Dying to have a little fun in Carytown?  Head over Saturday, and you’ll have plenty of company. No promise you’ll find prom-date material, mind you, but what’s a little blood, guts and gore when you’re having a ghoulishly good time? 

The New Year’s Eve celebration that has attracted thousands of revelers to Carytown won’t be back for a fourth year. The Carytown Merchants Association isn’t planning the celebration because of the high costs of security and other expenses, said Thom Suddeth, president of the merchants group.

The Carytown Merchants Association isn’t planning the celebration because of the high costs of security and other expenses, said Thom Suddeth, president of the merchants group.

Three men were shot in separate incidents in Richmond last night, but all are expected to recover. The most serious shooting occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in the 600 block of Westover Hills Boulevard in South Richmond. The man was shot in the upper body near Somerset Glen Apartments. He was taken to VCU Medical Center in critical condition, but his status improved overnight and his wounds no longer are considered life-threatening, said Police Capt. Harvey Powers.

“We’re The Hard Shell of Carytown,“ our server said within the first few moments of “What can I getcha?“ talk.  Water Grill may be Carytown’s newest dining destination, but it’s also the latest addition to the Richmond Restaurant Group’s lineup, which includes hotspots deLux, Europa and you got it—The Hard Shell.

One of three suspects in an assault and robbery last night in Richmond’s Carytown business district was arrested after two witnesses chased the suspect. Richmond police Capt. Scott Booth said the woman was treated at the scene by an ambulance crew after the attack, which occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in the 3300 block of West Cary Street.

Carytown’s latest improvement project is nearly done. The city of Richmond expects to wrap up by Wednesday a $100,000 project to repave West Cary Street between Thompson Street and the Boulevard. The work, which started Monday, was managed to minimize disruptions on businesses and their customers by keeping one travel lane open at all times.

Big shoulders, leggings, tunics, cuffs, booties, poufed minis—dare we say stirrup pants? Like a “Dynasty” rerun, fashions from the 1980s rolled down the runways in New York and Milan recently at designers’ fall preview shows. American women gasped. “I look at pictures of myself in high school where I was wearing shoulder pads and stirrup pants,“ lamented Lyn Page, owner of Clementine consignment shop in Richmond. “I make fun of those pictures and the way we looked. Why would I want to look like that again?“

Charlie, a 7-month-old boxer, may have had the best seat along West Cary Street yesterday. At the least, it was the wettest. The young yet stocky pooch immersed herself in a small, round swimming pool filled with water during the 26th Carytown Watermelon Festival. She was doing her best to stay cool from the oppressive heat that beat down on the estimated 100,000 people who traversed a six-block stretch during one of the hottest days of the year. Temperatures reached a high of 97 degrees, with the heat index even higher.

Why, for the love of watermelon, would anyone with a hint of sanity intact venture near Carytown on Sunday?  For the love of watermelon, of course.  From one end of the district to another—about 10 blocks in all, from the Boulevard west nearly to the Powhite Parkway overpass—tents will be set up to sell the fruit from 2,500 watermelons during the 26th annual Watermelon Festival.

If you go Richmond’s largest street festival is back for its 26th year. When Where Cost

Whoever came up with the concept of the RSVP didn’t account for the people who lose their mail and are so busy they don’t know what’s going on from day to day. Let alone months in advance. While there are self-help books to get these peoples’ lives in order, there’s not much relief for the person who needs a head count for an event. Casey Burke is trying to broker a peace between the two.

Thom Suddeth is tired. It’s Wednesday afternoon and he’s working at his Carytown shop after a morning filled with going over marketing budgets and meeting with city officials. His plans for the afternoon include pulling weeds around a sign at the entrance to Carytown. “It’s a lot of work,“ he said. Suddeth owns the Road Runner Running Store at 3002 W. Cary St.

Steve Samuel is mad as hell and he wants to let everyone know. Samuel, founder of Graphics Gallery in Henrico County, is frustrated and fed up with all the negative talk about the economy. “There’s tons of doom and gloom in business and in your personal life, but you can’t let it get you down,“ he said. To combat the negativity—and help boost sales—Samuel created a sign that his salespeople are passing out to clients and Graphics Gallery is giving away.

GRTC Transit System may scale back but not eliminate bus service to the West End, including the University of Richmond. Officials are revamping their months-old plan to scrap inefficient routes by proposing to combine, rather than cut, the No. 16 Westhampton and No. 13 Main Street/Church Hill routes. The new, merged route would extend from downtown as far west as Carytown, said John M. Lewis Jr., GRTC chief executive officer.