Spotlight Gallery to Feature African-American Artists

In celebration of Black History Month, the department will host an art exhibit featuring the works of two local African-American artists: Dawn Cherry Miles and Thaddeus LaCrette. The exhibit, titled “Imagery, Imagination and African Influence,” will open with a reception from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on January 27 at the Spotlight Gallery, which is located within the department’s Pine Camp Arts and Community Center at 4901 Old Brook Rd.

      In addition, the artists will discuss their work on Friday, January 27, from 6 p.m. to 7p.m. in the theater at Pine Camp. Both events are open and free to the public. 

     The works on display will include Thaddeus LaCrette’s life-sized beaded sculptures and ceramic sculptures by Dawn Cherry Miles. Dawn Cherry Miles is a Richmond native, while Thaddeus LaCrette is originally from Grenada and has lived in Brooklyn, NY, and Atlanta.

     The exhibit will be on display through March 2 in Pine Camp’s Spotlight Gallery. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

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Holiday Hours and Events

The department, its community centers and its cultural arts and community center at Pine Camp will be closed Friday, December 23; Monday, December 26; and Monday, January 2 for the holidays. All parks will remain open as usual from sunrise to sunset.

     The department’s Before and After School program is closed during Richmond Public School’s winter break and will resume when schools re-open on January 3, 2012. The programs provide children with a safe place before and after school at 20 Richmond elementary schools. In addition, children in the After School Program are introduced to cultural arts and sports. Registration is just $50 and decreases for each additional child per family. Scholarships are available so that no child is excluded from the program. For more information or to register, call 646-6034.

      The First Tee of Richmond will be closed Thursday, December 22, through Sunday, January 1, and will re-open on Monday, January 2. The golf practice facility is conveniently located downtown at 400 West School Street off of Brook Road just blocks from Belvedere and Broad. It includes a heated driving range, putting green, chipping green with sand traps, six-hole par-three course, and a clubhouse. Regular hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call 646-4074.

     The department’s indoor Swansboro swimming pool will be closed Friday, December 23 through Monday, December 26, and on Monday, January 2. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 21, Thursday, December 22, and Tuesday, December 27 through Friday, December 30. 

      The department will hold a free Winter Solstice Celebration on Belle Isle on Thursday, December 22, at 4:30 p.m. at the Tredegar Street entrance. Join the James River Park staff and the Friends of James River Park around the bonfire to welcome the start of the winter season. For more information, call 646-8911.

    
The Richmond Community Nativity Pageant will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, December 23, at the Carillon, located at 1300 Blanton Avenue in Byrd Park. This live outdoor presentation is a Richmond tradition and was originally narrated by Douglas Southhall Freeman. It includes a cast and choir of approximately 200, some who have participated in the pageant for 30, 40 or 50 years or more. The pageant is produced by the non-profit Richmond Community Nativity Pageant organization with assistance from the department. It is a rain or shine event. For more information, call Paige Quilter at 804-358-8481.

     The department will hold Free Movies on Ice at 7 p.m. for those enjoying ice skating at RVA On Ice Saturday, December 24, Sunday, December 25, and Saturday, December 31. The 8,400 square-foot outdoor skating rink is located adjacent to Richmond CenterStage between Sixth and Seventh streets on East Broad. The movies scheduled are as follows:

            December 24 – “Shrek the Halls”

December 25 – “White Christmas”

December 31 – “It s a Wonderful Life”

For more information about the department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, call 646-5733. 

City to Present Free Holiday Performance at the Landmark

WHO: City and Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Officials

WHAT: A performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one-act opera for the entire family, sung in English, telling the story of a mischievous shepherd boy named Amahl, his mother, the three kings who visit them, and the miracle that changed their lives forever.

WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.

WHERE: Landmark Theater, 6 North Laurel St.

BACKGROUND: This one-act family opera, composed by Gian Carlo Minotti, was commissioned by NBC and broadcast live for the debut of the Hallmark Hall of Fame on Dec. 24, 1951. This heartwarming holiday classic that will charm both children and adults, is thought by some to be the most frequently produced opera in the world. This year, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities presents its production featuring an all-volunteer cast, for the 50^th time as its holiday gift to the city. Admission is free, no reservations are required, and seating is based on a first-come, first-served basis.

