Diversions
Thanks and Gratitude
These are a few of my favorite things.
The moment you flick your porch lights off to trick-or-treaters, the holidays are upon you. Suddenly it’s November and you can hear the faint trill of Mariah Carey’s voice carried on the wind.
By Fayeruz Regan 11.2024
The Haunted History of Tuckahoe Plantation
When an estate has a tree-lined driveway, it makes for a dramatic entrance. When the tree-lined driveway is a mile-long plantation road, you are being pulled into a different century.
Sitting on the porch of Tuckahoe Plantation was our host and ghost tour guide, Holt. Holt was petite, with wide set eyes the color of sea foam green. Like many employees at Tuckahoe Plantation, she once lived on-site in one of the small cabins. Years ago, she fell in love with a coworker, and they married. They now have two sons.
By Fayeruz Regan 10.2024
Horses and Healing A Journey Toward Wellness
Let’s face it – the world is on fire. When people ask how I’m doing, I pause for a millisecond while weighing the authenticity of that question, and my relationship to the inquirer. In most cases, I put aside the trauma I’m experiencing as a Palestinian (and an American, for that matter), and for the sake of the conversation reply, “Fine.”
By Fayeruz Regan 09.2024
Life’s a Beach All Over Virginia
On the evening of July 31st, in any given year, you can watch the clock strike midnight and witness the transformation. 3…2…1 and the thirsty advertisers descend. Back-to-school season is upon us.
By Fayeruz Regan 08.2024
Cool Down With Easy Three-Ingredient Popsicles
July is when the dog days of summer kick in, and Richmonders get creative about ways to cool down. Drive through the Fan District and you’ll see VCU students stewing in balcony kiddie pools. In the James, every rock at Pony Pasture is spoken for.
By Fayeruz Regan 07.2024
KavaClub
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen the sensational headlines surrounding KavaClub in Richmond. For over a year, the drama wasn’t focused on KavaClub itself, but “the establishment” attempting to thwart its opening in the first place.
By Fayeruz Regan 06.2024
The Best Hiking Neighborhoods in RVA
I learned the hard way never to hike in the woods alone. Luckily, I wasn’t the victim of a crime. But I could have been, had others not shown up.
One afternoon, I was hiking solo en route to the Bronson Caves. This Hollywood landmark features the original “Batcave” from the 1960s TV series. In the opening sequence, viewers see the Batmobile zipping out of this cave, and I wanted to explore the area.
By Fayeruz Regan 05.2024
Get Your Kicks Way Off Route 66
The American West is still shrouded with an air of romanticism. At the heart of our fascination is the desert. The spirit of the West is celebrated in many ways, but none more American than a good old-fashioned road trip.
By Fayeruz Regan 04.2024
Growing Pains: The Changing Landscape of Richmond
My family questioned my desire to move to Richmond in the mid-nineties. “Are you sure?” they asked through wide eyes. “There’s a lot of crime there.” This was coming from people who lived in the DC area; the nation’s “murder capital” in 1992. The surrounding years weren’t great either.
By Fayeruz Regan 03.2024
Road Trip to Onancock: A Hallmark Movie Kind of Town
Joke all you want about the quality of Hallmark movies, but here’s a little secret: Fans know these films aren’t great. Rather, they watch for the comfort and escapism that emanates from the small towns and communities these films are set in.
By Fayeruz Regan 02.2024
Elevate Your Holiday Spread With These Buzzworthy Treats
The holidays are upon us, and chances are you’ll be at a party standing before a spread with the usual suspects: hummus and crudites, crackers and cheese, cookies – you get the idea.
By Fayeruz Regan 12.2023
A Few of My Favorite Things
Thanksgiving has had many iterations for me. In elementary school, my classmates and I, armed with construction paper, would choose between a making a pilgrim hat or an American Indian headdress. I always chose the latter because, hello? The feathers, the color – is it even a fair choice?
By Fayeruz Regan 11.2023
Tragedy + Time = A Haunting
The Henricus colony was doomed even before it began. The Arrohatek tribe lived on the land that the English were eyeing for a second colony, and their solution was to slaughter the tribe members indiscriminately.
And who carried out these vicious attacks? None other than the militant commander Sir Thomas Dale. He was hired to restore order and discipline to Jamestown, and was such a tyrant that colonists would sometimes flee to native tribes to start a new life. In 1611, the Virginia Company of London urged him to create another settlement.
By Fayeruz Regan 10.2023
Summer Peach Salad
“I could eat a peach for hours.”
