Charlottesville Street Style: The rebirth of cool

I ran into EDGAR (above), the owner and lead stylist of Reflections Salon, looking decidedly dapper on a break. He is wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt with Banana Republic pants, Cole Haan shoes, and a vintage hat for a unique look that’s rooted in the past but relevant for today. Edgar says his style mantra […]

Growing good wine in Virginia’s unlikely clime

Ever since Virginia’s first settlers planted wine vineyards in the Tidewater, the challenges of growing good grapes here have been apparent. The varieties we know, like Chardonnay, pinot noir, and cabernet sauvignon, all belong to the European species vitis vinifera, which tends to favor a dry Mediterranean climate. Those vines didn’t take kindly to Virginia’s […]

Film review: Lawless

With more precision and presence of mind, Lawless might have pitched itself as an origin story of the whole gangster-movie genre. But like the transparent moonshine its backwoods brooders guzzle down in just such a way as to remind us it’s fake, the movie itself seems conspicuously diluted, more water than fire. Sourced from Matt […]

Small Bites: This week’s restaurant news

Party like it’s harvest time Monticello, the home of our own “first foodie,” serves as the pastoral background for the sixth annual Heritage Harvest Festival on Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15. You and your family will learn—with all your senses—about the gifts of our local soils and the hardworking people who grow them. […]

Free Will Astrology: Week of September 11-17

Virgo (August 23-September 22): Arthur Turner, a Virgo reader from Austin, is upset with my recent horoscopes. In his e-mail, he wrote the following: “You’re making me mad with your predictions of non-stop positivity, Brezsny. I need more dirt and grit and muck. I’ve got to have some misery and decay to motivate me. So […]

Planning Charlottesville’s first Pride Festival

Conservatives across the nation ate mountains of waffle fries in support of “traditional marriage” on August 1, hooplah associated with a politicized discussion over one CEO’s opposition to gay marriage. And while local gay rights activist Amy Sarah Marshall said she was appalled by the local turnout for “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” here in Charlottesville, she […]

City Council approves Downtown Ambassadors program to improve Mall safety

Two months after removing fountain-side benches in an effort to curb panhandling and alleged inappropriate behavior on the Downtown Mall, city officials say they are taking another step toward making Charlottesville a safe, welcoming place. City Councilors recently voted to adopt a Downtown Ambassadors pilot program, which is intended to address problematic areas on the […]

The best of the fests: 21 events to kick off your fall fantastic

The Festy Experience Friday, October 5 to Sunday, October 7 Devils Backbone Brewery (200 Mosby’s Run, Roseland) Every music festival has an identity of its own. Names like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot, and Coachella may have been head scratchers at first, but now they’re branded destination festivals where dozens of acts spread out across multiple stages […]

The Bridge PAI explores the art of sound in Audio September

In 2008, The Bridge PAI hosted a month of sound-related programming entitled Audio January. The next year, January seemed unfeasible, so the Belmont-based arts organization followed up with Audio February. The joke amongst Bridge staff was that the annual event would cycle through the months of the year, and for three successive years (including Audio […]