Dare you to laugh // Sibirah Kenyatta manages to keep a straight face in a stare down with Paul Nordvig, center, in “The No Laugh Race” last Saturday at the Main Library in Downtown as onlooker Martin Erb judges. The youngster held firm and did not smile, beating her competition in a day of family-friendly fun that also featured a performance by the Greater Richmond Children’s Intermediate Concert Choir titled “Lyrics, Laughter and Learning.” The event is part of the Gellman Room Presents series.

U.S. Postal Service employee Louis Hatcher directs traffic at the Main Post Office on Brook Road as last-minute filers arrive Monday to drop off their federal income tax documents before the deadline. The goal: To have their letters and envelopes postmarked April 18 to avoid penalties for late filing. The deadline is usually April 15, but it was extended this year because of Washington’s annual D.C. Emancipation Day holiday commemorating President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of a law on April 16, 1862, abolishing slavery in the nation’s capital. Although the holiday is recognized only in the District of Columbia, the IRS recognizes the day as a legal holiday and extends tax filing until the next business day when it falls on a Friday or during a weekend.

Crab apple tree blossoms

Go Squirrels! // Former Pittsburgh Steelers’ star running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis waves a towel to stir up the crowd after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch Thursday night.

Go Squirrels! // The Richmond Flying Squirrels and their entertainment guru, vice president and COO Todd “Parney” Parnell, provided lots of reasons to cheer for the thousands of fans who attended the minor league baseball team’s official home opening games last Thursday and Friday against the Altoona Curve at The Diamond. The team’s newest mascot, Nutasha, right, cozies up to longtime mascot Nutzy.

On Friday, the first 1,000 fans were given No. 42 T-shirts to commemorate Jackie Robinson Day in honor of the first African-American to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.