Always had a thing for The Untouchables? Crazy about the Cubs? Love hot dogs with cole slaw, tomatoes, and a whole pickle? Then it’s a good thing you live in Charlottesville this week. Downtown demolition has been pretty quiet lately. And it’s especially quiet today, as the rain has again slowed down production. C-VILLE’s arts guy, Brendan Fitzgerald, reports that as he was grabbing a cup of coffee this morning, he noticed a few crew members huddled under the awning at the Blue Ridge Country Store waiting for the rain to subside.
While work has slowed for today, there’s still noise being made, thanks to all the hubbub about this week’s Chicago-style brick party, er, block party, on the 400 block east. As we personally love Chicago dogs and the Sears tower, we gave 400 block captain Morgan Perkins a call to see what was going on.
"We’re trying to show how Charlottesville can stack up to world class cities, and show-off how great the Mall looks when it is rebricked," Perkins says. The docket does indeed look pretty world class.
Things kick off tomorrow night with a Flapper Ball at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar where partygoers will be encouraged to costume themselves dapperly. On Friday, the olde tyme theme will continue with tellers at Union bank donning green visors and arm-garters. The Nook and Eppie’s will be serving up Chicago-style cuisine, and Enoteca will become a hip speakeasy on both Friday and Saturday. Also, most stores on the block will be open on Sunday in celebration of their new walkways.
Saturday will also feature a reception at 420 E. Main St. (the old Sage Moon Gallery) featuring live music, a word from Mayor Dave Norris, and an adult Chicago costume contest. (Finally! We’ve been waiting for an excuse to dress like Catherine Zeta-Jones.)
Chicago, a city famous for making the best out of hard financial times, seems to be a fitting choice for our own economical situation. Keep your chin up, brickfans. We’ll see you in Chicago.
