If you will be attending the Focused Blogging Conference in Richmond, Virginia this year, let me be one of the first to welcome you to the Capital City or #RVA as it’s known.
The RVA is an absolutely amazing city, and I’m proud to have called it home since 1992. There is so much to see and do in our city, that I wanted to make sure you had a fairly comprehensive list of everything possible. If you find yourself with some free time before or after the conference, I sincerely hope you take the opportunity to visit a few of the items on our list!
At Focused Blogging Conference you’ll learn from qualified mentors who are experts in their field and your peers how to increase traffic, leverage leads and scale income.
The conference is being held at the Omni Hotel Richmond from Wednesday, July 11th at 5PM Eastern through July 14, 2018 at 6PM Eastern. Attendees are responsible for their own hotel ticket; however, a block of rooms have been reserved for conference attendees at a discounted rate.
Tickets can be purchased from the Focused Blogging Conference website. You can purchase a General Ticket or go for a VIP Ticket. The General Tickets are valued at $3,749 for just $475. The VIP Tickets are valued at $5,149 for just $997.
You can stay up-to-date on all the latest information and announcements via the website and you can stay in contact via Twitter and Facebook.
Planning to check out some of the events around town? Well you are going to need a method of travel if not within walking distance. Here are a few of our favorite ways to get around the city!
- Greater Richmond Transit Authority find a complete listing of schedules and stops on the website,
- Segway of Richmond – wheel around town with a Segway
- RVA GemCars – great way to get around Hollywood Cemetery and have a private guided tour
- Richmond Rides offers bicycles at various stations through the metro area to rent
- RVA Trolley – who doesn’t love a great trolley car ride to take you around town?
- Pedego RVA Electric Bikes – you can even rent a trailer (for all your purchases) or a child seat!
Here you will find a collection of great articles about the #RVA region – everything from mini-vacation and city guides to restaurants and more that made it into “best of” lists from a variety of sources!
- Crush Friday: Your Mini-Vacation Guide To Richmond
- Toasting The Capital City: Discover The Craft Breweries Around Richmond
- The South’s Best Restaurant 2018: L’Opossum (Southern Living)
- 10 Coolest U.S. Cities to Visit in 2018 (Forbes)
- The Best Cakes in Every State – Shyndigz’s Salted Chocolate Caramel Cake takes the cake (Food Network)
- Top 10 Destinations to Visit in the U.S. in 2018? Richmond takes 7th place! (Lonely Planet)
Below you will find a selection of events happening in the Richmond area as well during the week of July 9-15, 2018. We will update this information as new events are scheduled!
July 10th – Tuesday Kid’s Day at Berkeley Plantation, located at 12602 Harrison Landing Road, Charles City VA 23030. Children ages 16 and under are admitted free with a paying adult ($12/adult). Learn 18th century history, explore the gardens and grounds, see our ninth president’s birthplace and walk the same floors as our founding fathers.
WWI America is the largest traveling exhibition about the Great War and the Virginia Museum of History & Culture is its only scheduled stop on the east coast! This exhibition — featuring more than 100 objects, powerful multimedia presentations, and interactive experiences—focuses on the war as a transformational event. Themes such as immigration and migration, racial conflict, women’s rights, labor struggles, challenges to civil liberties, and the meaning of citizenship are explored. Located at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, 428 N. Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23220.
July 12, 2018 from 12:30PM to 1:30PM – The Secret Life of a Victorian House at Maymont, located at 1700 Hampton Street, Richmond, VA 23220. The Dooleys’ housemaid brings the mansion to life during a family-friendly tour of the upstairs and downstairs of their grand home. Climb the backstairs to discover hidden doors and bells as you experience life and work on the estate 100 years ago. $6/person.
July 15, 2018 from 1:00PM to 2:30PM – Liberty or Death Reenactments at St. John’s Church located at 2401 E. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23223. See Patrick Henry’s famous Liberty or Death Speech. 9 costumed actors portray delegates, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Take photos with the delegates after the show.
July 14th – 6th Annual Smoke & Vine Festival. Get all the details on the Facebook Events page.
July 13th – Join us for Movies in the Park at 7PM to see Cars 3. Get all the details on the Facebook Events page.
