Fab Freebie: Richmond Or Bust!: a house log

***THIS GIVEAWAY HAS REACHED ITS 10,000 ENTRY CAP AND IS NOW CLOSED – SEE WHO WON BELOW!***

And our QUITE lucky winner this week is… Hallie (who knows that Belle Isle was once a fishing village for the Powhatan Indians – something even we hadn’t heard). Congrats – and see you in a few weeks!

We are spending today with the family for the holiday, but we had to drop in with our big giveaway for you folks. See, when we found out we’d be speaking at this year’s R.Home for the Holidays event on November 8th (which we have gone to for the past four years for lively, so it is truly crazy to think that we will be speakers) a hair-brained idea popped into my head: what if we gave away a trip to Richmond? And when I mentioned it to the kind folks at Richmond Magazine (the hosts of the event), they not only did not call me crazy – they said “let us do it!” So with their assist and the generous support of Visit Richmond VA, my hair-brained idea is coming to life (insert evil cackle here). And it is bigger and better than I ever guessed it could be. That is right, someone is about to get hooked up.

The prize includes round-trip airfare from anywhere in the continental United States (arriving Thursday, Nov 8 and departing Sunday, Nov 11) and car rental for the length of your stay – all courtesy of Visit Richmond VA. While you are here, you will be put up for three nights in Richmond’s most iconic and stately hotel – The Jefferson.

And of course, Richmond Magazine is giving you tickets to (sold out!) R.Home for the Holidays on Thursday night where we will be speaking and doing a book signing (psst- it has now sold out so we are working on a free Richmond signing that we will share as soon as it is finalized for any interested locals).

As for what else you can do while you are here… what about a $100 gift card to one of our go-to restaurants? The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing overlooks the city and is in fact the spot where Sherry and I celebrated finding out she was pregnant with Clara.

And since you cannot come to our town and not hit up some of our go-to stores, we have wrangled $100 gift cards from four of our go-to spots: La Difference, Mongrel, Quirk Gallery and the consignment store trio of Clover (kids), Clementine (adults) and Ashby (teens).

Plus, Richmond Magazine and Visit Richmond VA are tossing in a bunch of passes to various Richmond must-dos, like the Chihuly glass exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (one of our go-tos!) and a Real Richmond Food Tour that’ll give you a taste of several local restaurants in one night.

• PRIZE: As described above: a round-trip flight to Richmond for two people plus a car rental from Visit Richmond VA, a three night stay at The Jefferson Hotel, tickets to R.Home for the Holidays, $100 each to The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing, La Difference, Mongrel, Quirk Gallery, and Clover / Clementine / Ashby.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “RICHMOND ME” and tell us…
• BONUS QUESTION: … one fact you know about Richmond. Did you know that it is known as The River City? Or that it was lately named The Best River Town In America by Outdoor magazine? Or that it is where Spielberg’s new Lincoln movie was filmed? Or simply that it is the capital of Virginia and where we live?
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, October 10th at 8pm EST or at 10,000 entries (whichever comes first)
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
• ELIGIBILITY: Flights from the lower 48 United States only, must be 18 or older, tickets must be booked by October 15th. See more guidelines here. (*we truly tried to get this to work as an international prize, so sorry that it could not happen – perhaps next year!)
• USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday as an update to this post. That is right, come right back here on Thursday for the announcement of our winner. Good luck…

Note: We are not paid or perked for hosting these giveaways, we simply do ‘em to thank you excellent folks for stopping in. See our Giveaway FAQ page for more info. Pics courtesy of the Richmond Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond Magazine, R.Home Magazine, , La Difference, Mongrel.