Showtimes for July 9th through July 15th, 2010

Date Night | Rated PG-13
Nightly at 7:15 & 9:30pm starting Friday, July 9th

How To Train Your Dragon | Rated PG
Matinee Sunday July 11th  at 4:30pm

How To Train Your Dragon  | Rated PG
Nightly at 7:15pm continuing Friday, July 2nd
With Matinees Saturday & Sunday July 3rd &  4th  at 4:30pm
 

Robin Hood  Rated | PG-13
Nightly at 9:30pm continuing Friday, July 2nd 

Looking for something to do on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day? In the past your options were limited to The Byrd Theatre or Movieland at Boulevard Square but now a new venue has risen to challenge these pillars of holiday entertainment. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced today that the museum will be open 365 days a year, offering special holiday hours so that you can share Richmond's art treasures with your guests from out of town:

Historically, the museum has been closed Mondays and in recent years, it was also closed on Tuesdays. Holiday closings were on New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Starting on the Fourth of July, VMFA will open on these holidays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Establish special holiday hours from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
• Maintain regular 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday hours for state and national holidays that fall on Mondays, such as Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day and Labor Day.
• Operate the VMFA Shop, Best Café and Amuse Restaurant during open holiday hours.
• Offer a special holiday-specific menu on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in the museum’s restaurants.

Do you want to be on tv? Mutual of Omaha is offering you the opportunity at fame and television stardom as they setup their mobile television studio in Carytown. Says the Times-Dispatch:

Insurance giant Mutual of Omaha is in town for two days looking to find new stories for its "Aha Moment" ad campaign.

The company is parking its 34-foot mobile TV studio outside the Byrd Theatre in Richmond's Carytown business district beginning this morning.

It's asking area residents to drop by the studio to share their personal "aha moment," which could then wind up in ads running next year. The campaign, according to Mutual of Omaha, is built around the concept that "everyday people can create extraordinary possibilities."

Read more about the ad campaign and Mutual of Omaha's plans at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Robin Hood Rated | PG-13
Nightly at 7:15pm starting Friday, June 18th

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) | Rated R
Nightly at 9:45pm starting Friday, June 18th

Clash Of The Titans Rated | PG-13
Matinees Only Saturday & Sunday June 19th & 20th at 4:30pm

Reader Josh asks us "I've noticed a number of restaurants and businesses in Carytown and the Fan refuse to accept Visa or other credit cards for transactions less than $5 or $10. Is this allowed? I thought Visa had to be accepted everywhere the logo is displayed."

According to our research any business that displays the Visa or Mastercard logo has to accept your credit card without any limitations. When a merchant signs up with a bank for a credit card processing device they agree not to require a minimum charge or charge you a fee for using your credit card.

The Consumerist.com blog has details on filing a complaint with your credit card issuer about merchants not following the rules:

Visa

"Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items. They also are not permitted to charge you a fee when you want to use your Visa card."

Reporting Information:
Phone Number: 1-800-VISA-911 (International: 1-410-581-9994). Or call the number on the back of your card

Online: Your card issuer's website may let you send them complaints about merchant violations and start a dispute if your were charged a fee to use your card.

MasterCard

"A merchant must not require, or post signs indicating that it requires, a minimum or maximum transaction amount to accept a valid MasterCard card."

Phone Number: 1-800-MASTERCARD (International: 1-636-722-7111) Or can also call the number on the back of your card.

Online: Make a report online.

American Express

"American Express's regulations do not explicitly prohibit minimum charges, but its policy is to discourage any merchant practices that create a "barrier to acceptance." Amex does prohibit "discrimination" against the Amex card, however, so if a merchant has no minimum or maximum charge or require ID for Visa and MasterCard, the merchant may not discriminate against Amex by imposing a minimum or maximum charge or requiring ID."

Phone Number: 1-800-528-4800 (International: 1-336-393-1111)

Online: Make a report online

What's Up With That? Send us an email and we'll investigate.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that our favorite neighborhood football stadium will revert to its original name after decades of occupation by the Richmond Spiders comes to an end.

The city-owned facility and the site of University of Richmond home football games during 1929-2009 has reacquired its original name. It was called UR Stadium for the past 27 years. UR yesterday announced that it and the city agreed that the venue again would be known as City Stadium, or Richmond City Stadium.

