Since the early ’90s we’ve become used to Dave Matthews sightings around town—the affable hometown boy is generous with his time and his support of the local community. Yet there was something extra special about his pop-in to the final night of Live Arts’ 30 in 30 virtual celebration in May. With little fanfare, Matthews […]
Since the early ’90s we’ve become used to Dave Matthews sightings around town—the affable hometown boy is generous with his time and his support of the local community. Yet there was something extra special about his pop-in to the final night of Live Arts’ 30 in 30 virtual celebration in May. With little fanfare, Matthews […]
What if you took the VIP experience of a music festival and turned it into the entire event? That’s the question Festy founder Michael Allenby asked himself last fall, when circumstances made hosting even a small-scale outdoor festival seem impossible. Fortunately, the word “impossible” isn’t part of Allenby’s vocabulary. Which is why he relocated the […]
Despite Charlottesville’s ample wealth and resources, it is rife with inequality and inequity. Today, nearly one in four city residents lives below the poverty line, and one in six struggles with food insecurity. Within the city school district, over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Enter the PB&J Fund. During its normal […]
Ask Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni about the secret to their success as owners of Ragged Mountain Running Shop, and they’ll tell you it’s all about balance. The pair, who’ve been outfitting Charlottesville athletes since 1982, welcomes 20,000 customers a year to their Elliewood Avenue shop, a place that feels like a combination clubhouse, support group, […]
After a long night of waiting and bussing tables, cooking meals, serving drinks, and washing dishes, most restaurant staffs are usually ready to unwind. But in a town in which the sidewalks tend to roll up after 10 or 11pm, where’s a hard-working, thirsty server supposed to go? A regular haunt for those needing a […]
JEWELRY STORE Andrew Minton Jewelers Runner-up: Schwarzschild Keller & George Jewelers Honorable mention: Tuel Jewelers Here’s where the rubber meets the road on this whole “buy local” business: Go into a big chain store and the jewelry displayed before you is the same as the jewelry displayed before shoppers in Urbandale, Iowa, or Maricopa, Arizona. […]
WEDDING PLANNER Adam Donovan-Groves (Donovan-Groves Events) Runner-up: Marisa Vrooman (Orpha Events) Honorable mention: Angelica Laws (Angelica & Co. Weddings) A fun fact about Adam Donovan-Groves? As a child, he attended Astronaut High School near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s not what you think—kids here aren’t preparing for space travel—but it might explain his meteoric […]
MUSICIAN Chamomile & Whiskey Runner-up: Erin & The Wildfire Honorable mention: Abbey Road It was over a cup of tea and a fifth of Evan Williams that Koda Kerl and Marie Borgman decided to form Chamomile & Whiskey in the winter of 2011. Since then, the band —which also includes banjo, bass, drums and electric guitar […]
RESTAURANT Lampo Runner-up: The Local Honorable mention: Al Carbon Good things, they say, come in small packages. And the best things come from Lampo. The pint-sized Neapolitan pizzeria opened in 2014 to rave reviews and since then has set the standard for just plain good food in our area. Don’t get us wrong—“just plain good” […]
KIDS’ PARK IX Art Park Runner-up: Pen Park Honorable mention: Greenleaf Park It isn’t just that IX Art Park, that whimsical wonderland of weird and provocative work on Second Street, stretches the imagination —though it certainly does. But the folks at IX also stretch the bounds of what a park should be: a playground with […]