“When we make local dining an integral part of travel, we elevate a trip from the ordinary to the extraordinary,” says food blogger Ella Dickinson. The many dining and drink venues here are changing the way they do business to make your experience, whether in seat or takeout, safe and special.
STR and Tourism Economics project the U.S. hotel industry will report a 50.6% decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in 2020 due to COVID-19. HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee — Due to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. hotel industry is projected to report a 50.6% decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in 2020, according to a special forecast revision from STR and Tourism Economics. “The industry was already set for a non-growth year, now throw in this ultimate ‘black swan’ […]
By SEAN GORMAN Richmond Times-Dispatch – When Trish Honaker opened the doors to Wonder City Bakery for her grand opening in downtown Hopewell last month, a line of customers stretched…
WTVR – It has all the makings of a tall tale. They say that down in Colonial Heights, there’s still a living witness to, not just the Civil War, but the American Revolution. As far fetched as that sounds, it’s true. Sitting high atop a hill in the 300 block of Virginia Avenue, right next to the historic Violet Bank Museum, you’ll find a truly unique tree that, in the words of one arborist, is hiding in plain sight. Locals […]
Boomer Magazine – Pamplin Historical Park & National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, a historical site located in Petersburg, sits on the location of a major Civil War battle – a critical conflict that many believe led to Robert E. Lee’s official surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
WTVR – Richlands Dairy Farm Opens Creamery on Route 460 West.
Saucy’s BBQ, Trapezium Brewing, Local Vibe cafe and DJ’s Rajun Cajun are a few of the Petersburg restaurants on a new walking food tour on Saturdays.
Sitting on 138 acres in Prince George is a new aerial obstacle course called Tree Time Adventures. “We have three different obstacle courses just over 45 elements for you to climb through,” Tree Time Adventures vice president Lesly Pike said. The course features three levels from intermediate to advanced so that everyone in the family can participate. “Anybody of all ages all-athlete abilities, everyone can go through those and have a good time,” Pike said. Even if you slip or […]
Opened on April 15, 1959 by J.M. Wilkinson, Midlothian’s Southside Speedway came to be known as “The Toughest Short Track in the South.” Over its 60-year history, the one-third-mile track has hosted racing greats such as Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, and Darrell Waltrip.
In celebration of 50 Days of LOVE Happening in The Best PART of Virginia, and the 50th birthday of Virginia is for Lovers, Swift Creek Mill Theatre launched a Facebook search in mid April asking people to write down their LOVE stories and submit them in a contest to win a wonderful evening at the Mill with dinner and tickets to see Bright Star. Wonderful stories were submitted about meeting their “special” partners. On May 5, two stories were selected, […]
“Everybody get real comfortable, kick off your shoes, dance in the aisles,” Sunshine Sue would tell the audience at the Old Dominion Barn Dance. “And who knows? You might get lucky and get a better pair when you go home.” It was Virginia’s biggest hoedown. First airing in 1946, the Old Dominion Barn Dancewas broadcast on Richmond’s WRVA radio as the city’s version of Nashville’s Grand Ol’ Opry. Hosted by pioneering femcee Mary “Sunshine Sue” Workman, the country music variety show lasted a […]
When Lori and Kirk Thibault decided to tap in to the state and local wine market, they did just that — tapped in, literally. The Thibaults own Ashton Creek Vineyard, a 5,000-case-a-year operation conveniently located between Richmond and Chester on Jefferson Davis Highway. Open for two years, Ashton Creek offers something few other wineries in the state do: wine on tap. Eight wines are available for tasting on tap (or through bottle sales), including a steel-fermented, oaked-aged and delicious chardonnay; […]
Say hello to the Metro Richmond Zoo’s newest additions: two super-cute pygmy hippos, Corwin and Iris. Corwin is a 2-year-old male and Iris is an 11-year-old female. Pygmy hippos are a rare species native to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. They are highly endangered, with only 3,000 remaining in the wild. The new exhibit at the Chesterfield County zoo features an underwater area and a land area. The underwater area is enclosed in glass, and viewers can […]
Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier is offering $1 general daily admission throughout the summer from Memorial Day May 28 through Labor Day September 3, 2018. This drastically reduced admission rate will allow all people an opportunity to access this amazing facility and share in our national heritage from the Antebellum period, including the institution of slavery, through the Civil War. $1 admission has been made possible in part by The Bank of Southside Virginia […]
