photo credit: Kevin J Kelley

Sometimes when you live in a city, you forget to be a tourist in your own home town.  This weekend there are no excuses because you’ll be able to check out some of Richmond’s vibrant history for free.

Bring your passport and travel back in time and taking a free tour of 10 historic homes, Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, 2015.

Get complimentary admission to any of the 10 participating sites.

Haven’t toured these sites before? Here’s what you can expect to do (for free) over the weekend:
-See the beautiful gardens and tour Agecroft Hall which was built in the 1500’s (how is that possible? find out on the tour)
-Civil war buffs can visit General Robert E. Lee’s field headquarters at the Dabbs House Museum.
-Play a round of play a round of quoits at the The John Marshall House.
-Take a grand tour of the “upstairs” and “downstairs” at Maymont for a taste of the guilded age.
-Take a glimpse in to rural life at Meadow Farm Museum just before the civil war.
-Visit Richmond’s oldest residential structure and see the largest collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s personal belongings, manuscripts and letters at The Edgar Allan Poe Museum.
-Virginia House (neighbors to Agecroft Hall) has a stunning collection of English and Spanish antiques, silk draperies, Oriental carpets, and fine silver and china.
-White House of the Confederacy take a guided tour of the home to the President of the Confederate states of America, Jefferson Davis and is now the Museum of the Confederacy.
-At the 1812 John Wickham House you can explore 19th-century Federal architecture see some of the country’s finest examples of interior decorative painting.
-Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and the Marquise de Lafayette all stayed at the Wilton House which overlooks the James River.
Download and print out this Time Travelers Passport to visit any and all of these locations.   Visit them all and you’ll have saved more than $55 per person. (Some restrictions may apply.)

Photo via flickr: USDAgov

Ever wonder what your kids are eating for school lunch? Do you have a strong opinion about healthier and less processed foods in the lunch line?

We think this is a great idea from Chesterfield County!!

Chesterfield County Public Schools is inviting students and parents to taste food being considered for school lunches and breakfasts. Feedback will help shape the 2014-15 menus.

The school system has scheduled its first-ever tasting fairs for March 27 at
Clover Hill High School and April 2 at Thomas Dale High School.

About 30 items will be served at the Food Fair, including healthier and less-processed foods. Here are just a few of the items that will be offered: cucumber and tomato salad, sweet and sour broccoli, mushroom and Swiss burger, Asian chicken taco, cinnamon breakfast roll, Italian green beans, macaroni and cheese, pizza and whole-grain cookies. So much food will be available that families can think of the Food Fair as a free supper!

This free event is open to all families with children in Chesterfield County Public Schools. Online registration is required and space is limited, so families should register as soon as possible:

Click here to register for the March 27 event at Clover Hill High
Click here to register for the April 2 event at Thomas Dale High

There will be two tasting periods on March 27 and two on April 2: 6-7 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. Families are asked to sign up for just one time period. Families can register up to four people; at least one parent must accompany elementary and middle school students. Details about potential allergens will be posted at each food station.

For more information, call 804-743-3717.

Not in Chesterfield County? Let your administration know you think this is a great idea!