PICK: Wreath Making Workshops

Christmas composition. Christmas wreath on white background. Flat lay, top view

Culture

C-VILLE Writers

11/25/20 at 11:05 AM

Making it bright: As the seasonal celebrations begin, the wine and painting classes take a backseat to making wreaths. Pippin
Hill gardeners Diane Burns and Celina DeBrito lead Wreath Making Workshops, and lend expert tips on
how to craft a personal tribute to the cycle of nature by sourcing dried fruit, flowers, and herbs from the vineyard site. Refreshments provided. Mask required.

Tuesday 12/1 and Wednesday 12/2, $100, 9am. Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, 5022 Plank Rd., North Garden. 202-8063.

What should Biden’s first act be after his inauguration? C-VILLE’s Question of the Week. Answer bel… https://t.co/bHQTQTOOQZ

8 hours ago
—Local residents call for Rep. Bob Good to resign following insurrection on Capitol —Vaccines distributed to frontl… https://t.co/ujbGfYYGQw

1 day ago
Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Sally Hudson will prioritize criminal justice reform, expanded une… https://t.co/FQo8PdvLFI

2 days ago

Culture

PICK: Hot Cheese

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Cheesy goodness: In the intro to her cookbook Hot Cheese: Over 50 Gooey, Oozy, Melty Recipes, Polina Chesnakova writes: “…something happens when you apply heat to curds: a setting of the stage. A bubbling pot of fondue, a half wheel of raclette as it blisters and caramelizes under a

Arts

PICK: Sweet Honey in the Rock

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Solidarity in song: Raising voices and raising awareness since 1973, Sweet Honey in the Rock is an African American a cappella group with a broad range of performance credits, from “Sesame Street” to Carnegie Hall. With mesmerizing harmonies and gifted lyrical flow, the ensemble addresses civil

Arts

PICK: Jorma Kaukonen

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Hot licks: It would be a disservice to call Jorma Kaukonen anything other than rock royalty. The Washington, D.C., native is on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists list. He’s a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, has performed with Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia, and still

Arts

Life after life: Some Kind of Heaven retires the notion of easy living

By Deirdre Crimmins | LEAVE A COMMENT

Whether they are willing to admit it or not, all documentaries make an argument. Michael Moore is never shy about voicing his opinions, while at the other end of the spectrum, Ken Burns frames his work as recording history. Some Kind of Heaven, the debut work from Lance Oppenheim, never shouts

Arts

PICK: Labryrinth

By Tami Keaveny | LEAVE A COMMENT

Birthday Bowie: In the mid-’80s, a Jim Henson and George Lucas film collaboration was guaranteed to generate big buzz—tack on the casting of rock star/actor David Bowie, and the anticipation was palpable. The musical fantasy Labyrinth follows the journey of a teenage girl through a maze to

Arts

PICK: The Earlysville Bluegrass Boys

By Tami Keaveny | LEAVE A COMMENT

Band of brothers: With a sound beyond their years, you’d never guess that the Heetderks brothers are all under age 17. Picking out traditional bluegrass and gospel as The Earlysville Bluegrass Boys, David (banjo, dobro), John (mandolin, fiddle), and Daniel (guitar, bass) have made a name for

Culture

PICK: Wildrock’s Winter Wonderland Trail

By Tami Keaveny | LEAVE A COMMENT

Get out together: Some of the best aspects of the season are on display during a tour of Wildrock’s Winter Wonderland Trail. Track animals and learn their survival habits, get an up-close look at snowflake patterns, and play a woodland game to match gnome mittens. Small groups can make a

Arts

Now a filmmaker: Stephen Canty’s long-awaited Once a Marine makes digital debut

By Shea Gibbs | LEAVE A COMMENT

Louisa native Stephen Canty’s documentary about adjusting to civilian life after Marine Corps deployment to Afghanistan was released in November. A lot’s changed since the UVA alum began working on the film, Once a Marine, more than seven years ago. For one thing, he is no longer a Louisa

