Children play Wednesday in water spraying at SplashMor, an interactive exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Richmond on West Broad Street. The young visitors from the Piedmont Family YMCA in Charlottesville had an early start on the Memorial Day holiday, which is considered the unofficial start of summer. The holiday, to be celebrated Monday, May 25, honors America’s war dead. With sunny skies forecast, the holiday also will feature cookouts, swim parties and other fun outdoor activities

A passer-by gives a high-five to the likeness of Barbara Rose Johns at the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial at Capitol Square in Downtown. Unveiled in 2008, the memorial celebrates Ms. Johns and others whose protests and lawsuits brought an end to the Jim Crow-mandated separation of black and white students in public schools. In 1951 at age 16, Ms. Johns led a student walkout from a decaying high school in Prince Edward County. The legal case that grew from that protest helped generate the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17, 1954 — 61 years ago last Sunday. That remarkable decision outlawed public school segregation and became a major step toward ending legal apartheid in this country. Other figures on the memorial include, front, the late NAACP attorneys Oliver W. Hill and Spottswood W. Robinson III, both of Richmond, who represented Ms. Johns and others in Prince Edward County and whose legal attack on segregation became part of the Brown case. Right, figures celebrate courageous Virginians who marched, protested and helped bring down segregation, serving as a reminder of the role of ordinary citizens in shaping public policy.

They say cats are curious, so it wasn’t surprising to see this furry feline left the cozy confines of his tiny house on the porch of this home to keep an eye on the neighborhood. Location: The 3700 block of Moss Side Avenue in the Ginter Park community on North Side.

Roses beautify construction site Downtown

Budding artist is official winner Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott presents Sierra Harris of Newport News and her winning work at Richmond’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. The Woodside High School student was named the winner of the 22nd annual 3rd Congressional District Art Competition. The competition is open to all high school students in the congressman’s district. It is part of An Artistic Discovery, a nationwide program coordinated by members of the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize the artistic talents of young people.

Fun along the riverfront for people and pets — that’s Dominion Riverrock. The three-day festival, billed as “the nation’s premier outdoor sports and music festival,” drew enthusiastic crowds who enjoyed everything from daredevil cyclists to trail runs and kayaking during the weekend. These scenes offer a taste of the activities: Emiliano Gimenez of Madrid, Spain, who is ranked No. 25 internationally by the World Slackline Federation, has an audience as he goes high on a slackline.

A biker flies through the air performing tricks

Young people help create hurdles for a racing dog. Venture Richmond and Sports Backers staged the event with support from Dominion Resources.