This weekend ushers in the official start of fall as we mark the autumnal equinox. Get outside and celebrate the season at two music festivals, enjoy brews and foliage at Maymont, and tip your hat to a new exhibition at the Petersburg Area Art League. Enjoy!
Sounds of Progress
The RVA East End Festival is back this Saturday, Sept. 21, celebrating Richmond Public Schools through music, dance, comedy, and other free, family-friendly activities. Since 2016, the event has raised over $450,000 for music and visual and performing arts programs at eight city schools. Check out performances by James “Saxsmo” Gates, Victor Haskins, No BS! Brass Band, chamber ensembles of the Richmond Symphony and others. The event takes place from noon to 9 p.m. at Chimborazo Park; if it rains, the fun moves to Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
—Mark Newton, News Editor
Fall Feels
Hot, fresh pretzels and brats + locally made mead and beer + midday temps in the 70s = fall at its finest. On Sept. 21 and 22, Maymont will host Bier-Garden, a German-inspired affair on the estate’s Carriage House lawn. From 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., guests are invited to enjoy live tunes from the Pay Rent Brass Band, sip on a pint or snag some pierogies. Plus, join in on the Chicken Dance, check out the Pint-sized Pups Parade and snag a handmade gift in the Marketplatz of Local Artisans. Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for children ages 3 to 16; purchase tokens for drinks and snacks.
—Eileen Mellon, Food Editor
Rock the ‘Whole Damn Town’
After a sold-out inaugural year, the Iron Blossom Music Festival is returning to The Training Center on Leigh Sept. 21-22. The event is two days of nonstop music, featuring the Turnpike Troubadours, Mt. Joy, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Caamp, and many more performers. Plus, enjoy art, food and drinks during the fest. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. Single-day tickets start at $135; weekend passes are $230 to $574.
—Nicole Cohen, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Block Heads
The millinery of Joseph Ignatius Creegan and partner Rod Givens adorned a generation of discerning heads — including mine. When I receive the invariable query, “Where’d you get that hat?” I with delight reply, “It’s an Ignatius,” which then leads to a story. The creations made their way into theater, opera, television and film. Creegan died in 2022, but the Ignatius legacy continues with the Petersburg Area Art League’s exhibition “Around the Block: Ignatius Hats - The Petersburg Years 2003-2022.” Continuing through Oct. 6, this is a presentation and sale of the unusual and antique blocks, or heads, from Creegan’s collection.
—Harry Kollatz Jr., Senior Writer
Other Suggestions
- The Richmond Ballet hosts a sendoff of its latest Studio Series performances with “Studio Finale” Sept. 17-22.
- The Treasures of the Earth: Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show sparkles at the Richmond Raceway Complex Sept. 20-22.
- “Color Theory: The Richmond Queer Art Experience” concludes Sept. 21 at Art Works.
- Run Richmond 16.19 embarks from Kanawha Plaza Sept. 21.
- “Cowboy Bebop Live” features the Bebop Bounty Big Band performing the soundtrack of the anime as it’s screened at the Carpenter Theatre on Sept. 22.
- Hardywood Park Craft Brewery’s third annual Fall Artisan Market is Sept. 22.
River City Roundup is Richmond magazine’s weekly compilation of the best things to see, do and experience in the region, compiled by our editors. Get each week’s installment directly in your inbox every Monday by subscribing to our e-newsletter.
