My husband and I had our first date in 1999, as freshmen in high school, at Jess’ Quick Lunch in downtown Harrisonburg. He rode his bike there, and I dragged my best friend with me, too nervous to go it alone.
In 2018, we were back again, this time with our friends and families for our rehearsal dinner. There was nothing particularly special about the restaurant’s aesthetic; the red leather booths were ripping down the middle, it smelled faintly of cigarettes from years of smokers indulging before the smoking ban went into effect. But it held special memories for me (my parents’ shop was two doors down, in a building that’s now a parking lot), and certainly for the two of us. Not to mention it served the best damn burger in town, until it closed in 2020 after nearly 100 years in operation.
I was reminded of Jess’ while reading this week’s cover story (p.20) on Riverside Lunch, Charlottesville’s own OG burger joint. As you’ll read in Matt Stoss’ piece, places like these aren’t just about the food—they’re about the history. They feel permanent, even when you know nothing really is. And, while every town in America has its own version, each one is just a little different—its own special mix of griddle seasoning, longtime employees, and fiercely loyal regulars. There’s something reassuring about knowing you can still slide into a well-worn booth and order up a burger just the way you remember. See you at the lunch counter.
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Towns Ackerman
Lori Balaban
Timothy Bambury
Catherine Barnes
Jennifer Beachley
Mayanna Bean
Denise Benson
Anne Bergamesca
Kim Biasiolli
Patrick Bird
Paddy Bowman
Paul Brewer
Claudia Murray Brindle
Sumner Brown
Colette Brown
Jack Brown
Kate Buford
Cathleen Burgess
Patricia Burkett
Michael Callahan
Brian Carlton
Karen Collins
Emily Currier
Maria-Eugenia Dalton
Martha Donnelly
Charlotte Drummond
Louise Dudley
Lee Elberson
Jane Elmore
Karen Emmitt
Ken Engebretson
Elizabeth Engle
Rosa Ellen English
M. Fife
Lavonne Fitts
Barbara Fornoff
David Gies
Stephanie Goodwin
Madeleine Hawks
Mary Haynes
Chris Hellings
Stephen Herrick
John Heyser
JoAnn Hofheimer
Lisa Hogan
Laura Horn
Christina Horton
Garth Jensen
Nina Johnston
Nicole Jones
Diane Jones
Janet Jospe
Brian Kelly
Trish Kenney
Tom Kirk
Kathryn Kluge
Julie Lacy
Marcia Langsam
Jacalyn LaPierre
Aaron Lawrence
Eric and Diane Lawson
Elizabeth Lawson
Frances Lee-Vandell
Sean Libberton
Angeline Lillard
Jessica Lino
D. Little
Phillip Long
Rob Lynch
Jeff Martin
Erin Mayer
Kieran Mcdowell
Mary McIntyre
Ruth McWilliams
James Mernin
Nicolas Mestre
Parthy Monagan
Hilary Moorman
Michael Morency
Harold E. Morgan
Michael Moriarty
Jim Mummery
Karen Myers
Monica Newby
Dennis O’Connor
Cynthia Van Osch
Annette Osso
Annette Owens
Elizabeth Perdue
Joann Peters
Damon Pettitt
Elayne Phillips
Anne Price
Ernest Pugh
Harry Purkey
Leslie Quenichet
Sarah Ratcliffe
Stots Reele
Marjorie Rein
Cindy Richards
Kevin Richardson
David Robinson
Julia Rubarth
Carol Gilbert Sacks
Audrey Sarate
Joan Schatzman
Sandra Schmidt
Eric Schultz
James Seitz
Elaine Shaw
Chuck Shelton
Paul Shettel
This week’s contributors
John Smith
Kristina Smith
Meredith Smoot
Mickey Speck
Maria Spence
Nichole Taylor
Emily Thiede
Reid Thompson
Prue Thorner
John Titus
Jessica Tobin
Erica Toy
Jill Trischman-Marks
Susan Uland
Rick Vergot
Christina Walker
David Waters
Chris Waugaman
Kelly West
Jay Wildermann
Marcia Wilds
Andrew Wolf
Natalie Yancey
Suzanne Yeaman
Nura Yingling
Kelly Zalewski
Kathleen Zenker
Matthew Stoss made his C-VILLE debut romanticizing hotel bars. A former reporter at the Harrisonburg Daily NewsRecord, he’s been a university magazine editor for the past 10 years and an occasional pencil for hire. He’s profiled an Oscar winner, an Olympic bobsledder, a National Book Award winner, a Batman artist, a Michelin-star chef, a submarine commander, and the Smithsonian secretary, among other people you might have heard of. He lives in Richmond.
Sarah Sargent has been writing about contemporary art for more than 20 years. In addition to C-VILLE Weekly, her writing has appeared in Art Papers, Sculpture Magazine, Artillery, and Virginia Living. A former director of Second Street Gallery, Sargent lives in southern Albemarle. Her blog is artnosh.com.
Ancient Teachings for Modern Times
MARCH 29–30
Online Teaching from Geshe Tenzin Yangton.
APRIL 8
6:00 - 7:30 PM Public Talk by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in Charlottesville at Unity Church, 2825 Hydraulic Rd, Charlottesville, VA 2290. Rinpoche will speak on the topic of our upcoming Spring Retreat, Awakening to Wellness: A Journey of Movement, Breath, Meditation & Nature , with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and special guests.
APRIL 9–13
Awakening to Wellness: A Journey of Movement, Breath, Meditation & Nature , with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and special guests.
APRIL 14–17
Tibetan Yoga , with Alejandro Chaoul.
MAY 17–19
Foundations of Dzogchen Meditation , with Menri Shedrup Khenpo Geshe Nyima Dhondup Rinpoche.
JULY 12–26
Serenity Ridge Annual Summer Retreat, Rinpoche and honored guest, His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin Rinpoche, the spiritual head of the Bön tradition.
Learn more and register:
20th Anniversary Concert
with highlights from the first 20 years by: Palestrina, Carissimi, Brahms, Pärt, Miguel Matamoros, PDQ Bach, & Ben Folds
Friday, April 4, 2025 Old Cabell Hall | 8PM
$15 general / $5 students / Free for UVA students who reserve in advance artsboxoffice.virginia.edu | 434.924.3376 or at the door
SCULPT YOUR PROFILE
Say gooodbye to unwanted fat beneath the chin with Kybella and Coolsculpting.
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A something burger
Local vineyards win big, and three new ’zza spots. Dawn Hanson’s
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STRAKA, MD & OUR TEAM OF SKIN EXPERTS 3350 BERKMAR DRIVE (434) 923-4646
“Understory.”
ED I TORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Caite Hamilton editor@c-ville.com
ART DIRECTOR
Max March max@c-ville.com
CULTURE EDITOR
Tami Keaveny tami@c-ville.com
NEWS REPORTER
Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com
ASSOCIATE CULTURE EDITOR
CM Turner arts@c-ville.com
COPY EDITOR
Susan Sorensen
NEWS INTERN
Merrill Hart
CONTRIBUTORS
Rob Brezsny, Dave Cantor, Matt Dhillon, Carol Diggs, Shea Gibbs, Claudia Gohn, Mary Jane Gore, Maeve Hayden, Andrew Hollins, Erika Howsare, Justin Humphreys, Matt Jones, Sarah Lawson, Erin Martin, Kristin O’Donoghue, Lisa Provence, Sarah Sargent, Kristie Smeltzer, Jen Sorensen, Julia Stumbaugh, Courteney Stuart, Paul Ting, Sean Tubbs
Big Picture
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Tracy Federico designer@c-ville.com
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C-VILLE HOLDINGS, LLC Bill Chapman, Blair Kelly
to engage
THURSDAY, MARCH 27
FRIDAY, MARCH 28 UNDERGROUND SPRINGHOUSE WITH SISTERS AND BROTHERS
MAY 23-ON SALE NOW IMMODEST OPULENCE BURLESQUE
04-12|
BOOGIE NIGHTS 04-13| THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR WITH FILMS ON SONG 04-17| LYAO PRESENTS: KYLE GORDON 04-18| LA LUZ WITH COLOR GREEN 04-19| FRUITION
04-22| AN EVENING WITH JIM LAUDERDALE & THE GAME CHANGERS
04-24| HOTEL FICTION 04-25| LIL SMOKIES WITH COLBY T. HELMS & THE VIRGINIA CREEPERS 04-26| THEM DIRTY ROSES
05-01| MAYA DE VITRY (TRIO) WITH SAM MOSS
05-03| NO STUPID QUESTIONS WITH BLUES JAM AND TOMILOLA 05-16| EAST NASH GRASS 05-17| U2TOPIA
06-07| LYAO PRESENTS: LIZ MIELE
07-11| FANTASTIC CAT 07-12| WHITE DENIM
An evening with Thomas Rainer
Landscape architect and leading authority on ecological landscape design; co-author of Planting in a Post-Wild World
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8
The Center at Belvedere 540 Belvedere Blvd. in Charlottesville
Preceded by 5:30 p.m. open house at The Center’s Rose and Pollinator Demonstration Gardens
releases heavily redacted reviews of 2022 shooting on Grounds
On March 21, the University of Virginia released the long-promised external reviews of the November 13, 2022, shooting that killed students Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, Jr., and D’Sean Perry. The findings of the two reports provide limited insight into the murder of the three UVA football players and Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr., the gunman. Rather than a single external review, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares commissioned two distinct reports
examining the lead-up and immediate response to the incident.
In the amended and redacted report from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, special counsel looked at UVA’s threat assessment program and the events preceding the shooting. G. Zachary Terwilliger of Vinson & Elkins was appointed to review law enforcement and prosecutorial action prior to the shooting, and the immediate emergency response.
