Daniel Strickland hears you talking about him—“You could put a saddle on him,” “He’s as big as a horse,” “You could ride him!”—and, quite frankly, he’s tired of the dog jokes. “My friends say it’s like being a celebrity bodyguard,” says Strickland of owning Tyrone, his 2-year-old Great Dane. Tyrone gets the attention and Strickland, […]
Daniel Strickland hears you talking about him—“You could put a saddle on him,” “He’s as big as a horse,” “You could ride him!”—and, quite frankly, he’s tired of the dog jokes. “My friends say it’s like being a celebrity bodyguard,” says Strickland of owning Tyrone, his 2-year-old Great Dane. Tyrone gets the attention and Strickland, […]
I like a little Cholula on my eggs, and a touch of cayenne pepper on my fries. Hell, I like a bit of Tabasco in my Budweiser. But I could do without Mace at my hip-hop shows. When a fight broke out among audience members during an April 4 hip-hop show at Is, a relatively […]
“Well.” Don’t forget to pay the toll! Local artist Kate Daughdrill keeps operations at The Garage, her cozy First Street gallery, running smoothly. The white-haired woman doesn’t know what to make of The Garage. She looks into the tiny room—a sort of brick closet posing as an art gallery, although it’s really an art gallery […]
On December 10, four days before the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was scheduled to arrive at the John Paul Jones Arena, a lone tiger stood, confidently, at Central Place on the Downtown Mall. Slowly, she tread toward the pen. The moist air hugged her spotted coat. She took a few more steps […]
People call politicians “suits” for a reason. Yet, one Charlottesville City Councilor rocks it with a delightful collection of colorful cowboy boots. “I think I have 25 or 30 pairs,” says former Fire Chief Julian Taliaferro. He’s got ’em in aqua blue, UVA orange and everything in between. They strike a contrast to his dark […]
Locals may have rallied for a Trader Joe’s a few years back, but we never asked for this. Urban Outfitters opened in May in what used to be the Hardware Store, which to be sure was a little hokey, but was joyfully, thoroughly, undeniably local. It was a family-run business where you could get anything […]
With a grant from the likes of National Geographic, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of enthusiasm for other folks’ enthusiasms, Charlottesville’s own Ross McDermott and Andrew Owen gallivant around the country documenting, through photos and video, the oddball festivals and celebrations that mark small-town life. The World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, Alaska; the […]
On January 31, something remarkable happened: A line of idling cars backed up from the Crutchfield parking lot onto Route 29N, filled with folks just itching to do a good deed. Over the course of six hours that Saturday, locals dropped off 109 tons of computers, stereos, phones, VCRs and other gadgets for recycling. We […]
No self-respecting college town (or—let’s just say it—liberal oasis) can properly be without a core group of folks who are out there spreading the gospel of cooperative living and non-fossil-fuel transportation. It’d be like having no health food store. Meet your local ambassadors of the friendly fringe: Kassia Arbabi and Sky Blue. The two are […]
UVA architecture and engineering students made sleeping shelters out of the stuff that’s probably in your recycling bin right now. Back in September 2008, some beautiful and smart new ways to repose in the great outdoors sprouted in the yard of UVA architecture prof John Quale. They were the creations of architecture and engineering students […]