Roland Wiggins taught his first music lesson when he was in elementary school. He was about 10 years old, and his music teacher, Helen Derrick, had written a series of notes and chord intervals on the chalkboard. As the lesson progressed, Wiggins noticed that Derrick had made a mistake. “Excuse me, Ms. Derrick. You’ve made […]
My name is Abebi. I am a 12-year-old girl and I live in Nigeria. One day while I was at school, a group of men with guns burst in and kidnapped my entire class. The men were from the jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram, which means “no Western education.” They want to establish Sharia, or […]
Jennifer Mowad’s nickname, Cocoa, suits her well. After all, the owner and chocolatier behind Charlottesville chocolate shop Cocoa & Spice has always had a sweet tooth. There’s even a family video to prove it: Mowad, at age 3, so excited to find her candy-filled Easter basket that she literally falls over with joy, hitting her […]
The first time Umphrey’s McGee played in Charlottesville—in 2002, upstairs at the old Starr Hill brewery on West Main Street—a few dozen people showed up. The band was in its barnstorming phase, with its six members, fresh out of college, charging around the country in a crowded van. The Starr Hill show was one of […]
By Ali Sullivan The final meeting lasted just a few minutes. After months of investigation, an advisory committee determined that Paul H. Cale Elementary School—named after a former Albemarle County Public Schools superintendent—should change its name. The recommendation comes nearly four months after the Cale Advisory Committee’s first meeting and almost a year since Lorenzo […]
Building a groove: Willie DE may be the hardest-working musician in local show biz. As a determined teen he formed his first band, The Wave, at age 13, and busked on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall and in the parking lots before UVA football games. Following his education in jazz guitar at VCU and extensive touring on […]
Martez Tolbert grew up hustling. “Even as a 3-year-old, I was selling drugs for my uncle and didn’t even know it,” he says. “He was just giving me little backpacks to go up the street.” When he was 11, Tolbert moved with his family from Detroit to Charlottesville, landing in Westhaven. He was raised by […]
Have you heard the news? The planet is getting hotter and it’s a real problem. That was the simple but important takeaway from a recent event at The Paramount Theater, hosted by Piedmont Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension. Hundreds of attendees learned about the impact of climate change in the natural spaces around them, […]