Had a wonderful time watching the Richmond Ballet at the Dominion Energy Center! The building…read moreitself is stunning with a public lot right in front and a variety of garages surrounding it, parking was a breeze for our event. Walking in we were greeted by the wonderful attendants and our seats were surprisingly spacious in regards to leg room (we sat center orchestra Row J). Both my partner and I are tall so leg room is definitely a plus. The show was phenomenal and I feel so lucky to get to experience the arts here in Richmond! I would definitely reccomend a show here just for the ambiance alone, the theater inside is stunning with so many things to look at. Definitely arrive the 30 minutes prior to showtime to take in all of the sights.

Nothing is as iconic as the watching the Nutcracker over Christmas at the Dominion Energy Center. I…read moregive the Nutckracker a 5+, the venue - not so much. Why is it that I always feel like I'm taking a flight when I go to see a show. This is absolutely true here as well. I'm at 6'3" and my neighbor was about that wide. To say it was an uncomfortable seat was a crazy understatement. Oh well, taking a cue from a discount airline: pack them in. I wouldn't be cranky if it was just the seat. The Roman empire did better in logistics for shows. Trying to go to the bathroom was a joke and don't even think of getting a drink during intermission. This place is just not laid out for a full show logistics. GO for the Nutcracker. Anything else, might not be worth the squeeze.

Came to the Empire Theater for a showing of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Seems like different companies…read moreuse this theater like the Barksdale and Theater IV (more history here: http://www.theatreivrichmond.org/company.html#empire). The theater is smallish, maybe half the size of the Carpenter theater. There is a balcony. With the small size it seems like any seat would provide a decent view. We were about 10 rows from the orchestra and stage left (or right?) and the seats were fine. As for the show, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, pretty entertaining, especially the younger Scoundrel. Street parking. It is near Comfort, Tarrants...Depending on the night it can be a little shady or busy with people on that stretch of Broad St.

My wife, daughter and I attended the final showing of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" on August 7th. The…read moreseating selection by the ticket office (Row F 106-108) was well positioned and the acoustics were excellent. The blend of professional performers in the lead roles, coupled with our local performing company was an good marriage of talent, energy and entertainment. I had not attended this this theatre for almost six years. Although small in audience area, the layout and seats were comfortable. Valet parking allowed me to minimize unnecessary walking and added security. The bar was adequately stocked and the desserts looked quite delicious (I did not partake unfortunately). I recommend this theatre to those who want fulfilling enterainment and a great experience.

I've been to Riverrock the past two years, and they've been enjoyable experiences. It's a festival…read moreon the river that has really anything you could possibly be interested in, from musical acts (SNACKTIME! this year), to food vendors, shops, and plenty of adventurous activities. I primarily enjoy the dog jumping, bouldering (watching, not doing ha), and the music. Dominion otherwise sucks so it's nice they put this event on each year for the community.

Welcome to one of the East Coast's largest outdoor festival. This event lives up to most of the…read morehype and I've been several times in the past 5 or so years. It's a great event to be outdoors and spectate. Three days of crazy outdoor fun, hanging out and people watching. Best of all, it's located along Richmond's very own James River. There's a wide range of people that come to this event which include kids, teens, parents, college students/grads, and professionals all come together to enjoy what RVA has to offer. Events include: trail running, kayaking, biking, bouldering, slacklining, stand up paddleboarding, and dog jumping. I am not sure if it was new this year or not but you could sign up to do trails of some of the events and I tried out paddleboarding for the first time which was quite fun. it was my first time in the canal! Only fear was falling in that amazing brown water.. Parking can always be a hassle for events down in this area but I always suggest parking on side streets several blocks away to avoid parking costs. The food lines were insanely long even at hours way after lunch or hours before dinner. This year Matisyahu performed on Saturday Night and his performance and vibe was amazing. Great traditional RVA event each year.

16 screen theater with the latest movies. They do offer a rewards program via Criterion. You can…read moresign up online or here at theater. I purchased tickets using Atom app I which I could also choose our seats. The app was easy to use. You can link your rewards program number to your profile. It wasn't overly crowded. The staff and patrons had on masks. Patrons left a seat or so between them and others for social distancing. The concession stand was open for snacks and drinks. Staff was friendly and polite.

Criterion Cinemas is not to be confused with Movieland across the parking lot (although many…read morepictures here do just that). Both are run by Bow Tie, but Criterion shows limited release and indie films rather than the blockbusters at its larger counterpart. Criterion only has four viewing theaters, bathrooms, and a small concession counter. The theaters are very small, so it makes for an intimate experience. If you like sitting close to the screen you'll love it, because there's no other choice. For me it's a bit overwhelming, but I love their movie selections so it keeps me coming back. The seats are comfortable and it's usually much cleaner than the larger theater.

The Burger Blast was...a blast! Great variety of burgers from the India K'raja awesome veggie…read moreburger to the massive Mosaic masterpiece, there was something for every palate. The beer selection was terrific. My personal favorite #sidamo coffee stout by Hardywood. Never made it to the wine tables because of super long lines. Next year the organizer should consider doubling up on the wine offerings. Music was provided by Griff's band and they were really fun. They took standard favorites like Elvis's hound dog and gave it a folk/bluegrass twist. Music was a nice addition to this year's event.