BY CATIE RATLIFF
The reports were completed on October 20, 2023, then revised for factual accuracy and completeness. Prior to the delivery of the amended reports on January 31, 2024, UVA leadership and Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley decided the release of the reviews should be delayed until the conclusion of criminal prosecution. Following Jones’ guilty plea and the significant delay in his
ON PAGE 11
UVA MUSIC EVENTS
Date/Time/Place Event
Saturday, 3/29, 8pm Old Cabell Hall
Friday, 4/4, 8pm Old Cabell Hall
Saturday, 4/5, 8pm Old Cabell Hall
Sunday, 4/6, 3:30pm Old Cabell Hall
Sunday, 4/6, 7:30pm Old Cabell Hall
Thursday, 4/10, 8pm Old Cabell Hall
Friday, 4/11, 8pm Old Cabell Hall
Saturday, 4/12, 8pm Old Cabell Hall
Sunday, 4/13, 1pm Rotunda Dome Room
Sunday, 4/13, 3:30pm Old Cabell Hall
uvamusic
Jack Siegel * Distinguished Major Voice Recital
UVA Chamber Singers 20th Anniversary Concert
UVA Percussion Ensemble 20th Anniversary Concert
Kelly Peral, Oboe, UVA Chamber Music Series
Jazz Chamber Ensembles * Four small groups
Danielle Wiebe-Burke * guest viola recital
Baroque Orchestra directed by David Sariti
Jazz Ensemble 6th Annual Jazz 4 Justice
UVA Flute Ensemble * Directed by Kelly Sulick
Alexander Suh, piano * Distinguished Major Recital
To find out about these and all our events, subscribe to our weekly “Music at UVA”
All artists, programs, and venues are subject to change. 434.924.3052 | music@virginia.edu | https://music.virginia.edu ArtsBoxOffice:4349243376|artsboxofficevirginiaedu
Local Author William A. James, Sr. has done it again.
HIS TWO NEWEST BOOKS ARE...
LUCY CAT IN A CAT BOOK, is primarily for children five to eight years old kindergarten through third grades. It’s main focus Is on getting children to relate to each other in a positive manner regardless of their cultural and diverse origins. The Book consists in two parts: One is pictorial-cartoon depictions showing how Lucy Cat is able to befriend everyone around her in a very convivial manner.
The Second part is Lesson Planning Suggestions giving the Teachers or Instructors ideas about how to reinforce the messaqe each cartoon presents.
Based on LUCY CAT IN A CAT BOOK, 2024, By William A James, Sr., LUCY CAT IN A COLORING BOOK includes all of the characters in LUCY CAT’S neighborhood
OTHER BOOKS BY JAMES ARE:
IN THE STREETS OF VINEGAR HILL, James reveals how fear and misunderstandings caused The Charlottesville City Council to condemn and Demolish a 20 Acre Tract (30 Black businesses and 600 residents) from the Downtown area from 1958-1964.
Box 6991, Charlottesville, VA 22906 Wjpublications@aol.com In, A MURDER ON FIFTH AND DICE AND THE RUIN OF FIFEVILLE, James shows how drugdealing and gang violence led to the condemnation, demolition, and gentrification of Fifeville. It is a Sequel to his IN THE STREETS OF VINEGAR HILL, 2007. (He is writing a play based upon this latest Book)
In, HARD TIMES AND SURVIVAL: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN AFRICANAMERICAN SON, James relates His Story and the Reader learns what He means when He Says: “Do not GiveIn to Adversity, but overcome it by Steady and Constant Perserverance.”
BOOKS SOLD AT:
The University of Virginia Bookstore
A. James, Sr. 434-985-8987
400 Emmet Street, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (on UVA Grounds).
sentencing, both reports were released after victims and family members had the opportunity to view the redacted files.
More striking than the information included is the extensive redaction of both external reviews, with entire chapters of the reports—including portions of the table of contents—blacked out. A majority of the redactions cite the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Additional withholdings were made in accordance with Virginia Freedom of Information Act exemptions protecting the disclosure of procedural information that could jeopardize safety or security.
To help navigate the reports, UVA released an executive summary to serve as a “roadmap” for readers.
“Universities are prohibited by federal law from disclosing student records, which is a broad category that encompasses many different types of information institutions keep about their students,” UVA President Jim Ryan said in a statement released alongside the reports. “I recognize the necessary redactions in these reports will make reading them a frustrating process, but we are bound by law. Federal law does permit institutions to request that individuals waive their right to keep certain information redacted. Unfortunately, despite our request, the University did not receive such a waiver from Christopher Jones, the convicted shooter.”
Doug Ramseur, Jones’ defense attorney, declined CVILLE’s request for comment on the reports and Jones’ decision not to waive FERPA rights.
While much of the information is already publicly available, any statement potentially identifying Jones is redacted from the reports in accordance with FERPA, resulting in redactions like: “This Report does not conclude that the facts available to the Threat Assessment Team (TAT) prior to the shooting would have put a reasonable person on notice that [REDACTED] would commit the types of acts for which [REDACTED] is now criminally charged.”
UVA’s executive summary is useful in understanding the heavily redacted reviews, but its interpretation of the conclusions and recommendations is oversimplified and presented in a light most favorable to the university.
Though the Quinn Emanuel report found that UVA’s threat assessment team could not have anticipated Jones’ actions based on the information available prior to the shooting, it concluded that “certain structural, policy-related, and investigative practices substantially limited the effective functioning of the TAT in November of 2022.” Limitations of note include the lack of a case-management approach for student support beyond threat assessment; a lack of investigative resources for the TAT; and the “slow-moving” student governance model of disciplinary action.
Two additional limitations were redacted entirely, both citing FERPA.
Based on its investigation, Quinn Emanuel made nine recommendations to UVA, including the addition of a coordinated behavioral intervention team to support students in distress; heightened awareness of and access to the TAT; and the prioritization of weapons-related concerns by the TAT.
In its executive summary, UVA lists actions it has taken to meet the recommendations since November 2022. The university added personnel across multiple departments to increase resources for students in crisis, both within and beyond the TAT.
One of the most striking changes is the adoption of new TAT standard operating procedures prioritizing weapons-related
IN
BRIEF
concerns. University Police will now “immediately investigate if a firearm is reported to be on Grounds or in the possession of someone who lives on Grounds.” An expedited TAT meeting will be called, with a requirement that any cases with articulable and significant threats be reported to law enforcement and the commonwealth’s attorney within 24 hours.
Even more so than the Quinn Emanuel review, understanding of the Vinson & Elkins report is hindered by significant redactions. While counsel examined Jones’ pre-incident encounters with law enforcement and made recommendations based on the interactions, the entire section detailing the encounters is blacked out.
The second section of the Vinson & Elkins review focuses on the university’s emergency response to the shooting. Two of the report’s five findings were fully redacted, with no indication of their content in UVA’s executive summary. The three available conclusions were that “UVA and law enforcement’s response to the shooting generally followed applicable policies;” “the university should have issued the initial emergency alert to the UVA community sooner;” and in the process of transporting witnesses to another location on Grounds, UPD “caused other students to fear that their lives were in danger.”
The amended report concludes with eight recommendations to improve UVA and UPD’s active-shooting response protocols. Two recommendations are entirely redacted, with additional details excluded from other suggestions.
Recommendations from the report that have been implemented since November 2022 by the university include a simplified system for issuing UVA Alerts in the instance of an active threat on Grounds and the creation of a permanent Emergency Operations Center.
UVA’s executive summary only mentions the finding that the emergency response was a success based on the prioritization of the preservation of life and prevention of additional injury. The other findings are included as “recommendations focused on improving the university’s emergency response,” not referenced as conclusions.
More information on the shooting is expected to emerge during Jones’ sentencing, which has been delayed to November 17 through 21. C
All the news you missed last week (in one sentence or less)
Victim of March 11 assault on Fourth Street NW and Preston Avenue dies. Albemarle Police begin investigating suspicious March 16 Ivy incident as possible murder-suicide. Virginia Department of Historic Resources unveils a new historical marker at the site of the former Carver Inn. Tractor trailer crash scatters corn across Rockfish Gap Turnpike. South Rivanna River Crossing Pipeline Project begins. UVA sends out acceptance letters March 21 for its regular decision cycle, the final round of admissions for the Class of 2029. Albemarle Police investigating a camper fire that burned 200 acres off Slate Hill Drive March 22. Charlottesville Police seeks help identifying a suspect in a March 13 Cherry Avenue robbery of cash and jewelry. UVA women’s swim team earns fifth consecutive NCAA title. One dead following March 23 single-motorcycle crash near Foxfield. Former Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins sentenced to 10 years for accepting more than $75,000 in “cash-for-badges” scheme. Puppeteer Matt Vogel and Jim Henson Creature Shop Creative Director Jason Weber visit Grounds to lead a puppet workshop. Gov. Glenn Youngkin calls on UVA board member Bert Ellis to resign.
Police roped off an area near the Culbreth parking garage, where three University of Virginia studentathletes were fatally shot, and two other students wounded, on November 13, 2022.
My name is Jordan Hague and I created Equity Saver USA in 2008 to offer a better, more affordable service to disrupt and challenge what I personally experienced to be an outdated and flawed approach to Realtor compensation at the expense of sellers and buyers.
In 2024 the National Association of Realtors settled a billion dollar lawsuit related to inflated Realtor commission practices. This monumental settlement opens the door for true free market competition and innovation to thrive. I’ve successfully sold homes using a 1% model for nearly 2 decades proving the old “6% legacy” commission model is a waste of money and does nothing to help promote affordable housing. Contact me direct to arrange a no obligation meeting to learn more.
Home court advantage
UVA hires Ryan Odom to lead men’s basketball team
The University of Virginia men’s basketball team welcomed Ryan Odom, its new head coach, to John Paul Jones Arena on March 24.
Odom is no stranger to Charlottesville or UVA basketball, having served as a ball boy for the Cavaliers during his father’s time as assistant coach from 1982 to 1989. He credits his dad, Dave Odom, and the Hoos with sparking his love for basketball.
“This is the place that I fell in love with basketball,” said Odom. “You learned the value of hard work and togetherness, and intensity.”
Prior to his return to Charlottesville, Odom helmed five different college basketball teams, most recently Virginia Commonwealth University, which he led to a 52-21 record over two seasons. He was also the coach of the UMBC team that upset the Hoos in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament, the first (and only) time a No. 1 seed was defeated by a No. 16 seed.
As she introduced Odom, UVA Athletics Director Carla Williams highlighted his track record as “a proven winner,” with an overall record of 222-127 as a head coach. “I know he looks like a cool customer on the sidelines, but he is a fierce competitor who routinely leads his teams to championships.”
For Odom, the key to success on the court is the people. When asked about his approach to the transfer portal, he emphasized the need to not only bring in talent, but retain players.
“I think you have to have a healthy balance. … Find the best players that fit your university and fit your style of play. Retain your players—there’s nothing more important than retention,” said Odom. “I’m confident in our ability to recruit.” Catie Ratliff
Former UVA president of two decades dies
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESIDENT
John T. Casteen III, the “father of the modern university,” died March 18 following a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81.
Casteen served as UVA president from 1990 through 2010. Over that 20-year period, he built a reputation for expanding educational access and promoting UVA’s global reach. Amidst state budget cuts, UVA’s endowment grew from $488 million to $5.1 billion during Casteen’s presidency.
In 2003, Casteen founded AccessUVA, a need-based scholarship and financial aid program, in recognition of the transformative power of higher education.
