Monet arrives on the Boulevard this week, and Richmond answers with a full-throated hello. Thursday brings a curator’s talk on the Impressionists’ revolution and free Shakespeare at the Modlin; Friday pairs an Armenian ensemble with Elizabethan court dance; Saturday stacks a fall market, a blockbuster opening, and a beloved film with a live orchestra; and Wednesday closes the week with a film festival, free jazz, and three remarkable women on one stage. Here is what is on from Thursday, November 12 through Wednesday, November 18.
1. Curator’s Opening Talk: That 1870s Show
Thursday, November 12, 6:00–7:00 PM
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Cheek Theater, 200 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond
Before the Impressionists’ big show opens on Saturday, hear the story behind it from the person who curated it. Dr. Nicole Myers of the Dallas Museum of Art traces how a renegade group of Paris painters scandalized the art world in the 1870s and set the course for modern art — the perfect primer if you plan to see the exhibition, and a fine evening on its own if you don’t. ASL interpretation will be provided, and the talk is also livestreamed for anyone who would rather watch from home.
Cost: $1–$20; free for VMFA members.
More info: Event page
2. The Tempest at the Modlin
Thursday, November 12–Saturday, November 14, 7:30 PM; Sunday, November 15, 2:00 PM
Alice Jepson Theatre, Modlin Center for the Arts, 453 Westhampton Way, Richmond
The University of Richmond’s Department of Theatre & Dance takes on Shakespeare’s island of magic, shipwrecks, and forgiveness — Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, and Caliban, in the room where the Modlin does its best work. Arrive a half hour early for “Eco-Tempest,” a lobby exhibition of student sustainability research tied to the production, and stay after for student-led conversation. Four chances to catch it, and the Sunday matinee is the easy family pick.
Cost: Free; reserve tickets in advance.
More info: Event page
3. The Naghash Ensemble at Modlin
Friday, November 13, 7:30 PM
Camp Concert Hall, Modlin Center for the Arts, 453 Westhampton Way, Richmond
The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia brings its North American tour to Richmond: three vocalists, oud, duduk, frame drum, and piano weaving 15th-century Armenian poetry into music that moves between ancient folk song, new classical, and jazz. Rolling Stone called the ensemble “a moment of grace and meditation” — expect a quiet, arresting evening, very different from the usual Friday night out. If the evening doesn’t fit, catch the ensemble’s free midday Well-Being Concert at the Harnett Museum of Art, 12:00–1:00 PM the same day.
Cost: Ticketed; see Modlin’s event page for pricing. Note: Modlin is a cashless facility.
More info: Event page
4. The Dancing Queen: Court Dance in the Age of Elizabeth
Friday, November 13, 7:00–9:00 PM
Agecroft Hall & Gardens, 4305 Sulgrave Rd, Richmond
Elizabethan England comes alive inside a Tudor manor — where else? The Richmond Renaissance Dancers present court dances of Elizabeth I’s reign, with Linda Macdonald narrating as the Queen herself, and Richmond’s period-instrument ensemble RVA Baroque opens the evening with a 20-minute mini-concert of consort songs at 6:30 PM. It is the kind of evening Agecroft does better than anywhere else in the city: history you can watch, in the room it belongs in.
Cost: $15 per person.
More info: Event page
5. Sweater Weather Market at Agecroft
Saturday, November 14, 12:00–5:00 PM
Agecroft Hall & Gardens, 4305 Sulgrave Rd, Richmond
Petty Markets returns to Agecroft for the second annual Sweater Weather Market: local artisans, food, drinks, sweets, and treats, all spread across the gardens in peak fall color. Garden admission is free on market day, so come for the shopping and stay for a wander through the grounds — and the house museum is open at regular rates if the Tudor mood strikes. Wear the sweater; it is, after all, the theme.
Cost: Free garden admission; food and goods for purchase.
