Ed 392: Super Bowl Fashion, Ice Cream for Breakfast, Historical Fiction
Powered by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts — February's Art of Wine event celebrates Black History Month! Grab your ticket here to a night of Mama J’s crispy fried catfish nuggets, exceptional Longevity Wines, and more.
Phew, okay, we made it — a fresh month!
I’m nearly a full year late to this party, but to keep my fam entertained over these last few icy days, we’ve taken in a couple viewings of KPop Demon Hunters for the first time(s). How cute is that movie?? How did I not realize sooner?! I’m up to speed now and will likely have the soundtrack stuck in my head for the foreseeable future. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Walk for Peace this afternoon, and while the quietness invited a much-needed recentering after a few weeks of pretty terrible news, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t also the faint sound of 🎶 We're goin' up, up, up, it's our moment / You know together we're glowin' / Gonna be, gonna be golden 🎶 on a loop in my head. Not not much-needed, too, I’d say.
Keep scrolling for RVA’s latest social news, including where to go for coffee this Sunday, a local Grammy winner, a new social club, and more.
PODCAST
WEATHER
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy; high of 41°, low of 24°
Thursday: Partly cloudy; high of 36°, low of 20°
Friday: Mostly cloudy; high of 41°, low of 23°
HAPPENINGS
Wednesday, 5:30 - 7:30 pm: WOMAN WEDNESDAY: SIP, SKETCH & SPARKLE
Thursday, 7 - 9 pm: HARRY’S LIVE DATE NIGHT FEATURING TIARA & ANDREW
Friday, 7 - 9:30 pm: VCU MEN’S BASKETBALL VS DAYTON
CITY GUIDES
1. ACTIONABLE WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR BLACK COMMUNITY, NOW & ALWAYS
Image Source: Tia Ballard
RICHMONDER TO KNOW
Tia Ballard: She’s a local chapel owner, licensed officiant, and elopement specialist dedicated to creating intimate, meaningful love stories. Through her businesses Hello Love and Lucky in Love, Tia has helped hundreds of couples navigate the city’s most romantic corners.
THE LATEST:
Image Source: Ruby Scoops
Image Source: @rostovscoffee
Image Source: Andre Julius
Image Source: Matt Heintz
SOCIAL NEWS
We love to see (and hear) it. Local hip-hop artist Mad Skillz won his first Grammy Award at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, taking home the trophy for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for Words For Days Vol 1. The album features collaborations with Richmond and Virginia artists, and those involved emphasized the win’s significance for the region’s creative community. Mad Skillz, whose real name is Donnie Shaquan Lewis, has had a long career dating back to his 1996 debut and is credited with helping put Virginia on the hip-hop map. The victory marks his second consecutive Grammy nomination in that category. (WTVR)
For you historical fiction lovers, Richmond-based author Sadeqa Johnson’s latest historical novel, Keeper of Lost Children, is set for release on February 10 and inspired by the real-life work of adoption advocate and civil rights activist Mabel Grammer. The book weaves together the stories of three fictional Black Americans across the mid-20th century — a newly desegregated Army recruit in 1948, a military wife living in Germany in the 1950s, and a student attending an all-white boarding school in 1965 — connected through a larger narrative drawn from Mabel’s personal life, which Sadeqa discovered while researching her 2023 novel, The House of Eve. Sadeqa hopes the novel educates readers about Mabel’s overlooked legacy, highlights the enduring role of Black women in history, and encourages readers to explore their own identities. (Richmond magazine)
Get your votes ready; Style Weekly has opened nominations for its Best of Richmond Readers’ Poll 2026, inviting the folks to highlight their favorite local businesses, restaurants, entertainment, and standout people across the River City. You can submit nominations through February 28, and then the top three nominees in each category will advance to the final voting round running from March 9 through March 31. The winners will be announced in the June 2026 print issue and online, and celebrated at Style Weekly’s annual Best Fest party. (Style Weekly)
Richmonders have entered the [AI] chat. Former Arts & Letters Creative Co employees Jon Serna and Micah Berry have launched a new AI-focused branding and creative agency, Field Pattern. The firm offers services including branded content, commercial production, campaign and social media creation, presentations, internal communications, and the design of proprietary, brand-safe AI systems that allow companies to produce content while maintaining licensing, ownership, and brand consistency. Both founders left Arts & Letters in mid-2025 and bring extensive experience in advertising, technology, and creative production, with Jon having worked on major Google products and freelanced for Apple, and Micah serving as Arts & Letters’ director of technology and teaching at the VCU Brandcenter. Self-funded and currently operating as a two-person, remote team, Field Pattern wants to use AI as a tool to augment, not replace, human creativity, helping companies visualize and accelerate their work across industries. (Richmond BizSense)
