CULTURE ALL YOU CAN EAT
Paramount Presents: Holiday Evening Candlelight Tours of the Historic Theater. Holiday magic awaits at the Paramount Theater. $15-25, 6pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. the para mount.net.
Saturday 12/18 music Brianna Tam: Electric Cello Show. The live-looping cellist is known for her riveting one-woman shows. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com. Berto and Vincent. Enjoy brunch with some lively Latin guitar. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com. Cville Band Brass Ensemble. Free music as part of the December Downtown Outdoor Concert Series. Free, 2pm. The Bricks at Third and Main Street, Downtown Mall. thebridgepai.org. Slocan Ramblers. Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative, and possessing a bold, dynamic sound. $20, 8pm. The Front Porch, 221 E. Water St. frontporchcville.org. The Oratorio Society of Virginia. Join Music Director Michael Slon and 60 of our community’s finest singers for Christmas at the Paramount. $10-52, 2:30 and 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net.
stage It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. See listing for Friday, December 17. $10-18, 8pm. Four County Players, Barboursville Community Center, 5256 Governor Barbour St., Barboursville. fourcp.org.
After Hours at Highland. Experience Highland through a personally guided tour with James Monroe reenactor Beau Robbins. $25, 4:30pm. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org. Daily Tours of Indigenous Australian Art. See listing for Wednesday, December 15. Free, 10:30am. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. klugeruhe.org. Wassail. A traditional Wassail with festivities all day long. Free, noon. Potters Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potters craftcider.com.
Sunday 12/19 music
Mojo Sweet Potato Pie Christmas Singalong & Pie Share. Join in the sing-along and bring sweet or savory pies to share. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com. Tara Mills. Enjoy cider and live music in the orchard. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com. C O N T I N UE D ON PAGE 2 5
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s they hurry to set up their stalls on a frosty November morning, breathy clouds billow from the mouths of market vendors while they exchange coffee and hand warmers, and gab about the items they’ve brought to the market to sell. Excitement typically revolves around what’s new from the gardens and kitchens, but this late in the season, farmers and makers are sustaining the year’s harvest through methods of pickling, drying, and preserves. UVA alum Matt Bressan’s Fresh Crunch Food is a family-owned business out of Falls Church. One of eight siblings, Bressan began catering in 2008, developed some pickle recipes, and, in 2013, joined forces with his brother Luke, who is now the pickle chef. The pair experimented with selling at farmers’ markets as an additional revenue stream. “Right before COVID we were doing lots of catering,” says Bressan. “All that got canceled and the only way to get a true income was to find more markets.” Starting with three markets in 2020, the brothers ramped up to 12 in 2021, with pickle production shifting from 20 percent to 80 percent of the business. A third brother, Colin, is the face of the Fresh Crunch Food stand at the Charlottesville City Market. FCF offers 30 varieties of pickles, and most of the vegetables it pickles are sourced through farms in Virginia, largely Garner’s Produce in Warsaw. Have a pickle lover in your heart for the holidays? Sign them up for the monthly pickle club with home delivery (freshcrunchfood.com). Herb Angel owner Angel Shockley started making shrubs in 2013 as a natural extension of her love for herbs, gardening, and cooking. The concentrated syrups of herbs, fruits, sugars, and vinegars can be found on many a bartender’s shelf, and they mix easily into still or sparkling water. After a nine-month herbalism course in 2012 at Sacred Plant Traditions in Charlottesville, Shockley says Herb Angel allows her to experiment in this new way. For the holidays, Shockley is offering natural and herbal creations, including an assortment of shrubs and naturally dyed silk scarves, plus Eat Your Medicine gift boxes and a skin care collection that incorporates herbal wisdom and passion for locality that will nourish from the inside out (herb-angel.com). Yvonne Cunningham started Nona’s Italian Cucina as an adventure in independence from traditional employment structures in 2018. Cunningham learned Italian cooking when her family moved to Italy while her husband was in the Navy. “We didn’t speak any Italian,” she says. But they “chose to live off base—we figured if we’re living in Italy, live amongst the Italians.” Her next-door neighbor, a bonafide Italian Nona, took her shopping for the fresh-
Nona’s Italian Cucina founder Yvonne Cunningham learned her sauce skills from a true Nona while living in Italy.
est produce. “Nona taught me that the best tomato sauce comes from San Marzano tomatoes that are grown in volcanic and mineral-rich soil in Naples,” says Cunningham. She learned to make traditional tomato sauce, and has been making it for about 30 years, tapping into local farms for herbs and other ingredients. Cunningham’s holiday boxes
Buy local Charlottesville City Market 100 E. Water St. Saturdays through December 18 Key’s Corner Indoor Market 800 E. Market St. Saturdays, January-March Local Food Hub Drive-Through Market Seminole Square Fridays IX Art Park Farmers’ Market 522 Second St., S.E. Saturdays
come with tomato sauce, local Valente pasta, hand-embroidered Williams Sonoma kitchen towels, market totes, and other Nona’s Italian Cucina goodies. Find Nona’s Italian Cucina on alternating weekends at the City Market or IX Art Park farmers’ market, or order online (nonascucina.com). Wife-and-husband duo Rachel and Daniel Perry run two local microbusinesses: JAM according to Daniel and Fairweather Farm, a tea and spice producer. Longtime City Market vendors, the pair used their knowledge of local produce and herb cultivation to expand in 2020 by adding a mail-order business model. “Rachel has herbs and spices that are grabbed out of the peak of the season, dried, and mixed by her,” says Daniel. He offers small-production releases of seasonal preserves and occasional rare jams with fruit sourced from local farms within a 60-mile radius of his Charlottesville kitchen. Each gift box has a combination of tea and jam in sustainable packaging, the perfect pairing to bring Virginia home for the holidays. Order online for pickup, delivery, and shipping (accordingtodaniel.com).
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Heifetz Holiday Homecoming Concert. A holiday concert of seasonal classics and Yuletide delights. Free, 3pm. Francis Auditorium, 227 E. Frederick St., Staunton. heifetzinstitute.org.
By Chris Martin
@cville_culture
Wine & Design and Live Music. Live music by Tara Mills and a gift basket pickup hosted by The Dogwood Tree Florist. Free, noon. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com.
Fresh means pickles, herbs, and jam at the winter farmers’ markets
December 15 – 21, 2021 c-ville.com
etc.
Keeping it seasonal
CHRIS MARTIN
15. Free, 10:30am. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of UVA, 400 Worrell Dr. kluge-ruhe.org.
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