Friday, April 17th, 2026

Spectrum

Furries shook their tails and waved their paws at second Fur Fair

April 15, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor  Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for furries, new and old, to meet and connect.  Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet.  “Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.” RUFF is Richmond’s first furry-centered convention, according to Partangal. Other furry events are over an hour away, mainly in Virginia Beach or NoVA. “So that’s how we I we came up with the idea idea for RUFF,

VCU’s Doomsday to put on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ musical 

April 15, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Buffy, Spike, Willow and the other residents of Sunnyvale will gather on stage at Richard Newdick Theatre in Shafer Street Playhouse from April 17-19. Doomsday VCU, a theater company on campus will be putting on “Once More, With Feeling,” a production of the musical episode of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” The musical is taken from the season six episode of the same name, when the demon Sweet puts the town of Sunnyvale under a musical curse.  “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” is a beacon of late 1990s and early 2000s fashion. When creating the costumes for the show Ian Lambert, first-year cinema major and the show’s costume designer, pulled inspiration from the original episode, as well as the series as a whole.  “A lot of like that 90s, early 2000s fashion has been super popular recently. Which is very helpful in terms of finding those types of pieces out in the wild, like thrift stores,” Lambert said. “That’s been very helpful, that our fashion interest lines up with everybody else right now.” Buffy has been one of Lambert’s favorite characters to style — having fun with the vampire slayer’s bolder outfits and red leather pants in which

Fringe Fest artists bring whimsy and weirdness to annual festival

April 15, 2026

Molly Manning, Managing Editor Richmond’s Fringe Festival brought performances of art, music and theater to venues across the city last weekend, fostering connections between Richmond locals, viewers and performers from all over the country. Fringe Fest is a queer led event created in 2020, focused on a curated set of events and performers and framed around a profit-sharing model arts and creativity event that aims to “cross-pollinate” people in Richmond through performance and mutual aid, according to their website.  The festival ran from April 10-13 and kicked off with workshops at the Virginia Repertory Theater and a “Fring-aoke Sneaky Opening Party” at Fallout on Friday night. With RuPaul as the backdrop on every screen in the room, Fringe lovers, artists and performers gathered to usher in the long weekend with karaoke classics like Amy Winehouse, Mariah Carey and even a little Weird Al.  For Paolo Garbanzo — a Richmond native, VCU alum, juggler, comedian and Dungeons and Dragons aficionado, karaoke means Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” or an attempt at a Tenacious D song.  Garbanzo is spending the first April in 12 years in his hometown, and had a new version of his show this weekend — Decide Your Endangerment, a fast-paced

Stories and songbooks; Richmond Library to hold spring concert series 

April 15, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer At the crossroads of storytelling and sound, the main branch of the Richmond Public Library transformed its space into something more than shelves and study tables this spring for its monthly concert series.  As part of a three-part concert series dedicated to bringing free, genre-spanning art to the community, the library will host the next performance this month on April 18 from 2-4 p.m.. Headlining the event is Mia Zabelka, a composer and violinist whose work pushes far beyond conventional boundaries.  Described as “acoustic experiments,” her performances blend playing techniques — what she calls “sonic body impulses” — and electronics to reveal the hidden vibrations of matter. Zabelka’s work reflects the very spirit of the series — an exploration of art that challenges, connects and resonates across disciplines. For organizer Michael McBean, that spirit is intentional. The series is designed to reflect the full range of Richmond’s DIY music scene and make room for experimentation. “We try to book concerts that are representative of the Richmond DIY scene,” McBean said. “We’re mainly just trying to represent all the corners of that scene and get people out.” Since stepping into his role last year, McBean has also

Furries shook their tails and waved their paws at second Fur Fair

Spectrum Editor April 15, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor  Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for furries, new and old, to meet and connect.  Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet.  “Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.” RUFF is Richmond’s first furry-centered convention, according to Partangal. Other furry events are over an hour away, mainly in Virginia Beach or NoVA. “So that’s how we I we came up with the idea idea for RUFF, because there just wasn’t any sort of free space in Richmond, which didn’t make a lot of sense to us because it is Richmond, it’s such a vibrant, diverse community and there’s tons of furries here, so it just made sense,” Partangal said.  It was important to those in the society for the event to be free, according to Partangal.  “We just want to bring people together and have people have this sense of community, because our main motivation behind making it free is we think that subcultures should be accessible to everyone because furry conventions are inherently a very big expense,” Partangal said. “Most furry conventions their passes cost $70, $80, and it’s not accessible to everyone, so a lot of people can only experience furry community through online methods.” The event brought furries near and far to the Richmond area, some attendees being VCU students and others coming from across the country.  “Someone came from Las Vegas, they told us during the opening event, there’s so much support,” Partangal said. “It’s been so overwhelming and amazing and I just really it makes me feel really really happy.” One thing that Partangal wants to really reiterate is that anyone