Following Casteen’s passing, current UVA President Jim Ryan posted a tribute on social media, asking others to reflect on Casteen’s “truly remarkable and enduring legacy.”
“His leadership transformed UVA into a modern, world-class university, and his warm and welcoming personal style made him a beloved figure on Grounds,” Ryan wrote. “He was also a great friend and mentor to me, and I will miss his wise counsel and friendship.”
Prior to his time as president, Casteen earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from UVA, where he studied medieval literature. After getting his start as an assistant professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, he returned to UVA in 1975 as dean of admissions before becoming Virginia’s secretary of education and president of the University of Connecticut. He eventually found his way home again in 1990, serving
as a professor of English before succeeding Robert O’Neil as UVA’s seventh president. Casteen is survived by his wife Elizabeth “Betsy” Casteen; daughter Elizabeth Ingeborg Casteen; sons John Thomas Casteen IV and Lars Löfgren Casteen; brothers Dennis Casteen and Tim Casteen; stepdaughters Alexandra Taylor Foote and Elizabeth Laura Robinson; and 12 grandchildren. Merrill Hart
Sleeping on it
ROUGHLY 50 PEOPLE TURNED OUT
March 22 for the Salvation Army’s inaugural Sleep Out C’ville event to raise funds and awareness for Charlottesville’s unhoused community. Attendees paid a $10 registration fee to participate, hearing stories from people currently experiencing, or who have previously experienced, homelessness; watching a short film; and listening to remarks from local leaders.
A small group opted to remain overnight, staying in tents on the lawn of the Jefferson School with only “the essentials.”
“By spending a night outdoors, participants will gain a deeper appreciation for the difficulties faced by those without stable housing,” read the event description.
“Collectively, we can work towards creating lasting solutions and providing essential resources for those in need.”
Charlottesville Mayor Juandiego Wade was among the overnight crew, while State Sen. Creigh Deeds gave remarks earlier in the evening, speaking about a potential state match of $1.3 million in the state budget for Charlottesville’s proposed low-barrier, year-round shelter.
The match was included in the General Assembly’s proposed budget amendments, but the future of the funds is still up in the air. Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced more than 200 of his own amendments and eight vetoes to the state budget on March 24, with the state legislature to consider the changes April 2. CR
Ryan Odom, the new UVA head men’s basketball coach, spoke to a crowd that had gathered to meet him at the John Paul Jones Arena on March 24.
As You Like It
A Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT
Adapted by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery Music and Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Directed by Jessica Harris, Guest Director March 27 – 29 & April 3 – 6, 2025 Culbreth
Guest Director and UVA Alumna Jessica Harris will lead this community-engaged production of Shaina Taub’s musical adaptation of AS YOU LIKE IT. Similar to UVA Drama’s 2023 production of Taub’s Twelfth Night, the show will feature a celebratory collaboration between UVA and community performers and will provide an opportunity for students and community organizations to join together. Get ready for magical, Shakespearean journey to the forest of Arden, where all find acceptance, and maybe even true love. As You Like It is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com
REAL ESTATE NEWS
Centering cost
Three housing projects seek to secure tax credits to finance future affordability
BY SEAN TUBBS
Virginia Housing, a state agency, has published a list of applications from developers seeking tax credits to cover the cost of building apartments guaranteed to be rented to people with lower incomes than the area median.
The Internal Revenue Service allots a limited number of federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for each state, and Virginia Housing splits that amount into different pools. Each project is ranked according to a series of factors. Initial rankings will be published on May 15, and allocations to specific projects will be made in mid-November.
The Piedmont Housing Alliance submitted two candidates for LIHTC and Preservation of Affordable Housing submitted one for its project at 1000 Wertland St.
“LIHTC is the bedrock of a subsidy that reduces the size of a mortgage on the property,” says Sunshine Mathon, PHA’s executive director. “A property with limited income due to reduced rents still has operating costs in addition to debt payments.”
PHA has requested 40 units at 501-A Cherry Ave. through the Accessible Supportive Housing Pool for a total annual tax credit of just under $1.7 million. If granted, the organization will sell those tax credits to a third party to make up the gap between the $23 million development cost and the $8.6 million available in funding.
The four-story building will include 14 studio apartments, 23 one-bedroom units, and three twobedroom units. Construction would be completed by March 31, 2027, according to the application. Half of the units are reserved for households with annual incomes below $74,520 and the other half will be reserved for those with lower income levels.
Neighborhood Development Services approved the 71-unit site plan on March 7, a step that increases a project’s score. The City of Charlottesville is contributing $3.15 million to the project, which boosts its ranking too.
PHA also submitted an application for a portion of the third phase of the redevelopment of Friendship Court into Kindlewood. Its application from the Preservation pool seeks $2.2 million to help subsidize 55 units. The city is contributing another $3.15 million for this project, and anticipates spending another $4.5 million on the fourth phase.
The four-story building would include nine one-bedroom units, 35 two-bedroom units, and 11 three-bedroom units. NDS approved this project on March 4, according to the application. The sale of tax credits would finance a gap between the $32.58 million development cost and the $13.87 million in grants and other funding.
Preservation of Affordable Housing’s application is for some of the units in a six-story building planned for the corner of 10th and Wertland streets. The nonprofit is seeking just over $1.35 million in tax credits to cover 39 of the 180 proposed units, and plans to subsidize the remaining 141 units through the sale of tax-exempt bonds. Those applications are due May 1.
Construction is expected to be com plete in October 2028, according to the application.
Annie Gould Gallery
A unique art gallery located in the heart of historic Gordonsville. 109 S. Main Street, Gordonsville, VA • (540) 832-6352 anniegouldgallery
The Piedmont Housing Alliance has submitted two candidates for low-income housing tax credits. “LIHTC is the bedrock of a subsidy that reduces the size of a mortgage on the property,” says Sunshine Mathon, the nonprofit’s executive director.
THE REALTOR CODE OF ETHICS
Never heard of it? It’s probably because our code is something we like to practice rather than preach. It’s a commitment to honesty, integrity, and trust that’s been protecting property owners like you since 1913.
LOCUST AVENUE
Charming 1929, classic brick home located in north downtown. Tastefully renovated and updated without losing the original character. 9’ ceilings, built-in bookcases, beautiful woodwork, trim and crown Professionally landscaped yard with mature plantings offers room for relaxation, play, and entertaining. Private, offstreet parking. Walkable community with wide streets and sidewalks. Quick access to major roadways, UVa and Downtown. Recent upgrades include: new roof 2022, replacement windows, renovated bathrooms, exterior painted 2022, and new Plantation shutters $899,000
MCGUFFEY HILL
Tucked away in a Fabulous city location! This home features a large great room with a fireplace and opens onto the terrace. The breakfast nook opens onto a large private deck. $450,000
STONEY CREEK DRIVE
Mill Creek South Come by to see this great floor plan! One floor living with the primary bedroom on the first floor. Home offers 3 other bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, half bath, masonry fireplace with gas logs and a full laundry room. Property offers a nearly flat fenced in yard with a large storage shed. Great access to Biscuit Run State Park, schools, Wegmans and Uva. $485,000
This place is a
The Riverside Lunch burger defies convention—
Lee Shifflett has owned Riverside Lunch since 2018, when he inherited the 90-yearold restaurant from his father, who bought it in 2008.
SMASH!
and remains a local institution.
STORY BY Matthew Stoss
PHOTOS BY Jeff Morgan
The Riverside Lunch hamburger thrives in a world outside convention and science.
The burgers (gasp!) are unsalted.
“We don’t do anything to the meat. Nothing at all,” owner Lee Shifflett says. “When we get it, it’s ground up, and we pat ’em out. That’s it.”
It’s a fine March day for culinary heresy, and Shifflett’s holding forth outside the 90-year-old restaurant about its hallmark hamburgers. They’re smashburgers, balled with an ice cream scoop to just shy of 4 ounces and cooked on an old warhorse of a griddle. Riverside Lunch sells about 700 pounds worth of burgers a week. The only ingredients are meat, heat, and steel.
“Now that grill,” Shifflett says, jabbing a thumb at Riverside’s front door like a gladiator disappointed him. “That grill in there is seasoned big time. That grill in there is probably 30, 40 years old.”
The griddle is the shape and size of a coffee table, though likely harder on the toes if you drop it. It has room for 20 patties, if that’s all that’s on it, and it sits on four squat legs behind the bar and acts as the restaurant’s hearth. Star Manufacturing, a 100-year-old cooking equipment company, built the griddle sometime before 1992, when it replaced Riverside’s old one, which caught fire, dying as it had lived.
This griddle, which a previous Riverside owner bought used, remains in fine fettle, even if the knobs do seem to fall off and disappear too easily. Probably to the same place where all lost socks go.
The griddle doesn’t have a pet name, though it should, and it’s cleaned every night with ice and a good scrape-down. For decades, this noble flattop has seen 80 to 100 pounds of beef a day at Riverside, where these plain meat hamburgers are as beloved as they are, somehow, unsalted.
“I would never not salt meat,” says local butcher and Riverside Lunch enthusiast Alex Import, the general manager at Stock Provisions. But at Riverside Lunch? Rules have exceptions. “That place holds a deep, deep place in all of our hearts and they crush it. They’re amazing.”
It seems we have a paradox.
“It holds true to the chemistry and the objective science that you want to administer salt to meat,” Import says. “But again, their product is delicious, and it can’t be argued with that it’s a success. If ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and there’s something there—there’s something to that.”
It seems we also have some alchemy.
Today is a lovely day, and the temperature’s in that range where it’s jacket weather and not jacket weather at the same time. Shifflett has split the middle sensibly with a sweatshirt. It’s a New York Yankees sweatshirt because as a kid he liked Don Mattingly’s minimalist batting stance and then, eventually, the Yankees as an entity.
Shifflett hasn’t shaved because he hates it, but it’s okay because stubble is rugged and becoming. And he doesn’t have a shave-everyday kind of job anymore. Before Riverside, he was a salesman for a Budweiser distributor, working his way up from the warehouse to wearing a polo shirt.
Now, he’s sitting at a patio table under the restaurant’s pediment and its three white wooden columns. An American flag lazes off the middle one. Beyond that, it’s the telephone lines and the mountains. If the sky were any bluer, we’d have to cheer it up.
Next to the table, a lady on a bicycle has stopped at a bench to have a burger in the sun. Earlier, a Colorado-looking man with a clingy dachshund made a point to tell Shifflett how often he eats Riverside’s burgers. Then they small-talked about small dogs. Later, Shifflett’s old babysitter happened in with her daughter and said hello, recognizing the boy behind the stubble.
