On Saturday September 30th our friends at Ellwood Thompson’s are putting on their 2nd annual Farm Tour and Cookout from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Load up your car with friends and family and meet the ET folks at Broadfork Farm. From there tour participants will board a shuttle and visit four unique local farms. The first stop will be at Tricycle Urban Ag, an urban non-profit organization. The second stop will be Shalom Farms, a sustainable farm focused on education and community. The third stop will be Casselmonte Farm, a farm focused on producing safe, nutritious, great-tasting food in a sustainable organic system. The final stop will be back on Broadfork Farm, a thriving Certified Naturally Grown produce farm.

After the tour ends, the locally themed cookout kicks off featuring locally made and sourced food from Virginia. There will be craft cocktails by Belle Isle Craft Spirits, craft beer by Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, live music by 3rd Wave as well, so be sure to bring a lawn chair or a blanket.

The event will be 100% waste free courtesy of NOPE Composting. Tickets are $25/head for the tour only; $50/head for the cookout only; and $65/head for the tour and cookout.

To learn more and register, click here.

Like bikes and good food? Next week, Bike Walk RVA has cooked up something special for you. September 17-21 will be Richmond’s first Bike Restaurant Week, a five-day promotion with 21 participating restaurants celebrating the five cardinal directions of the city. We’ll highlight one direction of town each day and lead a guided bike ride to all the participating restaurants from a central location. No hassles, just new friends and good food! And each restaurant has a discount, deal, special menu item, or other promotion just for you for riding your bike there!

Richmond Bicycle Studio is also offering to help with the rides and to help get your bike ready to go. If you don’t have a bike or if you’re close to one of the stations, RVA Bike Share, which launched in August, might be the perfect ticket for you!

Click here for more.

#rvabike #rvadine

Bald cypress trees on the Dragon Run. Credit: Bay Journal

If you caught Bob Flynn’s piece in July about paddling the Dragon Run, one of Virginia’s most pristine and overlooked watershed, here’s some good news. You won’t have to wait until 2018 for another chance for a guided tour as the Friends of Dragon Run have added a fall season.

The non-profit will offer trips down the river that eventually feeds the Piankatank (about an hour’s drive from Richmond) on the last two weekends in October (20-22 and 27-29). There is room for just 12 paddlers each trip so space is limited. Reservations will be available online at www.dragonrun.org beginning Sept. 15. There is no cost for the trips, but donations are accepted.

If you’ve already paddled the Dragon Run, these fall trips are a first, so paddlers will get to explore a different section of the waterway.

The James River Association, James River Outdoor Coalition, and James River Advisory Council are organizing the third annual Films on the Floodwall. The free community film screening is scheduled for Wednesday, September 13 at Diversity Park in Richmond’s James River Park System. The event, which also features an informational village of various river-related organizations, will begin at 6 p.m. and films will begin screening after sunset.

Professional and amateur local filmmakers are encouraged to submit original films to be screened at the event. Films should feature the James River, or one of its tributaries, and include subjects of conservation outdoor recreation, parks and public spaces, wildlife and ecosystems or aesthetics.

Film submissions will be accepted through next Friday. Submitted films will be reviewed by event organizers and filmmakers will be notified if their film is selected for screening. Films should be submitted to Justin Doyle of the James River Association via email at jdoyle@jrava.org or on a DVD via mail:

Films on the Floodwall

c/o James River Association

4833 Old Main Street

Richmond, VA 23231

Click here for more information.

While the nation debates the future of Richmond’s 60 foot monuments to Confederate soldiers,
a small historic marker east of town recalls the African American soldiers of the Army of the
James.

This regiment of the United States Colored Troops fought the Battle of New Market
Heights on the farmlands east of Richmond, during the final days of the Civil War. Few people
know of the 14 Medals of Honor awarded to African American soldiers for bravery in that single
battle. But they will.

African American soldiers who fought in the Army of the James.

This week saw the birth of a new website designed to help visitors find and explore a part of
Virginia that has, until now, been a best-kept secret: the Route 5 Corridor.

Running parallel to the James River from downtown Richmond to Colonial Williamsburg, this
scenic Virginia Byway bisects rolling farmland and hardwood forests that witnessed America’s
first footprints.

— Pocahontas was born in this corridor, back when the road was a foot path linking the Falls to the Chesapeake Bay.

— John Smith first rowed ashore in this corridor.

— John Rolfe planted the first American tobacco here.

— George Washington and Thomas Jefferson commuted down Route 5, then called New Market Road.

— Benedict Arnold fought in a Revolutionary War naval battle on this stretch of the James.

— Plantation culture thrived in the corridor, and these manor homes are open to guests today, including Berkeley Plantation, Sherwood Plantation, Westover Plantation, and more.

