L ifelong thespian Ti Ames was never comfortable with their casting. First, as an African American, Ames was long frustrated never to be cast in Black roles. There just weren’t all that many to cast, Ames says, and “unless you are told otherwise, you are playing a white character.” Second, as a young person still […]
Artists have been creating and decorating miniature models for hundreds—if not thousands—of years. But miniatures have exploded in the past half decade with the growing availability of 3-D printers and virtual gathering spaces for enthusiasts. For example, Warhammer, one of the world’s largest tabletop gaming franchises, has drawn an Instagram community of miniature enthusiasts and […]
Leather goods designer Daniel Foytik has had his share of adversity. Raised in a remote town in Siberia, Russia, he was diagnosed in 2004 with ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease causing spinal fusion. About a year and a half ago, COVID-19 caused him to close his Charlottesville leather goods storefront on Second Street. Now, he’s […]
Want to host your wedding reception at a city-based venue that makes you feel like you’re in the mountains? That’s the jam at Level 10, an event space perched above downtown Charlottesville, and offering unobstructed views of the Blue Ridge. “We’re the highest venue in Charlottesville, and that is pretty fun,” venue director Mary Blanton […]
David Sickmen and The Hackensaw Boys have been a lot of things to a lot of people over their two-decade run. But they’ve never forgotten where they’re from. “When we go out in the world, I still say the band is from Charlottesville,” Sickmen says. “Charlottesville was a magical place in the mid-’90s and into […]
The book deal for My Life According to Rock Band traces back to a Christmas morning 15 years ago. Charlottesville native Cade Wiberg unwrapped his favorite video game ever on December 25, 2007. The young gamer had played and enjoyed Guitar Hero, Rock Band’s predecessor, but it had always felt like a solitary pursuit. When […]
IX Art Park attracted about 356,000 visitors in 2021. But only 16,000 of them bought tickets to an event or The Looking Glass, the park’s immersive art experience. Now, with free events stacked nearly back-to-back throughout the summer, IX will host its biggest ticketed happening of the year. The first Charlottesville Arts Festival, which administrators […]
It’s a pot potluck. Yes, home growers coming to the High Arts Cannabis Festival at Ix Art Park are invited to bring one ounce of their own supply—state law says no more, but honestly, that’s kind of a lot—to exchange among themselves. The April 23 High Arts Cannabis Festival will take place right next to […]
Jacquelyn Lazo thinks a lot about communications. So, as the Charlottesville resident spoke to a friend whose child was having trouble with the COVID-19 pandemic, she was really listening. A former Darden Report managing editor and current poetry magazine proofreader, nonprofit communications consultant, and engagement specialist for Save the Children U.S., Lazo sprung to action. […]
Esther Bobbin only had to be near the chocolate industry to fall in love. Now, through her nonprofit United By Chocolate, she’s trying to change the business for the better by breaking down language barriers. “There are about 4.5 million cacao producers worldwide, and the majority of them don’t speak English,” Bobbin says. “And yet, […]