A view of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart from Monroe Park sometime after 1905. This is number 0490 of the Cook Collection, on display at the Valentine Museum. Go see it in person, (support the Valentine!) and get a better idea of why so many residents want the Monroe Park Conservancy’s lease rescinded.
Extinction Rebellion continues its Friday protests in Monroe Park and there is also a World Vegan Day celebration.
From announcement:
Community Movie Night: DANTE’S PEAK
Last one of the Season
Friday, October 25 @ 6:30 pm in Pleasants Park
CSX which owns the property beneath the trestles has blocked off access, thus eliminating approximately half the available parking.
The paved lot is still accessible but parking is no longer allowed in the gravel lot as you see here in an old Google Maps screenshot.
We reached out to Park Superintendent Bryce Wilk about the situation and there wasn’t much more information to share, “The parking area is under CSX ownership and is closed until further notice.” Wilk did also state that Venture Richmond, PRCF (Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities) and CSX are working together to find some solution. Details of the possible solution aren’t available at this time.
For Oregon Hill residents, this is very troubling. It’s not so much about the parking, since residents mostly walk down to the riverfront. For years neighborhood leaders have brought up more mass transit and shuttles to alleviate parking crowding at the Belle Island parking lot.
There is the concern that the City or Venture Richmond will try to force parking closer to Oregon Hill. In the past there have been suggestions that the portion of the North Bank Trail directly south of Oregon Hill be turned into parking. Regardless, residents expect more park visitors to park near the Overlook in order to use the park.
Even more worrisome is the possibility of losing public access. For generations, Oregon Hill residents have been able to walk more or less straight down to the James River, with little regard for railroad interference. Certainly, current Oregon Hill residents want to keep that ability.
Hopefully, the movie can still be heard over the music from the Folk Festival. These October weekends are jammed packed with events.
After two rain postponements it looks as if we will be having a community movie night this Friday, September 27th.
From event page:
Saturday, September 21 from 12 – 4 pm in Monroe Park
(Scuffletown Lawn – corner of W. Franklin and N. Laurel Streets, across from Rhoads Hall – 710 West Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23220)The Richmond Peace Education Center alongside ReEstablish Richmond, LULAC, and other immigrant and social justice advocacy organizations, invites the Richmond community to a “Teach In” on immigrant justice and social justice on September 21st.
Learn how ongoing racism and unjust policies have harmed Richmond families. Hear voices of directly impacted people. Make connections to one another, and to broader issues of social justice and racial justice in Richmond. Music. Art. Come listen, learn, connect … and take action! Together let’s build a more just and inclusive community for all. All are welcome.
Don’t expect to see much in the corporate media, but this Friday is an international day of strikes and protests to bring attention to the ongoing disaster of climate change.
For a couple of weeks now, citizens have been doing protests on Friday evenings in Monroe Park. This Friday at 5 pm, there will be a larger protest followed by a march to City Hall.
From the FaceBook event page description:
On September 20th the Planet is Striking!
Join Richmond XR, Sunrise Richmond, Richmond Citizen’s Climate Lobby and a coalition of other environmental groups for the Global Climate Strike on September 20th! The School Strike movement has swept across the planet, and made significant gains in Europe. Now it’s time for adults to join ranks.
Bring your banners, your children, your parents, your grandparents! All ages are welcome to this nonviolent demonstration!
Then, on Saturday, there is this event:
(Editor’s note: We have reached a very busy time in Richmond’s calendar. I doubt I will be able to keep up with all the events that are going on around the neighborhood. It’s a good time to mention that I am open to volunteer writers for the site. Only requirement is that you are a resident of the neighborhood.)
Sadly, the update is that it has been cancelled.
After some bad weather, Rev. Turner’s screening of The Sandlot has been rescheduled for tomorrow evening.
It’s that time of year when it is virtually impossible to keep up with all the events, activities, and festivals.
However, please don’t forget and try to take part in this weekend’s volunteer cleanup actions this weekend.
The 20th Annual (!!!!!!!) James River Regional Cleanup is Saturday, from 9 am to 1 pm. Powerboats, paddle craft, hikers and waders are needed for this extraordinary event.
Some of us remember when it first started taking place bringing tires, batteries, guns, and other crazy stuff out of the river.
In tandem with that is the 5th District Oregon Hill & Randolph Cleanup, also this Saturday, from 9am-12pm. Hopefully neighbors can attend for an hour or the entire time. The cleanup crew will be meeting at Idlewood & Harrison.
