Susan Sorensen, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

Wildest dreams: Joseph Hicks’ soccer book inspires young people to reach for the stars

After almost 20 years as a teacher, Joseph Hicks knows a thing or two about kids. And it’s that knowledge that led him to write Paige and Sophie: Soccer Twins, a children’s book about two soccer-playing sisters who are identical on the outside but very different inside. Paige, a natural athlete, struggles in school, while […]

Susan Sorensen | November 30, 2015

Magazines Village

Kids say the smartest things: Youngest TEDx speaker Maddie Waters talks the talk

Maddie Waters has something to say. But rather than hold forth in a classroom or the school cafeteria, the Western Albemarle High School freshman is taking her message to a bigger stage and a larger audience as a TEDx speaker at the Paramount Theater on Friday, November 13. The 14-year-old, who will be among heady […]

Susan Sorensen | November 30, 2015

Knife & Fork Magazines

Words with chefs: Jenée Libby’s Edacious podcast gives listeners food for thought

Jenée Libby always wanted to be on the radio. As a child, she spent hours pretending—“Remember Mr. Microphone?” she asks. But Libby’s all grown up now, and she no longer has to pretend, thanks to Edacious, her twice-monthly podcast devoted to all things food. “I initially thought [Edacious] would be a terrific way to bring […]

Susan Sorensen | September 29, 2015

Living

Play ball! Charlottesville’s Tom Sox are newest team in Valley Baseball League

A sign on the door of the Main Street Arena says it’s closed for the summer, but nobody seems to have told the two dozen folks who are spread out at tables in the lobby of the Downtown Mall event space. A few of them are talking on cell phones, while others stare at laptop screens. […]

Susan Sorensen | June 3, 2015

Arts

For a good time: Local trio Scuffletown still brings the fun

The only reminder of a once-thriving Orange County town is a sign: Scuffletown Road. And while the place may be gone, it’s certainly not forgotten, thanks to John Whitlow, Marc Carraway and Vaughan Mairs, the guys who make up Scuffletown, a high-energy acoustic trio. “During the Depression, Scuffletown was a lively, blue collar place that […]

Susan Sorensen | March 5, 2015

Arts

A girl thing: Area choirs gather to heal and empower

Craig Jennings didn’t know Hannah Graham. But last fall, “after she disappeared under the eyes of cameras on the Downtown Mall, I couldn’t stop thinking about what her family was going through,” said Jennings, the choral director at Burley Middle School. That feeling grew stronger as days turned into weeks, and Jennings watched his students […]

Susan Sorensen | January 15, 2015

Arts

Take two: Second Wind Band celebrates 20 years with annual holiday concert

On an 80-degree October afternoon, it was beginning to sound a lot like Christmas at the Charlottesville Senior Center. “Angels We Have Heard on High” flowed into “O Come All Ye Faithful,” followed by “Jingle Bells” and “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” as the Second Wind Band rehearsed for its December 7 holiday concert. […]

Susan Sorensen | December 5, 2014

Magazines Village

Life saver: The Wildlife Center of Virginia provides real-world education

Dahlia Lithwick didn’t hold out much hope for the injured baby bird her family found last spring. “We put it in a box and were feeding it worms from our compost heap, trying to keep him alive as best we could,” she said. After a lengthy Facebook back-and-forth, it was decided that “Chirpy’s” best chance […]

Susan Sorensen | November 25, 2014

Magazines Village

Getting her goat

It’s been almost a year since Lucy the goat came to live with 8-year-old Emma van der Linde. Lucy wasn’t even 24 hours old when she arrived—and she was very sick. But a nearby farmer knew the van der Linde’s “were suckers for any animal in need, so they contacted us,” said Emma’s mother, Erin. […]

Susan Sorensen | November 25, 2014

Abode Magazines

Quality counts: Alice Marshall was ‘born to decorate’

It came as no surprise when Alice Marshall, co-owner of The Second Yard, a purveyor of decorator fabrics and home furnishings, told us that her first design memory was re-arranging dollhouse furniture. “I was born loving to decorate,” she said. “I didn’t care much about the dolls,” only about creating beautiful spaces for them to […]

Susan Sorensen | November 5, 2014