LIVING Picks: Week of November 30-December 6

Family Lighting of the Lawn Thursday, December 1 This annual tradition aims to unify UVA students and faculty as well as the Charlottesville community with performances ranging from a capella to dance, and an elaborate light show. Free, 7-10pm. UVA Lawn. lightingofthelawn.com Nonprofit The Great Charlottesville Santa Fun Run & Walk Sunday, December 4 Adults […]

LIVING Picks: Week of November 23-29

Family Barracks Road holiday parade Friday, November 25 The annual parade featuring floats, costumed characters, marching bands, Santa and more starts at Harris Teeter and ends at Kroger. Free, 9:30am. Barracks Road Shopping Center. barracksroad.com/parade Nonprofit Triple your giving Through November 26 Virginia Blood Services will donate $1 to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank […]

Virginia Tech’s impact on what, where and when to grow

You’ll often find a university at the epicenter of many of the world’s great wine regions. Learning institutions help drive and fund research and increase wine quality. Since 1905, the University of California, Davis has conducted vine and wine research just outside of Sacramento. Its findings have had an immeasurable impact on winemaking in Napa […]

The Salad Maker opens on Market Street

In The Big Salad episode of “Seinfeld,” Elaine asks George to get her a big salad from the coffee shop. “What’s in the big salad?” George asks. “Big lettuce, big carrots, tomatoes like volleyballs,” Jerry deadpans. You won’t get enormous salads with gargantuan vegetables at The Salad Maker at 300 E. Market St., but you […]

Mican and Lemongrass merge their menus

After celebrating a decade in business, Pham, the owner of Lemongrass on the Corner, has been looking ahead to the next 10 years. Yoshihiro and Yukiko Tauchi, owners of Mican, a Japanese restaurant that, until this fall, had been located at York Place on the Downtown Mall, fused with Lemongrass. Says Yoshihiro Tauchi, “[This was] […]

Local artisan launches bitters company out of necessity

Bitters are back, baby, and one local is looking to get in on the action. Wait, bitters? “The traditional recipes for a cocktail up to the late 1800s were all the same—bitters were a part of almost all cocktails,” says Kip McCharen, founder and owner of McCharen’s Bitters. “It’s a seasoning. It serves the same […]

LIVING Picks: Week of November 9-16

Family Making and printing 3-D objects Saturday, November 19 Library staff demonstrates how to create an object using Tinkercad and print objects on the library’s 3-D printer. Free, 2:30-4:45pm. Northside Library, 705 Rio Rd. W. jmrl.org Nonprofit 12th annual Raucous Auction Friday, November 18 The fundraiser for Virginia Arts of the Book Center includes an […]

City regulations could have an effect on new breweries

Breweries have been popping up around Charlottesville like mushrooms after a rain. About a dozen beer producers are now located within an easy drive from town. But curiously, only four breweries are actually located within the city’s limits: Champion, South Street, Three Notch’d and—the newest addition in September—Random Row. In the middle of a regional […]

Food options aplenty at the new shopping center

Loosen your belts, Charlottesville. We’re getting more food, food that we didn’t even know we needed. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s open—or will be open soon—at 5th Street Station. Wegmans A chain that feels less like a grocery store and more like a marketplace, Wegmans boasts a host of specialty items: organic produce and […]

LIVING Picks: Week of November 9-15

Family Shenandoah National Park free entrance day Friday, November 11 In honor of Veterans Day, the National Park Service is offering free entrance into its more than 400 parks. Free; park open 24 hours. Shenandoah National Park, 3655 U.S. Hwy. 211 E., Luray. (540) 999-3500. Nonprofit Virginia Organizing Social Justice Bowl Friday, November 11 Enjoy […]