PICK: Cheers all around

Staying home for the holidays doesn’t have to be boring, and a long list of local talent is out to prove it. Home for the Holidays: A Four County Players Musical Revue harkens back to a time of vintage television broadcasts that brought performers together in a variety show style. Directed by Edward Warwick White […]

Digging for love: Ammonite is a stratum above a bodice-ripper

Ammonites are fossils that are used to mark geologic time. Resembling the spirals that contain the golden ratio, they are ripe for parable and illustration. The film Ammonite, from writer/director Francis Lee, tries to capture that depth of meaning, but much like its namesake fossil, it is common and unexceptional. The film holds fossils at […]

PICK: Duck Demystified

Make way: Seems that if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, many of us are afraid to cook it. In Duck Demystified, chef Ian Rynecki addresses the uncertainties around preparing this often overlooked entrée. The hands-on demo ends with participants dining together on a whole, roasted duck […]

PICK: The Nutcracker

Sippin’ in slippers: Don’t let the coronavirus knock you off your feet this holiday season. But do feel free to stay home in your slippers to enjoy the beloved story of Clara’s Christmas journey in Charlottesville Ballet’s The Nutcracker: A Virtual Gala. The evening will be filled with special guests and local musicians, and the […]

PICK: Walking in a Winter WILDland!

Natural canvas: Art and nature collide for an evening of outdoor visuals and musical performances in Wild Virginia Film Festival’s Walking in a Winter WILDland! Films include Ephemeral by Steven David Johnson and Alex Wiles, Fire on the Mountain by ARTivism, and Hidden Rivers, a feature film exploration of rivers and streams in the southern […]

The resilience will not be televised: Three artists dig into the psyche for Chroma’s winter solstice show

Chroma Projects Director Deborah McLeod has been keeping a unique holiday tradition for the past several years. “Every year at Christmastime, I showcase Aggie Zed’s oddly enchanting work,” says McLeod. “I think of it as a modern version of the sort of folkloric forms and superstitious practices surrounding not just Christmas, but Krampus, Samhain, and […]

Songs well-traveled and universal themes

trout baseline (a)round EP, self-released Ryan Lee has been a stalwart on the commonwealth music scene for years, performing with local acts like Free Union, Will Overman, and Erin & the Wildfire, among others. The VCU graduate began crafting his solo debut, (a)round EP, in the wake of COVID-19. With time away from touring, Lee […]

PICK: Messiah Sing-In

Hallelujah for us: Love to sing along but don’t care for an audience? It’s your time to shine as a party of one when the UVA Department of Music moves its Messiah Sing-In online. The annual tradition began at the university in 1968 and was among the first sing-ins in the nation. The inspiring music and […]

PICK: Crock of Gold

Punk drunk love: In the documentary Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, The Pogues frontman claims he was preordained for punk success. Born on Christmas Day, “God looked down on this little cottage in Ireland and said, ‘That little boy there, he’s the little boy I’m going to use to save Irish […]