Name: Tulip Poplars with Silas House
Start: 2026-10-27
End: 2026-10-27

The Valentine First Freedom Center is located on the same corner where Virginia’s General Assembly met from 1780 to 1788. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1777. Enacted with support from James Madison in 1786, this revolutionary document paved the way for the first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and continues to impact how Virginians and the nation view the free exercise of religion. The First Freedom Center celebrates this important history by exploring the past, present and future of religious freedom in America. Physically connected to the Marriott Residence Inn, guests and visitors can also experience the First Freedom Monument, which includes a 27-foot spire, a limestone wall etched with the enacting paragraph of the Statute and a 34-foot banner featuring a seminal Jefferson quote. The First Freedom Center is open by appointment only.

The First Freedom Center

Modern, fast casual restaurant fusing Southern favorites and tacos to create unique, crave-able flavors!

Soul Taco - Shockoe Slip

Richmond, Virginia's most popular Taphouse concept with 40 craft beers on tap. Featuring a full patio, arcade, event spaces and something on the menu for everyone! Happy Hour from 3:00PM - 7:00PM Wednesday - Friday with discounted apps & alcohol.

Southern Railway Taphouse

Trevi's

Because Richmond’s canals were so narrow, “turning basins” were specially constructed so long barges and passenger boats could turn around. Richmond’s original Great Basin stood between 8th and 11th streets and Cary and Canal streets, and was connected by a series of locks to the Richmond dock. In 1998, a new turning basin for the restored canal was constructed between Virginia and 14th streets. Public art commemorates the original Great Basin as the center of commerce. You will find this installation in the James Center Atrium located next to the Omni Richmond Hotel at 12th and Cary streets. The Great Turning Basin historic marker can be reached from the intersection of South 10th and East Cary streets. More than 22 historic markers are within walking distance of the Turning Basin and Riverfront Canal Walk.

Turning Basin

Dishes inspired by global street food with Asian and American influences.

Native Plate

Seafood, hand-cooked steaks and lots of wine. Chesapeake-crab pasta, jumbo lump crab cakes and more. Jazz on Friday evenings.

Hard Shell

Sexy Miami-esque Bar/Restaurant/Nightclub in Shockoe Slip Downtown RVA catering to the LGBTQIA+ Community!

Papi's

Brooklyn native Enrico "Jo-Jo" Armetta has been serving the downtown Richmond office district at the corner of 12th and Main Street for 20 years...and still going!

JoJo's Famous NY Style Pizza & Subs

New York-style pizza by the pie or the slice, along with subs and salads. A favorite delivery option for downtown dwellers. Closed weekends.

We’re a community of runners, hikers, bikers and ballplayers. We’re an outdoor playground, designed by Mother Nature, with class III and IV rapids running right through our downtown. A 52-mile bike trail runs along the James. The Richmond Marathon and Ukrop’s 10k are huge celebrations, and the whole region comes out to cheer on our local teams. In fact, we’re so sports-minded that the Washington Redskins have their training camp right in the center of the city. Add to that awesome hotels, beautiful venues, attractions, art, craft beer, more than 900 restaurants and a convenient location, and you’ve got a top choice for your next sports event. Welcome to RVA!

From indoor to outdoor facilities, the Richmond region has the fields, pitches, diamonds, venues and the dedicated staff to ensure your event is a huge success. 



Sports Richmond, VA

Silas House, author of Fountain's 2025 Book of the Year, is back! He'll be talking about his new novel with Kelly in the store.  
  
This event ticket includes a signed copy of The Tulip Poplars.  
  
About the Book:  
Amos and Tom fall in love while working in the tobacco fields during the hot summers of the early 1900s, yet Tom cannot shake his strict religious upbringing nor the responsibilities of his family’s farm. His longtime friend Maeve also pines for a man she can’t have, lest she endanger his already tenuous life in a town and world shaped by racial lines. How do you live a life that feels untrue, and at what point do you risk everything?  
  
The Tulip Poplars is a gorgeous and moving novel spanning most of the 20th century, centering on four people trying to find happiness in a world that demands conventional choices. House tells a deeply intimate story of faith and doubt, race and class, sexual desire and the longing to be good when you’ve been taught that you are evil for loving who you love. Based on the story of an ancestor, House’s new novel takes us from NYC to Southern cities to Appalachia and will leave you with a bigger heart.  
  
About the Author:  
Silas House was a finalist for a 2024 Grammy Award, winner of the 2022 Duggins Prize, and is a two-time winner of the Southern Book Prize. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, the New York Times, the Advocate, Time, Garden & Gun, and other publications. He teaches at Berea College and at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Creative Writing.  
  
Kelly is our fearless leader and an omnivore of a reader who will try almost any type of book at least once. She has been an indie bookseller since 1989, came to Fountain in 2000, and took over in 2008. She has served on countless bookseller boards and committees nationally and internationally but recently has scaled back on those activities to spend more time on the bookstore and personal passions like travel, cooking, and being with important people in her life and the cat.

Tulip Poplars with Silas House

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