Fight fire with practice

Earlier this month, area wildfires were in the headlines, but fire season is year-round in Albemarle County. “There are seasonal factors—more brush fires in summer, more chimney fires in winter,” says Matt Ascoli, battalion chief for the Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue. “But we can be called out any time.” That’s why on a […]

Planting the seeds

Devin Floyd has made his knowledge of, and love for, the Piedmont into a personal vocation by working to restore it in all its ecological diversity. Floyd is the executive director of the Center for Urban Habitats, an environmental education, research, and consulting group that he created in 2012. But its mission really began decades […]

Free market

Last fall, Megan Salgado stopped by Reid’s Super-Save Market on Preston Avenue and was gobsmacked. “The shelves were almost completely empty,” she recalls. “I’d seen on Instagram that the store was in trouble, but it was worse than I thought.” In January, she decided to galvanize support for the long-standing neighborhood grocery store and put […]

Renewing a tradition

Andrew Pearson is Virginia born and bred, and always thought he would return to his home state one day. When the COVID shutdown found him and his family quarantined in Birmingham, Alabama, he decided it was time. “I’ve always had my Virginia bag packed,” he says, and soon the family had bought a farm between […]

The spirit of the back country

Ken Farmer has made both his careers out of doing what he loves. Whether he’s appraising on PBS’s popular and long-running “Antiques Roadshow,” or performing on a local stage as Ken Farmer and the Authenticators, his knowledge of and love for the arts, crafts, and music of southwest Virginia shines through. Farmer’s roots in the […]

Caring through the end

Nancy Littlefield is a fourth-generation nurse, so it’s not surprising that she describes caring for people as “my calling.” What may be surprising is that her work as an ICU nurse, helping the sick and their families to heal and recover, led her to palliative care, helping the dying and their families through life’s last […]

New kids in town

Charlottesville is known as a restaurant town, but it’s also a lively retail place that attracts new ventures. And with an eclectic population—traditional and trendy, students and tourists, third-generation and newbies—it’s not surprising the offerings are eclectic too.  Airea Garland took the plunge with lifestyle store Mac and Mae, just off the Downtown Mall on […]

Dinner out (really out)

Whether it’s s’mores in the backyard, burgers and ears of corn on the grill, or fresh-caught fish when you’re camping, there’s something about fresh air and a fire that makes food taste better. Two Fire Table wants to bring that feeling to your next gathering—and you won’t even have to build a bonfire. Two Fire […]

Ten years in

his year, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center marks its 10th anniversary. Since 2013, it has provided educational programs, cultural events, and commemorations for Charlottesville’s Black community—and revived the role of the original Jefferson School. “From its founding, the Jefferson School held the cultural practices—the gatherings, performances, the festivals—of the African American Community,” says […]

The artist’s artist

Jen Deibert doesn’t care much for categories. “I would not call myself a potter,” she says, although her cozy cluttered studio is packed with ceramic pieces. (It actually looks like a vintage shoppe and a crystals booth got married in a kiln and had children.) Asked about her art, Deibert simply says, “I make things.” […]