Arts

PICK: Fast forward

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Bah humbug? We think not. This year, Dickens is going digital! Join Jacob Marley, the three ghosts, and Tiny Tim as Scrooge navigates his cranky journey and discovers the joy of Christmas—even in 2020. John Harrell stars in American Shakespeare Center’s annual adaptation of A Christmas Carol,

Arts

PICK: Unforgettable talent

By Tami Keaveny | LEAVE A COMMENT

Cullen “Fellowman” Wade (right) didn’t set out to create an album about loss during such a dark time in history. And despite its title, Death of an Author, which has been two years in the making, is rooted in creativity, catharsis, and enlightenment rather than morbidity. With a slew of covers

Arts

Listening from home

By Desire' Moses | LEAVE A COMMENT

COVID-19 has taken an unfathomable amount of lives, and its reverberations have disrupted our most cherished industries—the music business included. The onset of the pandemic brought studio sessions, live performances, and large-scale concerts to a screeching halt, rendering musicians,

Arts

Rear viewings

By Deirdre Crimmins | LEAVE A COMMENT

Saying that this year has been an anomaly is a comical understatement. So much of our daily life has been uprooted and, to mirror our own bodies, movies were not immune from these changes either. Before we start writing eulogies for Cinema with a capital “C” and discussing the fall of the

Culture

Foodie musings

By | LEAVE A COMMENT

We are all ready to leave 2020 behind, but as we close it out, let’s take a moment to remember dining experiences, both lost and gained, in this most unusual year. Many well-known establishments shuttered their doors on the Downtown Mall during the pandemic, including Commonwealth Restaurant

Arts

PICK: Cheers all around

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Staying home for the holidays doesn’t have to be boring, and a long list of local talent is out to prove it. Home for the Holidays: A Four County Players Musical Revue harkens back to a time of vintage television broadcasts that brought performers together in a variety show style. Directed by

Culture

Do you remember?: A look back at some of the year’s most memorable C-VILLE stories

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

It’s been a long year; a year many of us might rather forget. But reflection is important too, and plenty of important and weird stories stuck in our heads this year. So, do you remember… …the historic Black church? In May, we took a deep dive into the history of the church

Culture

PICK: The Polar Express

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Seeing is believing: Close your eyes and imagine boarding The Polar Express, where everyone is dreaming of a “White Christmas” and “Rockin’ On Top O the World,” leading us to “Believe” that all will be well “When Christmas Comes to Town.” As the train conductor, Tom Hanks provides comforting

Culture

A Christmas tree story: The Casons have been selling holiday happiness for more than 100 years

By Laura Drummond | LEAVE A COMMENT

For those who celebrate Christmas, selecting a tree is an annual tradition. For George Cason, selling trees to the Charlottesville community is a way of life. George Cason’s father, L.E., began selling Christmas trees more than 100 years ago. Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Cason had seven boys and one girl,

Arts

Digging for love: Ammonite is a stratum above a bodice-ripper

By Deirdre Crimmins | LEAVE A COMMENT

Ammonites are fossils that are used to mark geologic time. Resembling the spirals that contain the golden ratio, they are ripe for parable and illustration. The film Ammonite, from writer/director Francis Lee, tries to capture that depth of meaning, but much like its namesake fossil, it is

Arts

Zooming it in: Live Arts’ holiday play keeps tradition alive—with a twist

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

By Julia Stumbaugh At the beginning of November, director Amalia Oswald helped commission her friend, New York playwright Matt Minnicino, to write Live Arts’ 2020 holiday play. The play had to be entertaining for adults, hilarious to children, inclusive of different holidays, and designed not

Arts

PICK: Duck Demystified

By C-VILLE Writers | LEAVE A COMMENT

Make way: Seems that if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, many of us are afraid to cook it. In Duck Demystified, chef Ian Rynecki addresses the uncertainties around preparing this often overlooked entrée. The hands-on demo ends with participants dining together on