Carol Diggs, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

An historic house renovation becomes a labor of love

The pandemic changed directions for so many lives. For Chad Pelton and Christie Bazemore, it sent them to a new town and a new home. “We were ready for a change after COVID,” Bazemore recalls. “My business lease was coming due, and we’d fallen in love with the Staunton area. Chad’s father lives on a […]

Carol Diggs | February 11, 2026

Abode

Inspired renovation makes a developer house a custom dwelling

“This was our first house, and we were excited to make it feel like home,” says Nicholas Wilson. He and his wife Rose had spent five years working abroad, mostly in the Middle East, then they lived in the San Francisco area for a time. When they moved to Central Virginia with their young son […]

Carol Diggs | February 11, 2026

Feature News

Volunteers educate residents about their bear neighbors

“Everybody around here has a black bear story,” says Beth Kuhn. And Kuhn has likely heard them all. As outreach coordinator for the Rivanna Master Naturalists, the local chapter of the state’s master naturalist program, Kuhn helps deploy a cadre of volunteers to teach Living With Black Bears. Because in Virginia, black bears are our […]

Carol Diggs | October 15, 2025

Abode Magazines

Outside and inside blend in this integrated home

This project started with a vision one couple had of living in the midst of the landscape they love. Once they discovered the perfect spot, the adventure of making that vision come to life began. In 2017 they found about 20 acres in southern Albemarle County that had been left in pasture, close (but not too […]

Carol Diggs | October 2, 2025

Magazines Weddings

Dreaming of a winter wedding in Charlottesville? Plenty of options…

While spring, summer, and fall are the most popular seasons for Charlottesville nuptials, winter weddings can be especially romantic. But scheduling your celebration for the time between Thanksgiving and Easter requires planning around several facts of life. First and foremost is weather, and in central Virginia, that can be tricky. Any particular winter day can […]

Carol Diggs | October 2, 2025

Magazines Weddings

Rock Paper Scissors’ new owner fits into Charlottesville’s wedding scene

“I had come to Rock Paper Scissors many times—I always loved this shop, it was warm and welcoming, and it always had things I loved,” says Karen Ward. That was during the six years Ward worked in a stationery store in Alexandria. But as of January this year, she and her husband Jonathan are new Charlottesville […]

Carol Diggs | October 2, 2025

Best of C-VILLE Best of C-VILLE Staff Picks

Get to know your city on foot

We all have a circuit—work, the grocery store, school, the gym—and soon these routes become routine. But there’s a lot of city that we don’t see unless we go exploring. All the more reason, says Tommy Safranek, to ditch your vehicle and go on Charlottesville’s Neighborhoods Walks. Safranek is a little biased: He’s the bike […]

Carol Diggs | August 20, 2025

Best of C-VILLE Best of C-VILLE Staff Picks

Grief on the line

After a loved one’s death, how often do we say, “I wish I could talk to …”? Addressing this need is the idea behind the Telephone to the Wind in Darden Towe Park: an unconnected phone booth, next to a bench in a quiet spot under the trees. Anyone can use it, any time; their […]

Carol Diggs | August 20, 2025

Best of C-VILLE Best of C-VILLE Staff Picks

Charlottesville offers many ways to keep kids of all ages active

Kids—sometimes you have to get them out of the house. Luckily, Charlottesville also offers a range of children’s activities, from drop-ins to weekly classes, that get everyone from infants to adults moving. A change from screens Bounce Play-n-Create is owned by a Charlottesville mom of four who revitalized the place during COVID to offer both […]

Carol Diggs | August 20, 2025

Culture Feature

Monticello Wine Week celebrates all things oeno

Let’s all raise a glass to the Monticello American Viticultural Area, where the award-winning wines are why Charlottesville and its surrounding counties are bubbling over with oenophiles and oenotourism. June 5 kicks off Monticello Wine Week, a celebration of the wines and wine producers of the five-county Monticello AVA. The program is sponsored by the […]

Carol Diggs | June 4, 2025