No laughing matter- It looks like a stare down. But youngsters in the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir were performing “No Laugh Race” on Saturday, a song interspersed with a challenge requiring two people to stare at each other without laughing. The first one to laugh loses. The choir also engaged members of the audience in the performance. (Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press)

Celebrating phenomenal women: Kelli Lemon, left, shows off a newly completed mural celebrating about two dozen phenomenal Women in Richmond’s present and past that was done by artist Emily Herr, right. The mural was unveiled last Friday and can be seen in the front windows of Ms. Lemon’s café, Urban Hang Suite RVA, at 304 E. Broad St. The project is titled “Girls Girls Girls.” Among the women featured is Richmond Free Press Publisher Jean Patterson Boone. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)

Duck in Fountain Lake at Byrd Park (Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press)

The still swollen James River is an awesome sight as it rushes Wednesday through Richmond’s Downtown near the Federal Reserve Bank and Riverfront Towers. Still, the water was beginning to subside and had fallen below the 12-foot flood stage in this area by the afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which keeps close track of the flow. On Tuesday, the river had risen to more than 16 feet as it passed through the area, fueled by weekend rains in the western part of the state. The city, which is protected by a floodwall in much of its Downtown, did not report any significant disruption or damage from the high water. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)

Honoring the Richmond 34- Elizabeth Johnson Rice listens as Virginia Union University President Hakim J. Lucas reads a proclamation honoring Ms. Johnson Rice and the 33 other VUU students who were arrested on Feb. 22, 1960, while protesting all-white lunch counters and restaurants at the former Thalhimer’s department store in Downtown. The Richmond 34, as the demonstrators have become known, were honored during a chapel service Feb. 21 at VUU. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)

Honoring the Richmond 34- Dr. Dwight C. Jones Sr., a former Richmond mayor and a VUU alumnus, spoke at the service, “Faith, Identity & Social Justice,” on the need for students and others today to similarly stand up on issues confronting the community. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)

Honoring the Richmond 34- On Feb. 22, Richmond 34 members participated in a panel discussion, center, at the university. They are, from left, Dr. Anderson J. “A.J.” Franklin, Rev. Leroy Bray, Ford T. Johnson Jr. and his sister, Ms. Elizabeth Johnson Rice. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)

Honoring the Richmond 34- Later last Friday, Richmond 34 members head to the John Marshall Courts Building in Downtown, right, where several members had their arrest records from 59 years ago expunged in a hearing before Chief Judge Joi Jeter Taylor in Richmond Circuit Court. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)

Music for the soul- Youngsters from the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir perform songs celebrating the various seasons and holidays of the year during a concert last Saturday in the Gellman Room at the Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch in Downtown. Donte Beal and his 11-month-old daughter, Ashlynn, are ready for the music that Ashlynn’s older siblings were performing. The GRCC offers opportunities for youngsters ages 8 to 18 to study and perform choral music with other dedicated musicians. Registration is open for the 2019-2020 season. Details: GRCChoir.org or contact Anne Williford, GRCC executive director, at (804) 201-1894. (Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press)

Music for the soul- Youngsters from the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir perform songs celebrating the various seasons and holidays of the year during a concert last Saturday in the Gellman Room at the Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch in Downtown. Directing the choir is Crystal Jonkman. The GRCC offers opportunities for youngsters ages 8 to 18 to study and perform choral music with other dedicated musicians. Registration is open for the 2019-2020 season. Details: GRCChoir.org or contact Anne Williford, GRCC executive director, at (804) 201-1894. (Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press)