For months, the publicity buildup for Elizabeth Banks’ horror-comedy Cocaine Bear has convincingly sold it as deliriously entertaining nonsense. The movie’s hilarious, unrepentantly trashy trailer boldly spelled the plot out: A hulking black bear high on cocaine rampages through the Georgia hills. Sadly, the film is a missed opportunity that doesn’t deliver on its very […]
For months, the publicity buildup for Elizabeth Banks’ horror-comedy Cocaine Bear has convincingly sold it as deliriously entertaining nonsense. The movie’s hilarious, unrepentantly trashy trailer boldly spelled the plot out: A hulking black bear high on cocaine rampages through the Georgia hills. Sadly, the film is a missed opportunity that doesn’t deliver on its very […]
Last fall, Kalela Williams hit the ground running as the new director of the Virginia Center for the Book—she only had six months to organize the Virginia Festival of the Book, a process that usually takes well over a year. Williams came to the festival from Philadelphia, where she previously worked for Mighty Writers and […]
Brewing beer is about control: controlling ingredients, controlling processes, controlling product. But it’s also about deciding when to let go. Take Three Notch’d Brewing Company. It started small, with brewmaster Dave Warwick, supported by a team of four administrators, making a few hundred barrels of craft beer per year at their Preston Avenue home. At […]
Share in the joy of music with the Oratorio Society of Virginia at Together in Song, a day-long choral workshop and concert. Begin by flexing your vocal chops in a three-hour workshop with conductor and music director Michael Slon. Participants rehearse works by American composers, including Aaron Copland’s “At the River” and Keith McCutchen’s arrangement […]
Renowned sextet Dervish has been playing its traditional Irish tunes to international audiences—including in Latvia and Lithuania, and for visitors to the Great Wall of China—for over 30 years. Frontwoman Cathy Jordan leads the band in lively renditions of songs and jigs that marry technical mastery of multiple instruments, including jovial whistle, animated accordion, and […]
Do look up at the Rotunda Planetarium’s public viewing nights. The inside of the Rotunda’s dome is transformed into a starry, constellation-filled reflection of the night sky—just like Jefferson envisioned. The Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia provide a celestial musical accompaniment, and Thomas Jefferson interpreter Bill Barker works the room. Friday 3/10 & Saturday 3/11. […]
Find out what’s written in the stars at Astronomy on Tap, an out-of-this-world evening of astronomical fun. Grab a pint and listen to professional astronomers from UVA and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory discuss facts and mysteries about the universe, before playing a couple rounds of trivia and other mini-games. After, step outside to observe […]
Rachel Pennington Owner: The Pie Chest, thepiechestcville.com A spirit of togetherness “I cook because I have to. I have no other choice. Deep within me resides the desire to please others through a soul-level-comforting pleasing of the palate. “Therein is the secret to a good life. Eating, drinking, and being merry. Through this we commune […]
Known best for her short stories and novels, author Ann Beattie recently published More to Say: Essays & Appreciations, a collection of short nonfiction. The winner of numerous awards, Beattie brings her keen insight and sense of language to these curated pieces, all of which were originally published between 1982 and 2022 in a variety […]
It’s not false advertising, there really are chinchillas at Chinchilla Café. Three of them: Pip, Napoleon, and Starr Baby. You can even pet them and feed them treats. “At first, we just tried to get people over to play with the chinchillas,” says café co-organizer Lane Rasberry. “But nobody came, so we started hosting shows […]