"The Quest for Loving: Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry" at Virginia Historical 
Society 
Thursday, 12 noon

Mildred Jeter was not a white woman. Richard Loving, all agreed, was a white man. So Virginia state law not only rendered their 1958 marriage illegal but also required a penalty for it of at least a year in prison. Circuit Court Judge Leon F. Bazile chose to suspend their prison sentences if they agreed to leave the state. After a few years of exile, the Lovings sought legal assistance to let them return home. Two young lovers, two young lawyers, and an elderly local judge-this talk explores their tangled biographies on the way toward a breakthrough Supreme Court ruling in 1967, a ruling that resonates down to the present.

Andy Grammer & American Authors at Innsbrook After Hours
Thursday, 6:00pm

From hustling street performer on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade to Platinum-selling recording artist, it seems like just yesterday that ANDY GRAMMER was discovered by Steve Greenberg and signed to
S-Curve Records. With his 2011 self-titled debut album, Grammer became the first male pop star in a  
decade, since John Mayer in 2002, to reach the Top 10 at Adult Pop Radio on his first two singles, "Keep Your Head Up" and "Fine By Me," certified Platinum and Goldrespectively, selling more than 1.5 million downloads combined.

"South Pacific" at November Theater at Virginia Rep Center 
FINAL Weekend! 

One of the greatest American musicals by Rogers and Hammerstein and the winner of ten Tony Awards, South Pacific tells the story of an American nurse, Nellie, stationed on a South Pacific island during World War II who falls in love with Emile, an expatriate French plantation owner. As Nellie struggles to accept Emile's mixed-raced children, this romantic classic candidly explores the issue of racial
prejudice and the power of relationships.

 

Carlos Mencia at Funny Bone 
Friday & Saturday

Carlos Mencia, superstar/stand-up comedian, is undoubtedly one of today's most lauded entertainers and feared comics. Whether it is man-on-the-street interviews, studio comedy, commercial parodies, or nationwide sold-out tours, Mencia demonstrates an extraordinary ability to connect with a diverse audience.

'Mind of Mencia' debuted on Comedy Central in early 2005 and became one of the strongest shows in the network's history, averaging about 1.5 million total viewers. Carlos always takes on such topics as the election, the recession and the war as well as other controversial issues.

First Fridays Art Walk Friday, 5:00pm

First Friday Art Walk offers exhibits at more than 20 downtown art galleries. Participating venues
hold openings and other special events from 5-9pm to increase your awareness and appreciation of the
rich cultural and entertainment opportunities offered by Richmond's Broad Street Historical District and the surrounding area.

While a  lot of the usual spots on the Art Walk are on vacation this month, this week is the perfect time to explore some of the farther-flung galleries you may not get to often. Check out our Facebook page for all the posts about the cool exhibits that are on display this week. 

The Shack Up Night 1 & 2 at The Broadberry Friday & Saturday

Like craft breweries, tattoo parlors, outdoor murals and Asian-inspired street cuisine, music festivals are taking over Richmond. The Shack Up is a two-day music festival taking place Friday-Saturday, Aug. 7-8. It aims to showcase the groove-based sounds of East Coast talent. Started as an informal jam session by the Shack Band in Blacksburg in 2010, the Shack Up will include performances by the festival's constantly touring originators and a varied assortment of genre-blenders, including New York instrumental trio Consider the Source, Love Cannon from Charlottesville, and Charleston, South Carolina's Sol Driven Train with Richmond melody makers the Southern Belles, Jackass Flats, the Trongone Band and the Big Payback. - Chris Bopst






 
Jazz150
"The Story of Virginia" Exhibit Grand Re-opening at Virginia Historical Society
Saturday,  10am

The 10,500-square foot signature exhibition-The Story of Virginia-presenting the entire span of the region's history from 16,000 BCE to the present, along with additional
galleries featuring our collection of early American silver and fine and decorative arts.

This award-winning exhibition interprets 16,000 years of Virginia history-from the earliest Native American artifacts to life in the state at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Visitors can learn about the cultural and historical transformations of the commonwealth as they travel from one gallery to another. Enjoy exploring the Story of Virginia, An American Experience. The day will also mark the reopring of the Boulevard entrance to the building.

2015 Filipino Festival at Our Lady of Lourdes
Friday & Saturday

Now in its 10th year, the Filipino Festival is a community event which showcases the richness of the Filipino culture and promotes a respect for and appreciation of the Filipino heritage. Featuring a
delectable cuisine, folk dances and music, the Filipino Festival has attracted thousands of attendees from Richmond and surrounding cities and counties who want to experience the best of the Philippine islands without leaving Virginia.

To the more than one hundred Filipino youth in the area who perform dances and songs, the Filipino festival is a culmination of nine months of cultural immersion in bi-weekly classes that teach them their parents' language, culture, stories, history, dances and songs. It provides a safe environment for them to fellowship, learn and take pride in their rich cultural heritage.

Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont
Saturday & Sunday

Experience the roots of American culture at the sixth annual Richmond Jazz Festival, August 6-9th. Regarded as a "world-class jazz event worth traveling for," the Richmond Jazz Festival, renowned for its dynamic, lively atmosphere, appetizing cuisine and phenomenal lineup with some of the best in jazz, funk and blues, attracts over 10,000 fans each year.

It starts Thursday and Friday at Hippodrome Theater, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, then eplodes Saturday at Maymont where  thousands travel to Maymont, to take in the 
sights and sounds of artsits like David Sanborn, Natalie Cole, New Edition, and Lauren Hill, plus dozens of others!

