The environmentally minded commemoration, Earth Day, falls on Saturday, April 22. And with it, in Richmond, comes the annual RVA Earth Day Festival. The family-friendly, rain-or-shine event takes over Manchester from noon-7 p.m.
As a warmup, you can check out the 5-kilometer Race Without a Trace. What better way to start off your Earth Day than next to the James River? Beginning at 10:30 a.m., you can run, jog or stroll along the Capital Trail with hundreds of your closest friends. And the end of the race conveniently finishes near the festival. $30 registration.
The official daylong event will feature dozens of outdoor vendors — from educational to recreational — an art gallery, a yoga flash mob and events for the kids. There will also be local craft brews, plenty of food trucks, vendors and band performances throughout the day.
The main stage features folk duo Colin and Caroline from noon-1:30 p.m. The funky Photosynthesizers will take over from 1:45-3 p.m., followed by the reggae sounds of Mighty Joshua from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. And then Life on Mars finishes off the party from 5:15-6:45 p.m. with your favorite Bowie covers.
In the meantime, the Rockitz acoustic stage plays host to performances every hour. Kicking off at noon is Bad Motivator, followed by One Friend at 1 p.m., Jam Thicket at 2, the Neatles at 3 and the Hullabaloos at 4.
The fun doesn’t stop at 7 — it just switches locations. You can head over to Legend Brewing Co. for the afterparty at 7:30 p.m., with entertainment by Paulo Franco. rvaearthdayfest.org.
