"FOOD INC" to screen in Richmond this Saturday

This news just in from Tricycle Gardens:

"The recently released film, Food Inc, will be opening this coming Saturday, July 11th at Movieland at Boulevard Square, 1301 N. Boulevard at West Leigh St. Showings are at 4:00 and 7:00.

Following the 4:00 show, Lisa Taranto, Director of Tricycle Gardens, will appear in a panel discussion sponsored by Whole Foods. Tricycle Gardens will have an information table in the lobby following both shows.

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma appears in the film. He recently was a speaker for the Richmond Forum and visited two of our community gardens. We are excited that information is getting out about issues with our food supply and agricultural system that affect us all on a daily basis."

In preparation for Michael Pollan's appearance at The Forum in April with Marion Nestle, I got to take a sneak peek at some advance scenes from Food Inc and it is very well done. Check it out!

Digitized Forum Program Books

A lot of work and good content goes into The Richmond Forum's program books. This summer we're working on making an archive of Forum program books available online for subscribers, students, researchers, anyone.

Here's an initial test.

What do you think?

New Season of NOVA ScienceNow Begins Tomorrow Night

PBS's NOVA ScienceNow series, hosted by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson kicks off the new season on Tuesday, June 30th. The program airs locally on WCVE at 10:00 pm.

The season opener examines artificial diamonds that are indistinguishable from the real “girl’s best friend," how researchers determined the source of the anthrax used in the 2001 anthrax attacks, and the pitch-correction software called Auto-Tune that can make anybody sing like a star.

Dr. Tyson kicks off the 2009-2010 season of The Richmond Forum on November 14th.

Reza Aslan Sees "Bald Faced Election Fraud" In Iran.

Reza Aslan, who addressed The Richmond Forum this past January, is speaking out about the recent election in Iran and believes we are witnessing a slow-moving military coup.

Read his column in today's Daily Beast.

The Forum Welcomes Corbin Bly Thompson

Heidi Thompson, Director of Patron Services for The Richmond Forum, and her husband Doug proudly welcomed a new baby last week. Corbin Bly Thompson was born on June 10th, weighing in at 8 lbs., 11 oz. Corbin is the couple's first child.

Congratulations!

Great Season Behind Us, Fantastic Season Ahead

The Richmond Forum has wrapped up a successful 2008-2009 season and we are officially turning the page and looking ahead to 2009-2010! Response to the speaker line-up for the upcoming season, which was built entirely from suggestions made by subscribers, has been incredible so far. We are down to just 23 scattered single seats available for subscription throughout the Landmark theater, and we've had numerous inquiries about how to get tickets for individual programs next year (Hint: Join The Forum's e-mail list to get regular updates about ticket availability and Forum events and activities.)

If you haven't had a chance to subscribe yet, don't wait to call the office at (804) 330-3993, the few tickets we have left are going quickly, and a subscription is the best way to guarantee that you will have a seat for the programs you are most interested in next year.

So far, the program we are probably hearing the most buzz and excitement about is the January 9, 2010 program that will feature Greg Mortenson, whose inspirational story about building schools for girls in the most remote and volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan is told in his book, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time. I even talked with one new subscriber who had tentatively planned a trip to New York to hear Mortenson speak, but then learned The Forum was bringing him to our stage in Richmond!

We're excited about all of our programs next season and we're glad you are, too. We'll be spending the summer planning for the programs and working on new ways that we can extend our mission--to expand horizons, stimulate conversation and inspire our community--so please share your thoughts and ideas, through this blog, through Facebook, or by giving us a call at the office or sending us your ideas through e-mail.

We thank everyone for all the support of our programs this season, and we look forward to seeing you at The Forum soon!

Longtime Friend of The Forum Passes Away

Late yesterday evening, The Richmond Forum lost a good friend when Todd Pankoff passed away after a long illness.

In preparing to write about Todd, I went in search of a photo of him and found that to be a very difficult task. I flipped through hundreds and hundreds of photos before I finally found one. In many ways that speaks volumes about Todd's involvement with The Forum. He was always behind the scenes and he was rarely standing still long enough for a photo.

Todd Pankoff (right) backstage with Chris Wallace in 1993.

From about 1989 to 2005, Todd produced over 75 Richmond Forum programs. And he did it all as a volunteer, even though he made his living as a professional producer. Todd called all the shots backstage, making sure the speakers were in the wings ready to go, calling lighting and audio cues, making sure every program rolled like clockwork. He was integrally involved in the look of the programs, from the stage design to the production of The Forum's first opening video.

The Board of Directors of The Richmond Forum recently honored Todd with a resolution recognizing his many years of service. A framed copy, in rich hand calligraphy, was presented to Todd and his son just last week. We wanted him to know how much his volunteer service to The Forum means to us to this day.

The resolution read:

WHEREAS Ralph Krueger established The Richmond Forum as a volunteer organization and recruited Todd Pankoff as the head of production for The Richmond Forum; and

WHEREAS Todd Pankoff gave his many talents to The Richmond Forum as a volunteer for over fifteen years, producing over 75 programs and helping to establish The Richmond Forum as one of America’s preeminent public forums; and

WHEREAS his leadership and expertise made it possible for The Richmond Forum to relocate and successfully stage its programs at the University of Richmond for two seasons during the renovation of the Landmark Theater; and

WHEREAS Todd Pankoff was instrumental in not only production, but also program development, creative direction, and the solicitation of sponsors; and

WHEREAS Todd Pankoff’s selfless, voluntary contribution of talent, time, expertise, and passion benefited The Richmond Forum in so many ways and for so many years and is a contributing reason for the continued success and high standards of The Richmond Forum to this day,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of The Richmond Forum on this the 29th day of April, 2009 to commend this resolution of grateful appreciation and recognition to Todd Pankoff for his invaluable and lasting contributions to The Richmond Forum.