There is plenty to keep you entertained, educated and civically engaged this week in Richmond, from a meeting about how many homes should be built at the former Hilltop mall site to a day of action to raise awareness about protecting our National Parks.
For more, see our summer events roundup, which includes activities through September, and our lists of where to go swimming and ongoing things to do in Richmond (many of which are free). You can also visit Richmondside.org on Fridays for a list of upcoming live music shows.
Things to do in Richmond this week
- Things to do in Richmond this week
- Planning commission hosts Hilltop mall housing plan meeting
- Final events with peace-promoting sailboat The Golden Rule
- Celebrate Richmondside’s 1-year anniversary tonight
- Final Richmond outdoor movie of summer is Friday
- Santana tribute band to perform at Music on Main
- National Park Service 109th birthday day of action in Richmond
- Related stories
Planning commission hosts Hilltop mall housing plan meeting
Richmond residents can learn more about the redevelopment of the former Hilltop shopping center property at a study session of the Richmond Planning Commission, an advisory body to the Richmond City Council on planning and development policy.
The appointed body will specifically discuss the land use plan, which will guide the density of housing that developers aim to build there.
The Hilltop specific plan calls for between 5,000 and 7,500 new housing units to be built. The designs range from two-story townhouses to five-story apartment and condominium complexes.
Planning commission study session, Thur., Aug. 21, 6:30 p.m., Richmond City Council chambers, 440 Civic Center Plaza or via Zoom (passcode is “planning”).
Final events with peace-promoting sailboat The Golden Rule
A final day of activities are planned Thursday in honor of a visit from The Golden Rule, a ship that sails harbor to harbor to spread messages of peace.
Its Wednesday’s activities were to include a voyage past Alcatraz, in protest of President Trump’s idea to make it an ICE prison, and Chevron, which the group says is polluting Richmond and selling oil to Israel.
Events today include dockside tours today at 2 p.m. at the Safe Harbor Marina Bay Yacht Club, 1340 Marina Way S. and a public screening and discussion of two short films from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Harbor Master’s Office Conference Room.
The films include the 13-minute documentary about the Rich City Rays, “Rays, A Kayaktivism Story” by Enrique Labrada Prieto, and the film “Golden Rule: the Journey for Peace,” directed by Nolan Anderson and Lindsey Hogan.
The Golden Rule’s visit to Richmond is sponsored by Veterans For Peace, The Richmond Progressive Alliance and many local activists, including Marilyn Langlois, Gayle McLaughlin, Louis Flores, Tarnel Abbott, Gail Meyer, Tim Laidman and Pam Stello.
Celebrate Richmondside’s 1-year anniversary tonight
Richmondside is celebrating its first anniversary by bringing readers and members together tonight at The Backyard for a fun, casual evening of community building, refreshments and music.
DJ Millions will entertain attendees, who will be invited to record video messages about Richmond and meet their neighbors. You’ll also hear from Richmondside Editor-in-Chief Kari Hulac and meet others from the newsroom, including reporters Joel Umanzor and Jana Kadah.
Everyone will receive one drink ticket, and complimentary appetizers will be served while supplies last. Food and drinks can also be purchased. Parking may be limited so consider carpooling or using public transit or a ride service.
Richmondside’s one-year anniversary party, Thur., Aug. 21, The Backyard, 205 Cutting Blvd. Members-only meet-and-greet is at 5 p.m. The program for the general public is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. RSVP here. Free.
Final Richmond outdoor movie of summer is Friday
Courtesy of city of Richmond
The final in Richmond’s series of free Movies in the Park is Fri., Aug. 22 at the Richmond Recreation Complex at Nicholl Park.
Families are invited to bring blankets and something to sit on and settle in to enjoy a screening of “Sonic 3.”
The final outdoor movie of the summer is Fri., Aug. 22 at the city recreation complex, 3230 Macdonald Ave., starting at about 8:30 p.m. (whenever the sun sets). Free.
Santana tribute band to perform at Music on Main
The final of two Richmond Main Street Initiative Music on Main concerts is tonight, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The featured band is Santana tribute band Sacred Fire, and there will be food vendors selling their tasty wares.
Music on Main, Thur., Aug. 21, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., 1401 Macdonald Ave. Free.
National Park Service 109th birthday day of action in Richmond
On Aug. 25, the National Park Service’s 109th birthday, community members, elected officials, and historians plan to gather at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park to “celebrate and defend the power of public lands to tell the full American story.”
The event, part of the National Parks Conservation Association’s Day of Action national campaign, according to a press release, will highlight the importance of the East Bay’s four national park sites, all of which are in Contra Costa County: Rosie the Riveter, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, John Muir National Historic Site, and Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site.
Participants will speak out against recent efforts to defund national parks, censor history and erase inclusive narratives from public interpretation — topics that hit close to home at the Rosie museum after President Trump made certain declarations about what federal agencies could say. Just this week Trump made headlines by saying the Smithsonian Institute “focuses too much” on how bad slavery was.
Featured speakers as of Aug. 9 include: John Gioia, Contra Costa County supervisor, Jon Jarvis, 18th director of the National Park Service (2009–2017); Neal Desai, Pacific Region Director, National Parks Conservation Association; Donna Graves, a Berkeley-based historian who helped found the Rosie the Riveter park; Flora Ninomiya, whose Japanese American family was forcibly removed from their Richmond home and cut-flower nursery to a WWII incarceration camp; and Doria Robinson, Richmond City Council member and founder of Urban Tilth.
Event activities will include:
- A story-gathering station where attendees can record short videos on why national parks matter;
- A chance to sign a giant “Happy Birthday NPS & Happy 25th Anniversary Rosie” card, create origami cranes with Tsuru for Solidarity as symbols to “Stop Repeating History,” and write supportive messages in chalk on the sidewalk.
“National parks belong to all of us,” Graves said in the press release. “They are beloved living classrooms and shared spaces where we celebrate and confront our past and imagine our future. Attempts to defund or privatize parks and censor our history rob the public of the truth and diminish the power of these places.”
Protect Our Parks, Save Our Histories Richmond Day of Action, Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, 1414 Harbour Way S., Ste. 3000. Free.
