America's 250th is less than 100 days away, but you don't have to wait until July 4 to celebrate.

Why it matters: A nation only turns 250 once, and Virginia played a pivotal role in its founding.

The big picture: Virginia has been planning for the semiquincentennial celebration since 2020, when it created a commission tasked with party planning.

• Now, the events are kicking into high gear.

Zoom in: Here's how to get in on the fun locally this month.

🌎 "We The People: The World in Our Commonwealth," at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC), explores how people from around the globe have helped shape Virginia — told through the voices of Virginians from 68 countries. $15

🎨 "Titus Kaphar and Junius Brutus Stearns: Pictures More Famous than the Truth" at VMFA offers a 21st-century perspective on 19th-century paintings of George Washington. Free.

🐑 "Fiber Festival" is on this weekend at Patrick Henry's historic Hanover home, Scotchtown. The fest celebrates sheep shearing season, of course, just as our forefathers did. Saturday, 10am-4pm. $10.

🥃 Raise a glass to America's bday with the limited edition VA250 Commemorative Bottle Set, that's three bottles of Virginia-made booze that attempts to answer the question "what does Virginia taste like?"

• Hint: It tastes like botanical gin, aged rum and cask-strength four-grain whiskey. Available at ABC stores, $124.99.

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Editor's note: This story has been corrected to remove the "Give Me Liberty: Virginia & Forging of a Nation" exhibit, which closed earlier this year.

This week, the Artemis II crew called down to mission control in Houston and asked to dedicate a moon crater to their commander's late wife, Carroll Wiseman, who died from cancer in 2020.

The big picture: The tribute carries her legacy into space, but Wiseman's story started much closer to home.

• She was a VCU and JMU grad born in Virginia Beach.

What they're saying: "It's a bright spot on the moon," astronaut Jeremy Hansen said, his voice breaking. "And we would like to call it Carroll."

State of play: The emotional video, done as the astronauts traveled farther from Earth than any human before, has gone viral for the show of love among the four crew members.

• That includes the commander and Carroll's husband, Reid Wiseman, who was seen wiping tears as Hansen spoke.
• Among the thousands of comments under NASA's posts: "I cried over a moon crater"; "sounds like Carroll was loved to the Moon and back, literally"; and "so much love and joy coming from this mission. I needed this, we all needed this."

Zoom in: Carroll, 46, "dedicated her life to helping others as a newborn intensive care unit registered nurse," according to Reid's NASA bio.

Zoom out: The crew also proposed naming another crater "Integrity" after their Orion spacecraft.

How NASA replied: "Integrity and Carroll crater. Loud and clear."

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🍎 Some Henrico parents are fuming at the district's decision to end Henrico Virtual Academy's kindergarten, first- and second-grade classes for the next school year. (Henrico Citizen)

• The school district said declining enrollment drove the decision.
• There are 29 students in those three grades this year, down from 97 in 2022.

📺 WTVR, Channel 6 in Richmond, has been off the air for Xfinity customers since March 31 due to a contract dispute between parent companies, Comcast and E.W. Scripps. (Times-Dispatch)

🗞️The Associated Press warned Lee Enterprises, the Richmond Times-Dispatch's parent company, that if it tries to break its contract with the wire service, the AP will start charging interest or cut off its services. (Axios)

• AP plans to cut dozens of U.S. staff as it moves away from local news coverage.

🌭The Flying Squirrels say they're adjusting staffing and workflow after long concessions lines and wait times frustrated fans on opening night. (Times-Dispatch)

It's set to be another gorgeous weekend in Richmond.

Thursday

💃🏻 It's RVA Fashion Week, with events running through Sunday. Full schedule here.

🪂 Watch professionals skydive into CarMax Park before the Flying Squirrels game. 5pm. Free.

Friday

🗞️ Brian's Books, a bookshop in Church Hill, is launching its first issue of a community newspaper called "Short Stop." Pick it up Friday-Sunday, 11am-6pm. Free.

📵 Cmfrt.co's phoneless party is back at Vagabond. 7pm. $15. Read more about these parties here.

Saturday

🎉 Croaker's Spot on Hull Street is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a block party. 11am-5pm. Free.

Sunday

🥳 Help VMFA celebrate its 90th birthday at its "See Yourself Here" event, with food trucks, art activities and performances. 1-4pm. Free.

👏🏼 Latinx Fashion Show is back for their annual showcase featuring Latinx designers at VMHC. 4pm and 6:30pm showings. $15 for non-members.

Where to watch some Jiu-Jitsu or fly some kites

Virginia Capitol Police just added two newly certified K-9s to its downtown Richmond unit.

Why it matters: Echo and Ozzy are local pups who are now on duty, helping patrol the state government complex, per a news release.

Zoom in: Let's meet them.

• Echo is a 3-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd who was rescued from a local shelter.
• His first day at the capitol was Jan. 20, the same as Gov. Spanberger.

Meanwhile, Ozzy is the baby. He's a 1-year-old Belgian Malinois-German Shepherd mix and had no working-dog experience when he got tapped for the job.

• After three months of intensive training (with help from Henrico Police), he's ready for action.

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