Inside the restaurant, which is festooned with wood paneling and memorabilia, and staff you know by name, the crowd’s been steady since lunch, the parking lot heavy with pickup trucks and the cars obscured behind them.
Shifflett’s owned Riverside Lunch since 2018. It’s the patrimony of his late father Carroll, who bought it in 2008 after retiring from his career at a Budweiser distributor. (Father and son worked at the same place before reteaming at Riverside.) Carroll was a Vietnam vet and a stickler, one of those bygone fathers who liked to “build character.” For years, Carroll was
Riverside Lunch sells about 700 pounds of burgers every week. Aaron Martin, who’s worked at the restaurant for 25 years, mans the flattop, where the unsalted smashburgers are balled with an ice cream scoop to nearly 4 ounces. The decades-old griddle, with room for 20 patties (if they’re the only things on it), is cleaned with ice and scraped down every night.
a Riverside Lunch devotee and had always wanted to buy it, though his son says it’s not totally clear why. Carroll was also one of those bygone fathers who didn’t say much.
“He just always wanted it,” Shifflett says. “It was a dream of his.”
Riverside Lunch moved to 1429 Hazel St. in June 2000, reestablishing itself in what once was an auto shop. Riverside North, a splinter location, is unaffiliated. A CVS stands on the grave of the original Lunch at the corner of US-250 and River Road, where it overlooked the Rivanna River in a wilder era.
“I’m gonna be honest, when I was a kid, I didn’t want to go in there,” Shifflett says. “But my dad was, like I said, a Budweiser guy, and he would go in and drink beers, buy beers for the guys, try to get them to drink Bud and Bud Light, you know?
RULES. ALL FLAVOR.
“But anyway, long story short, it would be like, ‘Lee, we’re going to Riverside,’ and I wanted to go to Big Jim’s—you remember Big Jim’s?” Yes, the late barbecue joint favored by former UVA football coach George Welsh. “Well, when that was around, they would have video games. I wanted to go over there and play video games and eat over there. They had Ms. Pac-Man and pinball.”
That Riverside Lunch had no video games. It was a red-brick box, short on windows and ventilation, and it was a bar only, with four tables and little else. Sometimes it didn’t even have ketchup. (That led one expeditious regular to try his shoestring fries with Worcestershire. He never went back to ketchup.) That Riverside Lunch specialized in burgers, smoke, non-draft beer, and the occasional scuffle.
“That’s where people went to drink,” Shifflett says. “I don’t know if you ever heard this, but so you know where the CVS is over there? You know how the river’s right there? Well, they used to say—and I don’t know this to be true; this is what I hear—that people would come off rafts or boats and walk up there and go get a beer because a couple of them, I heard, couldn’t drive. So they would pull up … and walk up to Riverside, get a beer or have beers and a burger, and they would call it the Riverside Yacht Club.”
Aaron Martin arrived at the new Riverside Lunch around the same time as the griddle in 2000. He started working at the restaurant the week it moved from its old location, its riverfront view abandoned.
“The old place down on the corner, women and children wouldn’t even really come in there,” Martin says with a laugh. “The old rumor was that they weren’t allowed, but they were allowed. They just never wanted to come in there. It was smoky. It was just the old beer drinkers and all that, and it was real small, and as soon as we moved up to this one we had more space, and really as soon as everything in the early 2000s when everything became non-smoking, we started pumping out more of what would be a family restaurant, and it’s been just picking up ever since.”
Virginia banned smoking in restaurants in 2009.
Martin has worked at Riverside for 25 years, one of a nucleus of longtime employees. Among them are Blanche Marshall, a 16-year Riverside vet who’s 86, thwarted cancer a few times, and waits tables from 11 to 5, five days a week. Robbie Terry is a cook with a 14-year tenure, and Tammy Morris has been a server for 18 years. They know many orders by heart.
“Just for an example,” Morris says. “If I write, just say a regular ticket wrong—like, I got two guys that come in. They get two Phillys. Pepper jack, onions, mayonnaise, jalapenos, and extra meat. One day, I forgot to write the extra meat. Aaron and Robbie’s hollering, ‘Hey, them boys want extra meat on their Phillys?’”
Martin’s done every job at Riverside Lunch. His current duties involve manning the flattop, opening the restaurant each morning, and provisioning it. Black Angus beef is delivered three times a week from the Midwest, ground, in 10-pound logs, the color a carnivorous red. The blend is 81 percent meat and 19 percent fat, a sweet-spot ratio for the Riverside griddle
“If it has more fat in it than that, it falls apart on the grill. It doesn’t stay a patty,” Martin says. “And if it’s leaner than that, it burns before it gets done.”
The cooking temperature is non-specific—“I don’t know, brother. Just hot,” Martin says—the method is smashburger S.O.P. A chilled ball of ground beef is spatula-flattened for maximum surface area, seared fast in its own fat, flipped once and cheesed.
But there’s no black pepper, no oil, no butter, clarified or otherwise, and, of course, no salt. It seems heretical because of all the nice things salt can do for a hamburger. It brings out tastes, colors, and nuances through chemical reactions that cannot happen without salt. Protein and salt have a molecular synergy. And yet, there’s something about the Riverside Lunch hamburger and that old griddle.
“Clearly, their product speaks for itself,” Stock Provisions’ Alex Import says. “And it’s fantastic.”
There’s never been salt on a Riverside burger, at least as long anyone there can remember. It’s the secret non-ingredient in a rowdy bar reborn as a family restaurant down the street and up a hill, outside of convention and outside of time.
“What I try to take to heart is,” Shifflett says, “even in the time I’ve worked here, I’ve seen kids that were like 5 years old, now they’re adults. It’s crazy. Like, I remember when you were this [kid], now you’re an adult. And one of the things I asked them, ’cause they’re still coming, is, ‘What makes you keep coming back?’ You know, just curious. And they’re like, ‘Man, it brings me back to my childhood.’ That’s where I want to be. I want to be in everybody’s thoughts—‘I can go to Riverside and it’s not gonna change. It takes me back.’”
SCHEDULE AND MOBILE APP ARE LIVE
CONFERENCE
APRIL 16—19, 2025
How can we adapt the ways we think, live and lead? This April we’re bringing together civic leaders, visionaries, and changemakers to explore the intersections of technology, storytelling, business, society and wellness.
CROWDFUNDED PITCH NIGHT
WED. APRIL 16 | FREE
Crowdfunded Pitch Night showcases 10 aspiring entrepreneurs to the Charlottesville community, who will vote with their dollars. Flash pitches will share the contestant’s vision and inspire the crowd to action! The evening will conclude with a round of crowd voting and the pool of money goes to the winner.
INNOVATION MIXER
THUR. APRIL 17 | TICKETED
Raise a glass to celebrate Charlottesville’s most innovative companies and organizations. Tom Tom’s annual Innovation Mixer is a multi-sector extravaganza that highlights the most innovative ideas and people in the region at the CODE Building. Sectors include: biotech, energy, data, defense, social impact, wellness, technology, and more.
DOWNTOWN MALL BLOCK PARTY
FRI. APRIL 18 + SAT. APRIL 19 | FREE
A cultural experience to remember, the Downtown Mall turns into a New Orleans-style festival for TWO nights! Grab a drink from your favorite local bar, take a walk, check out galleries and shops, listen to live performances, and hang out with friends, old and new.
2 NIGHTS OF DANCE PARTIES
FRI. 4/18 + SAT. 4/19 | TICKETED
PORCHELLA
SUN 4/20 | FREE
Let’s take the Block Party onto the dance floor for a night of Latin soul at Carnivale, and close out the Tom Tom Festival with a throwback Prom, where the beats are big and the vibes electric. Let’s dance, evolve, and celebrate together!
Head out with friends to the Belmont neighborhood where a series of free acoustic front porch concerts close out the festival with a celebration of community and local talent.
BOOK SALE
2nd-10th 10am-7pm each day 1/2 price days: April 9th & 10th
10am-7pm each day
Member’s Preview Friday, April 4 from 5-7pm
(No Scanners at Preview (4/4) & Sat (4/5) from 10am-1pm)
1/2 price days: April 12th & 13th
...and much, much more!
300 Albemarle Square Shopping Center Charlottesville (at the old Northside Library location) What:
Thanks for your support! Masks Recommended
The Friends thank Albemarle Square for their continued support. info@jmrlfriends.org • (434) 977-8467
300 Albemarle Square Shopping Center, Charlottesville (at the old Northside Library location) (434) 977-8467 info@jmrlfriends.org
LPs/CDs/DVDs ...and much, much more!
The Friends thank Albemarle Square for their continued support.
CULTURE
FRIDAY 3/28
BIT BY BIT
If you need a laugh, look no further than Sheng Wang’s deadpan, matter-of-fact standup. The L.A.based comedian, originally from Houston, Texas, has been featured on HBO’s “2 Dope Queens,” wrote for the ABC show “Fresh Off the Boat,” and has his own Netflix special, “Sweet and Juicy,” produced and directed by the hilarious Ali Wong. Expect bits that break down Asian American stereotypes, as well as observations on everyday life, delivered in Wang’s signature baritone. $39.50–49.50, 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
CULTURE TO-DO LIST
FRIDAY 3/28 THROUGH THURSDAY 4/3
REEL AVANT-GARDE
Providing a portrait of a time and place, Make Me Famous chronicles the Lower East Side contemporary art movement of 1980s New York City through dazzling archival footage and home video. Exploring the bohemian scene that produced artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Madonna, this feature-length documentary follows the story of the mostly unknown neo-expressionist painter Edward Brezinski. The tone of the story shifts from art world exploration to true crime exposé as the filmmakers investigate Brezinski’s mysterious death in the Côte d’Azur. $12–14, 7pm. Violet Crown Cinema, 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. violetcrown.com
Wednesday 3/26 music
Beleza Duo. An evening of funkalicious samba soul with Madeline Holly-Sales on vocals and keys and Berto Sales on guitar, voice, and loops. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 201 W. Main St., Downtown Mal. thebebedero.com
Berto Sales and Matt Wyatt. Brazilian and Latin jazz treasures to make you smile from the inside out. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 201 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com
Mike Rosensky Trio. Live jazz. Free, 8:30pm. Miller’s Downtown, 109 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. millersdowntown.com
The Wavelength. Vintage rock, blues, originals, and more for your mid-week music boost. Free, 6:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com dance
Weekly Swing Dance. Beginner-friendly swing dance lessons teaching the Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, and blues. No partner needed. Stay for social dancing after the class. $10, 7pm. The Front Porch , 221 E. Water St. frontporchcville.com stage
The Trip to Bountiful Homesick and determined Carrie Watts sets out on a bus trip pilgrimage to the small town of Bountiful, Texas, in this tender and deeply poignant play by one of America’s most celebrated playwrights. $28, 7:30pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org
classes
Learn to Knit. Learn the basics of knitting. No experience needed. Leave with a pair of knitting needles, the beginning of a scarf, and enough yarn to finish it. Ages 12+. $25, 5:30pm. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Paint + Sip: Wildflower Pint Glasses. Learn a variety of techniques and skills to render a wildflower scene on a pair of pint glasses. $42, 6pm. Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. blueridge brushes.com etc.
