Don’t be scared of a few April showers. There are lots of ways to spend some sunny days outside this month!

Dominion Family Easter at Maymont
Saturday, April 4, 2015
10am-3pm
Maymont Carriage House Lawn

Enjoy one of Richmond’s favorite Easter traditions with egg hunts, crafts, games, live entertainment including Power UP!, School of Rock, Jonathan Austin and  Virginia Repertory Theatre.  Kids can enjoy a ziplines, a rock climbing wall, carriage rides, egg hunt and puppet shows and more. FREE to attend although many activities will require tickets.

Legend Brewing Company’s 21st Anniversary Party
Saturday, April 11th
2pm – 9pm
Pub and Brewery -321 W 7th St, Richmond, Virginia 23224
This event is open to the public and is family friendly. Legend will have live music playing all day, a food buffet, activities for children, and of course, a varied selection of Legend beers.Admission for 21 and up is $20 which includes a commemorative anniversary cup, two beer tickets, and live music and entertainment. Ages 12-20 and designated drivers pay $8 and kids under 12 are FREE. Additional beer tickets and a food tickets are available for purchase.

22nd Earth Day Festival
Saturday, April 18
at 11:00am – 5:00pm

Great Shiplock Park on Shockoe Bottom’s riverfront on Saturday, April 18 for live music, local fare, children’s activities, and the chance to meet hundreds of earth-friendly artists, farmers, and organizations.

RVA Earth Day
Saturday, April 18
12:00pm – 7:00pm

Style Weekly is proud to bring you the city’s favorite celebration of earth day, were local artists, bands, chefs, food trucks, breweries, environmentalists and vendors gather to celebrate mother earth. Learn about locally available sustainable products and services. Arts, crafts and kids activities.

Gold Festival on Broad 
Sunday, April 19, 2015
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower between Homeview Drive & West End Drive

The Gold Festival on Broad is a day filled with family fun!  The event will take place inside the Gold’s Gym parking lot between Homeview Drive and West End Drive.  In addition to providing a fun, festive event, the Gold Festival on Broad provides a turnkey fundraising opportunity for local community organizations. Exclusive areas within the festival for specially-themed activities, and vendors, such as the educational classes, fitness expo, and the community corner. FREE.

Woofstock Festival
Saturday, April 25, 2015
10:00am – 2:00pm.

Gates will open at 10:00am for the festival. There will be music all day and plenty of fun for the dogs, including games, agility courses and contests. The whole family will also be able to enjoy the kids games, vendor area, and our dog adoption area, which will include animal rescue groups from across the metro Richmond area.

 Get the mid-week update from Richmondmom by signing up for our newsletter. You’ll get an up-to-date look at kid and family friendly events, free things to do, activities and more in the Richmond, Virginia area.  You’ll also read stories, get school and playgroup information, dinner ideas, shopping, camp information, volunteering and a whole lot more. Sign up for our newsletter here and find us on Facebook.

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.)

Go on a swashbuckling adventure at Virginia Rep this weekend!

Win a 4 pack of tickets to see Treasure Island at the Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn.
Winner will be contacted via email and can redeem their tickets for any one of the following nights:
Fri 3/13/15 7:00PM
Sat 3/14/15 10:30AM
Sat 3/14/15 2:00PM
Sun 3/15/15 2:00PM

The show is about 1 hour long and suitable for children ages 6 and up.

Learn more about the show here

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
  Treasure Island opens Friday, March 13 at the Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, Richmond, Va. The show runs March 13 –  April 19 2015. Learn more here.    

Virginia Rep is a sponsor of Richmondmom

March means spring!
Spring means outside!
Outside means FESTIVALS!

It’s time to get outside and breathe some fresh (not frozen) air.

