My family and I have been here a number of times, for both regular tours and festivals. Both have…read morebeen fun and informative. The tour guides have always been very knowledgable and were able to answer questions about the time period, history and family. The gift shop is wonderful. It has the usual history based goods as well as beautifully made china, mugs and pottery.

Lovely tour, a hidden gem! My ladies group went on a Saturday morning for a docent-led tour. A…read moreFederal style house, built in 1822 for a wealthy family that owned over 600 acres and a variety of local businesses, then through the years owned by other wealthy families until acquired by the county in 1984. Historical and archaeological research has restored much of the house and found the foundations for outbuildings, the kitchen, laundry, slave quarters, smokehouse. The house has a surprising variety of the owner's furniture, including the original 1822 family. Don't miss the "high chair" in the dining room - my personal favorite - and the detail in the crazy quilt made by one of the daughters and mothers. All the rooms are decorated and furnished to the time of the different residents, and are really well storied and restored. Although the roof clearly needs work and has damaged some of the second floor ceilings. Our docent was just superb, and led us though with plenty of stories of the owners and times, and pointed out many special furniture items. We took our time and were a larger group of 9, so the tour took about an hour. It was a $5 entry fee, $4 senior rate. Easy access off Ironbridge Road and located directly across from the old 1917 Courthouse and Courthouse Green, although I recommend driving over, not walking, if you continue your local history tour at the County Museum and Old Jail.

This was a cute event! I didn't read the news article ahead of it closely enough to realize that…read more"we are the parade" so there wasn't any actual...parade, but it was still a great time. They had music, artisans, food trucks, desserts, and other vendors lined up around Monument Avenue. It was basically a street market with a cutesy name. There were lots of dogs in outfits and plenty of over-the-top Easter outfits and hats. They also had a hat competition. Parking was a bit nerve-wracking, but other than that, it was a good time. I'm glad to have finally experienced this Richmond tradition.

No disrespect to Sean C., but so that no one gets the wrong idea from his tongue in cheek comment,…read moreEaster on Parade is definitely not the unofficial Gay Pride Parade of Richmond. His comment may suggest to some that the gay and drag community has hijacked this one for themselves. The truth is that it's a community event embraced and attended by all sorts of folks, young and old, from the very diverse Richmond community. It's not a parade in the traditional sense. The audience IS the parade. Your Easter outfits and bonnets are the show. If you come, dressed in Easter attire or not, you're part of the parade. It is a leisurely stroll in a historic neighborhood on a special day. The bonnets and outfits and side shows are charming and provide plenty of relaxed entertainment.

Check out the Jammin' on the James summer concert series. Looks like one a months you can chill out…read moreand listen to some good music with the family. We arrived about 30 minutes early. I would definitely suggest that. A lot of people were there already. Parking was down the road directed by attendants. It is abbot of a walk from there. But there was a shuttle available. Bring a chair or a blanket to sit on. Bring a cooler with food and drinks and if you have kids something to keep them entertained. Keep it discrete and make sure you bring a cup for those tasty beverages.

We had decided to visit Wilton House, because it was on the few attractions in Richmond that…read moreappeared to be open. There was nothing on the website about closure due to Covid. But it was padlocked when we arrived. No sign, no explanation. We then tried calling the number on the website but there was no answer. Other attractions in Richmond have updated their websites and/or phone messages to reflect changed hours, procedures, or closures. We went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts instead and had a nice time. I guess Wilton House will have to wait: but I will call ahead next time, as their website is apparently not reliable.

If you are looking to chug a bunch of cheap wine and get drunk, this is the festival for you. If…read moreyou are looking to sip some quality wine and maybe find a new favorite or two, this is not the festival for you. Really, if you are looking to actually taste your wine at all without blindly throwing it down the hatch, this probably isn't the festival for you. We arrived expecting it to be crowded. I mean, of course most wine festivals are packed. We were happy to wait a little to get up to taste at the various wineries. Once we made it, we were a little annoyed at the speed the wine was poured at. I mean, I can drink my wine quickly, but when I'm poured a generous several sip taste, I'd like to actually take a second to taste it. Not watch all the people around me chug their wine in one sip and feel like the taster is glaring at me for wanting to swirl my wine or, gasp, drink it in 2 sips. More than once, the person pouring tastes was pretty rude until I asked a few questions about the winery. I guess once they realized I wasn't one of the average clientele just looking to get wasted they were nicer? Also, it wouldn't kill them to actually tell me what wine I am tasting and a little about it (is the chardonnay aged in oak or stainless steel? Sometimes, what wine am I tasting at all?) rather than just dumping and assuming I don't care. I'd expect wine sales would be better if they actually let people like me who might buy several bottles they like know what they are are tasting! WIth the exception of a few, I wasn't too impressed with the wineries represented here, or the fair-food selections. The band was pretty good, though. I probably won't be back.

