in the neighborhood. If you need even more reasons to quit smoking, I can offer a few.

VCU to sponsor Youth-Violence Prevention Forum

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From the VCU press release:

RICHMOND, Va. – In response to the numerous cases of youth violence reported around the nation, Virginia Commonwealth University will bring together families, educators, mental-health professionals and community and youth leaders to discuss how they can work together to curb the growing problem.

Presented by the VCU Department of Psychiatry’s Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the Virginia Treatment Center for Children, the 39th annual Child Psychiatry Spring Forum, to be held from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on May 11, will focus on “Exploring Partnerships for Peaceful Communities: Enhancing Positive Youth Choices and Breaking the Cycle of Violence.”

The daylong program will present successful violence-prevention programs, along with ideas for forming partnerships between communities and universities. The forum will highlight the new VCU Center on Youth Violence Prevention, which was recently funded with $1.2 million from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The forum will include performances by the Richmond Girls’ Choir and “Drums, No Guns!,” a national youth movement for the prevention of handgun violence. Students from Open High School in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood will perform with “Drums, No Guns!”
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The program will be held at the VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave. Registration for the event is $45, which includes lunch and parking. For more information or to register, contact Eunice Seaborn at (804) 828-4393 or at CICFS@vcu.org.