Mormon Wrestling: A Genealogy. A sneak preview of David Walker’s documentary film exploring how the LDS church and Mormon wrestlers and their fans negotiated their identities as the church and wrestling became global institutions. Free, 4pm. Harrison Auditorium of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, 170 McCormick Rd. mormonstudies.as.virginia.edu
Scrappy Crafty Hour. Bring your project, grab a cup of tea, and hang out in the library with other stitchers. Free, noon. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Thursday 3/27
music
Berto Sales and Vincent Zorn. Wild flamenco rumba and Latin guitar. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 201 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com
Brian K. & The Parkway. D.C.-based touring band brings heartland rock-inspired original music.
Free, 7pm. Dürty Nelly’s, 2200 Jefferson Park Ave. durtynellyscville.com
Fireside Collective. A progressive bluegrass group from Asheville, North Carolina, blending the characteristic interplay of bluegrass instrumentation and harmonies with strong original material and exuberant energy. $15–20, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
John D’earth & Friends. Live jazz with a rotating cast of local and national musicians. Free, 10pm. Miller’s Downtown, 109 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. millersdowntown.com
Louis & Larrabee Duo. An exciting new local collaboration that features Louis Smith on guitar and vocals and Adam Larrabee on banjo and electric guitar. $5, 7pm. The Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesvillemarket.com
Max McNown. Within just a year of teaching himself to play guitar, the Oregon-bred, Nashvillebased musician turned out three EPs spotlighting his emotionally potent yet nuanced lyrics. With Barrett. $29, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St. jeffersontheater.com
Michael Clem. A local singer-songwriter with decades of experience playing bass, singing, and writing songs for Eddie from Ohio, the national touring act he cofounded. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com
Studebaker Jones. Original and acoustic folk tunes that hold up. Free, 5pm. Aromas Café Charlottesville, 900 Natural Resources Dr. aromascafe andcatering.com
stage
As You Like It. A community-engaged musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy. $10–16, 8pm. Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu
The Trip to Bountiful. See listing for Wednesday, March 26. $28, 7:30pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org
etc.
A Year With Frog And Toad. Part vaudeville, part make believe, all charm, A Year With Frog And Toad tells the story of a friendship that endures, weathering all seasons. $14–19, 6pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
Brewery Puzzle Hunt. An escape room meets a pub crawl. Visit the Preston Avenue breweries, crack codes, unravel riddles, and sample Charlottesville’s best brews. Players get $1-off pints at each brewery. $15, noon. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com
Death Over Drafts. A thoughtful and inclusive event for the LGBTQ+ community to engage in important conversations around end-of-life planning with Hospice of the Piedmont death doulas. Free, 5:30pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com
SuperFly Karaoke Night. Come on out and sing your favorite song. Free, 7pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com
Trivia Night with Mike & Miranda. Play alone, or bring a team of up to six players for five rounds of questions. Free, 6:15pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com
Twilight Toast to SARA. An evening showcase of services and programs provided by the Sexual Assault Resource Agency. Free, 6pm. Fry’s Spring Beach Club, 2512 Jefferson Park Ave. frysspring.org
Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. Like an escape room but at a winery. Crack codes and unravel riddles while sampling Charlottesville’s best wine, beer, and cider. Play when you want and go at your own pace. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com
Friday 3/28 music
Ali Webb & Friends. Ali Webb blends jazz, humor, and storytelling to explore life’s highs and lows with original songs and jazz classics. $10, 7pm. The Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesvillemarket.com
An evening with Diane Cluck, Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, and Shona Carr. An intimate evening of original songs with a duo set by Shona Carr and Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, followed by a solo set from Diane Cluck. $20–25, 8pm. The Front Porch , 221 E. Water St. frontporchcville.com
Charles Latham & the Borrowed Band. A fusion of Latham’s idiosyncratic songwriting with vintage, psychedelic country-rock. Free, 8pm. The Stage at WTJU, 2244 Ivy Rd. wtju.net
Chickenhead Blues Band. New Orleans boogiewoogie, upbeat, rhythm and blues sounds. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com
Ian Gilliam & The Fire Kings. Rock ‘n’ roll, blues, rockabilly, and country. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E Market St.
Matt Johnson. NBC’s “The Voice” finalist plays fan favorites. Free, 5:30pm. Hardware Hills Vineyard, 5199 W. River Rd., Scottsville. hardwarehills.com
Palmyra. Shenandoah Valley trio combining Americana roots and soul, post-rock, and even emo. With special guests Bendigo Fletcher and Holy Roller. $20–22, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St. jeffersontheater.com
Stillhouse Sound. A dynamic five-piece band delivering an eclectic mix of soulful rock classics, funk favorites, modern hits, and deep cuts. Free, 5:30pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com
Underground Springhouse. Exploring reggae, country, and funk influences within a rock ‘n’ roll context, Springhouse has crafted a genre-bending catalog that takes listeners from beaches to back roads. $15–18, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
Vinyl DJ Ryan Wood. DJ Ryan Wood of Kendall Street Company spins vintage rock and anything that grooves. Free, 6pm. Chisholm Vineyards at Adventure Farm, 1135 Clan Chisholm Ln., Earlysville. chisholmvineyards.com
stage
As You Like It See listing for Thursday, March 27. $10–16, 8pm. Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu
Scalia/Ginsburg A one hour, one act, comic opera sung in English, inspired by the friendship and judicial writings of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. $10–68, 7pm. Grisham Hall, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, 2132 Ivy Rd. charlottesvilleopera.org
The Prom. Four Broadway stars are in desperate need of a new stage. When they hear that trouble is brewing around a small-town prom, they know that it’s time to put a spotlight on the issue … and themselves. $10–20, 8pm. Four County Players, 5256 Governor Barbour St. Barboursville. fourcp.org
The Trip to Bountiful. See listing for Wednesday, March 26. $28, 8pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org
words
Storytime. Join us for a magical storytime adventure where the pages come alive and imagination knows no bounds. Free, with admission to the museum, 10:30am. Virginia Discovery Museum, 524 E. Main St. vadm.org
classes
Artifact Detectives: A Lab Day with Archaeologists. A hands-on archaeology workshop exploring how we learn about the past through artifacts. Geared toward kids ages 7–12. Tickets are required for both children and accompanying adults. $10, 11am and 1pm. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. home.monticello.org etc.
Brewery Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $15, noon. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com
Make Me Famous Virginia premiere of a documentary exploring the 1980 NYC art scene. $12–14, 7pm. Violet Crown Charlottesville, 200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. violetcrowncinemas.com
Scrappy Crafty Hour. See listing for Wednesday, March 26. Free, noon. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Sheng Wang. Sheng Wang is a comedian, actor, and writer originally from Houston, Texas. $39–49, 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
Trivia with Olivia. Get the weekend started with beers and trivia. Free, 6pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com
Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com
Saturday 3/29
music
Ben Reade. Singer-songwriter from Waynesboro plays energetic jams and soulfully simple folk tunes. Free, noon. Keswick Vineyards, 1575 Keswick Winery Dr., Keswick. keswickvineyards.com
Berto Sales. Brazilian and Latin guitar to warm your spirit and satisfy your soul. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavernandgrocery.com
Brooks & Dunn. Country music legends perform. With special guests David Lee Murphy, Molly Tuttle, and Golden Highway. Tickets start at $69, 7pm. John Paul Jones Arena, 295 Massie Rd. johnpauljonesarena.com
Dean Friedman. Don’t miss this rare performance by the legendary singer-songwriter. Hear hits like “Ariel,” “Lucky Stars,” “Lydia,” and “McDonald’s Girl.” With Skylar Green opening. $25, 7pm. Park Street Coffee House, 1200 Park St. derringerdiscoveries.com
Edgehill x The Barons. Edgehill is a Nashvillebased alternative rock group. The Barons is a U.S. alternative band of Virginia natives. With Loose Leaf. $18–20, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
Eli Cook Band. Blues infused roots-rock. Free, 5:30pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com
In the Round: Shannon Worrell, Jason Pollock, Thomas Gunn, & Terri Allard. An incredible ensemble of songwriters unite for an unforgettable evening. Hear the stories behind the music, the songs not often played, the harmonies, and the magic that happens only once a year. $20, 7pm. The Batesville Market, 6624 Plank Rd., Batesville. batesvillemarket.com
Jason Burke. Music informed by the songs of 1960s and 1970s American and British rock and roll. Free, 12:30pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com
Live-Band Music Bingo. Join Cake Fight for an event combining everything you love about music bingo with an energetic performance by a live band. Pick up your bingo card and play along to win prizes. Free, 1pm. Southwest Mountain Vineyard, 2300 Whipper In Ln., Keswick. smvwines.com
CONTINUED ONE PAGE 32
Natural progression
A dual show at Phaeton Gallery interprets beauty in layers
BY SARAH SARGENT
Currently on exhibition at Phaeton Gallery, “Understory” features works by Charlottesville resident Krista Townsend and Nikki Hare of Tewkesbury, U.K., in a dynamic artistic dialogue about nature. The title refers to the zone of vegetation that exists between the forest floor and the forest canopy. Townsend approaches this directly, producing work developed and centered on the forest understory, while Hare takes a more conceptual approach to the subject, using words and poetry to produce striking layered messages.
In preparation for the show, Phaeton Gallery Director Lisa Hogan and the artists read The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger.
“Schlanger talks about how the moss and the lichens and the small ferns can communicate about disease, or pests, for miles through spores and pheromones,” says Hogan. The subject is close to her heart. Her son Nic Lee, who has a Ph.D. in mediated matter from MIT, is head of Ecology at Oxman, where his research centers on the idea that plants can heal the planet. Lee led a discussion on the understory with the artists at the preview and opening.
Townsend, whose practice includes daily walks in the woods, with a focus specifically trained on the understory area of the forest, is a natural choice for the show. Hare is a more unexpected one. But the topic inspires the messages in her word paintings, and the word understory also describes her embedded messages. “The way I paint, with many different layers, is about seeing one thing on the surface but not really knowing what’s beneath,” says Hare.
