Cultural preview


Peaks of interest Published on Mar 21st, 2002 0 comments Charlottesville might well be known as the town of a thousand festivals. Whether it’s books, brews, or movies, it seems like every month there’s some sort of extravaganza back for an encore. Our town...
Stevie's show's on... Stevie shows off Published on Mar 21st, 2002 0 comments Stevie Jay may be Charlottesville's most loveable, pot-stirring show-off. As I walked with him on the Downtown Mall last week, we couldn't go more than a few feet before someone stopped him for a hug...
2/5K to K.O. AIDS Published on Mar 21st, 2002 0 comments Though the recent focus on terrorist acts and the improvements in AIDS treatment have dimmed the spotlight on the disease, the facts remain horrifying and undeniable.At the end of 2001, 40 million...
Rage into power Published on Mar 21st, 2002 0 comments We souls who wax philosophical about the power of literacy to free the spirit thrive on writers like Jimmy Santiago Baca. Part Native American and part Chicano, Baca begins his recent memoir, A Place...
His camera rocks Published on Mar 21st, 2002 0 comments Danny Clinch’s sizable exhibit at Les Yeux du Monde would make a terrific primer for the mid-’90s rock/pop scene. In fact, practically every revered rock figure makes at least an appearance or two,...
Strange concept Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments Above all things, the strange concept behind this exhibit bears mention. For the paintings that comprise her exhibit, “Puppet Fiefdom,” Vidu Palta seems to have used real puppets as models for living...
2,000 boxes of books! Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments It’s too late to haul your castoff books to Gordon Avenue to contribute to this year’s annual Friends of the Library sale. “All of our little spaces where we store the books are brimming,” says Bill...
Softening the hard knocks Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments Annie put it best when she sang, “It’s the hard knock life for us.” But while orphan Annie’s journey through adolescence ended happily as a member of the Warbucks family, the success rate for most of...
Big dreams Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments Miguel de Cervantes probably never envisioned that Don Quixote would some day embody the sentiment of a famous Broadway song, "The Impossible Dream." He also likely never considered that his...
Meet the Wiz Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments If you're in a mind to "ease on down the road" to Live Arts this weekend, you'll find yourself caught in a tornado of "funkified" energy. Clinton Johnston's direction of The Wiz, the company's latest...
Looking out for us Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments Since September 11, most media reports have focused on terrorist activities, and rightly so. But in between those updates have been reports of smaller events that just as significantly threaten our...
Eco-excitement Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments If you’ve ever been to the Virginia Discovery Museum and enjoyed the host of great hands-on, interactive exhibits they pack into that little building, then wished for more, you’re in luck. This...
Sticking it to 'em Published on Mar 14th, 2002 0 comments Q: What the heck is that? A: It’s a stick. Q: What the heck’s a stick? Glad you asked. Most Monday nights at Miller’s, when he’s not on tour, Greg Howard performs solo on his chosen instrument,...
Adrift in the vineyard Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments Marking the 25th anniversary of Charlottesville’s sister-city relationship with Poggio a Caiano, Italy, Second Street Gallery hosts an exhibit featuring work by artists from both cities. Not a...
Descending on poetry's wings Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments Poetry lovers, this month’s for you. First, two of our favorite Charlottesville-connected poets, Claudia Emerson and Stephen Cushman, read new work at New Dominion Bookshop this Saturday...
Speak up! Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments Everyone who enjoys public speaking, raise your hands. If you are like most people, the thought of facing a crowd or just a meeting room full of colleagues makes you feel like Porky Pig at the end of...
Soul supercharge Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments You'll recognize all your favorite characters: Dorothy and her little dog, Toto, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion plus the full complement of witches and munchkins. But in this...
Burros on the block Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), officially formed in 1946, was chartered as the caretaker of over 200 million acres of public land, primarily in the western states, in 1971. Aside from the more...
Eavesdropping on the past Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments Few of us can really appreciate the political, economic, and religious agitation that inspired our European ancestors to leave their native countries forever and travel to a completely foreign,...
Under cover Published on Mar 7th, 2002 0 comments Let’s say it’s 1989. Unless you’re part of a small group of college students, Seattle doesn’t mean squat, and grunge equals dirt. If you’re in the right age group, you dig pretty fiercely the Teenage...
Vertigo and destruction Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments Comic books and monster movies have claimed a disproportionately large chunk of H.C. Westermann’s imagination. That much is apparent to anyone who’s viewed the printmaker’s exhibit at the...
Not quite the inside story Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments For Charlottesvillians, the words “The Nook” conjure up a constellation of images: Naugahyde bench seats, thick white diner china, burgers under iceberg and pale tomatoes, ketchup in the...
Tortured craft Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments There’s no pain like it. You can sit at a desk, typewriter, or computer, waiting, waiting, waiting for words that never come. Someone has said writing is just a matter of sitting in front of a...
Old faces, new places Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments They have done it in a furniture store, an art gallery, an abandoned train station, on a city bus, and, as you might expect, in a number of local bars. Offstage Theater, a group of local...
Horsing around in the mountains Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments An hour north of Charlottesville lies some of this area’s most beautiful landscape. At the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Rappahannock County has stayed much the same for the 40 years this...
No grinches at these parties Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments Hey, Sam-I-Am! Hey, Sam-I-Am! It’s somebody’s birthday. Can you guess the man? It’s Dr. Seuss, born on March two. And if you’re a fan, here’s what you can do: ...
Funky boy culinary school Published on Feb 28th, 2002 0 comments Funk’s always been about, well, the funk. Do you feel the funk? Get funky! Ha, funk! Funk da house! Make it funky! Funk dat! Funk for yo mama! Funkenstein! But if funk’s the manna that...
Spurious connection Published on Feb 21st, 2002 0 comments Ostensibly, 9.11 Reflection presents work that engages in some way with the tragic, recent events from which it takes its name. At least that’s how it was billed. The exhibit, which includes work by...
Soul food Published on Feb 21st, 2002 0 comments Judging from the new anthology of African-American folklore, From My People— published by Norton and edited by Richmond scholar and UVA alumna Daryl Cumber Dance— black people in this...
Speak up Published on Feb 21st, 2002 0 comments Since the Revolutionary War, Americans have prided themselves on standing up for basic civil rights. Among these rights is the freedom of speech, as guaranteed by the First Amendment to...