Unless you’ve been out of bounds, you know pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Here in Charlottesville, there are at least 11 places to play, from public spots like Pen Park to private clubs and recreation centers. In spring of 2025, Darden Towe’s advisory committee served up a 3-1 vote to convert […]
Unless you’ve been out of bounds, you know pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Here in Charlottesville, there are at least 11 places to play, from public spots like Pen Park to private clubs and recreation centers. In spring of 2025, Darden Towe’s advisory committee served up a 3-1 vote to convert […]
“Resilient, talented, and ambitious”—that’s how UVA president Jim Ryan described the 2025 graduating class, a group of coeds he got to know more closely than some, thanks to his weekly Run With Jim events, in an Instagram post following the final run. UVA launched the First-Year Run With Jim—a two-mile jog around Grounds—in 2021, when […]
We’ll never say no to more reading opportunities, so the opening of Commerce Street Books is a welcome addition to the local bookstore scene. Founded by Philip Lorish, a UVA alum with a Ph.D. in religious studies, Commerce Street promises to be “the modern bookshop Charlottesville deserves,” with new releases, events, and a tightly curated […]
When Mary Loose DeViney recently told a customer her watch would cost more to repair than it was worth, the customer said DeViney should keep it, thinking the owner of Tuel Jewelers would use it for parts. Instead, DeViney added the watch to her “junk box.” Turns out the Downtown Mall jewelry shop’s junk box […]
When they first met, UVA grads Ellie Jamison and Grace Collins had plenty to bond over: They’d both played lacrosse in college, each of them missed the role competitive sports played in their lives, and they picked up pickleball to fill the void—oh, and they both had brothers named Henry. We’ll get back to the […]
Kids—sometimes you have to get them out of the house. Luckily, Charlottesville also offers a range of children’s activities, from drop-ins to weekly classes, that get everyone from infants to adults moving. A change from screens Bounce Play-n-Create is owned by a Charlottesville mom of four who revitalized the place during COVID to offer both […]
One of the most challenging things about being in middle school isn’t the acne (although that does rank high, as we recall), it’s the standardized testing. For the second year this April, Buford Middle School took an ordinary spring Friday and turned it into an opportunity to hype students for the SOLs. Game Ready Day, […]
UVA is flush with traditions—streaking the Lawn, painting Beta Bridge, singing “The Good Old Song” after, well, almost anything—but only a few of them, like the Balloon Brigade, come with altruistic intentions. Each year during Final Exercises, students are encouraged to carry a balloon that represents who they are and, after they’ve tossed their caps, […]
When Erin Flowers planned a birthday party for one of her toddlers a few years ago, she found herself facing a dilemma familiar to many parents of young children: Where do you take a group of wobbly-legged children to play safely and joyfully? “I realized how limited the options were for safe, beautiful, toddler-friendly play,” […]
Money is one of the longest relationships we’ll ever have, says financial advisor Janasha Bradford. We use it to make decisions about where we live, how we work, how we define success and security. For Bradford, the relationship began with personal loss. At just 7 years old, she watched her mother struggle to manage a […]