PICK: Basic Knife Skills

Knives out: Things getting dull in quarantine? Sharpen your kitchen game by joining Happy Cook owner Monique Moshier for a free virtual class on Basic Knife Skills. Follow along as she teaches you how to properly handle a knife, as well as basic cutting techniques and knife care. You’ll practice chopping onions and bell peppers, […]

Kudzu defies no-trespassing warning

What do you do when “the vine that ate the South” takes up residence in your neighborhood—and your neighbor doesn’t get rid of it? One concerned Crozet resident pulled up some vines in a nascent kudzu infestation last year on property owned by the Rockbridge homeowners association—and was reprimanded by the HOA president for her […]

Behind the masks: Jason McLeod Jewelry updates its inventory for 2020

Jason McLeod’s artisan jewelry career path was informed by car crashes. Back in the early aughts, McLeod was living in Oakland, California, and running an advertising and graphic design business when a pair of back-to-back fender benders laid him up long-term in the hospital. He needed something to fill the hours, and “I just started […]

Not-so-happy endings: The messy frustration of happy tail

“There’s blood on the ceiling,” says my frazzled client as her retriever thumps his massive tail against the wall in joyful appreciation of nothing in particular. The metronomic sound is only slightly muffled by a makeshift bandage cobbled together from a T-shirt and some masking tape. Spots of blood are soaked through the material and […]

PICK: Creature Builder Collective camps

Art smarts: Calling all Picasso, Harry Potter, and Bob the Builder fans who want to explore their creative potential at IX Art Park’s Creature Builder Collective camps. Dedicated teaching artists will engage imaginative 6-12-year-old minds in art workshops that offer everything from sculpture and painting, to puppet and stop-motion animation. Campers learn the technical skills […]

PICK: Reds, Whites, and Bluegrass

Sip ‘n’ sizzle: Looking for a good way to celebrate America on July 4? How about listening to some Americana at Keswick Vineyards’ Reds, Whites, and Bluegrass, a socially distanced, in-person gathering, with tunes provided by the Tara Mills Band. Playing her self-described “original Blue Ridge mountain folk,” Mills and company will provide relaxing melodies […]

Chilled Out

Wineries everywhere are facing unprecedented challenges as they have been forced to adapt business models and get creative during the COVID-19 outbreak. Local wineries were presented with an additional threat in the form of weather. A warmer than average winter brought early grape budding. This can be good, because it provides more time for ripening […]