Cool Stuff Coming Up in the Historic Fan District - Late April and May 2009

I just got around to flipping through my most recent copy of the "Fanfare," the Fan District Association's bi-monthly newsletter. There is a lot of cool stuff coming up in the Fan, so I thought I'd list the activities, in case people who aren't "Fanfare" subscribers aren't aware. So here they are, in date order:

Saturday, April 25: The "Binford Bash," celebrating the visual and performing arts. The Bash will be held behind the Binford Middle School, located at 1701 Floyd Avenue, from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. For more details check out www.binfordpta.org. I haven't been before, but I certainly plan to wander right on around the corner. It looks to be great fun for the entire family.

Sunday, April 26: The 69th Annual West Avenue Garden Tour. Children's events begin at noon, and gardens are opened at 1:00 p.m. The event goes until 5:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For additional details, check out www.westave.org.

Saturday, May 2: Spring Neighborhood Improvement Event from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Fittingly, Fan neighbors are going to go out and clean up the alleys and streets adjacent to the Fan Kitchen & Garden Tour homes, in preparation for the big Tour the following day. Bring your own gardening gloves, and meet at 10:00 a.m. at 2518 Hanover Avenue for instructions.

Sunday, May 3: The Fan Kitchen & Garden Tour, sponsored by the Fan Women's Club. From 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., 10 different Fan homes are open for viewing. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and can be picked up at Tabernacle Baptist Church on the day of the tour. Check out www.fantourrichmond.com for all the details.

Saturday, May 9: An event near and dear to my heart, the William Fox Strawberry Street Festival, 2300 Hanover Avenue. 2009 is the 30th anniversary of this charmer, and both the young and the young-at-heart will find plenty of activities to amuse and entertain. The event begins at 12:00 noon and goes until 4:30 p.m. Bring money for that strawberry shortcake and the annual Strawberry Street Festival T-shirt, it all goes right back into the William Fox PTA budget for even more great programs for the kids. Check out www.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/fox/straw_street/ for details.

Saturday, May 30: The 2009 Woofstock Festival, sponsored by the Richmond Animal League, located on Monument Avenue between Allen and Lombardy. The Fanfare describes this event as "an all-day, family-friendly dog festival with live music, adoptions, games, food and drink." The "Strut Your Mutt Walk" is at 9:30, and Woofstock proper is from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Dogs must be leashed, and current on all shots. For additional information check out www.ral.org/woofstock.

Phew! That's a lot, but that's not even a scratch on the surface. One of my absolute favorite things about Richmond generally and the Fan/Museum District/Carytown specifically is all the wonderful outdoor festivals and activities. And if there isn't an event, and the weather is nice, I can always wander down to a friend's for a glass of wine on the patio. Richmond al fresco rocks.

Another great thing about all the events above is they are either free to attend and/or benefit great causes - Binford's PTA, the Richmond Animal League, the Fan Women's Club (which does wonderful things in the community with the money it raises), and the Fox PTA. So get out there, enjoy the weather, and spend some money for a great cause!