PICK: The Festy
The fest of us: The Festy made its name by pairing killer music with killer views, and this time around the organizers have reinvented it in a beautiful setting where strict COVID safety measures can be taken. The musical experience is spread out through socially distanced small-group seating and a series of show dates, with […]
PICK: John and Chris Kelly
Plays together: The Front Porch continues its Save the Music series with an all-in-the-family edition featuring John and Chris Kelly. The father-son team appeared together on John’s recent release In Between, a collection of rock and folk songs that reflect on social justice issues as well as the importance of family bonds. Chris’ six-member, alt-rock […]
One season at a time: Caromont Farm keeps looking toward the future
Running a goat farm and making cheese is always a balancing act, even in the best of times. This year, Caromont Farm found that act especially tricky. From early March through May, thousands of people flock to the pastoral locale in southern Albemarle County to cozy up to baby goats. The sessions have been crucial […]
Helping hand: International Neighbors supports refugee families during the pandemic
By Laura Drummond Kari Miller was a second-grade teacher in Charlottesville when, one day, she saw a student fall on the playground and break his arm. After the injury, it soon became apparent that the child, a refugee, had incomplete paperwork, meaning a guardian could not be contacted to give the school the green light […]
Phoning it in: Have tracker apps helped Virginia and UVA slow the spread of the virus?
By Geremia Di Maro As the community searches for answers to the COVID pandemic, both the Commonwealth of Virginia and UVA have rolled out apps designed to suppress the spread of the virus. While state officials are excited about the state app’s ability to track the disease, UVA’s app—which cost a similar amount to develop—merely […]
Dorm disparity: As COVID throttles residence halls, UVA focuses testing on athletes
By Amelia Delphos On Tuesday, UVA released a six-minute video in which President Jim Ryan once again attempted to lay down the law, unveiling a new set of COVID rules following upticks in cases in university housing. These new restrictions ban gatherings of more than five people, require wearing a mask at all times unless […]
In brief: “Crying Nazi” faces prison time, neo-Nazi stickers spotted downtown, and more
Locked up The “Crying Nazi” faces up to 22 years in prison. You have to make a lot of bad decisions in life for the local newspaper to write that sentence about you—and that’s exactly what Chris Cantwell has done. The New Hampshire far-right radio host came to Charlottesville for the 2017 Unite the Right […]
PICK: The Life of William Faulkner
Writer’s digest: Notable biographer Carl Rollyson has covered a range of remarkable lives in his work, from Marilyn Monroe, Lillian Hellman, and Norman Mailer to Susan Sontag, Sylvia Plath, and Walter Brennan. He completes a two-part bio with The Life of William Faulkner Volume 2: This Alarming Paradox, 1935-1962, and celebrates Faulkner’s birthday with a […]
PICK: Blue Ridge Mountain Maze
Way to unwind: It’s an amazing maze of maize, and it only gets cornier. The Blue Ridge Mountain Maze is five acres of corn stocks that are organized into a new and cornfusing design every fall (this year’s theme is “get outside”). Navigate by day or try a spooky challenge, and take on the night […]
Travel companion: UVA alum’s trivia app serves as a virtual escape during lockdown
Who is the city of Leesburg, Virginia, named after? If you answered Robert E. Lee, you may need to study up. If, however, you said the city is named for Thomas Lee, an ancestor of the well-known Confederate general, you’d be a good candidate to play Triviappolis Treasures, a travel-based trivia app created by University […]
In brief: Bob’s not so good, COVID’s on the rise, and more
Tossing it around Bob Good, the 5th Congressional District’s Republican candidate, released a bizarre campaign advertisement this week. In the spot, Good draws on his experience as a wrestling coach—everyone’s favorite kind of authority figure—and shows how he’ll “put liberal ideas in a headlock.” As Good grapples on the mat with his son, the candidate […]
PICK: The Lavender Scare
Seeing purple: As the Cold War and McCarthyism were dominating headlines in the mid-20th century, another cultural persecution was taking place covertly in tandem with the Red Scare. Jefferson-Madison Regional Library and the University of Virginia’s LGBT Committee present a screening of The Lavender Scare, a documentary narrated by Glenn Close that tells the story […]
PICK: Tuesday Evening Concert Series with David Shifrin
Listen to the wind: When considering Mozart’s vast body of work, the clarinet may not be top of mind. Yet, in 1789 the composer “had the wonderful idea of combining a clarinet with a string quartet. The result was one of the greatest musical masterpieces of all time,” says David Shifrin, who will perform the […]
PICK: Zoiree
Moving through it: Edwin Roa of Zabor Dance is not letting the coronavirus get in the way of getting together. The dance instructor is, from a distance, teaching couples who are distanced from other pairs at Zoiree. Partners can move to salsa, bachata, cha-cha and tango in a safety-minded outdoor setting with limited numbers. $40 […]
