John Freeman has found his home in the booth. The career play-by-play announcer and UVA grad returned to Charlottesville to become the “voice of the Cavaliers” for the men’s football and basketball teams last November. He’d been the primary commentator for several university sports—lacrosse and even some men’s basketball—years ago, but he’d never spoken for […]
Who is the Pie Guy? In a sense, it’s Keith Groomes who’s always been destined for the role. Groomes started working with the original Pie Guy, Justin Bagley, in 2015. Bagley then sold the business—at the time a well-known food cart on the farmers’ market, festival and Downtown Mall lunch circuits—to cattleman Rob Harrison. Harrison […]
When you’re ready to upgrade your downriver rambling, proceed directly to the James River Batteau Co. “This is the Cadillac tour of the James River,” Company co-founder Will Smith says. “If you want to float with a big bunch of friends, this is the most comfortable way to go.” Batteaux (batteau’s Francofied plural) are flat-bottomed […]
When Edgar Lara moved to Charlottesville 10 years ago, he soon learned two things. One, the Latinx community was isolated. Two, a tiny, brand new local organization, Sin Barreras, was on a mission to change that. Lara, now the organization’s executive director, first connected with Sin Barreras and founder Fanny Smedile at its flagship event, […]
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 […]
Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, Martha, wrote to her own daughter, Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge, on the occasion of Ellen’s marriage. Postmarking her letter to Boston from Virginia, Martha said she would not be sending Ellen the family’s beer recipes. A fine young woman like Ellen wouldn’t need them, as Martha didn’t “presume” Ellen would ever […]
It’d be easy for a bunch of theater-minded folks to say to themselves, “I’m not part of the drag community, but I can put on a play about drag, no problem.” That would be a trap, though, and one the Live Arts’ production team wants to avoid in its latest play, The Legend of Georgia […]
What’s with the “company” in Kendall Street Company? If you know anything about the local band, an 8- to 9-year-old jam-rock outfit with a dedicated regional following, you know these guys are anything but stuffed shirts. Business casual for frontman Louis Smith and his colleagues doesn’t even come with socks and shoes. No, Smith says […]