Fill your calendar with these awesome outdoor activities:

March 6, 2015

Squirrels First Friday Fan Fest & Ticketpalooza
5:30PM-8:00PM
The Diamond
In homage to the Squirrels 2015 Free Shirt Fridays, the first 100 fans who purchase tickets during the First Friday Fan Fest & Ticketpalooza on March 6^th will receive a free T-shirt. Happy hour drink specials will be available from 5:30PM-7:30PM just as they will be all season long during Free Shirt Friday games. Fans can also enjoy live music, concession items and a sneak peak at the new upgrades taking place at The Diamond. FREE to attend.

March 14, 2015

Shamrock the Block
11:00 am- 5pm
1301 North Boulevard, Richmond , VA 23230

Shamrock The Block is free to attend, with great food, live music all day and plenty o’ green beverages for you to enjoy safely, so bring a designated driver. Special kids area with face-painting, bounces, games and more. Come early though, as some lines can get long. FREE.

St. Paddy’s Day Palooza  ***THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO SUNDAY MARCH 15***
11:00am-5:00pm
Innsbrook Pavilion 4901 Lake Brook Dr.

Last year over 10,000 people attended the family-friendly St. Paddy’s Day Palooza a benefit for St. Baldrick’s Innsbrook is gearing up to help you shake off the winter doldrums and enjoy everything Irish! Families can enjoy live music, Irish dancing, bands, food, inflatable: slide, moon bounce, and obstacle course, ice cream, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides and a hot air balloon.  Free to attend.

Shockoe Festival
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
17th Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220

Live music, Irish dancing, beer, Irish coffee and food. More information to come.

March 15, 2015

St. Paddy’s Day Palooza 
11:00am-5:00pm
Innsbrook Pavilion 4901 Lake Brook Dr.

Last year over 10,000 people attended the family-friendly St. Paddy’s Day Palooza a benefit for St. Baldrick’s Innsbrook is gearing up to help you shake off the winter doldrums and enjoy everything Irish! Families can enjoy live music, Irish dancing, bands, food, inflatable: slide, moon bounce, and obstacle course, ice cream, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides and a hot air balloon.  Free to attend.

March 21 & 22, 2015

Church Hill Irish Festival
March 21 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
March 22 the HillTopper 5K race will begin at 8:00 am. The festival closes at 6:00 pm

In addition to great entertainment, there will be plenty of family fun, including children’s games, a large children’s play area, face painting and Irish-themed crafts. Over thirty Irish vendors will be in attendance. Food and refreshments will also be available. Enjoy wonderful “Irish Lasagna” prepared by the Ladies of St. Patrick’s, “Fish and Chips” and other favorites provided by Rare Olde Times Irish Pub, and many more.
A $5.00 donation will be collected at the gate, proceeds benefit neighborhood causes as well as St. Baldrick’s Society and the historic preservation of St. Patrick’s Church.

March 27-29, 2015

Virginia Horse Festival 
March 27: 1-9 p.m.
March 28: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
March 29: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A three day festival perfect for horse owners, riders and enthusiasts. Food vendors, storytelling, horse shows and more.  Find out more about this family friendly event here.

 Get the mid-week update from Richmondmom by signing up for our newsletter. You’ll get an up-to-date look at kid and family friendly events and activities in the Richmond, Virginia area as well as great stories, school and playgroup information, dinner ideas, shopping, camp informations, volunteering and a whole lot more. Sign up for our newsletter here and find us on Facebook.

EXTENDED: Register and book your FREE photo session before March 22nd!

Spring time is here!! It’s time to shake off those February blues and put on your spring time shoes!

We’re super excited about this contest because not only do you get a FREE hour long spring time session with Butler Photographic Artistry at their absolutely gorgeous studio with cute and cuddly live animals, BUT you also have the opportunity to win our prize package sure to make your spring pretty amazing for the whole family!

A special thanks to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU for sponsoring our contest this year!

How to Enter (please read carefully, you must complete each step to be entered into the contest.):

1. Register your child(ren) March 1 through March 22nd, 2015.  If you have more than three children you may fill out a second registration.  Register here.