Something to Grouse about
Foodies rejoice! Charlottesville’s high-end dining circuit just got a little larger with the reopening of The Pink Grouse, the signature restaurant at the Quirk Hotel. Initially unveiled along with the hotel in March of 2020, The Pink Grouse’s launch was short-lived due to widespread shutdowns in April. The extra time was used to fine-tune the […]
Poem on the Removal of the Statue of Johnny Reb
By Gregory Orr I won’t miss the way Your bronze body Froze History into bitterness. That spot you occupied No longer radiates Shadows In every direction Like a malign sundial Designed to thwart The slow Progress of time. Your absence: a form Of hope, a flat And empty space Where citizens stand […]
In brief: Richardson steps down, Johnny Reb goes down, and more
One down Johnny Reb, the bronze Confederate soldier who has stood, musket in hand, outside the Albemarle County Courthouse since 1909, has been replaced by a patch of hay. After the Unite the Right rally accelerated the national debate over Confederate monuments, Charlottesville finally took down one of our own. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors […]
PICK: Riverdance in HD
Stepping back: It’s been 25 years since Riverdance busted Irish dancing out of a Dublin arena and hooked the world into its Vegas-style showcase of step dancing to infectious Celtic rhythms. Filmed in February 2020, Riverdance in HD brings us back to that pre-masked time when arm-in-arm high kicks were taken for granted, and sweaty spins […]
PICK: Monticello Fall Plant and Nursery Sale
Sowing the seeds: Take your faith in mother nature to the next level in 2021 with perennials such as rattlesnake master, globe thistle, and Virginia bluebells, courtesy of the Monticello Fall Plant and Nursery Sale. The popular annual event is taking safety precautions that include pre-registration, limited occupancy, and time limits that allow each guest 45 […]
PICK: Save the Music with Beleza
Musical mash-up: Tired of your quarantine playlists? Then it’s time to spice things up with some samba, funk, soul, blues, bossa nova, jazz, and Spanish flamenco—the livestreamed Save the Music with Beleza embodies it all. Madeline and Berto Sales take you to a Brazilian paradise with their musical and marital harmonies: Madeline sings in Portuguese, […]
Sound Choices: New projects break through the noise
A. D. Carson i used to love to dream (University of Michigan Press) A.D. Carson has made a career out of breaking boundaries. As a Ph.D. student at Clemson University, his dissertation was an album called Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics Of Rhymes & Revolutions. Across the project’s 34 tracks, he examined identity politics, and […]
Running back: Charlottesville stares down football with no fans
By Julia Stumbaugh The ball had barely slipped out of Virginia Tech wide receiver Damon Hazelton’s hands when the first University of Virginia students’ feet hit the turf. The incomplete pass meant UVA had beaten its fiercest rival for the first time in 15 years. Nothing, not fences or Scott Stadium employees, could keep the […]
United university: UVA employees organize for better treatment
By Sydney Halleman It’s been over a decade since the University of Virginia has seen a serious attempt at unionization. The Staff Union at UVA dissolved in 2008 after failing to keep its membership count high enough, and a 2011 union effort fizzled before it could get off the ground. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic […]
In brief: Johnny Reb’s coming down, Kanye’s off the ballot, and more
In brief Officer arrested Charlottesville police officer Jeffrey Jaeger was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery last week. The charges stem from a March 3 incident in which three officers, including Jaeger, who is white, arrested an unnamed Black defendant for being drunk in public. After showing body camera footage during the trial, the defendant […]
PICK: “Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3”
Little looks: The biggest little show of the year returns when “Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3” begins this week. The juried group exhibition is a collection of three pieces, all measuring nine inches or smaller, from over 100 area artists who work in a variety of styles. The show also celebrates Second Street Gallery’s 47th season, […]
PICK: Shenandoah September Sizzles
Among the vines: The last weeks of summer are always bittersweet, marked by the start of school, cooling temps, and a surplus of garden veggies. Chef Ian Rynecki helps make sense of the season’s bounty at Shenandoah September Sizzles, a celebration that begins with a garden tour to harvest fresh produce, followed by a grilling/smoking/cooking […]
PICK: Company Picnic
Bubble wrapped: Kendall Street Company is leading the local return to music festival gatherings with its Company Picnic. The fun-loving jam band will perform four sets outdoors over two days, while guests watch from a distance in “safety bubbles” of two-, four-, and six-ticket groups. Patrons can have concessions delivered to their bubble, and the […]