It’s one of the most memorable one-liners in cinema history, uttered by Nicholas Cage. Double-entendre aside, I feel the same way. This summer I sat under my peach tree, plucking one after another. It was very Huckleberry Finn. I sat in the shade with my sticky fingers, dripping chin and, while this indulgence may not have lasted for hours, I had to change my shirt afterward. It was covered in juice.
By Fayeruz Regan 09.2023
A Modest Proposal to Upgrade East Coast Beach Towns
Have you ever noticed that East Coast beach towns offer the same formula? I’m not talking about the extremes like tropical Miami or quaint Nantucket, but the beach towns in between. Each summer, Richmonders flock to mid-Atlantic shores, such as the Outer Banks.
By Fayeruz Regan 08.2023
Cruel Summer: Satan’s Blow Dryer
Growing up, my neighbor Casey wasn’t a “girl next door” (though she physically was). She was an it girl. She had large doe eyes, an immaculate perm, and was a few years older than the other kids on the block. When she jogged around the neighborhood, the boys would follow behind her. They were laughing and too afraid to speak to her directly, but were professing their love nonetheless.
By Fayeruz Regan 07.2023
Diner en Blanc: Giving the Ooh La La
If you see someone dressed as Napoleon walking by, chest out and chin in the air, you follow him. If only with your eyes. It was my first Diner En Blanc, and though I didn’t know what to expect, I knew Napoleon was onto something.
By Fayeruz Regan 06.2023
RVA Fashion Week: Strutting Style
I sank into the booth across from the tarot card reader. Though it was dark, I could tell she was stunning. Her cheekbones could cut glass. “So…do I ask a question, or do you just read the cards?” I asked. She smiled and responded, “I don’t read tarot. We are just here to be fabulous.”
By Fayeruz Regan 05.2023
Live from New York! An Unforgettable Night at SNL
I know it happened, but it feels like a dream. I’m still processing it. I attended a taping of Saturday Night Live, and it was one of the most extraordinary nights of my life.
Readers, please note that it’s possible for fans to win free tickets to a taping. Every year, the show hosts a ticket lottery for those who enter online.
By Fayeruz Regan 04.2023
Culinary Road Trip Through Charlottesville: Be Sure to Pack a Cooler
As we wound up the mountaintop, we reached the monastery just in time to meet the sisters. They sold us the creamiest wheel of gouda I’ve ever had. Charlottesville is widely regarded as Virginia’s wine country, but what’s lesser known is that the region is positively studded with culinary gems, all worth the drive.
By Fayeruz Regan 03.2023
Getting Baked: This Christmas
Steam on the windows. The scent of warm sugar. A Christmas Story on the TV. When I bake for the holidays, I am all in.
This season has always been a dichotomy of cheerful and stressful. Christmas music seems mocking when played in a store where the checkout line is fifteen customers deep. Everyone knows that smiling toddlers on Santa’s lap often involves tears and bribery.
By Fayeruz Regan 12.2022
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
Happiness is like good health. You never think about it when you’re in the midst of it, but as soon as it’s gone, it’s all you can think about.
To combat the self-pity I occasionally like to revel in, I’ve been practicing gratitude. I’m taking the time to be more present and celebrating the little things that make life sweeter.
By Fayeruz Regan 11.2022
Cold Harbor: Is it as Chilling as the Name Suggests?
Much ado has been made about the Civil War ghosts of the Petersburg battlefield. But what many don’t know is that one of the bloodiest skirmishes in American history took place just ten miles northeast of Richmond.
By Fayeruz Regan 10.2022
King William and the Emperor’s New Clothes
When you find out there’s a place called Zebulon’s Grotto, you go to Zebulon’s Grotto. Just forty miles outside of Richmond, this clothing-optional, LGBTQ-friendly oasis exists for anyone who wants to shed all the layers and unwind—proverbially, and literally.
By Fayeruz Regan 09.2022
Of Mycophiles and Shrooms
One of the perks of Bryant Logan’s job was the afternoon stroll. Collegiate School’s grounds are ringed by an old-growth forest. He recalled the beautiful fall afternoon that he stumbled upon outlandish mushrooms in the forest.
By Fayeruz Regan 08.2022
Road Trip Diaries: The Natural Bridge
July is the only pure month in summer. It’s not tethered to the end of the school year like June. It doesn’t inundate you with back-to-school messaging like August. July is straight up popsicles, and swimsuits drying on the porch swing.
By Fayeruz Regan 07.2022
The Strife Aquatic Seeking Friend with Pool
This public plea may sound shallow (the pun stays), but I am looking for a friend with a pool. I’m being upfront to avoid false pretenses, and I have something to bring to the table: A boat. Willing to negotiate terms.
