LIVING Picks: To-do for the week

Nonprofit Ash Lawn Opera Spring Gala Enjoy dinner, drinks, a silent auction and a performance by baritone Aleksey Bogdanov and soprano Rebecca Nathanson. Sunday 3/20. $175, 6pm. Farmington Country Club, 1625 Country Club Cir. 293-4500. Health & Wellness Fix-a-Leak Family 5K Wrap up the Environmental Protection Agency’s Fix-a-Leak Week with this family-friendly race. Saturday 3/19. $7-15, 10am. Pen […]

ARTS Pick: Leo Kottke and Keller Williams

Georgia native Leo Kottke is something of a miracle in his profession—the musician endures partial hearing loss in both ears caused by separate incidents and suffers from tendinitis—yet, none of this prevented the guitarist from dedicating his life to music and rising to cult figure status in the folk world. Keller Williams, also known as […]

Album reviews: Benji Hughes, Freakwater, Tortoise

Benji Hughes Songs in the Key of Animals (Merge) As expected, the guy who wrote “Let’s Duet” for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is something of a joker. In 2008, North Carolinian Benji Hughes released his debut, A Love Extreme, a double-length album with his face on the cover in rapturous close-up, looking like […]

Past is present: A unique Virginia wine evokes ancient techniques

Since the dawn of civilization, brewers and winemakers have flavored beverages with herbs, resins, honeys, fruits, meats, barks and spices. In ancient Egypt, figs and honey helped jumpstart fermentations in amphorae, while chamomile and other herbs flavored the various wines. In ancient Greece, resins coated the inside of the clay vessels and acted as both […]

ARTS Pick: Don Quixote

The Charlottesville Ballet’s professional company presents Act III from the classic Don Quixote, and brings to life the wedding scene, where lovers unite in a pas de deux for the stage adaptation of the Spanish comedic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The night also features new commissions by artists Julia Mitchell, Jason Ambrose and Tom […]

ARTS Pick: The Rondo Rigs

If you’re a fan of The Wood Brothers, you’ll rave about NOLA fiddle power trio The Rondo Rigs. Band members Eric Robertson, Duncan Wickel and Nicholas Falk have spent the latter half of the past year on tour while simultaneously creating their debut album of what the group calls ”greasy Southern blues and funk.” The […]

LIVING Picks: To-do for the week

Nonprofit Jimmy Miller Bracket Breakfast Ralph Sampson, Barry Parkhill, Antonio Rice and Jay James return for the third annual bracket breakfast, which gives you the inside scoop on college basketball and benefits Piedmont CASA. Monday 2/14.$125, 7am. Omni Hotel Ballroom, 212 Ridge McIntire Rd. bb@pcasa.org. Health & Wellness Sugar Hollow Three Bridges 5K and 10K […]

ARTS Pick: Bobby Read

Charlottesville local Bobby Read has been playing, composing and producing music for the past 30 years in a diverse career that ranges from regular gigs at Miller’s to touring as Bruce Hornsby’s sax and winds player and composing soundtracks for the “National Geographic Explorer” TV series. The release of his jazz quintet’s newest CD, Saturn […]

Future focus: What’s in store for Charlottesville?

What does the future hold? We examine what has happened in Charlottesville’s past and present to make some zany predictions about what could occur years down the road. But you know what they say: Fact is stranger than fiction. Developing our future Growth is always an issue in both Charlottesville and Albemarle County, and there’s no reason […]