Super thanks to Yelp Richmond for running a FB contest to win tickets to this event beacuse I…read morewon!!! That's right two free tickets to the Virginia Wine Expo!!! I found out I won 24 hours before the event. Babe! !! Road trip! !! I didn't mind driving up from Chesapeake to attend this event in Richmond. This event is world renowned so heck yeah we're game to attend. Parking was a beast!! We arrived about 2pm and the event I believe started about 10am. So yeah we were super late and knew we would have to deal with ridiculous lines for the wine sampling. But no worries... We were blessed to run into a man that was coming out of one of the pay to park lots and he offered to give us his paid for parking voucher. A free voucher for 3 hours...yaWhoooooooo!!! So let's do the math...free tickets valued at $55 each and now free parking...Oh we are in store for an awesome Saturday! ! I didn't do my research on this event, but if we ever return again I'll be ready. They offered private samplings throughout the day and I believe I saw evening tastings too. These tastings included food sampling as well. Bummer...most we sold out too. I believe about 20 openings were available for each private sampling. I'm sure this made an awesome time for a day date or date night. I saw something about a burger blast not sure what that is, but mad we missed that too. I tell yeah it was a lot going on and I'm sorta disappointed we didn't get the full wine expo experience. So definitely do your research before you attend. But we're checked in and wristband ready!! I was able to get a free wine bag that holds up to 6 bottles of wine...ahmazing! !! We picked up our crystal wine glasses...they were beautiful!!! We didn't know where to start. Let's start where the lines are the shortest. As time went on no lines were short so be ready to wait. Patience indeed. All the wine and malt liquor you can stand...this is the event for you! Every 10 minutes it seemed you'd hear a loud roar or cheer even. I thought some kind of contest was going on but nope!! Wine glasses were being dropped left and right, therefore, cheers if you will! ! :) Amongst the wineries different vendors were present and my fav there was Yelp!!! Heyyyy Bevin! !! She was the Yelp ambassador present on Saturday afternoon. She was awesome at greeting guests and telling them more about Yelp. She also had some cool swag to pass out to those that expressed interest. But the highlight at the table, Yelp provided beads and stems to make wine jewelry!! Fun fun fun!! I'd definitely recommend this event. And wear comfy shoes and eat lite before arriving. Have fun :)

Theatre IV is a division of the VA Repertory Theatre, and it was founded back in '75. Their…read moremission is to provide innovative theatrical productions of the highest national caliber and present these productions in the Richmond area as well as on tour in 31 other states, in addition to DC for schools and educational institutions. The selections include shows such as 'Treasure Island,' 'Hansel and Gretel,' 'Tortoise and the Hare,' 'Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, etc. I had the opportunity to see these guys when they came to perform 'Stuart Little' - it was about an hour-long musical adaptation of the beloved children's book with puppets, singing, and comedy. Definitely great for the younger crowd (K-2nd graders), as they seemed to be the biggest fans and the most engaged! +repertory theater +educational theatrical productions (primarily for K-2nd)

FYI - Back in 1977 (yes, there really were theatres in Richmond then), I had the good fortune to be…read morepart of the cast of the musical OKLAHOMA!, which was presented for several months at the Haymarket Dinner Theatre in Mechanicsville. Later, I was in a production of DIAMOND STUDS at the Barksdale Theatre, when it was still in....Ashburn (was it?) What fun both of those productions were! And during the run of DIAMOND STUDS, I presented a Sunday matinee storytelling performance called BOYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER at the Barksdale. I had the good fortune to work with Phil Whiteway in OKLAHOMA! and Bruce Miller in DIAMOND STUDS. Incredibly rewarding times those were! And both theatres served the Richmond area well. Both musical productions were well attended, and even my matinee presentation was enjoyed by the (TINY!) audience who showed up. Good memories! It's nice to know theatre is still alive and well in Richmond, and that my buddies are still involved. Even COVID-19 can't keep a good theatre down! Yee-HA! Incidentally, in OKLAHOMA!, I played the role of Aunt Eller (I've done that role three times, and directed the musical once.....that was at Anderson College, Anderson SC). In DIAMOND STUDS I was the piano player who did several vignettes. FYI, I'm sending today (5/13/2021) a packet of 8x10 black-and-white photos from the Haymarket production of Oklahoma. Phil and his wife--they met in this production--are both in several of these photos.

The RF&P along with its N scale and HO Scale model railroad clubs are a great source of…read moreentertainment and all around good for the model railroad hobby. This group puts on multiple train shows and displays in and around the Richmond area. They are the host for the Virginia Science Museum's train show in November and also the Keystone Truck and Tractor Museum show in July. The clubs meet year round and host scout groups and other organizations at the layout rooms.

This was my first time going to this location and I liked the facilities, auditorium acoustics and…read moreavailability of restrooms on either side id the auditorium. The parking is a little difficult, due to not being sure if it was ok to park when there are signs saying for permit parking only. If this is a site for events accessible to the public, parking information should be more clear to ease your worry as a visitor. I will return, I was lucky enough to find public parking along the drive leading up to the hall, but my friend had to park in the other areas that are marked permit.

This place ranks right up there with The National and Center Stage, in my opinion, as far as venues…read morefor seeing a performance in Richmond, VA. As I said in my review of the The National, if an event is coming to this venue that interests you, go see it. I have seen two concerts here, Matt Nathanson (my wife made me go and it was actually good) a couple of years ago and Bela Fleck and The Flecktones a couple of hours ago. The acoustics are great and the venue is small and intimate. The seating capacity is just shy of 600 and both shows I went to were reserved seats. There is a small balcony with maybe 100-150 seats. Getting to the venue is no problem, it's right off River Rd on the main campus of the University of Richmond. Since the capacity is so small, parking really is not an issue. There is plenty of room right in the main lot of the Modlin Center. The Modlin Center is home to a couple of art galleries and the music facilities for the campus, I believe. It is a very beautiful building as is most of the campus. Go for a walk or run around UR, it's a cool place to hang out and pretend like you are shelling out 30,000K a year for school ;) It would be a 5 star in my book but they don't have any concessions...