RICHMOND, Va. -- As Hurricane Ian makes its way north, many events in Central Virginia are being changed, rescheduled or canceled ahead of potential storms.
Both Busch Gardens and Kings Dominionannounced they will close Friday and are watching weather conditions to make a decision about Saturday,
The beloved 2nd Street Festival in Richmond's Jackson Ward has been canceled. This marks the third year the festival hasn’t happened, as it was canceled the past two years due to the pandemic.
Richmond's Out of the Darkness Walk has been moved to Oct. 22, citing potential weather impacts from Hurricane Ian.
The State Fair of Virginia will still be open this weekend, but they said they will continue to monitor the weather.
The Powhatan Festival of the Grape is also still happening as scheduled. Organizers said they are watching the weather and will make changes as necessary, but for now, the event will still run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse Village in Powhatan.
Related: Ian is headed to Virginia, here's what to expect
The 15th annual Showcase of the Bands at Midlothian High School will still take place Saturday as planned, and will be moved inside the school's gymnasium if needed.
The Viva RVA! festival which runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday has also moved indoors. The celebration will now be held inside Diversity Richmond's event hall.
The second annual event will take place for the first time in two years, and the organizers said they know people need a space to come together and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with several live performances, food and resources for families.
"I think we're going to have a lot of folks that are really, very happy to be able to feel a sense that they are not alone and that there are other people out there like them, that there are organizations that stand up and support them," explained James Millner, program director for Diversity Richmond.
Viva RVA! has commissioned Richmond artist Alfonso Pérez Acosta to paint a piece of artwork for the event. The painting six shows members of the LGBTQ+ and Hispanic communities in Richmond hugging, as the theme for this year's event is "embrace." The first 100 people at the event will receive a free poster of this painting.
"Everything that we do is with that mindset of bringing people together, demonstrating that we are more similar than we are different," said Viva RVA! director Fernando Rodriguez. "There is a lot to give to the community, and we just want to celebrate not only Hispanic Heritage Month with this event, but also Pride Month, which we celebrate in this month as well."
Viva RVA! is completely free to attend but organizers ask that yousign up using this linkto give them an idea of how many people they should expect.
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