A little hanky pysanky egg action

Confession time: I have a closet stuffed to the ceiling with art and craft supplies. There may be some paper- and candle-making accoutrement in the garage, too. Oh, and the 50-gallon bin overflowing with yarn in the attic also bears mentioning. My name is Kristie, and I’m a craft addict. I’ve known that it’s time […]

The Big Picture

Garrett Queen, book arts program director at the Virginia Center for the Book, demonstrates how to use a letterpress at the fifth Charlottesville Design Week, which was held April 9-12 at Vault Virginia and other venues around the city. A volunteer-led convention, the week brings together designers from all walks for workshops, film screenings, portfolio […]

Ecological wonder

“To tell you about the beauty, I must also speak of threat,” writes Greg Wrenn in Mother­ship: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis. A complex exploration into personal and ecological trauma that also investigates alter­native healing and the cultivation of wonder, this book is as much a prompt for personal reflection as it is a […]

Murder farm

One of the biggest stories that shocked America 100 years ago—about a farm in Georgia where Black people were essentially enslaved and at least 11 men were murdered—is pretty much forgotten today. That will change with Earl Swift’s eighth book, Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second […]

Mountain mindful

A local by way of Waynesboro, Scott Miller pays tribute to his roots with his latest album, Ladies Auxiliary. The founder of energetic alt-country rock band The V-Roys slows to singer-songwriter mode on the record, and employs a band of women in songs that capture the music and characters of his native Appalachia. $25, 7:30. […]

Tiptoe thrills

Since 1974, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has been preening and poking fun at an uptight world with “razor-sharp wit and breathtaking pointe work.” The Trocks, as the all-male comic ballet company is known, celebrate their 50th anniversary with a worldwide tour that confirms the troupe’s long-running global sensation status. $24.75-44.75, 7:30. The Paramount […]

Sweet spring tradition

Spring brings beauty, warmth, good vibes, and Fridays After Five. The 2024 season opener, soulful R&B band Joslyn & The Sweet Compression, is a perfect pairing for a blanket on the lawn, a happy-hour drink, and a bit of early evening ass-shaking to the tunes on the group’s new record, Bona Fide, a mix of […]

Pandemic dwellings

Drawing inspiration from The Decameron and One Thousand and One Nights, Fourteen Days is a “collaborative novel,” which brings to mind thoughts of exquisite corpses and shared Google Docs with a slew of anonymous animals. However, it is effectively a collection of short stories by 36 American and Canadian authors, edited by Margaret Atwood and […]

April galleries

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library 2450 Old Ivy Rd. “Their World As Big As They Made It: Looking Back at the Harlem Renaissance,” plus other permanent exhibitions. Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third St. SE. In the Micro Gallery, “Topography: Travis Childers with Ashe Laughlin.” In Vault Virginia’s Great Hall Galleries, “David Copson: […]

When fur flies

Described as a gross-out comedy, Sasquatch Sunset follows a family of Bigfoots for a year, documenting their wild behavior including poop flinging and a psychedelic trip that results from eating wild berries. Behind the furry costumes and makeup lurk accomplished actors including Riley Keogh and Jesse Eisenberg, in performances that tell a story that turns […]