This Saturday, Center of the Universe Brewing in Ashland is hosting their first ever Fried Food Festival! Six vendors, including Return of the Mac, Lunch & Supper, and On the ROX, will be showcasing their best fried foods for $3 a plate. Don’t worry if fried food isn’t your thing (are you even American?) they’ll have some Sweet Frog on site to help you cool off. And make sure you don’t put away all your Fourth of July gear just yet. They’ll be hosting a Mr. America contest with the most patriotically dressed guest winning a $250 gift card to Green Top Hunt Fish! To top it all off, COTU is putting on a 0.0 Race. That’s right, 0.0 miles, nada, zip, no running required. For $25 they literally move the finish line over you while you remain stationary enjoying an ice cold beer and deep fried foods. The race starts at 1:00 and finishes at 1:01 (naturally) and you even get a T-shirt, fanny pack, finisher medal, and a free beer. $10 from each entry goes to the Pink Ink Fund, Fund an organization that seeks to aid people needing assistance with their post mastectomy tattoo needs as part of their breast reconstruction due to breast cancer and/or BRCA diagnosis. With all this AND live music throughout the day from two RVA bands, this is one event you definitely won’t want to miss!
On Sunday at Dogwood Dell come out and enjoy the 9th Annual East Coast Gospel Music Fest! This event is one of the largest outdoor gospel concerts on this side of the Mississippi, drawing crowds of up to 12,000 people! The lineup this year includes some of the biggest names in gospel music with Minister Earnest Pugh, G.I., Minister Earl Bynum, The Virginia Aires, Lee Walker & Spirit, James Johnson, and many more! This free event starts at 5 PM! If Gospel isn’t your cup of tea, head to Music in the Park at Forest Hill on Sunday at 6 PM and check out Villages, Richmond’s newest alt/country, singer songwriter band that has major 70’s vibes. Grab a blanket, picnic, friends, and head down to 4021 Forest Hill Ave to enjoy an evening of groovy music!