Furries shook their tails and waved their paws at second Fur Fair

April 15, 2026

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor  Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for furries, new and old, to meet and connect.  Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet.  “Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.” RUFF is Richmond’s first furry-centered convention, according to Partangal. Other furry events are over an hour away, mainly in Virginia Beach or NoVA. “So that’s how we I we came up with the idea idea for RUFF, because there just wasn’t any sort of free space in Richmond, which didn’t make a lot of sense to us because it is Richmond, it’s such a vibrant, diverse community and there’s tons of furries here, so it just made sense,” Partangal said.  It was important to those in the society for the event to be free, according to Partangal.  “We just want to bring people together and have people have this sense of community, because our main motivation behind making it free is we think that subcultures should be accessible to everyone because furry conventions are inherently a very big expense,” Partangal said. “Most furry conventions their passes cost $70, $80, and it’s not accessible to everyone, so a lot of people can only experience furry community through online methods.” The event brought furries near and far to the Richmond area, some attendees being VCU students and others coming from across the country.  “Someone came from Las Vegas, they told us during the opening event, there’s so much support,” Partangal said. “It’s been so overwhelming and amazing and I just really it makes me feel really really happy.” One thing that Partangal wants to really reiterate is that anyone

VCU’s Doomsday to put on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ musical 

April 15, 2026

Maeve Bauer, Spectrum Editor  Buffy, Spike, Willow and the other residents of Sunnyvale will gather on stage at Richard Newdick Theatre in Shafer Street Playhouse from April 17-19. Doomsday VCU, a theater company on campus will be putting on “Once More, With Feeling,” a production of the musical episode of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” The musical is taken from the season six episode of the same name, when the demon Sweet puts the town of Sunnyvale under a musical curse.  “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,” is a beacon of late 1990s and early 2000s fashion. When creating the costumes for the show Ian Lambert, first-year cinema major and the show’s costume designer, pulled inspiration from the original episode, as well as the series as a whole.  “A lot of like that 90s, early 2000s fashion has been super popular recently. Which is very helpful in terms of finding those types of pieces out in the wild, like thrift stores,” Lambert said. “That’s been very helpful, that our fashion interest lines up with everybody else right now.” Buffy has been one of Lambert’s favorite characters to style — having fun with the vampire slayer’s bolder outfits and red leather pants in which

Fringe Fest artists bring whimsy and weirdness to annual festival

April 15, 2026

Molly Manning, Managing Editor Richmond’s Fringe Festival brought performances of art, music and theater to venues across the city last weekend, fostering connections between Richmond locals, viewers and performers from all over the country. Fringe Fest is a queer led event created in 2020, focused on a curated set of events and performers and framed around a profit-sharing model arts and creativity event that aims to “cross-pollinate” people in Richmond through performance and mutual aid, according to their website.  The festival ran from April 10-13 and kicked off with workshops at the Virginia Repertory Theater and a “Fring-aoke Sneaky Opening Party” at Fallout on Friday night. With RuPaul as the backdrop on every screen in the room, Fringe lovers, artists and performers gathered to usher in the long weekend with karaoke classics like Amy Winehouse, Mariah Carey and even a little Weird Al.  For Paolo Garbanzo — a Richmond native, VCU alum, juggler, comedian and Dungeons and Dragons aficionado, karaoke means Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” or an attempt at a Tenacious D song.  Garbanzo is spending the first April in 12 years in his hometown, and had a new version of his show this weekend — Decide Your Endangerment, a fast-paced

Stories and songbooks; Richmond Library to hold spring concert series 

April 15, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer At the crossroads of storytelling and sound, the main branch of the Richmond Public Library transformed its space into something more than shelves and study tables this spring for its monthly concert series.  As part of a three-part concert series dedicated to bringing free, genre-spanning art to the community, the library will host the next performance this month on April 18 from 2-4 p.m.. Headlining the event is Mia Zabelka, a composer and violinist whose work pushes far beyond conventional boundaries.  Described as “acoustic experiments,” her performances blend playing techniques — what she calls “sonic body impulses” — and electronics to reveal the hidden vibrations of matter. Zabelka’s work reflects the very spirit of the series — an exploration of art that challenges, connects and resonates across disciplines. For organizer Michael McBean, that spirit is intentional. The series is designed to reflect the full range of Richmond’s DIY music scene and make room for experimentation. “We try to book concerts that are representative of the Richmond DIY scene,” McBean said. “We’re mainly just trying to represent all the corners of that scene and get people out.” Since stepping into his role last year, McBean has also