A lot of history resides behind the pink exterior of Martin’s Brandon Episcopal Church. At least 400 years of history, in fact. In a relatively young nation where anything extending back a century or two is lavished with attention and adulation, Martin’s Brandon Church — whose founder literally got off the boat with Captain John Smith at Jamestown — really has something to celebrate, which it will begin doing on Saturday with the first of a series of events that […]
Michael “Pie Man Jr.” Burnette continues to make the family dreams come true. One bite of his pies, and your dreams will come true, too. Burnette’s father, “Pie Man” has been making and selling pies since the ’60s. After working in the family business and peddling his own pies at farmers markets, the son opened his store in Hopewell. Burnette’s sells 27 varieties of pies, pound cakes and puddings. Besides the deliciously expected products like banana pudding, coconut meringue pie, […]
Driving down the mile-long unpaved driveway off County Line Road, across wide fields thick with soybean plants and through vales of shaded woodland, you cross the unmarked county line from Prince George into Sussex and seem almost to enter another era. It’s easy to imagine that someone might have chosen this secluded place to set up an illegal still long ago, but Three Brothers Distillery is perfectly legal, and what owner David Reavis is making here is nothing like moonshine. […]
The Hopewell Downtown Partnership has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach®. “It is a great honor to recognize this year’s 828 nationally Accredited Main Street America programs […]
Petersburg, Va. – Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier has launched a new membership program. This includes twelve levels of membership up from the previous five. Teachers K-12 and students K-12 or college can now receive memberships at a reduced cost along with seniors and active duty military members. Both one and two-year memberships are now available with a price reduction for those opting to join for multiple years. One year memberships begin at […]
Pocahontas Island — 70 acres in the middle of the Appomattox River next to downtown Petersburg — is home to one of the oldest African American communities in the United States. Pocahontas became a town in 1752, a center of tobacco trade and, later, shipping and railroads.
A place where you can launch a boat, bait a hook, go for a walk, ride a bike and people-watch.
Thirty people representing businesses and attractions located throughout The Best PART of Virginia came together at the Cameron Foundation to hear Mary Prince Lewis of Heart of Virginia Tours and Receptive Services talk about what group tour operators in the marketplace today are seeking and how she markets the Heart of Virginia to those companies. She is already including some venues in our area on her tour itineraries and was offering help, suggestions about how other venues might become more […]
In recent years, historic Petersburg has started to make a name for itself as a town of culture, dining and leisure. A part of the city’s blossoming art scene is Walton Gallery, a five-year-old gallery in Old Towne Petersburg owned and run by a family of four – benefiting not merely the family but also the community.
A. Wilson Greene recently stepped down as Executive Director of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, marking the end of a near quarter-century affiliation with the historic site in Dinwiddie County dating back to its inception. As he shifts his focus to other projects, he feels fortunate to have played an integral role in the park’s success.
The moment the cow steps into the milking parlor at Richlands Dairy Farm, Coley Drinkwater knows everything about it: When it was born. How many calves it has had. How much milk it produces on average, and the rate that milk flows out of its udder. How many steps it’s taken that day. “Think of this whole farm as a giant computer system,” said Drinkwater.
It’s a dirty job, but that just adds to the fun. About a dozen 8- to 12-year-old kids spent their spring break last week getting a hands-on experience at Henricus Historical Park of what archaeologists do and how it helps us understand our past. Among the activities at the annual Henricus Archaeology Spring Break Camp, according to lead educator Sarah Robinson, were mock digs in which park staff bury items that the campers then excavate using typical archaeological tools and […]
This year, Fort Lee is celebrating 100 years of supporting the nation. Festivities and special events throughout 2017 will honor the fort’s centennial, providing an opportunity to learn about an important part of the area’s history. Fort Lee has a long, rich story to tell. After the war ended, the camp served as a demobilization station until 1921. It was dismantled and the Commonwealth took it over, using the land as a game preserve. The camp returned to use in […]
One of the earliest English settlements in America (1638), Berkeley today comprises about 1,000 acres of cultivated, sustainable no-till farmland; protected wetlands, mature forest and 10 acres of formal gardens; and manicured grounds surrounding the original Georgian mansion built in 1726. Located on high ground overlooking the James River, halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg, it is the ancestral home of two United States presidents, William Henry Harrison and his son, Benjamin Harrison, and was the site of several significant campaigns in the Revolutionary War and Civil War.
