PICK: Nettle Shirts Puppet Works

Puppet love: In Jane Yolen’s original fairy tale “Dawn-Strider,” a jealous giant named Night-Crawler captures the sun from the sky before learning an important lesson about love. Nettle Shirts Puppet Works brings the story to life in a family-friendly outdoor show featuring a two-stories-tall version of Night-Crawler that takes four people to operate. Rain cancels. […]

Galleries: September

September shows Atlas Coffee 2206 Fontaine Ave. A selection of photographs by Katie Hickson.  BozART Located in Hot Cakes, Barracks Road Shopping Center. “Local-scapes,” landscapes in oil by Julia Kindred.  The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Eyes on Sen Soley” showcases works by Haitian art collective Sen Soley.   The Center at Belvedere […]

All good

When Orion Faruque was a child, and adults asked him, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” he remembers thinking, “I kinda just want to sit in my bedroom and play music.”  Now, at 29, Faruque is a working musician, and also the founder of local recording and production studio RedMusic Productions. […]

Cheers to the west

The foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains rise quickly as you drive west from Charlottesville. Snake into those hills a little bit and you’ll find Waynesboro and Staunton, where a wealth of history and wonderfully preserved architecture surrounds several craft beverage producers worth seeking out.  If you’re getting an early start, head over to Crucible […]

PICK: Freefall Music Festival

Falling for it: Just like local alt-weeklies, local alt-radio stations are fans of the well-crafted pun. Which is why WTJU’s Freefall Music Festival is exactly what it sounds like: concerts throughout the fall, completely free! The series kicks off with a Labor Day weekend cookout. Munch on hot dogs and chug local brews as WTJU […]

PICK: Craig Karges

Totally mental: Mentalist and illusionist Craig Karges opens PVCC’s live performance season with a challenge: If you can prove that volunteer audience members are actually coached ahead of time, and planted at his show, he will donate $100,000 to charity. The entertainer dazzles audiences around the globe by reading minds and performing baffling tricks. Karges […]

PICK: Brent Cobb

Southern goodness: Brent Cobb found fame in Nashville, but his heart remained in his home state of Georgia. Now that he’s based in the Peach State again, he’s taking a more intuitive approach to his music, and the resulting album is soft, reflective, and soulful. South Carolina’s Nikki Lane pairs her “vintage ’60s country-pop swagger” […]

Finding fabulous

Swan Song R, 105 minutesViolet Crown Cinema Debating answers to thought experiments is only frustrating when you need an answer: If a tree falls in the forest, do you feel stonewalled discussing the answer? Todd Stephens’ Swan Song is based on a similar riddle. Stephens wants us to enjoy the journey, allowing only one question: […]

Chicken and lobster

Lobs to love There’s still time to get your claws on some claws at Shadwell’s Lobstravaganza. Through the end of August, Shadwell’s is serving citrusy lobster ceviche, decadent lobbie sliders, and, for those ready to get crackin’, a whole steamed lobster.  Ivy Provisions is also riding the crustacean current with limited-time lobster rolls—take your pick […]

PICK: Elle Cosimano

Mystery machine: Finish up your summer reading list with a bang during an evening with mystery author Elle Cosimano. She’s got a stack of young-adult thrillers to her name, and the recently published Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the debut novel in her mystery series for adults. The reading is hosted by Bluebird Books, […]