School of Richmond Ballet dancers Nailah Coles, Zachary Owen and Allison Choi at Tricycle’s RVA’s Urban Farm in Manchester (Photo by Shawnee Custalow)
Best youth dance instruction
Richmond Ballet
407 E. Canal St., 804-344-0906
Graduates of the School of Richmond Ballet have danced with the American Ballet Theatre and the San Francisco Ballet, among other companies. They also include current Richmond Ballet dancers Anthony Oates, Maggie Small and Ira White. Now in its 44th season, the SRB annually trains more than 800 students from age 3 to adult. “Our world-class faculty strives to ensure that each of our students has a valuable and positive experience with dance,” says School Director Judy Jacob.
2. Tie: Grace Arts; Marianne Kelley’s School of Dance
3. Central Virginia Dance Academy
Best urban farm or garden
Tricycle
The nonprofit Tricycle has helped to establish more than a dozen community gardens, promoting urban agriculture and providing access to healthy food, particularly in Richmond’s food deserts. Tricycle also cultivates new generations of farmers through the Urban Agriculture Certificate and Fellowship program, the first of its kind, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bon Secours. “I think the tradition and what Richmond knows us best for is growing gardens,” says President and CEO Sally Schwitters, “but now we’re growing farmers.”
2. Shalom Farms
3. Maymont
Best park in the city
MULTICATEGORY WINNER
Maymont
1700 Hampton St., 804-358-7166
Richmond’s own “Hundred Acre Wood” is no ordinary park, says Maymont spokesperson Carla Murray. “Many first-time guests are surprised by what they find, and whether it’s your first visit or 100th, there’s always something new to discover.” From the Italian gardens, to the Children’s Farm and Nature Center, to the Victorian-era Dooley Mansion, this free attraction offers something for everyone to explore. Garden Glow returns Oct. 26-Nov. 10 with the dramatic illumination of the Japanese Garden.
2. Byrd Park
3. Forest Hill Park
Best park in the counties
Deep Run Park, Henrico County
9900 Ridgefield Pkwy., 804-652-1430
Deep Run Park, opened in 1987, is named for the creek that runs through the middle of its more than 160 acres. It’s annually visited by 300,000 people who enjoy its soccer fields, fishing ponds, picnic shelters, playgrounds, and 3.4 miles of paved and rough trails. A multiuse field is undergoing conversion into a cricket pitch. The recreation center with a furnished terrace edges along the woods, offering open gym sessions and serving as a community center.
2. Rockwood Park, Chesterfield County
3. Dorey Park, Henrico County
Best martial arts instruction
Master Lee’s Dynamic Taekwondo
A 10-year-old family-owned company with two locations in Chesterfield County and one in Henrico, Master Lee’s Dynamic Taekwondo instructs 650 students ranging in age from 3 to 75. “We teach life skills, discipline, respect and self-confidence,” Program Director Nicole Acquista says of the classes led by native Korean masters. In addition to traditional classes, Master Lee’s offers after-school programs, summer camp, birthday parties and parents’ nights out.
2. Grandmaster Dong’s School
3. Master Cho’s Tae Kwon Do and Martial Arts
Best adult dance classes
Richmond Nia
Marybeth Grinnan introduced Richmonders to Nia 10 years ago through a class at ACAC. Several students trained as instructors, and today, hundreds enjoy the free-spirited yoga-dance-cardio workout at 20 weekly ACAC classes. In May, Grinnan and two other Nia instructors opened SoulShine Studios at Stony Point Fashion Park to meet demand. “So many women exercise because they feel guilty or want to look a certain way,” she says. “Nia is purely pleasure-driven.”
2. Tie: Claves Unidos; Rigby’s Jig
3. Tie: Richmond Ballet; Richmond Urban Dance; SoulShine Studios
Best membership gym
ACAC
11621 Robious Road, 804-378-1600; 2201 Old Brick Road, 804-464-0990
In the mornings at ACAC’s Midlothian facility, you’ll see retirees walking the track and full-time moms taking Pilates classes. Afternoons bring middle schoolers to swim and play basketball. In the evenings, the after-work crowd arrives for their fitness regimens. With beginner classes and registered nurses at each location, ACAC not only appeals to workout veterans but also offers “a safe haven for people who are new to exercise or coming back to exercise,” says Wendy Greene, marketing director.