2. To help you schedule your portrait session, Butler Photographic Artistry will reach out to you after you submit your nomination and schedule your FREE appointment between March 1 – April 4, 2015.
Your photo session will take place at the beautiful Butler Photographic Artistry Studio and photos will be available for purchase*. (Hurry! Sessions are limited.) If you would like to call and schedule your appointment you may do that as well:804-744-4700

Butler Photographic Artistry will provide Richmondmom.com with a photo of your child for our website and voting page after you have your photos taken.

3. Voting will begin April 8 – 25.  Spread the word friends, parents, grandparents and get them to vote in the contest.

4. Winner will be determined by most unique votes and announced in our newsletter and on Richmondmom April 29, 2015.  Our grand prize winner will receive our prize package.

*Although it’d be a shame to miss out on the opportunity for a free session and beautiful photos, there is no purchase necessary to enter or win.

 

Age categories for the contest are:

• 0-2 years
• 3-5 years
• 6-8 years
• 9-11 years

Check out our fun family prize package below:

A Portrait Wall Panel valued at $1249 from Butler Photographic Artistry

Summer Membership to Midlothian Athletic Club

Supernova Year Membership to the Science Museum of Virginia 

4 Garden Passes to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

4 Tickets to Arena Racing USA

One month of free classes at Romp n’ Roll

 

 

Ladies and Gentleman,
The Greatest Show on Earth comes to the Richmond Coliseum with an all new show sure to amaze!

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Presents LEGENDS. Experience unimaginable family fun, as amazing performers from around the globe perform awe-inspiring feats of daring, spectacles of strength and thrills of wonder to summon the mythical and mysterious creatures of the past: a Unicorn, a Pegasus and a Woolly Mammoth! Join us for an unforgettable family night of legendary proportions! Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Presents LEGENDS!

Be thrilled by The Riders of the Wind, Cossack trick-riders who thunder into the arena on the backs of thoroughbred horses stealing your breath with their daring stunts. The Solar Hawks, a dream team of acrobats come together to amaze audiences by attempting three consecutive triple somersaults on a one-of-a-kind double-wide trapeze specifically designed for The Greatest Show On Earth®. Audiences will also witness Alexander Lacey and his legendary bond with his lion, majestic leopard and tigers during one of the most captivating acts. They all come together with more thrilling acts, and of course Ringling Bros.’ legendary Asian elephants, in this spectacular production that you can only see this year!

Free to all ticketholders, the All Access Pre-show starts an hour before the show. Come down to the arena floor and meet the performers of The Greatest Show On Earth, get autographs, take photos and enter to win a one-of-a-kind pachyderm painting.

Enter to win a family 4 pack here.  A review to come. 

Download a coloring page for the kids here.

Here’s our review from the show last year and a sneak peak of the show below:

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey: Legends

Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, VA
March 11 – 15, 2015
Purchase Tickets here.
Feld Entertainment

Virginia Repertory Theatre has announced the 2015 – 2016 season and we can’t wait to take the kids!

Subscriptions are available starting Monday, February 23 by calling the box office at (804) 282-2620. Renewal letters and forms will be mailed to current subscribers by March 10. Single tickets will go on sale July 1.

 What show did you love from – 2014 2015?
Which show are you most excited about seeing next season?

House at Pooh Corner
Based on the book by A.A. Milne
Adapted by Bettye Knapp
October 14 – November 15, 2015
Whether we are very young or wise to the ways of the world, every so often each of has to “get back to the House at Pooh Corner” to spend some tender time with faithful friends. You know their names by heart: Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and Roo, Rabbit, Christopher Robin, and of course, that lovable bear called Winnie-the-Pooh. This production is faithfully based on the A. A. Milne classic of the same name.

