Five-month-old Royal Smith giggles as his grandmother, Deanna Casey, lifts him high at Arts in the Park at The Carillon in Byrd Park. The infant enjoyed the stroll to look at artwork with his grandmother and mother, D’Asia Hill. Thousands of people flocked to the festival that returned after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic.

Terry and Donna Moore, who have attended the event many of the 30 years they have lived in Richmond, browse the paintings of artist Jennifer Ardolins of Homosassa, Fla.

Spotted among the throngs of people are Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his fiancée, Brandy Washington, who paused to talk and laugh with James Mercante, the assistant director for public affairs with the Richmond Police Department.

Surgical tech-turned-artist Melanie Taliaferro of Chesterfield County shows off her handmade necklaces, earrings and other jewelry as customers weave in and out of her tent. She said she hung up one set of tools 15 years ago and opted for those of a metalsmith and jewelrymaker.

Judith Hopkins, left, and Grace Parker, both of Richmond, look at the variety of animals painted by artist Deborah Butts of Gettysburg, Penn. The friends chatted and meandered through the tents, stopping to browse when something caught their fancy.

Jerry Wyatt, 64, of Mechanicsville proudly stands beside his shiny green 1969 Chevrolet Nova, just one of the classic cars that filled the parking lot Saturday at the Richmond Heritage Federal Credit Union, 50 W. Commerce Road in South Side. The show and sale of the restored cars celebrated the 86th birthday of the financial institution that Black Richmond teachers and Virginia Union University professors organized in 1936 during the Great Depression as a self- help organization. Long based in Jackson Ward, the member-owned credit union purchased this site in South Richmond in 2000 for its headquarters.

Iris at The Carillon