Wade Thrift is the new chair of the Westover Hills Social Club, taking over from Christina Nies. Thanks to Christina for planning the neighborhood social hours for the last few years!

The group continues to hold regular happy hours every other month at nearby restaurants. The next get-together will be on Friday, September 17 at Maldini’s. Sign up to get e-vites by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

On Sunday, September 19, people from across the city of Richmond are invited to come together in healing and celebration as they help dedicate a new pedestrian bridge named for the Harvey family in Forest Hill Park. Beginning at 2 p.m., musicians, a balloon artist, children and families will be there as city officials cut the ribbon on the bridge across Reedy Creek where it flows into the lake. Friends of Forest Hill Park will unveil a granite marker nearby. Access to the site is by paved pathway downhill from 42nd Street and New Kent Avenue, or by steps accessible from 34th Street near Stonewall Avenue.

The new bridge—strong, safe, and handsome—replaces a temporary crossing built after Hurricanes Isabel (2003) and Gaston (2004) raged through Virginia, taking out trees, power lines, storm sewers—and the original bridge in Forest Hill Park. During the last six years, the City of Richmond has worked to repair and reclaim much of what was destroyed by these storms.

But this bridge is also a response to disaster of another kind: the unspeakable tragedy that took the lives of the Harvey Family on January 1, 2006. Bryan, a nationally recognized rock musician, and Kathy, co-owner of Richmond’s popular World of Mirth toy store, along with their daughters Stella (9) and Ruby (4), were killed by intruders in their South Richmond home near Forest Hill Park.

When the replacement bridge was first proposed by the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities, Friends of Forest Hill Park (FFHP) suggested that the new bridge become a focal point for healing and joy in memory of the Harveys, and as a bond of friendship between South Richmond’s Woodland Heights and Forest Hill neighborhoods, which flank the park to the east and west. Last spring, City Council unanimously approved a proposal put forth by Fourth District City Council Member Kathy Graziano to name the new bridge in honor of the Harvey Family.

According to Paige Harvey, Bryan’s sister, the family is pleased with the bridge dedication. “It’s a touching memorial to Bryan, Kathy, and the girls,” she noted. “They loved their neighborhood and Forest Hill Park. They frequently took advantage of all it had to offer and would have really enjoyed the improvements to the lake and the new bridge.”

Last spring, when FFHP put out a request to the community for funds to help cover the cost of a granite and bronze marker to be placed near the bridge in memory of the Harvey Family, there was an immediate and very generous response from individuals, families, and groups. Significant funds were donated by the neighborhood associations of Woodland Heights, Westover Hills, and Forest Hill. In all, some $2,500 was raised in just three days. According to Monica Rumsey, marker project coordinator for FFHP, “Our hope is that dedicating the bridge in their memory will help heal many emotional wounds, and will encourage families from across the city to enjoy this park, as the Harveys did. This bridge and the marker will be a connecting point for all of us, a beautiful way to remember their brief lives.”

For more information, please contact Monica Rumsey, Marker Project Coordinator for Friends of Forest Hill Park at 804-233-7361.

So far several hundred Westover Hills residents have responded already to the WHNA dues notice sent out in early August. Thank you to all of you who have joined WHNA and support the efforts of the association to help keep this a great place to live!

If you haven’t yet joined the association, please do! Dues are just $15 per year per household. You’ll be contributing to all the programs and activities that WHNA provides!

To join, send back the dues notice you got in the mail or just mail a $15 check (made payable to WHNA) to WHNA at P. O. Box 13421, Richmond, Virginia 23225.

Kathy Graziano, president of City Council and Fourth District council member, will be the key-note speaker for the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church ”2010 Eyes on Richmond” lunchtime forum season. The season kicks off Friday, September 17, at 12:30 p.m.

Ms. Graziano will be the first of 10 planned luncheon speakers to take part in the 13th season of the “2010 Eyes on Richmond” lunchtime forum. The forum is held in the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Parish House (do wntown) each Friday in the fall from September 17 though November 19.

An admission fee of $8 is charged per person per event. The fee covers the cost of lunch that provided by locally-owned restaurants. Reservations are required by the preceding Wednesday of each week and can be made online, at the St. Paul’s website or by calling 804.643.3589.

Put it on the calendar! The 43rd Street Festival of the Arts is returning to the Forest Hill neighborhood on Saturday, September 25, from 10 .m. to 5 p.m. This is the festival’s 18th year of sharing the fine works of selected regional artists and craftsmen and featuring local musicians, festive food, and special activities for children. Building on the current move to “Think Local and Shop Local,” the festival encourages folks to support their local artisans and vendors who participate in this event.

This year’s juried outdoor show will include paintings, prints, pottery, sculpture, jewelry, glasswork, and more. At least 75 artisans will participate this year.