Staged Reading Scheduled at Hickory Hill Community Center

The department, in partnership with My Creative Spirit, a new Northern Virginia theater company, will present a staged reading of “That ColorBlind Kind Of Love” at the Hickory Hill Community Center on Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

     The play, written by English teacher Rebekah Peirce, premiered at the Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage Festival in September. The drama tells the story of Sampson and his slave Twyla, kindred spirits who have loved and searched for one another for more than a century. The story tells of a forbidden love between master and slave, which they have been forced to abandon over the course of 150 years. By the end of the play, their souls are finally reconnected in the present. This drama asks if love is truly colorblind in this “so-called” post-race era.

     The reading is free to attend and a small reception will be held afterward.

     Hickory Hill Community Center is located at 3000 Belt Boulevard. For more information, call 646-7934.

Veterans Day Program Scheduled at Byrd Park Carillon

The city of Richmond will host a Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, November 11, at 4 p.m. at the World War I Memorial Carillon in Byrd Park. “The city of Richmond is proud to honor the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and we will never forget their courage and commitment to protecting our freedom and fighting for the rights of the oppressed,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

     

     Among the selections to be performed by the widely-praised Cantare Choir will be an Algonquin prayer written by Kenneth Swift Eagle Custalow of the Mattaponi Native American Tribe and A Prayer of Desmond Tutu by British Composer and Conductor James Whitbourn.

     For more information, call (804) 646-1031.

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The City’s department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities is organizing the event which will include an invocation from Reverend Angelyn Poe, a concert on the Carillon bells by City carillonneur Larry Robinson, vocal selections by the Cantare Choir of the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir, and the presentation of a memorial wreath in honor of the Nation’s veterans.

Department Recognized for Tennis Programs

The department received the Community Outreach of the Year Award from the United States Tennis Association’s Virginia District at the organization’s annual meeting and awards luncheon held at the Country Club of Virginia on October 29.  Department Director Dr. Norman C. Merrifield and the department’s tennis program coordinator, Victor Rizzi, accepted the award on the behalf of the city and Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

     “We are extremely proud of this recognition,” said Dr. Merrifield. “Opening the doors for Richmond’s youth to play tennis is part of our mission to provide healthy, rewarding and even life-altering activities, and I would like to thank the Richmond Tennis Association for partnering with us to present these opportunities,” he said.

     In addition, the United States Tennis Association’s MidAtlantic Division has announced that it will present its Junior Tournament of the Year Award to Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities at its annual meeting and awards luncheon November 19 in Herndon, VA.

     Both awards recognize the department for hosting three low-cost junior tennis tournaments on the city’s tennis courts in Battery Park. The Battery Park Junior Open Tournaments were held in May, August and October as part of the USTA Virginia Grassroots Player Development program, specifically designed to make tournament opportunities available at low cost. Approximately 70 youth between the ages of 8 and 18 participated in each of the tournaments, which attracted many new tournament players and young players in the eight and under and ten and under age divisions.

     
To host the three tournaments, the department partnered with the Richmond Tennis Association, which provided volunteers to help staff the games as well as score cards and gifts for the players, which were funded by a MidAtlantic USTA grant. The tournaments were the first in many years to be hosted by the department at the Battery Park tennis courts, which were renovated by the department in 2008 following the destruction of Tropical Storm Gaston. 

Cheerleading Jamboree to Showcase 600+ Area Cheerleaders

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will hold its annual Cheerleading Jamboree on Thursday, November 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Landmark Theater, located at 6 N. Laurel St.  Approximately 600 cheerleaders from the department’s community centers and area high schools and colleges will perform during the event.

      Tickets for the event are $3 in advance for children 11 and younger and $6 for children 12 and older and adults. Tickets purchased the day of the event are $5 for 11 and younger and $8 for 12 and older and adults. They may be purchased at the Landmark Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., online at etix.com, or by phone at 1-800-514-3849.

     Seating is general admission and the doors will open at 5 p.m.