King’s Barbecue has been serving up old-school, Southside Virginia barbecue for decades. “It’s an actual style of barbecue that’s different from North Carolina or Texas. It actually pre-dates all that,” said general manager Matt Keeler. The Petersburg restaurant is celebrating 70 years of business this month.
Eastern Front Visitor Center: Sunday-Saturday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Grant’s Headquarters at City Point and the Five Forks Contact Stations: Thursday-Monday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Petersburg National Battlefield, a climactic site in the collapse of the Confederacy in the Civil War, has been cleared for a huge expansion under a new law that would authorize it to become the nation’s largest protected battlefield. The park commemorates sites in the war’s longest battlefield conflict, marked by bursts of bloody trench warfare spanning some 10 months from 1864 to 1865. Legislation signed days ago by President Barack Obama authorizes, but does not pay for, the addition of […]
After years of planning, the day had finally come. Dozens of people sat around tables or at the bar, sipping beer, and more than a few raising a glass to the newly opened Ammo Brewing in Old Towne Petersburg. After a brief delay from a planned opening earlier this month, Ammo Brewing finally held its grand opening to the public Saturday with round after round of Ammo Brewing’s beer served to the public.
The Hopewell Downtown Partnership has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the National Main Street Center and its Coordinating Program partners announce the list of accredited Main Street America programs in recognition of their exemplary commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach®. “Once again, we are thrilled to recognize this year’s nationally accredited Main Street America communities for […]
Keys to success are many when starting a winery. Good winemaker. Good grape sources. Good work ethic. Good location. All of which should lead to two things — good wine and a good experience drinking that wine. Well, give 10s to each of those categories for Upper Shirley Vineyards, Tayloe Dameron’s dream-come-true located at a bend of the James River and adjacent to Shirley Plantation, about 30 minutes from Richmond just off state Route 5.
Imperium is a 2016 American crime thriller film written and directed by Daniel Ragussis (in his feature film debut) from a story by Michael German. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Tracy Letts, Nestor Carbonell, and Sam Trammell.
Tucked away from the meandering sprawl that has consumed chunks of Chesterfield County’s countryside lies a reminder that Richmond’s brewery scene is far from slowing down. Piedmont Hops, which produces hops from a third of an acre along Genito Road, has nearly doubled its number of plants since launching in 2013 and is planting the seeds for more growth, in line with the continued statewide growth of the craft beer industry.
When you’re a husband-and-wife beer-world-loving duo, it only makes sense to open up a craft beer business of your own. Aimee and James Hartle, co-owners of the Bucket Trade, a three-year-old craft beer bar located in Chester, did just that, changing the craft beer scene of the Southside forever. Their original goal of the Bucket Trade was to first of all, quench the thirst of the domestic-beer-saturated Southside bar patrons. But second of all, they wanted to create a safe, nonjudgmental […]
The city’s most famous movie star received another curtain call on Saturday as dignitaries and fans gathered to dedicate a new historical marker honoring Petersburg native Joseph Cotten. The marker stands on the grounds of the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology on West Washington Street, which was the then-new Petersburg High School when Cotten attended it around 1920. He didn’t graduate – he was more interested in theater and sports than academics – but the building […]
The Henricus Foundation has been awarded a $10,000 environmental stewardship grant from The Dominion Foundation for educational programs that include study of the James River watershed at Henricus Historical Park. A popular destination for schoolchildren and families alike, the park offers a glimpse of life at an English fort and Indian settlement 400 years ago. Henricus Historical Park is located on 32 acres along the historic James River and is only 20 minutes from Richmond. The living history museum is located […]
The Cameron Foundation is awarding a $100,000 grant to Friends of the Lower Appomattox River or FOLAR to help the group develop a master plan that will help link and enhance the parks along the Appomattox River.The Cameron Foundation’s Board of Directors approved the proactive grant to FOLAR as part of an effort to improve the overall health of the region.
Tourism is fun. It’s happy. Because I’m in the tourism business, I like to say I’m also in the friend-making business. My new friends become this region’s new ambassadors wherever they go from here. My name is Martha Burton, and I am Tourism Director for Petersburg Area Regional Tourism, or PART, a destination marketing organization for the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Petersburg, and Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George Counties. PART’s mission is to encourage visitors to come, stay […]