July 15th – Bring It! LIVE at the Altria Theater beginning at 7PM. Miss D and her Dancing Dolls, the stars of Lifetime’s hit series Bring It! will be returning to Richmond with an all new “Bring It! Live” 2018 summer tour. Audiences across the nation are enamored by the fierce, original, high-octane performances that inspire fans of all ages and leave them clamoring for more. With hotter-than-ever, never-before-seen performances on deck for the 2018 tour, there has never been a better time for Bring It! fans. Get all the details on the Facebook Events page.
MORE EVENTS WILL BE POSTED AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE!
If you are attending the Focused Blogging Conference this year, I want to make sure that you have all the best that Richmond has to offer right at your fingertips. If you are bringing your family along to explore the area while you attend the conference, this is definitely a list you are going to need!
Even if you decide to attend solo or with some blogging friends, there are many locations for you to explore while you are here before and after the conference workshops each day! Items listed with mileage information indicate the amount of miles from the Omni Hotel Richmond to your destination.
- Virginia Holocaust Museum – .5 mile
- Old Dominion Railway Museum, museum and train rides- 1 mile
- The Museum and the White House of the Confederacy, exhibits and archives – 1 mile
- Black History Museum – 1.5 miles
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – 2 miles
- Edgar Allen Poe Museum at Old Stone House – 2 miles
- Virginia War Memorial – 2.5 miles
- Children’s Museum of Richmond – 7 miles
- Richmond Ballet – .5 mile
- Richmond Symphony – .5 mile
- Virginia Opera, Richmond Center Stage – .5 miles
- Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts – 1 mile
- Brown’s Island – 1 mile
- Dogwood Dell – 1 mile
- Altria Theatre – 1.5 miles
- Virginia Repertory Theatre, Richmond’s oldest theatre company with national caliber performances – 7 miles
- Agecroft Hall – 3 miles
- Byrd Theatre – 3.5 miles
- Children’s Museum of Richmond – 7 miles
- Barksdale Theatre, Richmond’s oldest theatre company – 7 miles
- Innsbrook Pavilion – 16 Miles
- Swift Creek Mill Theatre, one of the oldest US gristmills now a dinner theatre company having produced actors such as Blair Underwood – 19 miles
- Hanover Tavern, dinner theatre originally was a 1733 food-and-lodging house – 23 miles
- Virginia Science Museum where science comes alive!– 3 miles
- Byrd Theatre, historic movie theatre – 3.5 miles
- State Fairground – 8 miles
- Children’s Museum of Richmond, includes a miniature Richmond with scaled-down versions of a car-repair shop, market and restaurants – several locations
- CineBistro at Stony Point (Dine in Movie) – 10 miles
- Shockoe Slip, featuring cobblestone streets, gas lamps and more than 25 unique restaurants and specialty shops – walking distance
- Governor’s Mansion – walking distance
- The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar,The American Civil War Museum is the nation’s first museum to interpret the Civil War from Union, Confederate, and African American perspectives – .5 miles
- Newly restored Canal Walk – 1 block State Capitol– 4 blocks
- John Marshall House, known as the Great Chief Justice of the United States, he lived there for forty-five years until his death in 1835 – 1 mile
- Saint Paul’s and Saint John’s Historic Churches – 1 mile
- Hollywood Cemetery, historical walking, Segway, and trolley tours about the historic site and the famous personalities buried there, including US Presidents – 2 miles
- Virginia Historical Society, historical research and exhibits – 3 miles
- Agecroft Hall, re-live 17th century England – 3 miles
- Monument Avenue, highlighting Richmond monuments – 8 miles
- Henricus Historical Park, visitors are wowed by the reenactments that pay tribute to the Indian and English settlers of 1611 – 17 miles
- Hanover Tavern, home of Patrick Henry – 20 miles
- James River Plantation Historic Family Farms, 5 plantations that cover three centuries of history– 20 miles
- Colonial Williamsburg Historic Site, historic revolutionary war sites, museums, and reenactments – 45 miles
- Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center, explore the story of the founding of America’s first permanent English colony in 1607 to the Revolution –55 miles
- Valentine Richmond History Center – .5 miles
- Haunts of Richmond, the original, ongoing, nighttime walking ghost tours of the #RVA on Friday and Saturday evenings at 9:00 p.m. from May through October.
