ASL Practice/Immersion Opportunities

You get more fluent in ASL when you USE IT!
Here are some local (RVA and a *little* beyond) opportunities to practice in person with other ASL users.
This list will be updated monthly.

Remember these are not classes, but for those who are actively learning/using ASL and want more practice.
Be sure to come with your voices off and your hands up!

September, 2023

Saturday, Sept 2nd & 16th (1st and 3rd Saturdays)
10:30 – 11:30AM
Gentle Yoga with Susi Wilbur, RYT-200
Taught in ASL!  Pay What You Can! *
The Innerwork Center
213 Roseneath Rd,
Richmond, VA 23221
Sponsored by: Mosaic Interpreting Services

* Pay what you can and consider bringing your own mat so others without mats may borrow!

Sunday, Sept 3rd & 17th (every other Sunday)
@ 9:00AM – 11:00AM
ASL PICKLEBALL!
Various locations around RVA
Click above link to join Meetup group, get details & RSVP

Sunday, Sept 3rd & 17th (1st and 3rd Sundays)
7:00PM – 9:00PM
ASL Silent Sunday Social (Fairfax, VA)
Fairfax County Wegman’s (corner of Route 29 and Monument Drive)
Click above link to join Meetup group & get group specifics 

Friday, Sept 8th
6:00PM
SILENT DINNER
New location this month: Tasty Crab Seafood RVA
located in the Olde Town Shopping Center
7801 W Broad St A, Richmond, VA 23294

Friday, Sept 8th (1st Fri of every month)
5:00PM – 8:00PM
Southside Silent Dinner (VA Beach)
Lynnhaven Mall Food Court
701 Lynnhaven Parkway, Virginia Beach 23452

Saturday, September 9th
6:00PM – 8:00PM
Common Thread, an ASL & English storytelling event!
Sponsored by Mosaic Interpreting Services
@ Ninja Kombucha – 126 W Brookland Park Blvd, Richmond, VA 23222
Theme: Youth
Send your summary on this simple form! https://forms.gle/M5LjNpmp74iUHKkd9
5-10 minutes, submit multiple stories if you like with ASL or English summaries.

Friday, Sept 15th (3rd Fri of every month)
6:00PM – 8:00PM
Southside Silent Dinner (RVA)
Chesterfield Towne Center Food Court

Saturday, Sept 16th
10:30AM – 11:30AM
ASL Champs’ COFFEE CHAT!

at Urban Farmhouse  (located in the Millworks) 13872 Coalfield Commons Pl Midlothian, VA 23114

email Jen at jennifer@aslchamps.org to RSVP

Saturday, Sept 16th
3:00PM – ??
Shenandoah Valley Out
Pro Re Nata Brewpub & Music Hall
6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke, Crozet

Later this Fall….

Oct 7, 2023
Deaf Pig Roast (Mineral, VA)

 

Do you know of a great local ASL immersion/practice opportunity not listed here? Contact us, and we’ll add it!

Online ASL Classes Rationale

“Are your classes only online?”

“Will you be offering in-person classes?”

Since 2021, ASL Champs group classes are offered “virtually” via Zoom. While the majority seem to love the convenience and flexibility this option offers, we have recently fielded a few questions as to why this was still the case, so we wanted to explain this approach.


One of our goals at ASL Champs is to increase public fluency in ASL and especially to those within a Deaf person’s orbit (family, friends, co-workers). It was when we took our classes online that we saw that we could serve more people to further this goal than ever before. 

We’ve had ASL students learn together who are:

  • Friends and family members (that don’t live anywhere near each other)
  • Co-workers taking classes on their lunch hours
  • Part of corporate or remote groups that work in different offices
  • Parents with young children, busy (or opposite) schedules and/or limited childcare
  • Caregivers
  • Among those who benefit from the recordings and e-notes

So, we’re focusing on offering our online classes in an effort to maximize our resources. We believe we can best serve all our students this way at the moment, with the technology and convenience online classes have to offer.

Of course, ASL Champs’ home base is here in RVA and we have committed to offering and sharing regular, local in-person ASL immersion/practice opportunities!

We look forward to potentially offering some select in-person classes in addition to our online line up in 2024.

We appreciate you, our wonderful ASL Champs community, as we serve our RVA family and beyond!