2010 was quite a year. Looking back, Richmond has a lot of things that happened. New places opened, old favorites were gone and things all around changed during the year. Here are some of the biggest.
Goodbye Ukrop's, Hello Martin's
We thought the world ended when Ukrop's announced its sale. And when Martin's came in, people were wary of the new grocery store. But Martin's pulled out all the stops to make Richmond happy as they took over each Ukrop's at the beginning of the year. Reaction to Martin's was mixed but it's no question that the change made an impact.
Snowmageddon
Techincally this started at the very end of 2009 and spilt into this year. But for the season, we got a total of 28 inches of snow and it essentially shut down the city.
Alley Katz Closes and Reopens
The popular Shockoe Bottom music venue quietly closed its doors in June over tax issues. Speculation grew like wildfire and while major news outlets never reported on the closing, it was a serious blow to the music community. The club reopened a few months later thanks to a number of supporters and continues to book shows of the hard rock and metal variety.
Richmond Gets Two New Radio Stations
Within a week of each other, two favorite Richmond radio stations changed their formats. The Mix 103.7 became 103.7 The River, which was more alternative (but continued to play Melissa Etheridge) and hard rock station Y101 became the New Hot 100.9, which offered mainly pop hits. While the format changes weren't loved by everyone, it got people caring about radio again.
Flying Squirrels
Nutzy and the Flying Squirrels brought back the love of baseball and Richmond had a reason to go back to the Diamond. The Squirrels games were the place to be this summer with an average home game attendance of 6,000.
VMFA Grand Re-Opening
After five years, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts opened its doors to a brand new remodeled museum that's worthy of your time. The opening weekend was packed with fantastic activities including live music, giant puppets and more.
RVAlution
What started as a simple weekly dance party at the Hat Factory exploded into something much more. Every week, hundreds of people would descend on the dance floor with glow sticks and hot moves. It became so popular after the first week, they had to turn people away at the door. Finally, fans of dance music had a place to go.
Rudolph's Tragedy at the Christmas Parade
It was the shot seen around the world. News of Rudolph getting stabbed in the head spread all over the place and Richmond was featured on Jimmy Kimmel, the Today Show and countless other blogs and news outlets.
Richmond's Charter School Opens
Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, the first charter school in Richmond, opened this year after a three-and-a-half-year effort to open. School organizers and city school officials were often at odds and it was doubtful the school would even open. But it did and students now have a new school to call their own.
Connecticut Finds A New Home
The Native American statue that held up the Diamond for many years relocated to the Lucky Strike building on the James. Connecticut now watches and greets visitors down the river.
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