2. YMCA
3. Gold’s Gym
Best boutique fitness center
Orangetheory Fitness
11819 W. Broad St., 804-823-7530; 6984 Forest Ave., 655-0722; 15801 City View Drive, 804-510-0300
Orangetheory Fitness combines functional strength training with rowing and treadmill intervals in a small-group personal training format, says Brooks Stone, regional operations director for Richmond’s three Orangetheory locations. Participants wear a heart-rate monitor to track their progress, with the results posted live onscreen throughout class. “It is backed by science and tracked by technology,” he says. “It is successful for most people because of the accountability.”
2. BOHO
3. Tie: SoulShine Studios; TURN Cardio Jam Studio
Best yoga studio
Tie: The Hot Yoga Barre; Hot House Yoga
1601 Willow Lawn Drive, 804-814-3067, and 2061 Huguenot Road, 804-814-2453; 14227 Midlothian Turnpike, 804-794-0099, and 9665 W. Broad St., 804-622-0099
When it comes to yoga, Richmonders like to sweat, with both winners featuring classes held in heated studios. Hot Yoga Barre, which recently opened a second location in Midlothian, uses Far Infrared Panels to heat its studio from around 98 to 100 degrees. At Hot House Yoga, you’ll find temps over 100. “The heat is going to allow your muscles to move through their full range of motion safely,” explains Hot House instructor and Manager Andre Wilson.
2. Yoga Source
3. Om on Yoga
Best indoor sports venue or activity
SCOR (Sports Center of Richmond)
1385 Overbrook Road, 804-257-7267
The climate-controlled facility allows activities from soccer to ultimate Frisbee and rock climbing during events from birthday parties to reunions, and it also offers youth and adult indoor soccer leagues. Cornhole tournaments, watching big games on TV, and a partnership with River City Sports and Social Club round out the offerings. “We are open to all groups and activities,” says General Manager Tyler Pardue. “We have customers as young as 18 months and all the way up to 70 years old participating.”
2. Peak Experiences
3. Tie: Sky Zone; Tang & Biscuit
Photo courtesy Sportsbackers
Best run (5K, 10K or marathon)
Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K
For the 10K’s 20th anniversary in March, Sports Backers started a program to recognize returning participants such as Ray Flournoy, one of 45 people who’ve done the run every year. Flournoy, a Realtor and former Ukrop’s employee, tried in 1998 to persuade CEO Bobby Ukrop to sponsor the Richmond Marathon. Ukrop declined, but the idea for supporting a race had legs. “You could feel right from the start this was going to be a signature event,” Flournoy says.
2. Richmond Marathon
3. Richmond SPCA Dog Jog and 5K
Photo courtesy Visual Arts Center
MULTICATEGORY WINNER
Visual Arts Center of Richmond
1812 W. Main St., 804-353-0094
With more than 1,000 courses for youth and adults per year, the Visual Arts Center is a magnet for Richmonders with creative aspirations. “VisArts meets people where they are in terms of skill level, experience and interest in the arts,” says Executive Director Stefanie Fedor. Among the new fall classes this year are glass ornaments, landscape photography with film, an autumn plein air watercolor workshop, and blacksmithing a contemporary menorah or candle holder.
Best place for adults to learn a new skill
1. Visual Arts Center of Richmond
2. Tie: Reynolds Community College; VMFA
3. University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies
Best adult art classes
1. Visual Arts Center of Richmond
2. VMFA
3. Studio Two Three
Best youth art instruction
1. Visual Arts Center of Richmond
2. VMFA
3. ArtHaus Visual Arts Studio
Best children’s summer camp program
YMCA
On a typical week, there are 2,000 children enrolled in the YMCA’s 13 Richmond-area camps, which include traditional activities as well as programs focused on Legos, chess and American Girl dolls. New at Camp Thunderbird is an aqua zipline that allows campers to swing 150 yards from a platform into the water. “It’s really fun and a very cool way to spend a hot summer day,” says Josh Green, vice president of youth development operations for the YMCA of Greater Richmond.
2. Passages Adventure Camp
3. ACAC
Best youth music instruction
The Music Tree School
3046 Stony Point Road, 804-571-1973
Trained as a concert pianist, Georgia native Laura Floyd discovered her calling in music education about 30 years ago and opened her own school in 2015 with her husband, Bill Hargis, a longtime Richmond entrepreneur. “What she found was there are so many that teach piano that really don’t know how,” Hargis says. “They don’t make it fun.” Besides piano, the academy’s 32 instructors are prepared to teach drums, guitar, violin and other stringed instruments, woodwinds, French horn, and even bagpipes.
