Here are some wine and chocolate pairing tips from Matt and Tim Gearhart of Gearharts Fine Chocolates, here in Richmond, Virginia. Gearharts Fine Chocolates is the home of handcrafted confections of uncompromising quality made from premium chocolate, sweet cream and pure butter blended with top quality fruits, nuts, herbs, spices and liquors in their kitchen in Charlottesville, Virginia. Matt Gearhart presented these tips during a seminar at the Virginia Wine Expo in April and agreed to share them with you.
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What wine goes with chocolate?
Friday, May 27th, 2011Kitchen and Garden Tour May 1
Monday, April 18th, 2011If you can’t catch one of the Richmond tours during Historic Garden Week, there’s always the Fan Woman’s Club Annual Kitchen and Garden Tour.
Kitchen and Garden Tour in Richmond's historic Fan District May 1 2011 1-6 PM
This year’s theme, Urban Delights, offers a diverse selection of homes and gardens in Richmond’s historic Fan District. Discover how urban homeowners maximize every inch of space both inside and outside their homes. See how each home has been personalized by its owners who focus on blending historic architectural details with the functionality required by modern families. The tour features homes across the length of the Fan District, from the 1400-block of Grove to the Boulevard.
The Fan Woman’s Club organizes this tour each spring as its primary fundraiser to support its grants to neighborhood non-profit organizations and its neighborhood improvement activities. The woman’s club has upgraded park facilities with new benches and plantings and funded new period-appropriate street litter receptacles. Houses are staffed by volunteers and neighborhood businesses sponsor the event.
The Historic Fan District is an 85-block turn of the century (19th to 20th, that is) residential neighborhood, named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as the largest intact Victorian neighborhood in the United States. It takes its name from its tree-lined avenues and streets that “fan out” from Monroe Park, adjacent to the academic campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Best described as architecturally diverse, the over 2,300 classic town homes feature bay windows, turrets, high ceilings, parquet oak and pine floors, mahogany woodwork, stained and leaded glass, and varied porch and balcony designs. Most homes are brick or brick and brownstone.
At the east end of the Fan, close to Monroe Park, sits a unique clapboard residence on a large corner lot. Completed before the area gained popularity in 1869, on a parcel purchased in 1862, it is now Richmond’s premier bed and breakfast known for its hearty gourmet breakfasts. A stay in our urban inn is a better way to stay: to experience the Fan neighborhood like a local, to dine in neighborhood eateries, and to enjoy live theater, neighborhood entertainment and nearby museums and attractions.
Richmond’s Easter on Parade April 24
Sunday, April 17th, 2011Easter Sunday brings out that Richmond favorite Easter on Parade. Not a parade like you would normally expect, where bands and marchers march up the parade route! NO! Here in Richmond Virginia we do it a little differently; you’ll find bands and acts stationary on peoples’ porches along Monument Avenue. Parade go-ers parade up and down Monument Avenue taking part in all the festivities. Instead of an Easter Parade, we call it Easter on Parade – and it’s FREE!.
Monument Avenue's Easter on Parade April 24
Parade site is located on Monument Avenue between Allen and Davis Avenues, between the Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis monuments.
It’s one of the most beloved of Richmond traditions. Each year more than 25,000 people converge on the four-block site to celebrate the arrival of spring and the beauty of Monument Avenue, taking this once-a-year opportunity to stroll in the streets with cars absent and removed. Music, arts, crafts, children’s activities, food, balloon artistry, a petting zoo, and of course, people and pet watching are all part of the celebration. This is a parade for all Richmonders and visitors to Richmond to come out and participate! Wear a hat or even an entire costume! There’s a hat contest so you better start making yours now.
If you happen to be in town for Easter, take part in this event and remember that the Fan district’s premier bed and breakfast inn is located just a short stroll – a few blocks – from Allen and Monument, giving you the perfect spot to stay and enjoy Easter in Virginia’s capitol city. The William Miller House is known for its hearty gourmet breakfast and it would be a great way to start your day with a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast to power a stroll up and down Monument Avenue!
Neil Young Solo Tour in Richmond April 17
Saturday, April 16th, 2011Legendary rocker Neil Young comes to Richmond’s Landmark Theater on Sunday April 17 as part of his Spring Solo Tour.
Neil Young at the Landmark in Richmond April 17
Young will include songs from his currently acclaimed album, Le Noise, as well as his classic material in both acoustic and electric settings. Neil recently won his second-ever Grammy for “Best Rock Song” for “Angry World,” a track from Le Noise, which was nominated for Best Rock Album. Neil Young has invited British folk legend Bert Jansch as support for his appearance here in Richmond. Tickets are available from TicketMaster .
Neil Young is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation. Young began performing as a solo artist in Canada in 1960, before moving to California in 1966, where he co-founded the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephen Stills and Richie Furay, and later joined Crosby, Stills & Nash as a fourth member in 1969. He then forged a successful and acclaimed solo career, releasing his first album in 1968; his career has since spanned over 40 years and 34 studio albums, with a continual and uncompromising exploration of musical styles. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website describes Young as “one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers”. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice: first as a solo artist in 1995, and second as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997.
Richmond Forum: David Blaine
Friday, April 15th, 2011David Blaine is “Pushing the Limits of Human Endurance” as part of Richmond’s Forum on Saturday, April 16 at 8 PM. Blaine will discuss his endurance stunts and love of magic at the Landmark Theater at 6 N Laurel Street in Richmond’s historic Fan District. Individual tickets are $36 to $70 but are limited so call the Forum office (804) 330-3993 for availability.
David Blaine Magic Endurance Stunts
Originally conceived by members of the First Unitarian Church in Richmond in 1964, the Richmond Public Forum brought internationally and nationally known speakers to Richmond to enlighten, educate, and entertain audiences. Speakers included notables like Henry Kissinger, Shirley Chisholm, and Moshe Dayan – to name a few. In 1980, after 16 years, the Forum ceased operations. In 1986, the Richmond Forum revived as a nonprofit educational organization presenting Ted Koppel, ABC news journalist, as its first program. For over twenty years, The Richmond Forum has presented and produced programs that stimulate, inspire, and inform its patrons. Many of which have been “one and only” type events – available no where else. Tickets are available on a subscription basis, but often single event tickets are available.
The Landmark Theater opened in 1927 after seven years of planning and two years of construction. The theater was purchased by the City of Richmond from the Shriners in 1940 and the City embarked on a renovation to restore its splendor in 1994/5. Some of America’s greatest entertainers have appeared on stage beneath its towering minarets and desert murals. The Landmark is also home to the Broadway in Richmond series, featuring Broadway plays and musicals.
The Landmark Theater, at 6 N. Laurel Street, is within walking distance, just blocks from Richmond’s premier bed and breakfast, located in the historic Fan District. When events at the Landmark are on your schedule, make an overnight at our urban inn part of the plans for a very special treat.
