Happy May! I love it when it’s time for the May/June issue to come out—it truly marks the beginning of summer for me, even though the official start date is several weeks away. Beginning now, there isn’t a weekend on the calendar when you can’t find a wonderful event, program, festival or concert happening around RVA. With locations like Maymont, Dogwood Dell, Brown’s Island, the Canal Walk, Scott’s Addition, Squirrel Stadium, Carytown, the Bottom, Innsbrook Pavilion, Pocahontas State Park… the list goes on and on—there’s truly something for everyone!

In addition, it’s farmers’ market season—time to enjoy fresh, local fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs and other food and handcrafted items all around town. Check the list on page 30 to find one near you. Be sure to tell them Natural Awakenings sent you.

As always, this issue is full of interesting local and national news and information about natural health and wellness, helpful articles and calendar events that you won’t want to miss, including the Greater Richmond Holistic Expo on Saturday, May 7; Natural Awakening’s Networking Night on Thursday, May 26 and the Richmond Vegetarian Festival on Saturday, June 25. Like I said before, there is always something great going on!

As you find time to enjoy the activities happening around the city, I hope you also discover ways to relax and enjoy some downtime—to take a break from all of the “do-ing” and allow some time for simply “be-ing”. John Lubbock says it best in his book, The Use of Life:

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means a waste of time.

I wish a Happy Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to all of the parents reading this issue, with a special shout out to mine for being so loving and supportive.

Happy Reading!

Jessica Coffey, Publisher

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