Culture

A project of the nonprofit Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, “Together We Rise: Pulaski” will be formally opened with a ribbon-cutting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. It will be on display at Jackson Park through June 1.

In 2011, Stephanie Gardner discovered that some of Bridgewater College’s 4,000 Native American artifacts were federally protected and needed to be repatriated. Archivists across the U.S. have been involved in similar efforts.

Renee Tucker, an eighth-grader at Narrows High School, was assigned a public speaking project. She addressed the overpopulation of ducks and geese at the local pond–then took it a step further and found a way to solve the problem.

Hollins University is home to a carillon, an instrument of 47 large bronze bells that is the main fixture in the chapel’s bell tower. Though the bells once chimed frequently, they have mostly fallen silent in recent years. On May 3, that will change.

A 390-acre farm in Northern Bedford County is one of the latest land parcels in Virginia to be protected under a conservation easement. The easement prevents development of the land, which is currently home to forests and a farm, even after it is sold.

The Martinsville Henry County Equity Collaborative used Virginia Tech students for a survey on healthcare disparities.

“There’s a long history in rural communities of being forgotten or mislabeled by urban communities,” said the founder of Cora Dance. She hopes their new Clifton Forge office can support a rich dance community – starting with a debut performance this weekend.

The Martinsville Speedway is known just as much for its camping as it is the actual races, according to Ridgeway Mayor Craig O’der. Some campers arrive over a week before the big race.

Birth in Color is a Richmond-based nonprofit founded in 2018 that trains doulas to serve Black, brown and Indigenous mothers to ensure safe deliveries. It has served more than 500 women in Virginia so far. 

The project received the first grant awarded by the new Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority, which over the next 18 years is expected to oversee about $550 million from settlements related to opioid manufacturing, marketing and sales.