More info: Event page
6. The Impressionist Revolution Opens at VMFA
Saturday, November 14 (runs through April 4, 2027)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond
The big one: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Morisot, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Matisse arrive from the Dallas Museum of Art, tracing Impressionism from its scandalous birth in 1874 to its early-20th-century legacy. Opening day doubles as Claude Monet’s 186th birthday party — music, cupcakes, cocktails, and more in the Cochrane Atrium from noon to 4:00 PM, free with no RSVP. Go Saturday for the party; go any time after for the paintings, which will be here all winter.
Cost: $20 adults, $16 seniors, $10 youth and students; free for members and children 6 and under. The birthday party is free.
More info: Event page
7. The Goonies in Concert with the Richmond Symphony
Saturday, November 14, 6:00 PM
Altria Theater, 6 N Laurel St, Richmond
Hey, you guys. The Richmond Symphony plays Dave Grusin’s score live while the 1985 classic unspools on the big screen — dialogue and sound effects intact, orchestra in sync with every chase, trapdoor, and treasure map. Note the time: the Symphony moved the performance to 6:00 PM, so set your evening accordingly. A genuinely all-ages night, and the rare concert where the kids may know the movie better than you do.
Cost: Tickets from $20; see the Symphony’s event page for current pricing and availability.
More info: Event page
8. Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival Opens
Wednesday, November 18 (festival runs through Sunday, November 22)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond
The 10th annual Pocahontas Reframed — the East Coast’s only festival of films by and about Native people — opens Wednesday with screenings at both Boulevard museums, running through Sunday with more than 50 features, shorts, and documentaries, plus a filmmakers panel and live music. It is the kind of festival that rewards a single afternoon as much as a full pass, and the weekend brings a free Family Powwow and the Tsenacommacah Eastern Indian Marketplace. Opening day is the moment to get oriented; the full schedule is on the festival site.
Cost: Festival passes $40 ($30 for members of either museum); individual tickets from $30.
More info: Event page
9. Dominion Energy Jazz Café: Todd Woodson Band featuring Susan Greenbaum
Wednesday, November 18, 6:00–8:00 PM
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Cochrane Atrium, 200 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond
Close the week the way every week around here should close: free jazz in the Cochrane Atrium. This week it is the Todd Woodson Band with vocalist Susan Greenbaum, on the Richmond Jazz Society’s November lineup — arrive early, since seats fill fast, and remember the museum stays open until 9 PM on Wednesdays if the music puts you in a gallery mood.
Cost: Free; no registration required.
More info: Event page
10. Women Who Lead Panel Discussion
Wednesday, November 18, 6:00–8:30 PM
Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 428 N Arthur Ashe Blvd, Richmond
Tied to the Barbie: A Cultural Icon exhibition, the VMHC gathers three women who broke their own ceilings: Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim woman and first South Asian American elected statewide in the nation; Capt. Janet Days (USN, Ret.), former commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk; and Carly Fiorina, CEO of Colonial Williamsburg and the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 company. Dr. Sandra J. Peart of the University of Richmond moderates; a reception follows the panel. A serious, substantive evening — and a fitting close to a week that started with revolutionaries in Paris.
Cost: $38 non-members, $28 members.
More info: Event page
Know of an event we should include in a future edition? Send us a tip through the contact page — the more neighborhood the better.
Also on this week: the Richmond Marathon runs Saturday, November 14 (sold out — cheer from the sidelines along the course); the Barefoot Puppet Theater performs Little Red and the Gingerbread Man at Lewis Ginter on Saturday at 10:00 AM (garden admission $24 adults, $20 seniors, $14 youth); the VMHC’s Fall Homeschool Open House runs Friday, November 13, 10:00 AM–5:00 PM, free for homeschool families; the VMHC’s Collections Up Close: Charting the Past opens the museum’s map collection on Saturday, November 14, 2:00–4:00 PM; and the Poe Museum’s Tell-Tale Talks brings author Diana Peterfreund to Fountain Bookstore on Wednesday, November 18, 5:30–7:00 PM ($5–$15).
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