Richmond chooses new Poet Laureate at annual festival 

April 15, 2026

Lelia Contee, Contributing Writer  From page to stage, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond hosted its fourth annual Richmond Poetry Fest on Friday and Saturday. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, or VisArts, is a nonprofit organization that helps adults and children explore creativity and make art. The festival featured a Parallel Listening series that blends live music and literary readings, “Book Club Breakfast,” the Young Voices of RVA, “Drag Queen Story Hour” and community poetry readings and performances, with American Sign Language interpretation provided. “If people come to the poetry fest not being familiar with poetry they’ll realize how much they actually are familiar with poetry,” poet Joanna S. Lee said.  Lee was elected as Richmond’s second Poet Laureate in 2024, as a part of the city’s Poet Laureate Program that was launched in 2020. The program highlights local artists and uses poetry to support the Richmond community.  Lee said a poet laureate mean being “a voice for the city,” where she engaged in readings, mayoral events and spoke with diverse audiences, including those not typically involved in Richmond’s art scene. Lee’s current project aims to collaborate with parks and departments to integrate poetry with the trails being built

Students advocate for disability accessibility, awareness through art, prom event 

April 8, 2026

Fakeha Naeem, Contributing Writer    VCU’s first Disability Advocacy Week occurred from March 30 to April 4 and saw students collaborate with organizations on and off campus with the goal of raising awareness for students with disabilities and the challenges they face every day. The VCU Student Government’s Disability Advocacy and Accessibility Caucus put on a week’s slate of printing, socializing and film viewing that culminated in a “Disability Prom” in the Commons Ballroom.  Fourth-year student Xavier McDaniel designed two disability focused tote bags in collaboration with Studio Two Three, along with t-shirts and posters for those who participated in the event.  “I went through archives with protest and disability signs and imagery, pulling out phrases such as ‘To Exist is to Resist’ and ‘Accessibility benefits everyone,’” McDaniel said. March 31 saw the launch of an exhibition at the Cabell Library where the works of 20 disabled artists at VCU were featured — ranging from sculpture, craft, paper, video and digital media.  “VCUarts is so big, specifically pulling off the Uncommon brand, we do push our diversity in the art brand but we do not talk about disabled artists so my idea was to talk about all the uncommon,” McDaniel said.

Third All About Palestine brings rich culture, conversation

April 8, 2026

Lelia Contee, Contributing Writer  The third annual All About Palestine event invited Richmonders to experience Palestinian culture through joy, community and resistance at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on April 4.  Inspired by Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “On this land,” this year’s theme centered on resilience and appreciating the beauty, power and steadfastness of Palestinian culture. The event featured Palestinian art and literature, authentic cuisine, vendors and educational booths. Two panels were on the schedule — during the first, “Health Under Occupation: Mind, Body and Resilience,” panelists discussed the mental and physical toll of resisting genocide, and the resilience that sustains communities from Washington, D.C. to Gaza.  In the second panel — “Culture as Resistance,” panelists discussed how culture sustains Palestinian identity, memory and belonging across generations.  “We hope that it gets people excited about learning more about our culture, the history and the deep roots that we have to our indigenous land because we’re the indigenous people of the Levant,” said Fairouz Foty, co-founder of Malikat Al Dabke. Malikat Al Dabke, or Queens of Dabke, is the first all-women’s dabke troupe that specializes in Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqi dance styles in the Washington region, according to their website.  Dabke is

RVA Missed Connections recouples lost links

April 8, 2026

Rachel Nicholas, Staff Writer What started as a niche corner of Craigslist has found new life on Instagram where RVA Missed Connections is turning brief, everyday encounters into something more lasting.  The account shares anonymous submissions from Richmonders hoping to reconnect with strangers they crossed paths with. Whether it was a quick glance at a coffee shop or a conversation that ended too soon, no submission is too small. Jenna Bowen was inspired to create the page based on a book she had read by Brian Francis called “Missed Connections: A Memoir in Letters Never Sent,” a book that explores missed opportunities for love through personal ads. “It’s really interesting, in the 90s he was in his twenties and in the closet,” said Bowen. “So he posts a missed a connection ad in a newspaper hoping to find love and later reconnects with the letters he received 30 years later.” Bowen said the novel made her reflect on the idea of missed chances and whether people regret not taking them.  “I read it and thought to myself, ‘Would I want to regret missing my chance at love?’ and I imagined I couldn’t be the only one,” Bowen said. While the