Finding solace: Blue O’Connell digs into a musical past

When Blue O’Connell sings an old song, she feels a strong connection to the past, to the person who wrote that song and all the people who’ve sung it before her. “I often tell people…if you read a history book about [a] time, it was probably written by someone who didn’t live through that time,” […]

From scratch: Bowerbird Bakeshop opens despite tough times

Bowerbird Bakeshop debuted at Charlottesville City Market’s annual holiday market in late 2017, at a shared table on a side row that got little foot traffic. Pastry chef Earl Vallery had just moved to town after helping launch Whisk bakery in Richmond, and before that, teaching at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in […]

Pick: Roos Galore

Hop on this: Are you curious about how long baby joeys stay in their mother’s pouches? Or maybe you’d like to learn more about Aboriginal art? In the webinar Roos Galore, Lauren Maupin and Fenella Belle focus on central and northern Australia for a comprehensive look at depictions of the beloved bouncer from down under […]

Pick: Flexible Pasta Primavera

Peas and love: Accomplished chef Ian Redshaw (James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Rising Star Chef Mid-Atlantic, former partner at Lampo and Prime 109 restaurants) teaches a virtual cooking class on how to make the most of ingredients from your garden or local farm while keeping it simple and artful. Redshaw will cook online, answer […]

Pick: Leah ‘n’ Lulu’s Virtual Picnic

Outside chances: The environment is getting a healthy respite right now thanks to less human activity around the globe. Is it possible to get back out there with intention and a newfound respect? Two area authors consider the role of nature in our lives during Leah ‘n’ Lulu’s Virtual Picnic, an immersion in “environmental writing […]

Pick: Musical Suspects

Special something: Musical Suspects, well-loved veterans of the Charlottesville music scene, go live with their eclectic sound as part of The Front Porch’s virtual benefit concert series Save the Music. Matt Horn leads the tight- knit group with his boisterous voice and grooving trombone. Featuring drums, guitar, saxophone, and brass, this funky band of local […]

Training days: Prepare now to ease pets out of quarantine

The coronavirus pandemic can be a frightening time. In this constant state of isolated vigilance, we worry about the health, safety, and prosperity of ourselves and others. But as the weeks drag into months, it is human nature to find silver linings. You may be honing your skills in the kitchen or learning a new […]

Pick: Chimm Cookin’ Class

Kitchen craft: In the home kitchen, mastering the complexities of authentic Thai cooking can lead to lots of questions: How thin do I slice the thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves? What if I can’t find fresh nutmeg? Can I make my own roasted rice powder? Chimm Cookin’ Class has launched to provide answers. The authentic […]

Pick: Beyond the Screen

Booked Up: Next in the The Virginia Film Festival’s Beyond the Screen series is a virtual discussion of The Booksellers, a documentary that captures the traditions, eccentricities, and future plans of New York City’s rare booksellers. The film is dense with detail, showcasing the players who run this interesting world. Joining the conversation are the […]

Into the mystic: Leslie Scott-Jones guides a navigation of the tarot

A few years ago, Leslie Scott-Jones was wandering around the Aquarian Bookshop on West Main Street in Richmond, looking for lavender incense. Walking by a table of tarot card decks, she received a message from one of her maternal great-grandmothers: “That one.” Scott-Jones stopped—she’d learned to listen to these messages when she received them—looked at the […]