 

2015 Watermelon Festival in Carytown 
Sun., 10am-6pm

Big bands, jugglers, and folk acts will entertain from six outdoor stages. This year's Carytown Watermelon Festival is an experience no one should forgo; this is the jubilant peak of summer in Richmond. last year, 118,000 people made their way to the celebration, buzzing like bees to the hive. The Shriners sliced through a record number of watermelons, feeding the swarms of visitors over twenty-six hundred juicy melons.

The festival will be just as lively this summer, with expectations of even more attendees than last year. there are nearly 50 performances scheduled and more than one hundred street vendors planning to transform Cary Street into the granddaddy of street festivals. Merchants are already decorating their windows with watermelon motifs, while the real watermelons are ripe for the picking and will soon be given a royal welcome in Carytown.


Buckwheat Zydeco at The Tin Pan 
Sunday, 7:00pm

Louisiana's musical ambassador Buckwheat Zydeco has brought Zydeco into the mainstream for four decades. In addition to charting with several top selling albums, this Grammy and Emmy winning icon has also collaborated with many musical peers including Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Keith Richards, Ry Cooder, Wynton Marsallis, Elvis Costello, Dwight Yoakam, U2, Gregg Allman and Robert Plant. Buck was recently profiled on NPR's Weekend Edition, has appeared on CNN, The Today Show and MTV plus six times on Letterman.

"Stanley 'Buckwheat' Dural leads one of the best bands in America. A down home and high powered
celebration, meaty and muscular with a fine tuned sense of dynamics propulsive rhythms, incendiary performances." - NEW YORK TIMES

Collie Buddz at The Broadberry 
Sunday, 8:00pm

Light It Up, the new record from artist Collie Buddz, is momentous, gigantic and booming! It's immediately undeniable an awe-struck song complete with an unforgettable sing-along hook, the kind of beats that pound in the chest and a vocal performance that's as uncommon as it is infectious.

A hit record is probably the only thing that makes Salaam Remi pause his day. Remi, most known as one of the top-selling music producers in the world [Fugees, Usher, Fergie, and Amy Winehouse] and
Executive Vice-President at Sony Music knows an irrefutable song when he hears it. After discovering
Light It Up, Remi made an offer to Collie Buddz to join his label imprint Louder Than Life, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

 

ZZ Top, Blackberry Smoke at Innsbrook After Hours 
Thur,, Aug. 13, 6:00pm

ZZ TOP a/k/a "That Little Ol' Band From Texas," lay undisputed claim to being the longest running major rock band with original personnel intact and, in 2004, the Texas trio was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after almost 45 years of rock, blues, and boogie on the road and in the studio. With the release of each of their albums the band has explored new ground in terms of both their sonic approach and the material they've recorded.

Honey Dewdrops Smokey & The Mirror at The Tin Pan 
Thur,, Aug. 13, 7:00pm

And so the couple took their experiences on the road, and dug in to write and record their fourth album, TANGLED COUNTRY, in their new home. It's a beautiful and engaging take on modern American roots music and the first album of theirs entirely written, arranged, and recorded in one place; a testament to the power of home.

It's a beautiful and engaging take on modern American roots music and the first album of theirs entirely written, arranged, and recorded in one place; a testament to the power of home.

Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit at The National 
Thur,, Aug. 13, 8:00pm

Ld by cult guitarist and singer Bruce Hampton, Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit were a jazz fusion outfit that blended multiple styles in a freewheeling manner, leading them to be associated with the jam band movement. The band originated from a weekly Atlanta jam session hosted by Hampton. During the summer of 1992, the group helped start the H.O.R.D.E. tour with such like-minded bands as Phish, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and Widespread Panic.

 

Chatham County Line at Capital Ale House
Sat., Aug. 15, 8:00pm

Entering their second decade as an ensemble, Chatham County Line bring a deep reverence for
traditional American roots music and timeless bluegrass instrumentation to insightful, poetic original songs that are powerfully contemporary yet rich with the complex resonance of their southern heritage. Over the course of six studio albums and performances around the world, they have pursued a singular style that is entirely their own, yet connects with audiences from all walks.

Dynamic and captivating, Chatham County Line are equally capable of classically hard-driving bluegrass and sparse, haunting ballads.

25th Annual Down Home Family Reunion at Abner Clay Park
Sat., Aug. 15, 4:00pm

The 25th Annual Down Home Family Reunion explores a full spectrum of music, dance, stories, food, shopping and enrichment in this weekend Celebration of African American Folklife. As Richmond's Cultural Ambassador, Elegba Folklore Society presents this cultural arts festival,
in this notable anniversary year, that takes attendees on a journey of heritage and folklore from West Africa into the Americas.

Join us again this year for this event designed to link West African and African American cultural traditions and to demonstrate ways these practices have influenced the American South.
4th Annual RVA Brew B-Q Festival at 17th St. Farmers' Market
Sun., Aug.16, 12:00pm

The RVA Brew-B-Q festival brings together the best barbecue and the best craft beer in Richmond. This event features an amazing array of central Virginia's most loved barbeque producers, from the well-known establishments to the whole-in-the-wall weekend warriors.

After enjoying choices pulled, minced, smoked, saucy, vinegar-based, sweet, sandwiches, plates and more, wash down your favorite bites with cold suds from more than 15 local craft breweries, including Legend, Hardywood, Center of the Universe and more! The event is free to attend. Food and beverage are available for purchase.


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