2023 Best of C-VILLE Staff Picks

It’s our home too

Like New Yorkers with the Empire State Building or Washingtonians with their monument, Charlottesville residents may only visit UVA when guests come to town. Fortunately, the University Guide Service offers a free, hour-long historic tour of the Lawn area daily during the academic year, providing a whole different perspective on our company town. UGS student […]

Carol Diggs | August 23, 2023

Knife & Fork Magazines

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 […]

Carol Diggs | April 8, 2023

434 Magazines

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 […]

Carol Diggs | March 2, 2023

434 Magazines

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.” […]

Carol Diggs | March 2, 2023

Made In C-VILLE Magazines

Heirloom variety

For the last five years, Charlottesville artist Tim O’Kane has been designing new seed packets for the flowers, herbs, and vegetables that have been preserved and propagated by the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at Monticello. Recently, he spoke with us about the project and his work. Made in C-VILLE: How did this project […]

Carol Diggs | December 15, 2022

434 Magazines

The play’s the thing

Maybe you thought LEGO was just for kids. But for 19-year-old Liam Mohajeri Norris and his mother Emily, those little plastic shapes may win them a title, a trophy, and a cool $100,000 on in the “LEGO Masters” reality competition series.  And, Liam admits, “I do have the dream of working for LEGO.” Roll tape […]

Carol Diggs | December 15, 2022

434 Magazines

When wanderlust hits

It’s a gorgeous Virginia fall. The UVA football season is nearly over, but you’re not quite ready to start your holiday shopping at area stores, and the online pre-holiday bargains can wait. So spend your weekend participating in another popular autumn pastime: exploring beautiful back roads, stopping at country markets for sandwiches or snacks, and […]

Carol Diggs | December 15, 2022

434 Magazines

What makes Sally run?

“I’ve lived in both very red and very blue places,” says Sally Hudson. “But I never felt my vote really mattered—until 2016.” Donald Trump’s election spurred Hudson into politics—and to being elected the first woman to represent Charlottesville in the Virginia House of Delegates. Public service came naturally to Hudson. Her father had a law […]

Carol Diggs | September 21, 2022

Knife & Fork Magazines

Buried treasure

To botanists, Tuber melanosporum is a fungus that grows on tree roots underground. Gourmets give it a classier name: the black Périgord truffle. Once only produced in certain areas of France, Italy, and Spain, black truffles are now cultivated all over the world—including locally. Seeing truffle farms in New Zealand gave Pat Martin and her […]

Carol Diggs | September 21, 2022

Arts Culture

From the top

How do you get people to appreciate, value, and protect creatures and ecosystems they have never seen? Two authors approach this challenge from different but complementary perspectives at a panel called Seeing Trees, Saving the Great Forests. Dr. Meg Lowman’s mission is to have people take another look at trees—specifically, the complex and fascinating ecosystem […]

Carol Diggs | March 16, 2022