Committed to keeping the show small and neighborhood friendly, the show has now reached its intended size and there are no plans to expand beyond this point. Festival organizer Robin Cage says, “Come see what’s new! You will be amazed and inspired by the beauty and craftsmanship exhibited by festival artisans.”

Original works of art will be available for purchase and exhibitors will be on hand to answer questions about each piece.

The musical line up, at this time, begins with Susan Greenbaum at 10 a.m. and is followed by the Huge Guitars, Blue Line Highway, Bluz Catz and Rachel Leyco.

The annual 43rd Street Festival is a fundraiser that benefits Freedom House, a non-profit group that provides shelter, meals and assistance for Richmond’s homeless population. For more information about Freedom House or volunteering for this event, contact Christy Cellis at 233-4064.

The next regular meeting of the Friends of Forest Hill Park will be held on Tuesday, September 28, at 7 p.m. at the Stone House. Anyone with an interest in forest Hill Park is welcome to attend.

The quarterly Fourth District meeting held by City Council President Kathy Graziano will be Wednesday, October 13, at 7 p.m. at St. Luke Lutheran Church at 7757 Chippenham Parkway. Because of the recent rash of break-ins and robberies, the meeting will focus on crime prevention. Richmond Police Lt. Tim Morley will talk techniques to make you and your property safer, and Shannon Taylor from Forest Hill Neighborhood Watch will talk about getting a Neighborhood Watch started.

Westover Hills residents are invited to the Church fall festival on Saturday, October 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please bring your family and friends to a fun day of children’s games and story telling, cool prizes, hotdogs, lots of sweets to choose from in the bake sale, pumpkins galore in our famous pumpkin patch and much more. Come join us! If you have any questions, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at 272-5844.

Everybody is welcome at the Good Shepherd Episcopal School Fall Festival on Saturday, October 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the corner of 43rd Street and Forest Hill Avenue.

The Good Shepherd Episcopal School’s Community hopes the surrounding community will join the school for some good old-fashioned fun! Admission is free and open to the community at large; tickets may be purchased for individual activities to support the school.

Richard and John will provide live music. Children can enjoy a large slide, moon bounces, several crafts, face painting, and carnival games such as pumpkin bowling, cup-cake walk, knock the cans, fish for prizes, sack races, ring tosses and much more!

The school will have a used book sale and bake sale as well. Refreshments will include apple cider, popcorn and cotton candy. Please consider walking up to join the fun fall festivities in your neighborhood.

The Good Shepherd Episcopal School serves children pre-K through eighth grade. If you’re interested in more information about the school or the fall festival, please call 231-1452.

Renovation work is continuing at the Westover Hills Branch Library, but the re-opening has been pushed back to at least November because it was discovered that unexpected addition repair work will be needed.

After renovation began, the city consulted with several structural engineering firms to appropriately gauge movement in the building’s arch supports. It was found that the building’s ridgeline, porch, and eaves were all sagging. Correction and reinforcement is necessary. Tie rods and metal plates will be use to achieve adjustment and bolstering. This process began on August 26 and will take somewhere about four weeks.

Once these structural repairs are complete, replacement of the roof and windows can proceed as scheduled.

A fresh, well-lighted, and user-friendly space is to be expected when the library re-opens.

For further updates and information, see the branch’s page on the Richmond Public Library website or the Westover Hills Library Advisory Group website.

5006 King William

The winner in Westover Hills West is 5603 New Kent Road. Southern charm appeal! A lovely wrap-around porch with hanging ferns that lead you to an inviting front doorway graced with a variety of potted plants with the flowing sweet potato vines as the show stopper. The landscape hosts bordered flowerbeds of large hostas , a blooming Rose of Sharon bush, canna lilies, liriope, perennials, ornamental grasses and other ground covers. Simply lovely.

There’s no Yard of the Month east of the Boulevard for September.

Kathy Graziano with painting

In honor of Mrs. Graziano’s birthday August 16, the staff commissioned a painting of the South of the James Market. The 16 inch x 24 inch watercolor was executed by renowned local artist Eleanor Cox and was presented to Mrs. Graziano in a surprise announcement at the market August 14.

Following completion of the painting, a special limited edition number of full-size prints of the painting were executed by Staplesart. The limited edition of 100 prints will be signed and numbered by the artist and will be sold to the public for $100. All proceeds of the project will go to the Friends of Forest Hill Park. Following the sale of the 100 prints, no other full sized prints will ever be made of the painting.

Mrs. Graziano has made the Forest Hill Park a special project since she took office in 2005. She has been a strong supporter of additional resources for park maintenance and management, and of the $2 million park project to renovate Forest Hill Lake to its traditional configuration. She is also the founder and primary supporter of the South of the James Farmers Market, the largest farm market in Central Virginia.

Artist Eleanor Cox is a well-known artist and teacher based in Chesterfield County. Her works hang in many public and private collections in the area.

The prints may be ordered through Mrs. Graziano’s district office at 320-2454, or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .