When we were kids, my younger brother was really into BMX. I don’t know how he discovered it — we lived an hour from anywhere and TV channels still shut down at night — but he spent years building ramps, practicing jumps, popping wheelies and tearing around the vacant lot next door. Eventually, though, he moved on to something else, and BMX fell off my radar.
Until January, that is, when a co-worker mentioned that it’s alive and well in Richmond. My nostalgia shifted to delight when I learned that modern BMX isn’t just the providence of teen and tween guys like my brother, but a sport enjoyed by their moms and dads — and even grandparents — and supported by the community with bike shops and new parks. Writer Adam Cheek takes us out to the track beginning on Page 64.
This year’s America 250 events are advertised as once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but those who remember the bicentennial see similarities. I can still recite a good bit of the Gettysburg Address, which my class learned during the celebration. There was a lot going on in the mid-1970s — aftershocks from Vietnam and Watergate, runaway inflation, a then-record recession — so perhaps my teachers were too distracted to realize we were referencing the wrong war.
The semiquincentennial evokes a similar dissonance among many. The patriotism feels somewhat performative when we’ve been waging war, fighting inflation and evincing conflicting views of the very meaning of America — to say nothing of the “No Kings” demonstrations shouting the sentiment that inspired independence in the first place. As News Editor Scott Bass reports in “Party Politics” (Page 72), Richmond is leading the way with an unflinching examination of our history and the admission that America is, as yet, unfinished.
Not long after the bicentennial fracas, a juicy bit of gossip circulated in my small hometown: Someone spent $100,000 to build a house. It was an astonishing amount for the time and place. The memory made me smile in 1994 when I spent nearly that on my own first home, but it makes me slightly sad today, because the same number now seems unimaginably low.
With mortgage rates easing, we had hoped our annual real estate guide would find improvement in the housing market. I suppose your opinion depends on your end of the transaction — sellers are still doing well, but home ownership remains out of reach for many Richmonders. We explore the factors affecting prices and share our 2026 Referred Real Estate Agents and Agencies to help those navigating the market beginning on Page 78.
Also in this issue, we explain an upcoming influx of well-spoken teens, learn why local stars are dancing, visit Savannah, admire piecrust artistry and much more. Enjoy!