Canadian real estate company Jim Pattison Developments canceled plans to sell the Ashland-based warehouse that was slated to become an ICE processing facility for the DHS. As you undoubtedly saw, thousands of locals made their concerns loud and clear during a Hanover Board of Supervisors meeting last Wednesday, and the company even faced criticism in Canada, including calls for a boycott and suspended business relationships. The canceled transaction is part of broader resistance nationwide to ICE’s efforts to expand detention and processing facilities by converting industrial warehouses, a strategy that has generated pushback from local governments and community leaders across multiple states. (The New York Times)
Hundreds of people gathered along Brook Rd and Mountain Rd yesterday in Henrico to witness the next steps of the Walk for Peace. February 3 marked the 101st day of the Buddhist monks’ journey and took them from Virginia Union University, past the former Brook Run Shopping Center and St. Joseph’s Villa, where the group paused for a short break. Travels continued north along Brook Rd, crossed Parham Rd, and then headed to the Campus of Virginia Randolph to rest, eat lunch, and talk with onlookers. (Henrico Citizen)
What to look for at the Super Bowl, besides a fire halftime show: Designer Andre McLaughlin, founder of luxury custom suit brand Andre Julius, is gaining national attention after his designs were selected to appear during Super Bowl LX broadcasts. A Williamsburg native, Andre serves clients across Central Virginia and Hampton Roads and has dressed high-profile figures for national talk shows, red carpets, and NFL coverage, including ESPN personalities like Ryan Clark, Nate Burleson, and Anthony “Booger” McFarland. Largely self-taught, he transitioned into fashion after careers as a musician and a police officer, launching multiple businesses before finding his calling in custom suiting. Andre says his Black-owned, faith-based brand reflects perseverance and meticulous craftsmanship, and he hopes his growing visibility inspires young creatives while still allowing him to serve his local community. (WRIC)
MORE LINKS YOU’LL WANT TO CLICK
☕️ Rostov's Coffee & Tea is giving Sunday hours a test run. Starting this weekend, stop by Richmond’s first coffee roaster from 9 am to 2 pm on Sunday. (Instagram)
🍦 National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day happens this Saturday, February 7, and Gelati Celesti and Ruby Scoops (at least) have big celebration plans. (Instagram, Instagram)
⏲️ Kitchen Collective is a new social club for Richmonders who want to get together and chit-chat about things like different cuisines, cooking tips, and share recipes. Follow along on social media for the group’s next meet-up. (Instagram)
Image Source: For the Love of Chocolate
Weekly Giveaway
For the Love of Chocolate
Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, or Palentine’s Day this month, you could likely use some sweet treats — and For the Love of Chocolate likely has just the thing. The one-stop shop for confections offers everything from hard-to-find international chocolate and nostalgic candy to chocolate crafted by Virginia local chocolatiers.
This week, we’re giving away 25 bucks toward your next For the Love of Chocolate haul! YOU make US melt, after all.
To enter, tell us: An average adult heart beats approximately how many times per day?
Last week: Congratulations to last edition’s winners, Paige R, Winston C, and Haylea D, for winning the coffee giveaway!
Image Source: Scents of Serenity
Member Perks
Scents of Serenity
Scents of Serenity invites you to take a moment to step away from the inevitable demands of life and immerse yourself into a world of organic luxury, where your mind, body, and spirit are met with pure tranquility. Scents of Serenity *also* invites you to do all that with a discount.
As a member of The Richmond Experience, you get 20% off your first month’s membership for The Exclusive Organic Experience, designed to offer flexibility as well as access to special perks for those who are dedicated to self-care for the body + mind + soul.
New + Trending from RVAx
SAVE THE DATE
👋
Hey, new members!
We’d like to welcome 6 new members this week: Zania R., Austin S., Lauren M., Andrea H., Barbara R., and Jill H., we’re so glad you’re here!
It takes a village, so let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, feedback, tips, or recs! Thanks for reading edition 392 of The Weekly Insider.
See you in The Weekender!
-The Richmond Experience
Thank you to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for powering this edition of The Weekly Insider from The Richmond Experience!
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