It’s about 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the colder of the two warehouse storage rooms at the Local Food Hub, and the air smells of cardboard and brown paper, of bell peppers and root vegetables, and the earth that grew them. Boxed bushels of apples—which keep for months when refrigerated—sit on tall industrial shelves. Printed in […]
First Fridays: November 3 Ann Robertson made her first art quilt more than 20 years ago, as a way of working through her experience in the Great Hanshin earthquake that hit Kobe, Japan, in the wee hours of January 17, 1995. With no prior quilting experience and only one American quilting book and some Japanese quilting […]
When Georgia Webb draws, she tends to draw things that are close to her—her mother, Ali, her grandpa Jim or her friend Sidney. She draws her favorite cartoon characters, iconic items like Spam cans, and often reinterprets famous paintings, such as Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” in her own distinct black line-and-marker style. A […]
Although Blue Moon Diner is closed during construction of 600 West Main, the six-story mixed-use building going up behind the restaurant, that hasn’t stopped owner Laura Galgano from serving her customers. “I am a social being, and quite simply, [I] want to know what folks are up to, how their lives are and what new […]
Last April, J.R. Brown stepped onto the wooden stage at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and looked out at the small-ish audience that had gathered in the auditorium. With the house lights on, he could see everyone’s faces. All of their eyes—and ears—were on him. He was nervous. He closed his eyes. The […]
Bottoms up, y’all. It’s Virginia Spirits Month here in the commonwealth, sponsored by the Virginia Distillers Association and meant to spotlight Virginia-made spirits. Many local bartenders do so all year ’round, but there are a few special cocktails this month that are worth sidling up to the bar for. Junction’s Alec Spidalieri is shaking things […]
Eli Cook picked up the guitar one fortuitous summer when his older brother went to baseball camp. Cook’s brother had been taking lessons and left an electric guitar—which actually belonged to their older sister—behind in Nelson County. “It seemed cool,” says Cook of the idea of playing guitar. He picked up the instrument and worked […]
In P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins series, the beloved nanny is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Ln., home of the Banks family, which just happens to need a nanny at that very moment. Mary agrees to stay “till the wind changes.” Under her stern but loving care, Jane and Michael Banks […]
Everyone knows at least one protest song. There’s Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land,” which American Songwriter magazine says is “arguably more popular than our national anthem”; Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”; Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”; Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”; Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”; Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind”; […]