— These estates were, of course, built and worked by slave labor. Boats from Africa unloaded their victims at the Fall of the James, and human trafficking thrived in the corridor, until the Civil War shut the auction houses down.

Remarkably, this uniquely historic corridor has never been marketed as a destination region…
until now. Thanks to the Route 5 Corridor Coalition and a matching grant from the Virginia
Tourism Corporation, the Take 5! Tourism Destination Website offers an inventory of the
region’s unique assets.

In addition to unparalleled American history, the website guides visitors to Route 5’s
recreational opportunities. Want to rent a bike along the Virginia Capital Trail? You’ll find it on
the website. Want to paddle the James? Watch bald eagles nesting? Enjoy dinner at a
vineyard after a history-filled day? Route 5 offers guests of the Richmond region and the world
an opportunity to play, rest and remember.

And in these bizarrely tumultuous times, taking a quiet ride in the country has never sounded
so good.

Author’s Note: Help us tell Henrico County to keep Route 5 rural. Please click on this link to the Henrico Route 5 Survey and tell them what sort of growth you want to see down this scenic Virginia Byway. For some suggested talking points, visit the Route 5 Corridor Coalition’s Facebook page.

Solar eclipse watchers on the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge on Monday. Credit: Dave Parrish Photography

Editor’s note: This is the first in an occasional series by BridgePark Executive Director Ted Elmore on the past, present and future of the Richmond non-profit’s effort to build a bridge that’s primarily a park across the James River.

Today, more than ever, we need places to be together, learn together, and grow together.

On Monday morning, with a heavy heart, I joined hundreds of Richmonders at the new Maggie Walker monument on Broad Street to talk about history, healing, and hope. On Monday afternoon, with some weird sunglasses, I met hordes more people at Brown’s Island and the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge, all celebrating community, curiosity, and wonder.

In less than a year, we have created two new destinations downtown for engagement, inspiration, and
understanding. These types of powerful places are vital to our shared sense of community.

There may be no better place to inspire the River City than the city’s river. In 2012, the city adopted a
Riverfront Plan and, separately, a group of community leaders formed Richmond BridgePark
Foundation, a non-profit organized to develop a unique public gathering and education space
that spans the beautiful James River.

BridgePark is a proposed linear public park that would cross the James River and connect the riverfront experience to the city center on both sides of the James. Inspired by The High Line in New York City, the park would transform a section of 9th Street (including a portion of the Manchester Bridge) into a world-class destination for biking, walking, art, education, events, and community cohesion, all over one of the most dramatic urban viewsheds anywhere.

A crowd gathers at the new Maggie Walker statue. Credit: David Streever/RVA Magazine

The city-level park would complement both Richmond’s Downtown Plan and its Riverfront Plan. Imagine a green gateway to a vibrant downtown and a seamless connection to our treasured river.

The Foundation has concluded the first stage of architecture and engineering work with a world class
team of professionals led by Peter Culley of the architecture firm, Spatial Affairs Bureau, and Tim Davey of The Timmons Group. Peter is known for his work as project manager of the VMFA’s McGlothlin Wing expansion, and recent projects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Southbank Centre in London. Tim’s team has assisted in numerous place making projects in Richmond and beyond. This first phase unlocked the tremendous potential of BridgePark to impact the region.

A key aspect of BridgePark planning is you. Since the Foundation formed, the park has been shaped by the community and will continue to evolve and grow by learning from all Richmonders. Over the next few months, RichmondOutside.com will feature summaries of park priorities and updates on the
Foundation’s progress. Follow us for more on what BridgePark is, why we all think it is important, what we envision it can do, and how it works.

The series seeks to inform the public and create a dialogue that improves the project. We ask you to
read and respond, keep up to speed and keep in touch! The park will not happen without your support.

We know that BridgePark can be a stunningly beautiful place. We also now know that it must be much
more than that. With your help in these early stages, we believe we can also make it a platform for our
community consciousness, a place for connection, and a vehicle for change.

Write us at info@bridgeparkrva.com.

It’s downright amazing that you can hold a 50-mile, mostly-mountain bike ride almost entirely within a city’s boundaries, but that’s exactly what RVA MORE has been doing for going on four years now. The Tour de Fall Line is “a scenic tour of the James River basin by bike (also in 28- and 14-mile rides), where participants explore the length of the James River’s fall line trails.