Read more about the history of this facility at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Clash Of The Titans | Rated PG-13
Nightly at 7:15 & 9:30pm starting Friday, June 11th
Plus Matinee Sunday June 13th at 4:30pm

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Carytown's largest grocer is about to get a bit bigger as The Kroger Co. spends $81 million to improve its Richmond stores. Says the RTD on the Carytown Kroger improvement project:

This year, Kroger will remodel five stores and expand two stores, adding more than 20,000 square feet to the Carytown store in Richmond and more than 25,000 square feet to the Huguenot Road store in Chesterfield.

In November Richmond BizSense reported that the Carytown Kroger acquired the former CVS location next door:

The conversion of the CVS should be completed in February of 2011, according to a store employee.  That would add an additional 18,000 to the 58,000 square foot store, according to figures from a 2001 architectural plan.

According to the Richmond Planning & Development Review Department Kroger currently has zoning ordinances pending review and approval by the city. Among the requested changes: Expansion and addition of pharmacy drive-thru & relocation of SunTrust branch within the store.

Alice in Wonderland | Rated PG
Nightly at 7:15pm continuing Friday, May 28th
Plus Matinees Saturday & Sunday May 29th & 30th at 4:30pm
 
Shutter Island | Rated R
Nightly at 9:30pm continuing Friday, May 28th

Richmond police report a woman was assaulted and robbed at around 1 AM this morning near the intersection of W. Cary St. & Auburn Ave. Says RPD's report:

5/26/10 1:00 a.m.
3200 block of West Cary Street
A female reported she was assaulted and robbed by two unknown males.

Alice in Wonderland | Rated PG
Nightly at 7:15pm Starting Friday, May 21st
Plus Matinees Saturday & Sunday May 22nd & 23rd at 4:30pm     
 
Shutter Island | Rated R
Nightly at 9:30pm continuing Friday, May 21st

The sidewalks of Carytown have long been haunted by the most loathsome of urban poltergeists: the ghost of chewed gum. The rainbow of gooey gobs of post-masticated gum dot the sidewalk of the mile long shopping corridor and frequently attach to the shoes of unsuspecting pedestrians. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Carytown Merchants Association has had enough of this gum infestation and has invested in a gum busting machine to remove and capture these pests:

The [Carytown Merchants Association] has bought a $3,400 steam cleaner and is planning to unleash the machine on the once-sticky, dark splotches that have accumulated for years....

....The cleaner was tested on a sidewalk in front of the Byrd Theatre before the French Film Festival in March. "People noticed it," said Broomfield, owner of Play N Trade.

The merchants association plans to hire members of the Area 10 Faith Community church to operate the cleaner. Broomfield said it's unclear how long it might take to rid the eight-block shopping district of gum or how often cleanings might be needed. The anti-gum blitz comes as Carytown is working to curb graffiti and improve signs, as well as spruce itself with fresh mulch in tree wells.

Learn more about the gumbusting effort in the Carytown area from the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Carytown's landmark movie palace, The Byrd Theatre needs your help to refresh the aging interior of the building. The theatre's nonprofit fundraising foundation is asking you to email a story about your favorite experience at the Byrd. The best of the submitted stories will be selected for a film entry in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge.

Says the Byrd Theatre Foundation on the fundraising effort:

The Byrd’s application to the Pepsi Refresh Project marks its kickoff of fund-raising for the proposed restoration and allows the public to be involved in the efforts through submission of videos and participation in online voting. The money will help replace the notoriously worn seats, improve the bathrooms, and add greater accessibility so that everyone can participate in the exciting future the restoration campaign will bring to the Byrd.

The Pepsi Refresh Project donates millions at multiple dollar amounts to causes voted on by the public.  The Byrd Theater Foundation will be vying for the top $250,000 level during the month of July.  Voting is open to all and is free with account creation (also free) or with a Facebook login.  The Foundation will be making a short video to include in the submission and will use memories about The Byrd as its basis.

The Foundation will be hosting its own competition seeking two stories to include in the Pepsi video submission.  Other notable submissions will be released via YouTube throughout the month of July to encourage voting and participation.  A Flickr stream will be created to allow for public participation and documentation of memories and events.  

Send in your stories via email to: stories@thebtf.org. Contest submissions are due before May 26th, winners will be announced on May 28th.

Sunday morning more than 1,900 runners will race through Carytown and the near west end for the sixth annual Carytown 10k. To make this race a success the Richmond Road Runners are looking for more volunteers to help during the Sunday morning hours. According to the race registration site the organizers need more volunteers to assist as Course Marshalls and with Food Preparation.

To Register As a Volunteer Visit The RaceIt Registration Page

To Learn More About the Carytown 10k visit Richmond Road Runners