Spring has finally arrived. We don't know about you, but it couldn't have come at a better time. We're celebrating with a special virtual event in honor of Holi, Easter brunch creations by Arley Cakes that support the RVA community, tunes by Kevin Zhu thanks to the Richmond Symphony's Masterworks series, and exploring the great outdoors with handmade masks by the Richmond Ballet's CostumeDirector. Read on to get in on the action ...
Happy Holi
Holi is upon us, one of India’s favorite annual celebrations. This year, Richmond’s own Prabir Mehta, a longtime Here Weekly partner and collaborator, will host a very special live Holi celebration with Crabtree Sessions. “Even Mom is a part of the show y’all,” says Prabir about the upcoming event that will be hosted virtually at 8 pm on Sunday. “We’ll be doing some tunes, chatting Holi, Mom’s gonna show ya how to cook some Indian food, and as always it’ll be a blast hanging with Michael from Crabtree Sessions.” Here Weekly and Grid will stream the Holi event live on Richmond Grid’s Facebook page for all to enjoy. "PS, you don't have to be Indian to celebrate Indian things," he adds. "I’ve been jammin’ to y’all’s xmas tunes for decades now. Come Holi it up with me on Sunday evening.”
From her Nana’s sewing machine, Emily Morgan is making it possible for Richmonders to continue to mask up in a fun, stylish, and active way. For years, you could find Emily traveling the world (pre-Covid) as a freelance Costume Designer working in dance, theatre, opera, and film. Here in Richmond, she has turned her talents to serving as the Costume Director for Richmond Ballet. Emily started making masks one year ago this month when it became clear that masks were (and are still) the best way to protect ourselves and each other. “I began with huge amounts of the pleated style masks for donation, trying to cover as much of the community as quickly as possible,” recalls Emily. “As the pandemic continued and we went back to work at Richmond Ballet we started to identify features and qualities that would maximize comfort and function for my performers. Then we all got into masks as statements or to convey a mood. I wore my Wonder Woman mask on Election Day, and I choose fabrics based upon what I know my clients will love to wear as accessories. We’ve gone well past function and into fashion. Ultimately that’s what good design is all about, the intersection of function and style.” Today, she offers a variety of mask options -- ranging from Mandalorian themes to pink leopard and everything in between.
Arley Arrington, the owner of RVA-based bakery Arley Cakes, bakes goods for people who want to make a difference. For people who care about Richmond - and who care about the world. Since 2015, Arley has created custom cakes for special occasions, a playful selection of cookies and small treats, brown butter sea salt blondies, beautifully latticed pies, the best jam tarts around, and ongoing fundraisers and bake sales as a way to give back to the community. Arley also creates advocacy cakes that are decorated with a call to action, such as “Gun Reform Now,” “Black Lives Matter,” “Justice for Breonna Taylor,” and “My Body My Choice.” For a hoppy Easter brunch, Arley is offering a cardamom spiced carrot cake (with a cream cheese buttercream and festive Robin’s egg blue frosting and a bird's nest on top), brown butter cinnamon rolls, a tangy sweet strawberry rhubarb pie, sweet potato biscuits spiced with honey butter, and more. Available for pickup in Bon Air, Richmond.
Just over 3 weeks until you can see Kevin Zhu perform at the next Masterworks concert by Richmond Symphony! Fun fact: Kevin won the Menuhin Competition, the world's leading international competition for young violinists, in 2012 at age 11. Exciting that Richmond has an opportunity to watch him perform again so close to the Menuhin Competition Richmond 2021. Join the Richmond Symphony for a safe, socially-distanced in-person concert.