The Velveteen Rabbit
Based on the book by Margery Williams
Adapted by Burgess Clark
December 1, 2015 – January 3, 2016
In the world of toys, life begins when humans leave the room. When one group of toys discovers a velveteen rabbit, they learn what it means to be truly loved by their owner. Adapted from the classic story by Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit tells the story of the unconditional love between a boy and his toy bunny.

Charlottes Web was part of the 2014-2015 season.

I Have a Dream
By Bruce Craig Miller
January 27 – February 14, 2016
The phenomenal impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is chronicled in this compelling dramatization of the life and times of one of the most influential and charismatic leaders of the “American Century.”

Croaker – The Frog Prince Musical
Book and Lyrics by Debra Clinton
Music by Jason Marks
March 9 – April 17, 2016
This is a premiere production written by local Richmonders Debra Clinton and Jason Marks about the story of The Frog Prince.

We also loved Virginia Rep’s Shrek.

The Little Engine that Could
Based on the 1906 sermon by Reverend Charles S. Wing
July 8 – July 31, 2016
Based on the 1906 sermon by Reverend Charles S. Wing. The story is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work.

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for special giveaways to Virginia Rep from Richmondmom!

Virginia Rep is a sponsor of Richmondmom

Kids 14 and under get special perks with the Richmond Flying Squirrels FREE Kids Club. They’ll get a membership card, a special newsletter, invites to FREE Squirrel Tails Parties, special giveaways just for kids and a free ticket to all of our Sunday home games!

Follow this link to sign up your son or daughter today so they don’t miss out on all the FUNN.

There’s still time to sign up for The Flying Squirrels Dance Team!

The program fee includes three on-field performance game dates, two rehearsal dates, The Flying Squirrels Dance Team T-shirt, two Terrace level tickets to each game date for the performer & discounted ticket prices for family and friends, and professional instruction with choreographed dance routines.  Learn more and sign up here.

We can’t wait for the season to start! Find more information here!

The 16^th annual camp and summer programs resource event, Kidz Connection & Camp Fair hosted by  Style Weekly, will be at the Children’s Museum of Richmond, central location on February 14, 2015.

Aside from just being a blast for families to attend and a fun (and FREE) day out, Richmond families will find great resources  about kids’ activities and services; from camps and summer programs, doctors and family photographers, to entertainment for birthday parties and special events.

•Camp Fair – helping parents make decisions on summer time options for their children. Regional camps and summer programs are represented from arts, sports, day and overnight camps.

•Style Weekly Readers’ Choice for Family Favorites Winners Circle –meet Style Weekly’s Readers’ Choice for Family Favorite businesses; our readers select their favorites and we’ve invited them all to the party, from dentists to shoe stores and haircuts, these businesses are Style readers’ favs.

•Kids Parties and Events- Kidz Connection & Camp Fair will showcase the best in entertainment options for your next party.  Enjoy more fun than you can handle from Jonathan Austin, Richmond’s favorite juggler with magic up his sleeve; musical performances from Studio Performance Academy (Studio P); face painting and balloon art from All About Entertainment; and meet Nutzy, the Squirrel, from Richmond Flying Squirrels Baseball and learn how to plan your next party at the diamond. 

Schedule of Performances

Jonathan Austin at 12:15 

Studio Performance 1:15 

Latin Ballet 2:00 

Special appearances by Nutzy

Attendance to Kidz Connection & Camp at The Children’s Museum of Richmond is  FREE to the public to attend and includes free admission to the Children’s Museum of Richmond.  Over 300+ families with kids have visited come to join the fun each year.  

Kidz Connection & Camp Fair is sponsored by Style Weekly with support from Family Favorite Winners, Children’s Museum of Richmond and Richmondmom.

A Kidz Connection & Camp Fair special section will publish in the February 4 issue of Style Weekly.

Kidz Connection & Camp Fair
February 14, 2015 12 noon to 3 p.m.

The Children’s Museum of Richmond
Central Location
2626 West Broad Street