danny barrale
It’s electric! Silverchair employees make power moves
In his Downtown Mall office, Stuart Leitch unfolds two pedals on either side of his electric unicycle, steps onto each and begins to balance from side to side with the 14-inch wheel between his shins. “I’ve had it for a year and a half and I’ve used it pretty much every single day,” says
Still relevant? New NAACP president faces charged civil rights landscape
There were times in its century-long history that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was considered a militant organization. Today, not so much. Just last week, the national organization’s board ousted its president and called for a “systemwide refresh.” Janette
Madison County: Close-in, and Affordable With Panoramic Views
By Celeste M. Smucker – Home buyers love Madison County for its beautiful scenery and its multitude of outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and fishing. Just north of Greene County, it attracts those who value privacy at a reasonable cost, along with access to the employment, shopping,
Heavy topics: Parents call for reform in city schools
By age 6, children—and girls, especially—begin to express concerns about their weight, according to a widely referenced 2011 study by psychologist Linda Smolak. For this reason, one local mother says the practice of publicly weighing students during gym class should be banned. At press time,
ARTS Pick: In Full
That first hour on Friday after 5 o’clock is special. The window to the weekend opens up, a breeze of freedom summons—the boss is off your back, deadlines are met, the deal has closed—and it’s time to tilt a few back. Rock-solid cover band, a jukebox come to life, In Full is right there with
ARTS Picks: Haus of Belle
The drag showcase Haus of Belle offers queens, kings and femme fatales primping, preening and performing in high style. Directed by Dreama Belle, the lineup features Beverly Bouver, Bunny Nicole, Ro’Three, Ivy Dripp, Jason Cox and Latashiya Shade in addition to headliner Bert Darling, who
Henry Hoke’s film work inspires a short story collection
Charlottesville native Henry Hoke remembers writing stories and poems while a student at Venable Elementary. “I think I always made things up,” he says. “I always came from places of imagination.” He left the city at age 18 to study film at NYU. After living in the world of film, first in New
ARTS Pick: Kat Somers
Local singer-songwriter Kat Somers has been performing and writing music since sixth grade. Her earnest, original tunes float on sunny melodies, acoustic picking and lyrics sung from the gut in a voice that powers its message through. The recent college grad embarks on a busy summer schedule
Breakers dabbles in the fifth dimension on new album
On a warm Monday evening, the four members of Breakers sit comfortably on wicker couches under a covered porch in Belmont. In the glow of multicolored Christmas lights, they share beers and take turns snuggling Batman, drummer Vicente Arroyo’s dog, clad in a red, yellow and green collar, in
Arley Cakes owner planning move to Richmond
Over the last few years, baker Arley Arrington has won our hearts with her baked goods—from her pies at the now-gone Brookville Restaurant to exquisite wedding and birthday cakes topped with flowers and fresh fruit, and (this reporter’s personal favorite) oatmeal cream pies. Now the owner of
Alien: Covenant fails to perpetuate the franchise
When a movie crash lands due to its own misguidedness, the common question is, “What were the filmmakers thinking?” In the case of Alien: Covenant, we know exactly what Ridley Scott was thinking because he won’t stop broadcasting the film’s metaphors or applauding the foreshadowing long enough
The man who confronted white nationalists in Lee Park
The initial police officer on the scene at the May 13 Lee Park demonstration of Richard Spencer’s alt-right gang described between 100 and 150 people carrying tiki-style torches, some of whom were in an argument with a man who was yelling at them to “leave my town,” according to a
LIVING Picks: Week of May 24-29
Nonprofit Before the Flood screening Thursday, May 25 The Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) hosts a showing of this National Geographic documentary about climate change as well as a Q&A session with environmental experts. Free, 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E Main St., Downtown Mall.
Secret shows and familiar paths cross on The Future Islands’ “The Far Field”
Future Islands has come a long way since its first show in 2006 at an anti-Valentine’s Day party in Greenville, North Carolina. Now based in Baltimore, the indie synth-pop group—composed of frontman Samuel T. Herring, bassist/guitarist William Cashion and keyboardist Gerrit Welmers—has busied
ARTS Pick: Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
In Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), literature scholar and self-described old maid Constance Ledbelly has reason to believe that two of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedies, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, were not originally written as tragedies at all. Too timid to show her skeptical boss
Summer VILLAGE: Exploring the link between unstructured outside playtime and healthy childhood development
Inside a gigantic twig nest, 5-year-old Colter Vincenti flaps his arms. “Help me find food,” he trills. Colter and his mom, Leora Vincenti, have come for the first time to Wildrock, a new nonprofit nature “playscape” located in northwestern Albemarle County. “It’s pretty simple,” says Vincenti.
Summer VILLAGE: Say cheese! How to get the senior portrait you really want
Gone are the days of a simple cap-and-gown shot. A senior portrait in 2017 means a photo that’s personal, creative and authentic. “The senior portrait is one of those historical visual documents that we come to treasure later in life,” says photographer Jen Fariello. “[It’s] become so much more
Summer VILLAGE: Is your kid getting enough water?
Summer’s here and it’s hot, so don’t let the risk of dehydration ruin your little one’s fun in the sun. Local pediatrician Paige Perriello offers a few tips to tell whether your child could use a gulp of water and how to keep it flowing all season long. “The first thing that kids will usually
Summer VILLAGE: RiverBluff rallies around neighborhood tree house
After a decade spent living with a hand-me-down outdoor playhouse, Charlottesville’s RiverBluff community decided to do its children a favor and upgrade. “Originally, the community was designed with a small private playground in mind,” says RiverBluff resident Janet Evergreen, who helped
Summer VILLAGE: Hannah Barnaby talks process and publishing
Before Hannah Barnaby became a writer, she was an editor at Houghton Mifflin. It was there that the process of creating picture books first fascinated her. Yet it wasn’t until after the birth of her children that she began to read enough picture books to really understand how they worked.