Both artists share a similar palette of brightly hued acrylic paint, which sometimes veers into the fluorescent. It is this vibrant display of color—verdant green and pops of red, yellow, and blue—that immediately strikes you when you enter the gallery. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw how well the four square paintings (“Understory,” “Fox Haven,” “Beneath the Surface,” and “Dense Vegetation”) worked together, which we hadn’t planned at all,’’ says Hare. “They’re very different, but about the same thing, which I thought made it really interesting.”
Hare’s paintings each feature a distinct quote printed in its entirety on the accompanying label for reference. While the quote conveys a certain meaning, she wants viewers to have their own response to what they see in the work, and it’s clear her main interest is the visual quality of the letters, since the quote itself isn’t possible to read.
Hare paints the beginning of the quote first, filling up the picture plane with the words that fit. Subsequent words are
painted over top of the first group. This is repeated until the entire quote has been added. At first, the paintings appear as an unrelated accumulation of stenciled letters. You can make out letters from the first part of the quote, but only the last few words (used by Hare for the title) are legible. These foreground letters are also rendered in much brighter colors than those toward the back. Done for emphasis, the variations also create an interesting rhythm that animates the work with a sense of backward-forward, and side-to-side movement.
Known for exuberant paintings of nature that capture the experience of being in it, Townsend brings information gathered in her daily forays into the woods and meadows around Charlottesville back to her studio to interpret in paint.
With the exception of two large views of the forest, “Body Memory” and “Solvitur Ambulando” (it is solved by walking), Townsend’s works are up-close studies of sections of woods or meadow. In “When We Actually Look” and “Dense Vegetation,” the shapes and lines that describe physical objects like leaves and branches, or the visual effects of shadows and light, dissolve into a composition of ebullient abstract forms.
Townsend’s work is filled with interesting visual touches. Whether it’s the purply red clusters of the Eupatorium stalks in “Fox Haven,” the spiraling clumps of grass in “Microcosm,” or the shimmering explosion of pigment and gesture that is “When We Actually Look,” what catches Townsend’s eye and how she decides to represent it is enchanting.
Townsend’s Yupo works are more concentrated and intense versions of the larger paintings. Yupo is a Japanese synthetic paper made of polypropylene. Its surface is nonabsorbent, so the paint sits on top rather than soaking in. This enables different effects, including drips and texture, and darker, more robust areas of paint.
Some of these small studies, “Leaves of the Same Tree” and “Microcosm,” surpass the larger painting versions with their compact density of color, line, and gesture. “I was just kind of playing with a different approach,” says Townsend. “My challenge is always trying to get looser and capture my impression of things as opposed to making a representation of what I’m seeing.”
With “Understory” we observe how two different artists engage with a subject, producing work that captures our imagination. Whether representational, experiential, or conceptual, the work is visually arresting and thoughtprovoking, opening our minds to the glories of nature as represented in this shallow swath of land that is so vital to the earth’s ecology.
Phaeton Gallery’s “Understory” features works by Krista Townsend and Niki Hare through March 30.
SMALL BITES CULTURE
The cup returns to Barboursville, and pizza adds players
Virginia wine lovers, raise a glass— preferably filled with Barboursville Vineyards’ 2023 vermentino. Luca Paschina has done it again, snagging a sixth Virginia Governor’s Cup for the winery. New this year, the competition introduced Best in Show awards for the most competitive categories. Both Pollak Vineyards’ 2022 merlot reserve and Jefferson Vineyards’ 2023 viognier were honored. There’s never been a better time to sip local.
New high
Looking for a buzz without the booze? Mountain High Seltzer, crafted in Crozet, is shaking up the beverage scene with its all-natural, low-calorie, hemp-derived THC/CBD seltzers. These low-sugar fizzy refreshers, currently available in lemon-lime and wild berry, offer a mild, relaxing effect. A carefully measured blend of cannabinoids, mostly CBD with under 2mg of THC, delivers a smooth, subtle experience that’s federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. Whether you’re winding down after work or toasting with friends, this family-owned and operated brand brings a new kind of chill to the table.
Pizza the action
Charlottesville’s pizza scene is on fire with three new spots serving up slices, squares, and sandwiches.
The Belle team has opened Ciaccia, a cozy Italian counter adjacent to its bakerycafé patio on Monticello Avenue. Ciaccia specializes in pizza and focaccia that’s fata in casa—homemade—and its sandwiches
come on schiacciata, a thinner, lighter cousin of focaccia. Try the Bionda, layered with prosciutto toscano, stracciatella di burrata, and cipollini cream, or the zucchini pizza, topped with pecorino, Gruyere, dill, and mint.
Locally owned A² Pizza opened March 5 in Forest Lakes North (where Endzone Pizza used to be), and specializes in Detroitstyle pies—thick, crispy-edged, and seriously satisfying. Hit up the PPP with pineapple, pepperoni, and pickled jalapeños for a spicy-sweet kick.
More to chew on
Thursday 3/27
Angel’s Envy Unveiled: Sip, Savor, & Learn. This exclusive event offers guests the chance to taste three expertly crafted cocktails featuring Angel’s Envy whiskey in a unique pairing experience that thoughtfully highlights the natural flavors of each light bite and cocktail. $45, 5pm. Kimpton The Forum Hotel, 540 Massie Rd. forum hotelcharlottesville.com
Saturday 3/29
Gold Medal Wine Dinner with Birch & Bloom. Chef Ryan Collins has crafted an elegant four-course menu
designed to complement a selection of exceptional wines from Michael Shaps. $120, 6:30pm. Michael Shaps Winery, 1650 Harris Creek Rd. virginia wineworks.com
Sunday 3/30
Chef Collab Dinner to Benefit No Kid Hungry. A collaboration dinner featuring five expertly crafted courses from four of the area’s top chefs—Alicia Simmons of Tavola, Angelo Vangelopoulos of Ivy Inn, Christian Kelly of Duner’s, and Tucker Yoder of Broadcloth—all in support of No Kid Hungry’s vital mission. $150, 5:30pm. Broadcloth, 1837 Broadway St. broadclothrestaurant.com
Emmy Squared is a national darling of Detroit-style pizza (and burgers) that’s coming soon to Barracks Road Shopping Center. Born in Brooklyn in 2016, the chain’s new location is the first in Virginia. Go big with the Big Ang, topped with housemade vodka sauce, ricotta, double pecorino, Italian sausage, and banana peppers.
Open & closed
The final buzzer sounded for Ralph’s American Taproom, which closed after four years, but
Existential Bread Book Tour. Join us for a conversation between Jim Franks, author of Existential Bread, and local baker Chris(tina) Martin from BakerNoBakery. RSVP requested. Free, 6pm. Visible Records, 1740 Broadway St. visible-records.com
Saturday 4/5
Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast and support the work of three outstanding children’s charities: Central Little League, Community Bikes, and the Salvation Army. Children ages 6 and under eat free. $5–10, 8am. Mt. Zion First African
UVA and NBA basketball legend Ralph Sampson isn’t going anywhere. He’s still a partner in Milk & Honey, a Southern-inspired restaurant in the same space that opened March 19.
Backed by Thompson Hospitality, the nation’s largest minority-owned food service provider, Milk & Honey promises comfort food with a kick. Think award-winning shrimp and grits, honey Old Bay wings, Cajun shrimp pasta, and indulgent berries and cream French toast.
“We see that Southern Cuisine is underserved in Charlottesville and we are excited to fill the void with our fan-favorite menu items,” says Thompson Hospitality’s COO, Alex Berentzen.
The 10th Street Warehouse went completely quiet when Mudhouse Coffee closed in March (following the close of neighboring business Althea Bread in December).
Mudhouse, founded by middle-school sweethearts Lynelle and John Lawrence, started as a coffee cart on the Downtown Mall and has grown into a beloved Virginia staple. Known for prioritizing organic, fair trade, rainforest, 4C, and bird-friendly certifications, Mudhouse continues to serve customers at its Downtown Mall locations, as well as in Crozet, Richmond, and Charleston, South Carolina, with an Alexandria, Virginia, spot on the way. Chickadee announced that its lunch and brunch service will end on April 12, in order to focus on expanding the market space next door. Swift Market will soon become Chickadee Market, as described in an Instagram post last week: “The capacity in which food will be involved is still TBD, but definitely scaled back. Think bodega vibes meets ChaChas (iykyk)!” LMK!—Sarah Golibart Gorman
An Urban Winery Experience. Tour and enjoy a tasting at five wineries under one roof at the Virginia Wine Collective, a production facility and tasting room focused on collaboration and the work of talented independent winemakers. Move in small groups around the production facility to visit each winemaker, while sharing a glass of wine and discussion before moving to the next part of the facility. Pre-registration required.
$25, 5pm. Virginia Wine Collective, 1585 Avon St. Ext. eastwoodfarmandwinery. orderport.net
Sunday 4/20
Easter Brunch Buffet. A mouthwatering selection of dishes for you to enjoy with your loved ones with seatings before or after the 12:30pm Eggspedition egg hunt throughout the botanical gardens. Children ages 3 and under eat free. $35–73, 11am. Kimpton The Forum Hotel, 540 Massie Rd. forumhotelcharlottesville.com
Submit food and drink events to events.c-ville.com.
TRISTAN WILLIAMS
Ciaccia, a new spot in Belmont, specializes in pizza and focaccia that are fata in casa: homemade.
CULTURE TO-DO LIST
Saturday 3/29
Mojo Pie. Local musicians Susan Munson and Frank Bechter perform harmonies and singersongwriter stylings. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com
Robert Jospé Trio. High-energy world-class jazz. Free, 5pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com
The Wavelength. Bring your dancin’ shoes for vintage rock and blues. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmand winery.com
Virginia Women’s Chorus 50th Anniversary Spring Concert. Celebrating the chorus’ 50th anniversary with a special concert featuring alumnae, former music directors, and current chorus members. $10–25, 3:30pm. Old Cabell Hall. music.virginia.edu
dance
Good Luck Club. An unapologetic dance party with music from Chappell Roan, boygenius, Reneé Rapp, Billie Eilish, and more. Ages 18+. $15–22, 9pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com
stage
As You Like It. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $10–16, 8pm. Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu
Scalia/Ginsburg See listing for Friday, March 28. $10–68, 2pm. Grisham Hall, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, 2132 Ivy Rd. charlottesvilleopera.org
Spring Fling Drag Show. Hosted by Katja Attenshun, featuring drag performances by local and regional artists Emerald Envy, Climaxx Moon, Gimmea Attenshun, London Lestrange. $20–100, 7pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com
The Prom See listing for Friday, March 28. $10–20, 8pm. Four County Players, 5256 Governor Barbour St. Barboursville. fourcp.org
The Trip to Bountiful See listing for Wednesday, March 26. $28, 8pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org
classes
Mosaic 201: Mosaic Your House Number. Challenge your skills and creativity with shaping, placement, and intentional design making a personal house number or flat garden ornament. Ages 12+. $68, 10am. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Needle Felted Mushrooms for Beginners. A beginner-level felting class making soft and colorful mushroom decorations using a specialized barbed needle to sculpt beautiful dyed wool. Ages 12+. $40, 1pm. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Needle Felted Owls. Learn how to make a soft little owl figure using a specialized notched needle to sculpt dyed wool. Suitable for beginners or intermediate students. Ages 12+. $40, 10:30am. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
etc.