This is one of the more enjoyable festivals you'll be able to attend. Most other events like this…read moreare packed, making it difficult to move around or to get your outstretched glass noticed though all the rest However, the space provided here is sufficient to allow patrons to move freely and even out crowds at the individual vendors. They might not offer dozens of different wineries, but those that are there will certainly have something you'll like. The food may not be to everyone's liking (mostly carnival-like) but it's pretty welcome after a morning or afternoon of drinking wine. The venue itself is fantastic. New Kent Winery is one of the best put together wine establishments in eastern VA.

Looking forward to this annual festival, which is taking place on July 24th from 11am to 4pm this…read moreyear. Two years ago, with the salmonella tomato scare, the festival was cancelled and I was CRUSHED. So I was super excited when it was on last year... After all, I'm a simple girl and until I moved to Richmond I never knew tomatoes came in all colors shapes and sizes... Like any good produce-based festival, there are some contests to identify the best tomatoes based on size, appearance, etc. But the real fun is in the eating. Vendors set up shop with their most innovative and tasty recipes using tomatoes... and then you can buy it all to taste! Plus, you can purchase fresh tomatoes of all varieties from the local farmers in attendance. This was were I first tasted zebra tomatoes, and where I saw Hanover tomatoes for the first time! While there is also the usual assortment of arts and crafts vendors, this festival is smaller and more intimate than the Watermelon Festival... Lines can be long at some of the more delicious looking stands, and I recommend getting cash before you go because last year I remember the ATM up the street being out of order, which was a major bummer. The good news is they have live entertainment, so you can tap along to the music while you wait in line for your fried tomato sandwich!

Fabulous museum. Small, true, but we were there for almost 3 hours and could have stayed longer…read more The young man, Ethan, who was our host was friendly, very comfortable to spend time with, full of fascinating information. There was every make and manner of artifacts, organized by era and function, with lots of identifying signs and stories about the early Indians and settlers' interactions. We will go back to try to get through what we missed the first time. $5, $3 seniors. Warning : because it's so small and frugally manned, call ahead to make sure it's open. If they're not, Ethan told us they will open it for you if they have some notice. Worth the trip!

As small and secluded as it was, I learned a lot from the 15 minutes I spent in the Pamunkey Indian…read moreMuseum. Because of how small it is, and because it also functions as a meeting area, I got the strong impression that the museum is not open as regularly as one might expect it to be. To avoid being disappointed, please call in advance. Also, there is a small admission fee ($2.50 or so). That being said, the docent allowed us to look around a bit before she was obliged to a previous engagement and for that we were grateful. Ask questions!

This outdoor wine festival takes place for one weekend every April. About 12 wineries come to the…read moreInnsbrook Pavilion and set up tasting booths. There's also live jazz, arts and crafts and food for sale. A word of warning: this event gets packed! Be prepared to wait a bit to taste, and if it's a hot day, to be dripping with sweat by the end. That said, it's still a fun afternoon of wine tasting. This past year most of the wineries around Richmond were present, including Cooper, Grayhaven, Horton, James River Cellars and Lake Anna Winery. A few from further afield were also present, including Amrhein, Hill Top Berry Farm/Winery, Rebec Vineyards and Rockbridge Vineyards. Veritas Vineyards, one of my favorite Charlottesville area wineries was on site. All their wines are high in quality and soo drinkable. It's always hard to decide what to buy. If you've never done it before, you also have to go by Peaks of Otter Winery. You get to taste a slew of fruit wines, and finish with a hot pepper wine called Kiss the Devil. Everyone shoots it at the same time and then you get a sticker to wear for the rest of the day boasting "I kissed the Devil." Kind of fun. You can buy glasses of wine or open bottles to sip on-site, and sometimes this provides a nice break from the tasting. Tickets are available at a variety of local wine stores and cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

Spacious! Here for an expo. Lighting is good. Plenty of…read moreparking. Near a Wawa and very easy access to I-95

Went to Arthur Ashe center to pick up packet for the Ukrop 10k run April 1. Plenty of vendors to…read morepurchases running accessories. Seeing everyone there makes it exciting to be part of the run/walk.