RVA MORE Trail Work at Deep Run Park. Credit: RVA MORE

Hosted by RVA MORE to raise money for the trail building cause, all proceeds directly benefit the group to help enhance all of our outdoor experience on our local trails. In addition to the rides, there is a party at the start/finish line at Stone Brewery where each rider will get a ticket to redeem for a box lunch from North End Juice Co and a beer ticket. Also at the post-race party Pello Bikes will be setting up a kids’ bike course so mom and dad can relax, have a refreshment, and watch the kids ride. Bring your own bike or take one of the Pello’s out for a spin. Pello Bikes will donate $1 to RVA MORE for each person that signs up for the Pello newsletter. Bring the kids and make it a family day.

What about the rides themselves? This is a chance to ride a route that hits all the major trail systems in Richmond in one 50-mile loop. You will ride trails in a number of Richmond’s parks, including the James River Park System, Forest Hill, Ancarrow’s Landing, Dogwood Dell, Powhite, Pony Pasture and Larus. Smaller ride options of roughly 28 and 14 miles are available as well. All routes showcase what makes Richmond trails so unique and fun to ride.

Mountain bikes are recommended, as the courses will have plenty of dirt and lots of technical singletrack. You’ll follow a marked course with aid stations along the way.

Click here to sign up.

On Sunday, I’ll be packing up the family and joining others to go eclipse chasing in South Carolina. Our plan is less than fully fleshed out, is possibly harebrained, and might end in heinous asphalt gridlock staring up at the sky from the side of the road. But that’s fine, as long as we make it to the path of totality — the 70-mile-wide shadow the eclipse will cast America, from Oregon to South Carolina.

If there are so many people on the road that we never even make it to the PoT, I’m sure I’ll be wishing I stayed in Richmond and went to Brown’s Island (pictured on home page) instead. Why? Because Richmond National Battlefield Park, The American Civil War Museum, the James River Park System and Venture Richmond are teaming up to host a solar eclipse viewing party there on Monday from 1-4 p.m. The event is free and open to anyone and the first 600 people there get NASA-approved eclipse viewing glasses. There will also be junior ranger eclipse booklets and badges for 200 kids between ages of 5 and 14.

Sure, Richmond (at about 2:44 p.m.) will only witness 86% of the total eclipse we’ll (hopefully) see in S.C., but that’s still pretty cool. One well worth the trip to Brown’s Island to take in with hundreds of other like-minded solar gawkers.

Most people learned the wonders of the life cycle in grade school, when they followed the evolution of a butterfly from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis (pupa) to adult. But the learning doesn’t have to stop there.

Thanks to annual counts sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association, it’s easy to experience the beauty of the butterfly firsthand. Aug. 1 was the beginning of the NABA’s fall seasonal count, which includes one in Williamsburg. In July, there were counts in Richmond, the Dismal Swamp and on the Eastern Shore.

These counts, which began in 1993 and were developed to generate an interest in butterflies and monitor their numbers, play an important role in determining the health of an environment and ecosystem, as well as the impact of habitat loss and climate change. Areas with an abundance of butterflies and moths also have a lot of other invertebrates, all of which provide a range of benefits, among them pollination and natural pest control. Moths and butterflies also play a key role in the food chain, being prey for, among others, birds and bats.

Adrienne Frank, who will lead the Williamsburg count Aug. 12, isn’t sure what to expect this year.

“Their populations go up and down, some of it is natural. … It’s hard to tell from year to year,” said Frank, who added that the Williamsburg count last year was good. “Every group last year had between 20 and 30 species and we counted more than 1,000 butterflies.”

This is the fourth year for the Williamsburg count.

“The trend I see is the Williamsburg area (human population) keeps growing, and they put Roundup on everything and that hurts the (butterfly) habitat,” she said. “I’m afraid (we) are going to be recording the decline of species and habitats.”

According to NABA regulations, a count consists of how many butterflies a count party observes in a 15-mile radius. Each count party generally consists of four observers, one leader and one photographer. The counts must last at least six hours and no more than 24.

“Butterflies like it above 65 degrees and sunny, so they usually won’t start flying until after 10 in the morning,” Frank said. “They will keep flying right until dinner time.”

For more information on the counts, which are open to the public, go to the NABA website (NABA.org) for ones in your area. They are listed under “Butterfly Monitoring” on the left side of the home page. A contact person is listed for each count. The cost to take part in a count is $3.

This morning comes a fresh reminder — two, actually — that the James River is not to be trifled with, no matter the water level.

Paul Whelan reports in the T-D that the James claimed two more bodies within 12 hours of each other on Tuesday evening and yesterday morning. The first was that of an 89-year-old pulled out near Brown’s Island — cause of death unknown. The second, on Wednesday morning, was of a man out for a morning paddle in his kayak at Robious Landing Park (picture above). Eyewitness reports are that he lost control of the boat (with his life vest in it), it went under and he died going after it.

That makes four deaths on the James in the Richmond area this summer, all while the river has been low and, by its standards, placid.