Brewery Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $15, noon. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com
THURSDAY 3/27 THROUGH FRIDAY 4/6
COMMUNITY THEATER
The UVA Department of Drama focuses on community engagement with its musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It. The participatory staging includes UVA students and members of local arts organizations—from Charlottesville Ballet and the women of CLAW, to the young performers at DMR Adventures—in a story of acceptance that’s accompanied by a soundtrack of pop, rock, R&B, and more. “At its core, what you see on stage is 40 people telling this beautiful story about finding community and about people finding themselves and embracing who they are,” says director and UVA Drama Department alum Jessica Harris. $10–16, times vary. Culbreth Theatre, UVA Drama Building, 109 Culbreth Rd. drama.virginia.edu
Pretty Woman. A prostitute and a wealthy businessman fall for one another, forming an unlikely pair. $9, 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net
Storytime. Featuring readings from recent storybooks and the classics kids know and love. Rain or shine. All ages welcome. Free, 11am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. newdominionbookshop.com
Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com
Sunday 3/30
music
Gina Sobel and Matt Draper. Americana and bluesy tunes. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshousewinery.com
Music Open Mic. Open to musicians of all ages. Two songs or 10 minutes, whichever comes first. P.A. and microphone provided. Hosted by Theocles. Free, 5pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
Paxton Henderson Trio. Jazz-influenced rock, or rock-influenced jazz, depending. Free, 2pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraft cider.com
dance
Beginner-intermediate Salsa Classes. No partner needed. Proficiency with the basic, turning, and partner connection required. Discounts available for multiple classes. $10, 5pm. The Dance Connection, 109 Second St. SE.
Intermediate-beginner Bachata Classes. No partner required. Proficiency with the basic, turning, and partner connection required. Discounts available for multiple classes. $10, 5:30pm. The Dance Connection, 109 Second St. SE. stage
The Prom See listing for Friday, March 28. $10–20, 2:30pm. Four County Players, 5256 Governor Barbour St. Barboursville. fourcp.org
The Trip to Bountiful. See listing for Wednesday, March 26. $28, 2pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. livearts.org
classes
Beginner Zentangle. The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. Ages 13+. $35, 11am. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Book Club. Join us as we celebrate both Black History Month and National Women’s History Month with a cookbook, Everyday Grand, written by Black female author- Jocelyn Delk Adams. Free, 1pm. Chisholm Vineyards at Adventure Farm, 1135 Clan Chisholm Ln., Earlysville. chisholmvineyards.com
Paint + Sip: First Bloom. Learn a variety of techniques and skills to render at first bloom flower scene. $38, noon. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. blueridgebrushes.com
Prepping and Planning Your Vegetable Garden. Piedmont Master Gardeners will present a free garden basics class exploring garden planning, soil testing, and seed starting. Registration required. Free, 1pm. James Monroe’s Highland, 2050 James Monroe Pkwy. highland.org etc.
Beyond The Book Karaoke. Hosts Lex & Jessie can cue up any song found on YouTube, so get weird with it. Free, 8pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
Brewery Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $15, noon. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. puzzledbee.com
Community Seed Swap. Join us for an enriching afternoon of collaborative discussion, knowledge sharing, and seed swapping. Bring your surplus seeds to share and pick up new seeds to diversify your gardens. Free, 2pm. Central Library, 201 E. Market St. jmrl.org
Mr. Conly Greer Birthday Celebration. Come see our historic barn, learn about the man who built it, enjoy food, and celebrate as a community. Free, 2pm. Ivy Creek Natural Area and Historic River View Farm, 1780 Earlysville Rd. ivycreekfoundation.org
Music Bingo. Fun for the whole family, with gift card prizes for the winners. Free, 2pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwoodfarmandwinery.com
Silent Book Club. Read in quiet camaraderie. No assigned reading, no obligations. Bring your own book of choice. Free, 12:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com
Vineyard Puzzle Hunt. See listing for Thursday, March 27. $15, available noon–8pm. Please confirm Eastwood Winery and Potter’s Cider hours beforehand. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. puzzledbee.com
Monday 3/31
classes
Artifact Detectives: A Lab Day with Archaeologists. See listing for Friday, March 28. $10, 11am and 1pm. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy. home.monticello.org etc.
Comedy Open Mic. Showcase your talent, try out new material, and take in the best local comedy that Charlottesville has to offer. Hosted by Chris Alan. Ages 18+. Free, 5pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com
Scrappy Crafty Hour. See listing for Wednesday, March 26. Free, noon. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com
Trivia on Tap. Five rounds of themed trivia for teams of up to six competitors. Hosted by Olivia. Reservations recommended. Free, 7pm. Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery - Charlottesville, 520 Second St. SE. threenotchdbrewing.com
Tuesday 4/1
music
Gary Hawthorne. Expressive, melodic, and powerful originals and covers from one of the region’s most enduring voices. Free, 9pm. Rapture, 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. rapturerestaurant.com
Tuesday Evening Concert Series. Presenting a program of Vivaldi’s “Four Season at 300,” by Les Arts Florissants Baroque musical ensemble with Théotine Langlois de Swarte, violin. $5–45, 7:30pm. Old Cabell Hall Auditorium. virginia.edu
Vincent Zorn. Lively flamenco rumba with a unique percussive technique that incorporates a diverse range of strumming styles, rhythms, and taps. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 201 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com
etc.
Geeks Who Drink Trivia. Good trivia, good times. Teams of two to six people can compete to win prizes like gift certificates and pint glasses, plus bragging rights. Free, 7pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com
The Run Club. Do a 5K run, then drink beer. $1-off pints for runners. Free, 6pm. Decipher Brewing, 1740 Broadway St.
LAST LOOK CULTURE
Conservative critique
Dawn Hanson’s contemporary protest art at McGuffey Art Center BY CM TURNER
“What’s Left? What’s Right?,” an interdisciplinary exhibition of politically charged artworks by Dawn Hanson, leaves little question about where the artist stands in relation to the current presidential administration and conservative America at large.
The self-proclaimed Liberal Artist carries on a long lineage of creators who have used their work as forms of resistance and protest. “Hanson’s newest works provide lessthan-subtle commentary on real-world ramifications of the last election. Without naming names, she shines a light on the absurdity, corruption and injustice in American politics today,” reads an exhibition statement on her website.
While subtlety is abandoned in favor of a forthright and didactic approach within “What’s Left? What’s Right?,” the work certainly brings visual voice to the outrage many Americans are experiencing in yet another “unprecedented era.”
Situated in the main entryway at McGuffey Art Center, an installation of black T-shirts with white lettering carry phrases including “Science Denier,” “Tax Evader,” and “Pussy Grabber.” While Hanson refrains from naming names, there is little doubt about the references. The installation, entitled “Dirty Laundry,” is an emphatic introduction to a show that eschews nuance to illustrate a critique of contemporary conservatism.
A trio of works addressing reproductive rights homes in on access to abortion and birth control.
“Twist Her,” a large-scale quilted work and mixedmedia diptych spoofs the classic party game Twister as “An outrageous game about access to abortion care.” “With Good Reason” contains a ring of clamshell birth control cases, each containing a reason to avoid pregnancy, ranging from the practical to the personal.
Flags are a theme that runs throughout the exhibition, including the “Klep-
tocracy Flag,” modeled after the flag of the United States with money symbols in place of stars, and hundred-dollar bills as stripes.
“Distress Flag” displays an inverted U.S. flag—an orientation reserved for expressing extreme danger to life or property— with the common protest refrain “No Justice No Peace!” scrawled overtop. Overspray and dripping paint communicate the immediacy and DIY nature often associated with protest art.
The most understated, and therefore perhaps most engaging work in the show, is one that allows the viewer to arrive at the message through context and a little critical thought. “Keep Left” is a quilted work utilizing the iconographic language of road signs to deliver a message devoid of words yet full of meaning. Stark black-and-white fabrics are joined at seams containing a hint of fluorescent yellow that insinuates caution and safety within the alignment signifier. While nearly all of the works in the exhibition are easily deciphered, and thus require little time or attention to understand, it is the energy and outrage underpinning most of the art that viewers should take to heart. Hanson fully acknowledges the lack of subtlety running through “What’s Left? What’s Right?” in a fire-meets-fire approach, recognizing that subtlety is surely not the hallmark of conservative ideologies.
“What’s Left? What’s Right?,” by Dawn Hanson (aka, The Liberal Artist), remains on view through March 30 at McGuffey Art Center.
Charlottesville thrives because of its people—the dreamers, doers, and local businesses that give our community its unique character.
Here we celebrate the entrepreneurs, creators, and hometown favorites that make this place feel like home.
PLEASE
ALL BLESSINGS FLOW is a local faith-based nonprofit founded to help individuals living with disabilities and serious health conditions.
Our primary mission is to promote health equity by collecting and refurbishing medical equipment and supplies and providing these items to families in need in Charlottesville and Central Virginia. For children and adults with disabilities, obtaining the medical equipment they need and deserve can be a life changing blessing.
ABF ON THE MOVE
To reach our neighbors in need in Nelson, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Louisa, and Orange Counties, our ABF Mobile Unit visits a partner site. in each county one day each week. Please call our warehouse in advance to be sure we have the items you need on the trailer. We will also be accepting donations of gently used medical equipment.
10 AM - NOON Look online for our weekly schedule.
ABF is an IRS designated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so alldonations are tax deductible. Yoursupport will help us as we continueto grow and spread blessings andjoy to those in need.
EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES
Donate your used medicalequipment and unopenedsupplies. Items may be droppedoff during open hours at ourwarehouse located at 2335 Seminole Lane, Charlottesville.
REACH
Merlin, an injured American Crow, inspired the Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary’s founding over 20 years ago.