- River City Food Tours, walking tour involving food, fun and history
- The Richmond Trolley Company, roll past historical monuments, river views, and historic sites
- Segway Tours, diverse offering of historical tours
- Riverfront Canal Cruises, 40-minute, historically narrated tour
- Hot Air Balloon Ride, offers a unique perspective to the city
- Plane Tour, sightseeing and photo tours
- Food Tours, a two and a half hour tour, stopping into several local eateries to sample something special and hear from the owners and chefs
- Colonial Virginia Wine Trail, the best wineries along a colonial trail
- Heart of Virginia Wine Trail, drive through the beautiful Virginia countryside as you visit 6 wineries, with award winning Virginia wines of exceptional quality and character
- Richmond Brewery Tours, which includes the basics of beer tasting and an overview of local brew houses
- Blue Bee Cider, Virginia’s first and only urban cidery, Blue Bee Cider is located in the heart of downtown Richmond’s Old Manchester district – 1 mile
- Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, all their beers are naturally conditioned, unpasteurized, and unfiltered – 3 miles
- Isley Brewing Company, Winner of the Capital Ale House 3rd Annual IPA – 5 miles
- Mekong, the nation’s No. 1 “Great American Beer Bar” – 9 miles
- Legend Brewing Company, Virginia’s oldest operating microbrewery – 9 miles
- Center of the Universe Brewing Co, brewing an assortment of ales using only whole ingredients, while sticking to the traditional all-natural method of brewing beer – 16 miles
- Richmond Brewery Tours, which includes the basics of beer tasting and an overview of local brew houses
- James River Cellars Winery, award winning wines atop a picturesque hill perfect for a picnic – 14 miles
- New Kent Winery, unique state-of-the-art winery known for its live music events – 26 miles
- Saudé Creek Vineyards, beautiful and pet friendly atmosphere – 33 miles
- Colonial Virginia Wine Trail, the best wineries along a colonial trail
- Heart of Virginia Wine Trail, drive through the beautiful Virginia countryside as you visit 6 wineries, with award winning Virginia wines of exceptional quality and character
- Trevi’s Restaurant – on-site
- Starbucks Coffee Shop – on-site
- The Tobacco Company (steak & seafood) – across the street from the hotel
- La Grotta (Northern Italian) – 1 block
- Morton’s Steakhouse – 1 block
- Kobe Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi – 1 block
- The Hard Shell (seafood) – 3 blocks
- Kitchen on Cary (contemporary American) – 3 blocks
- Capital Ale House – 7 blocks
- Julep’s (new Southern cuisine) – 8 blocks
- Old Original Bookbinders (seafood) – 1 mile
- 17th St Farmer’s Market, check website for hours/days of operation – .5 mile
- Cary Town with over 200 shops – 2 miles
- Willow Lawn – 3 miles
- Shops at Libbie and Grove – 7 miles
- Chesterfield Towne Center – 10 miles
- Regency Square Mall – 10 miles
- Stony Point – 10 miles
- Virginia Center Commons – 12 miles
- Short Pump Town Center – 16 miles
- Spoken4, see the sights of Richmond via Pedi Cab
- James River, boating and fishing – 1 block
- Brown’s Island and Belle Island, run, walk or bike on the pathway, or attend an event – 1 mile
- James River Outfitters, Guided fishing and floating – 5 miles
- Byrd Park, picnic, pedal boats, running, children’s park – 5 miles
- Bald Eagle Tours, 210 pair of bald eagles call the river home, but other wildlife river tours are offered along with fishing school and fishing trips – 6 miles
- Osborn Pike Boat Landing, world class fishing along with bald eagle, osprey & waterfowl sightings – 10 miles
- Dutch Gap, 2.5 mile Lagoon Water Trail for outdoor recreation along with kayaking, bass and catfish fishing, and bird watching – 17 miles
- Richmond Zoo, Sixteen zip lines carry you over 3000 feet through the forest and above the zoo – 21 miles
- Pocahontas State Park, fish large mouth bass, bluegill and catfish in two lakes, kayak, canoe or swim in the aquatic center – 23 miles
- Virginia Beach – 104 miles
- Richmond Coliseum – 1 mile
- The Stuart C. Siegel Center at VCU – 2 miles
- The Diamond, home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, Richmond’s AA minor-league baseball team – 5 miles
- Richmond International Raceway Complex, NASCAR racing – 7 miles
- Colonial Downs – 28 miles
As you can see, the Richmond area is filled with attractions and sights to see during your visit to our city! Feel free to view the Official 2018 Visitor’s Guide Richmond Region online and bookmark our post to refer back to while you are here. We hope that you’ll find time to see a few while you are attending the Focused Blogging Conference this year!
