The madness never stops. Fall kicks the event season into high gear as everyone scrambles to squeeze out the last drop of outdoor fun until winter bludgeons us with the cold. Here are a few of the places people who like to eat can entertain themselves in the upcoming weeks.
Pull up a chair at Camden’s Dogtown Market for a vegetarian feast with Seattle journalist, cookbook author and chef Kim O’Donnel on Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Fountain Bookstore is playing host to the event and diners can expect plenty of O’Donnel’s dishes featured in her latest Pacific Northwest-focused book, “PNW Veg” — think chicken-fried tofu with roasted nightshade salad and barbecue braised collards and chickpeas. Tickets cost $29.95, include a book and can be purchased at fountainbookstore.com. The separate, three-course dinner is $20, excluding gratuity, with an optional $15 wine pairing to purchase that night at Camden’s.
Get to know your farmer at Real Local RVA’s second annual Farm Tour and Cookout on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The drive-your-own-car tour starts at Broadfork Farm with stops at Tricycle Urban Ag, Shalom Farms and Casselmonte Farm. You’ll then swing back to Broadfork for a seriously local cookout that also includes Belle Isle Moonshine cocktails, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery beer and live music by 3rd Wave. Tour tickets cost $25 per person, the cookout is $50, and if you’d like to combine the two, you’ll get a deal at $65. Register at reallocalrva.com.
All you-can-eat crabs, beer and wine? That’s what organizers are promising on Sunday, Oct. 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Blue Grass & Blue Crab Festival. This is lucky No. 13 for the fundraiser to benefit St. Francis Home: It features the Slack Family Bluegrass Band, and besides crabs, you’ll find plenty of shrimp and barbecue. There will be a bouncy house and other kid-friendly entertainment, and live and silent auctions. All of this takes place down by the river at Historic Tredegar Iron Works. Tickets cost $60 in advance and $70 at the door. Visit saintfrancishome.com for more details.
Pack up the kids and experience the changing of the seasons up close and personal at the picturesque Harvest Festival held at New Kent Winery on Sunday, Oct. 1, from noon to 5 p.m. It’s a family-friendly day with plenty of food, games, hayrides and pumpkin picking. And for the nonwine drinkers out there, New Kent has graciously invited Väsen Brewing Co. to dispense the suds. Hayride and pumpkin passes, which include a pumpkin to take home, cost $5 per person, and for kids, there’s an all-inclusive activity pass for $10 in advance, $15 at the gate. Information can be found at newkentwinery.com.
The Style-sponsored Hogtober, held on Libby Hill, Saturday, Oct. 7, is a chance for you to meet all your favorite writers, editors and staff members here at the paper. Or you could just come for the barbecue. From noon to 7 p.m., Alamo BBQ, Buz and Ned’s Real Barbecue, Inner City Blues, Jadean’s Smokin’ Six O and Ronnie’s BBQ will offer their alluringly smoky delights, with King of Pops to take the edge off the heat. There’s plenty of local beer, too, along with live music including Colin and Caroline, and Diamond Heist. This Richmond tradition takes place on Libby Hill, and if you’d like all the details, you’ll find them at hogtober.com.
Get out to the county and sample its best during Henrico Restaurant Week, from Oct. 7 to 15. Two-course lunches are $10 or $15 and three-course dinners come in at $20, $25 or $30. Participants include Deep Run Roadhouse, India K’ Raja and the Melting Pot. The Henrico Christmas Mother program will receive $1 for each lunch sold and $2 for each dinner. Reservations are strongly recommended. For a list of participating restaurants, visit henricocitizen.com/henricorestaurantweek.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s 24-year-old Starry Night event doesn’t want you to go home hungry. It has invited five Richmond chefs — Brittanny Anderson of Metzger Bar & Butchery and Brenner Pass, Shagbark’s Walter Bundy, Lee Gregory of the Roosevelt and Southbound, Acacia Mid-Town’s Dale Reitzer and Joe Sparatta of Heritage and Southbound — to bring out their best dishes for a five-course dinner at the Altria Theater on Thursday, Oct. 12, from 6 to 10 p.m. You can also expect cocktails, live music and auctions throughout the evening. Tickets run from $250 to the seriously charitable $20,000. Look for details at starrynight.eventscff.org.