2. Passion Academy
Best children’s after-school or weekend enrichment classes
SPARC
2106 N. Hamilton St., 804-353-3393
Laney Yoo, a 2019 St. Catherine’s graduate, connected with SPARC when she auditioned through the performing arts school as a fourth-grader to play a munchkin in a touring show of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Altria Theater. Years of classes and productions later (including “Newsies” this summer), she’s heading to Northwestern University to pursue theater as part of a double major. “SPARC is a place where young actors can learn to be unapologetically themselves,” she says.
2. Visual Arts Center of Richmond
3. Tie: Master Lee’s Dynamic Taekwondo; VMFA
Photo courtesy Magnolia Green
MULTICATEGORY WINNER
Magnolia Green
“We have something for everyone,” says Marketing Manager Michelle Atkins of the mixed-use neighborhood — where she also resides — that features townhomes, single-family homes and, most recently, apartments. Residents can live at ease with retail and social amenities at their fingertips, including a seasonal farmers market with an average of 45 vendors (Mrs. Yoder’s Donuts among them), The Grille restaurant, annual events such as Dogapooloza, an outdoor music series, an aquatics center, a pirate-themed playground and multipurpose fields. “You can build a house anywhere.” Atkins says, “but to have a community around you is what really sets us apart.” Plans call for a new elementary school to open by 2022.
Best new neighborhood for families
1. Magnolia Green
2. Hallsley
Best new Chesterfield neighborhood
1. Magnolia Green
2. Hallsley
3. Harper’s Mill
Photo courtesy Rutland
Best new Hanover neighborhood
Rutland
Rutland blends close-knit community vibes with accessible amenities. Ashley Ewell, lifestyle manager for Genesis Community management, says, “We were able to create another little part of the community, and it’s added to the small-town feel.” With homeowners ranging from young families to the 55-and-older crowd, along with walking trails, a pool, sports courts, a dog park and about 500 homes, Rutland offers a balance of modern convenience and neighborhood comfort.
2. Chickahominy Falls
Best new Henrico neighborhood
Libbie Mill-Midtown
Location, location, location. Libbie Mill-Midtown boasts serious convenience — a mere hop and a skip away from the highway and a “15-minute commute anywhere” — it’s central to both downtown and Short Pump. Regional Property Manager Karen Bunch believes the up-and-coming neighborhood has a “little bit of everything.” And with Shagbark restaurant, a weekly vendor market, a dedicated food truck day, a brand-new library, and more shops and restaurants on the way, Libbie Mill-Midtown is just getting started.
Photo courtesy Westminster Canterbury
Best continuing-care community
Westminster Canterbury
1600 Westbrook Ave., 804-256-2092
“We call it the Westminster Canterbury Way,” says Senior Communications Specialist Rebecca Hatch of creating an inviting, comfortable and friendly atmosphere at the 44-year-old continuing care facility. An on-site Child Development Center allows residents to interact with kids; and Hatch says, “It reminds them to have fun and laugh.” Paired with an on-site theater featuring local and national performers, an art studio, weekly outings, day trips and a committed staff, it’s clear why residents call the 50-acre campus home.
2. Lakewood Manor
3. Covenant Woods
Best place for a child’s party
Children’s Museum of Richmond
It’s party time every weekend at the Children’s Museum of Richmond, where groups can book their own room for 90 minutes, with plates, utensils and tablecloths provided. And the best part? “You get the museum,” says spokeswoman Mary Beth Yates, who notes that admission is included in the packages, which start at $200 ($175 for members) for a party of 10. Add-on options include a moon bounce and carousel rides (at the downtown site).
2. Chuck E. Cheese
3. Master Lee’s Dynamic Taekwondo
Photo courtesy Gather
Best co-working space
Gather
Gather offers a community-oriented approach, with flexible membership packages and noteworthy perks; including 24/7 access, kombucha and cold brew on tap, sound rooms to record podcasts, and a constant flurry of like-minded, goal-oriented individuals. “We really focus on individualized hospitality,” explains Managing Partner James Crenshaw. “When people go to work, they look forward to … being a part of the Gather community.”
2. The Broad
Best paint-and-sip art classes
Wine & Design
2707 W. Broad St., 804-359-9149
Layne Summerfield Kroh worked in pharmaceutical and medical device sales, but her entrepreneurial spirit led her in a new direction. Since opening her Wine & Design franchise in 2012, she’s helped others to explore their artistic side while enjoying a glass of wine, if they’d like. An instructor guides each class to paint a picture using a design that can be altered as desired. The goal, says Kroh, “is to have everyone leave with something they’re happy with, proud of and something they can accomplish in two hours or less.”
2. Muse Paintbar
3. Tie: Paint Night; Spirited Art