By Fayeruz Regan 06.2022
Is the new Richmonder...not a Richmonder at all?
Tony Corsano was a corporate lawyer living in Brooklyn, New York and he was miserable. Working at what he describes as a “sweat shop law firm,” he left behind his law career to pursue his dream of being a musician.
By Fayeruz Regan 05.2022
Maria Kostyniuk: Heart and Soul of a Ukrainian
When Maria Kostyniuk was 16-years-old, the Nazis invaded Ukraine. Civilians were torn from their families and forced to work in Germany to make up for their labor shortage. Maria was swept away and put to work in a German bakery. She never saw her mother again.
By Fayeruz Regan 04.2022
St. Patrick’s Day: A Curse and a Blessing
I was born on St. Patrick’s Day. When I was younger, this was a boon to me. It was a holiday where everyone felt like celebrating, but weren’t beholden to family plans.
By Fayeruz Regan 03.2022
Day-Tripping To Escape Ennui
Is there anything more American than exploring the open road? Europe has its trains with wide windows, but here, it’s a winding two-lane highway with the windows down. Perhaps it’s the Jack Kerouac or Hunter S. Thompson in us all, or maybe it’s the vastness of this country, but it’s hard to resist the lure of a good old-fashioned road trip.
By Fayeruz Regan 01.2022
Upgrading Christmas: From Merry to Legendary
Until this year, I thought I had been doing Christmas right. I’ve been taking my son to Richmond Ballet’s Nutcracker since he was two. He’s attended the Grand Illumination, met Father Christmas at Agecroft Hall, and rode the Dillwyn Santa Train. He spoke with Santa one-on-one as we chugged through the snowy countryside.
By Fayeruz Regan 12.2021
Giving Thanks: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
Thanksgiving has become a bit complicated. A greater understanding of Indigenous peoples has changed the narrative that we were given in elementary school. We skipped home in pilgrim buckle hats or feathered headbands made of construction paper, assured that the union of both cultures was but a Hallmark moment, free of nuance.
By Fayeruz Regan 11.2021
Transcending the Paranormal at Historic Hanover Tavern
Virginia is an old and storied state. Before two wars were waged on her soil, there were a couple hundred years of colonialism and at least 16,000 years of American Indian history. Of all the places rumored to be haunted in Virginia, the Hanover Tavern looms large.
By Fayeruz Regan 10.2021
On Being a Palestinian: A Revelation and a Recipe
My first name gives me away. Telling others that I’m a Palestinian feels like a political statement, as if I’m asserting my right to exist.
Strangely, the latest tragedy in Gaza has made it easier. I give credit to the Black Lives Matter groundswell from last summer. This passion for justice carried over into other corners of society, from the LGBTQ+ community to the Palestinians.
By Fayeruz Regan 09.2021
The Dog Days in RVA: How to Stay Cool
It’s that time of year when summer starts to hurt. We wonder whether we were only conditioned to love summer because of grade school anticipation. Sometimes it’s not the heat but the humidity. When I was younger, I had a neighbor who always sat on her front porch on summer nights. “Isn’t it great?” she would ask. “It’s so steamy and sensual.” She embraced the sauna-like qualities. I decided to master humidity in my mind.
By Fayeruz Regan 07.2021
An Ode to Old Homes
Richmond seems obsessed with protecting its architecture, which might have something to do what happened on and an early spring day more than a hundred years ago.
On April 2, knowing Union forces would soon swarm the city, the Confederate government, with boxcars laden with gold and silver, fled the former capitol of the Confederacy on a Danville-bound train. An evacuation was ordered, and as people left the city in droves, warehouses and the arsenal were set on fire to prevent supplies and ammunition from falling into enemy hands.
By Fayeruz Regan 06.2021
Excursion to Crabtree Falls
The global pandemic may have curbed parties and international fights, but it revitalized a true American pastime – the road trip. For all the blessings there were in spending more time at home, escaping the sameness of it all saves us from restlessness.
By Fayeruz Regan 05.2021
A Quarry Story
Quarries sometimes hold secrets, so you’ve got to dig deep. Particularly if those quarries were once filled with water. That’s certainly the case with the three quarries that once operated on the land that became Joseph Bryan Park.
By Fayeruz Regan 04.2021
Where in the Bellevue?!
Black Mirror Medicine for the Soul
“Let’s meet on the Bellevue dance floor,” they suggested. It was a euphemism of course. At the new brick patio on the corner of Fauquier and Bellevue, I was to meet the people behind Where in the Bellevue?! (@where_in_the_bellevue), the Instagram account that’s been on my neighbors’ lips for almost a year.
By Fayeruz Regan 02.2021