The right stuff

Charlottesville is well known as a foodie destination—not only because of its vibrant restaurant scene, but because of the well-loved gourmet groceries that make cooking at home (across myriad cultures and cuisines) easy and interesting. Put these family-owned international grocers—with ingredients from Africa, India, China, and beyond—on your must-visit list, and let the owners transport […]

VA Book Fest

The Virginia Festival of the Book is back in action March 20-24, with five days of panels, parties, and events to celebrate all things literary. Renowned authors flock to our city for engaging talks, everyone on the Downtown Mall has a book or two in their arms, and our too-long reading lists get even longer. […]

The Big Picture

Plastic bags, candy wrappers, puzzle pieces, and leaves don’t usually top the list of materials used to create the fancy frocks we see on catwalks and red carpets. Except, that is, at the annual St. Anne’s-Belfield Wearable Arts Runway Show, where upper-school students like Annie Yuan (left) repurposed and recycled existing materials to create the […]

More than a beverage

All roads flow back to beer for Corey Hoffman, founder and head brewer at Neon Culture Brewing, a small-but-mighty start-up with big plans and singular suds.  Hoffman’s history with beer as a drinker includes—like many of us—college-age encounters involving red Solo cups, ping-pong balls, and cold cans sipped at a bar. That all changed in […]

Supper’s ready

There’s something special about family-owned establishments. The storied buildings contain years of history, the owners are always hard at work alongside employees, and regulars come back year after year for recipes that are passed down and tweaked through the generations.  In Crozet, Greenwood Gourmet Grocery has been a roadside staple since 1999. Owners Nina Promisel […]

True colors

Have you ever walked into a closet full of clothes and walked out feeling like you have nothing to wear? Victoria Proscia knows that feeling. As a stylist with House of Colour, Proscia is a pro at finding the right colors and clothing cuts to enhance inner beauty. No more blindly shopping trends that just […]

The Big Picture

And just like that, the Virginia Film Festival is a wrap. The five-day fest was full of memorable on- and off-screen moments, from Jon Batiste’s piano serenade, to the U.S. premiere of award-winning filmmaker Ava Duvernay’s Origin. A biographical drama inspired by Isabel Wilkerson’s nonfiction book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, the film follows […]

The good and the bad

Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner arrived at the University of Virginia more than 60 years ago to begin his tenure as the first writer-in-residence. During his time in Charlottesville, Faulkner visited English classes, kept office hours, worked on his novel The Mansion, and left a lasting impact on the area’s literary, and wine, scene (His […]

The Big Picture

Charlottesville’s oldest restaurant just reached a milestone. Opened in 1923 by University of Virginia alums Billy Gooch and Ellis Brown, The Virginian (shown at left in 1983) celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 23. The Corner mainstay has grown and changed a lot during the past century, from serving soda during Prohibition, to desegregation in […]

In the air

This year has brought some of our favorite wedding trends—brightcolors are back, biodegradable confetti is in, and aerial shots are taking photography to new heights. Using a drone, photographers and videographers can capture never-before seen angles of your ceremony or reception set against Charlottesville’s scenic vistas, vineyards, and venues. Whether you’re looking to add cinematic […]