Style Weekly

What represents a lineage? Is it merely a collection of records, documents and authorizations? Does it consist of stories, recipes and legends passed from generation to generation? Or can a lineage be preserved tangibly, through memory-filled heirlooms and objects that stand the test of time? Paul Hansbarger, owner of Virginia-based retailer Lineage, knows that personal history and legacy can manifest in thoughtful, quality, handcrafted goods.

Thursday, Aug. 27 “Historically Speaking: Sparring in the South” at Tuckahoe Public Library, Henrico In this hour-long lecture, historian Mark Shubert takes a long look back at the origins of boxing in America, tracing the roots of pugilism back to colonial times and charting its rise to prominence in the early 20th century.

On Wednesday, the board of directors for Swift Creek Mill Theatre announced a new business plan in the hopes of keeping its doors open. If the Mill is able to meet its fundraising goals, the board says it will focus its programming on children’s and holiday shows, cabarets and rentals. The Mill will have a “smaller, smarter season to start,” abandon full dinner service, and aims to bring back its popular “Drifty the Snowman” show. A leaner season of mainstage shows would begin in 2027.

So much for “everyone’s a critic.” Nowadays the idiom is overcrowded by reply guys and freelancers chicken or egging it (which came first?) in a gig economy. But all is not lost because now “everyone’s a band,” or can be so if they choose. Home recording is flourishing thanks to the growing accessibility of tools to do just that; take any smartphone for instance.

Modern academia can be a political minefield. Even before the Trump administration began holding the funding of universities hostage for being “too woke” or allowing students to protest in support of Palestine, professors already encountered plenty of obstacles on campus. How do you support political causes — like, say, the renaming of campus buildings that bear the names of enslavers — without risking your tenure?

In August of last year, organizer Mary Kathryn Pruett set out to create a reader group that welcomed even those who didn’t read the assigned book, but who still wanted to come socialize and grab a drink anyway. River Light Reads will celebrate its first anniversary this weekend, and they’re having an affair. Focused on building community, RLR offers a chance to connect and socialize in a low-pressure setting.

You can imagine the beauty of the promoter logic, wherever they dream up concert bills. Eighties rocker Billy Idol, who is slated to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November, needed some openers for his triumphal “It’s A Nice Day to … Tour Again” tour. Why not book some big amphitheaters on the East Coast with another early-’80s mainstay of MTV ?

Suburban denizens — how many times have you self-deprecatingly chuckled when asked where you live? “Oh, just the burbs.” Suburban stereotypes range from convenient at best to deathly dull at worst. There is a certain divinity to convenience, though. And while the suburbs may never capture the soul of a city, they’re certainly capable of mirroring its light. Especially the shine of Richmond’s hospitality industry.

The man I was caring for was dying, and he wouldn’t hear of it. I’ll call him James. He had deep eyes and a free spirit. His soft heart loved music and laughter. We had already ended our romantic relationship when he was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer, but we were close, and I became his primary caregiver. We were in our early 30s when he moved into the guest room of my home to receive treatment. James had an iron-fisted relationship with hope.

We’ve all heard about California wines, and many have heard of Oregon wines, but Virginia? Virginia wines have a bit of an identity crisis. “I was in Minneapolis for a wine tasting,” recalls Luca Paschina, president and CEO of Barboursville Vineyards in Barboursville, Va. “The wine bar had about 40 people and only two people had ever tasted Virginia wines before. Within a three-hour tasting, they had purchased 452 bottles of wine to be shipped to a distributor in Minneapolis.