Always our goal? Release them back to the wild.
Rockf Sanctuary ish Wildlife
Since then, RWS has provided refuge and professional treatment to over 11,000 orphaned and injured wild animals. injured & orphaned patients admitted. different species treated. Virginian cities and counties served by RWS.
outreach programs presented in our community.
LUXURY BOUTIQUE INN
SURROUNDED BY HISTORY
A hidden gem nestled in one of Charlottesville’s most charming historic neighborhoods, Oakhurst Inn is an intimate boutique hotel conveniently located just steps away from the University of Virginia. Experience luxurious accommodations, delectable cuisine, an inviting ambiance, and picturesque surroundings. A place connecting visitors and locals alike.
This beautiful city has kept us up and running through advertising support since 1989, but now we also need you, readers of the free word, to help us keep telling local stories. If free, independent news is important to you, please consider a gift of $35 to keep the lights on—in our office, sure, but also the light we will continue to shine into every corner of Charlottesville. Depending on the size of your gift, you could receive a digital copy of C-VILLE every Tuesday evening (before it hits stands Wednesday), a tote bag, and two invites to the Best of C-VILLE party in August 2025. Support the work of C-VILLE Weekly.
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ACROSS
1. Actress Stone
5. “Booyakasha!” speaker 9. Picture’s perimeter 14. Money repaid with interest 15. “Blade Runner 2049” actor Jared
16. Enthusiast
17. “A Man ___ Importance” (musical based on a 1994 film)
36. What happens when the first preservation doesn’t seal?
40. Arm bones
41. Paul of “Mad About You”
42. Severance
43. Psychologist Abraham known for his “hierarchy of needs”
44. Bee prefix
47. A.L. East squad, on scoreboards
48. 2025 Fox medical drama where the main character suffers a brain injury
49. “The Thursday Murder Club” author Richard
51. Horror movie where the clown trades a balloon for a bouquet?
56. Informal summons
58. Think tank output
59. Pt. of MIT
60. Performance space
61. Bad sign
62. Gratuitous
63. LP’s other half
64. World’s longest river
65. Rain protector
DOWN
1. Plaza Hotel kid
2. “SNL” alum Alex
3. Site of an Ali-Frazier showdown
4. + end of a battery
5. “’Tis a pity
6. Interlockable brand
7. Piece of info
8. Shocking tidbit, maybe
9. Admiral’s ships
10. One in a restaurant basket
11. Birds of a given region
12. Annual host of a notable gala
13. Before, in poems
21. Plains natives
22. Sun, in Spain
26. Punjabi princess
27. Part of, as a plot
30. CA red wine
31. News error follow-up
By Rob Brezsny
Taurus
(April 20-May 20): Barnacles are crustaceans that form vast colonies on rocks, pilings, whales, and boats. They may grow so heavy on a ship that they increase its heft and require as much as a 40-percent increase in fuel consumption. Some sailors refer to them as “crusty foulers.” All of us have our own metaphorical equivalent of crusty foulers: encumbrances and deadweights that drag us down and inhibit our rate of progress. In my astrological opinion, the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to shed as much of yours as possible. (I’ll be shedding mine in June.)
Gemini
(May 21-June 20): In 1088, the Chinese polymath and statesman Shen Kuo published his book Dream Torrent Essays, also translated as Dream Pool Essays. In this masterwork, he wrote about everything that intrigued and fascinated him, including the effects of lightning strikes, the nature of eclipses, how to make swords, building tall pagodas resistant to wind damage, and a pearl-like UFO he saw regularly. I think the coming weeks would be an excellent time for you to begin your own version of Dream Torrent Essays, Gemini. You could generate maximum fun and self-knowledge by compiling all the reasons you love being alive on this mysterious planet.
Cancer
(June 21-July 22): The mimosa is known as the “sensitive plant.” The moment its leaves are touched, they fold inwards, exposing the sharp spines of its stems. Why do they do that? Botanists say it’s meant to deter herbivore predators from nibbling it. Although you Cancerians sometimes display equally extreme hair-trigger defense mechanisms, I’m happy to say that you will be unlikely to do so in the coming weeks. You are primed to be extra bold and super-responsive. Here’s one reason why: You are finely tuning your protective instincts so they work with effective grace—neither too strong nor too weak. That’s an excellent formula to make fun new connections and avoid mediocre new connections.
Leo
(July 23-Aug. 22): While sleeping on a recent night, I dreamed of an old friend I had lost touch with for 20 years. It was wonderful. We were remembering mystic breakthroughs we had while younger. When I awoke the next day, I was delighted to find an email from this friend, hoping for us to be back in touch. Hyper-rationalists might call this coincidence, but I know it was magical synchronicity—evidence that we humans are connected via the psychic airways. I’m predicting at least three such events for you in the coming weeks, Leo. Treat them with the reverence they deserve. Take them seriously as signs of things you should pay closer attention to.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY FOR FUN
(March 21-April 19): Have you ever been part of an innovation team? Its goal is not simply to develop as many new ideas and approaches as possible, but rather to generate good, truly useful new ideas and approaches. The most effective teams don’t necessarily move with frantic speed. In fact, there’s value in “productive pausing”—strategic interludes of reflection that allow deeper revelations to arise. It’s crucial to know when to slow down and let hunches and insights ripen. This is excellent advice for you. You’re in a phase when innovation is needed and likely. For best results, infuse your productivity with periodic stillness.
Virgo
ARIES
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A star that astronomers call EBLM J0555-57Ab is 670 light years away. Its diameter is the smallest of any known star, just a bit larger than Saturn in our solar system. But its mass is 250 times greater than Saturn’s. It’s concentrated and potent. I’ll be inclined to compare you to EBLM J0555-57Ab in the coming weeks, Virgo. Like this modestsized powerhouse, you will be stronger and more impactful than you may appear. The quality you offer will be more effective than others’ quantity. Your focused, dynamic efficiency could make you extra influential.
Libra
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk was an influential musician in part because he didn’t conform to conventions. According to music writer Tarik Moody, Monk’s music features “dissonances and angular melodic twists, and are consistent with his unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations.” Many of Monk’s most innovative improvisations grew out of apparent mistakes. He explored and developed wrong notes to make them into intentional aspects of his compositions. “His genius,” said another critic, “lay in his ability to transform accidents into opportunities.” I’d love to see you capitalize on that approach, Libra. You now have the power to ensure that seeming gaffes and glitches will yield positive and useful results.
Scorpio
(Oct. 23-Nov.21): Author Richard Wright said that people “can starve from a lack of self-
realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.” That’s rarely a problem for Scorpios, since you are among the zodiac’s best sleuths when exploring your inner depths. Does any other sign naturally gather more self-realization than you? No! But having said that, I want to alert you to the fact that you are entering a phase when you will benefit from even deeper dives into your mysterious depths. It’s an excellent time to wander into the frontiers of your self-knowledge.
Sagittarius
(Nov. 22-Dec.21): Andean condors hunt for prey while flying through the sky with their 10-foot wingspan. They’ve got a good strategy for conserving their energy: riding on thermal currents with little effort, often soaring for vast distances. I recommend that you channel the Andean condor in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. Always be angling to work smarter rather than harder. Look for tricks and workarounds that will enable you to be as efficient and stress-free as possible. Trust that as you align yourself with natural flows, you will cover a lot of ground with minimal strain. Celebrate the freedom that comes from embracing ease.
Capricorn
(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): While hiking in nature, people often rely on their phones to navigate. And what if their battery dies or there’s poor cell service out in the middle of nowhere? They might use an old-fashioned compass. It won’t reveal which direction to go, but will keep the hiker apprised of where true north lies. In that spirit, Capricorn, I invite you to make April the month you get in closer communication with your own inner compass. It’s a favorable and necessary time
to become even more highly attuned to your ultimate guide and champion: the voice of the teacher within you.
Aquarius
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool.” Aquarian author John Steinbeck wrote that. I think it’s useful counsel for you in the coming weeks. What does it imply? Here are a few meditations. 1. Be tuned in to both the small personal world right in front of you and the big picture of the wider world. Balance and coordinate your understandings of them.
2. If you shift your perspective back and forth between the macrocosmic and microcosmic perspectives, you’re far more likely to understand how life really works.
3. You may flourish best by blending the evaluative powers of your objective, rational analysis and your intuitive, nonrational feelings.
Pisces
(Feb. 19-March 20): The earliest humans used bones and pebbles to assist in arithmetic calculations. Later, they got help from abacuses and crude mechanical devices. Electronic calculators didn’t arrive until the 1960s. All were efforts to bypass tedious reckonings. All were ingenious attempts to manage necessary details that weren’t much fun. In that spirit, I encourage you to seek time-saving, boredom-preventing innovations in the coming weeks. Now is an excellent time to maximize your spacious ability to do things you love to do.
CLASSIFIEDS
SIZES AVAILABLE
Legals
VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
IN RE:
ESTATE OF ROBERT E. YOUNG Civil Action No. SHOW CAUSE ORDER AGAINST DISTRIBUTION
It is ordered that the creditors of, and all other persons interested in the above estate show cause, if they can, on the 11th day of April, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. before this Court at its courtroom, against payment and delivery of the estate to the distributees without requiring refunding bonds.
It is further ordered that the foregoing portion of this order be published once a week for two successive weeks in Cville Weekly, a newspaper published in Charlottesville, Virginia (Albemarle County), it appearing that a report of the accounts of Neal L. Walters, Administrator of the estate, and of the debts and demands against the estate has been filed in the Clerk’s Office, and that six months have elapsed since qualification as Administrator.
Entered: Cheryl V. Higgins Judge
Date: 3/11/2025
WE ASK FOR THIS:
Neal Walters, Esq. (VSB No. 32048)
Melissa T. Markiewicz, Esq. (VSB No. 39990)
Scott I Kroner, PLC
418 East Water Street
P.O. Box 2737
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Telephone (434) 296-2161
Fax (434) 293-2073
nwalters@scottkroner.com
mmarkiewicz@scottkroner.com
Counsel for the Administrator
P.S. THE BIG PICTURE
In the long run
More than 2,000 participants took to the streets March 22 for the Charlottesville Ten Miler’s 50th anniversary race—along with cowbells, Cavman, and George Washington holding a whiteboard that read, “Teeth & toenails are overrated.—G.W.” Thirty-twoyear-old Charlottesville resident Graham Crawford took the win, setting a new race record of 50:24.8, while second-place runner Martin Hehir was about a second behind at 50:25.3. Rachel Ward, 35, with a time of 55:39.6, was the fastest woman finisher.
