Month: July 2006

Categories
News

Mountains of info on view

The Blue Ridge in winter. Photo by Jack Looney.

    On Tuesday afternoon, July 25, Albemarle County residents filtered into the second floor lobby of the County Office Building to get their first look at a proposal for an ordinance to regulate development of the County’s mountainous areas, also known as the Mountain Overlay District (MOD). Members of the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission, and MOD Committee milled about tables covered with topographic maps. In an adjoining room, a brief slide presentation and distributed handouts gave a general overview of the proposal, and the reasons for an ordinance. Chief among them was the protection of water quality, the promotion of soil conservation, and the guarding of public safety “impacted by debris flows.”
    Three years in the making, the MOD Committee’s recommendations follow the failure of a previous plan, which faltered as a result of over-restriction and property rights. These elements will no doubt be a central ingredient again, as development must once again be balanced against environmental concerns. In fact, this latest proposal seems to have made it out of committee as a result of compromise, albeit hard-fought. “We battled over every word,” said member Fred Scott of the Free Enterprise Forum, addressing a room full of onlookers and concerned citizens. Committee member Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council sought to assuage any general concerns: “We made a commitment that anything we came up with had to be environmentally defensible.”
    Those that wished to turn the presentation into a debate were advised to filter back into the lobby, where they could feed their comments to public officials. Or, if they’re gluttons for punishment, they could always attend the next public hearing, on August 1, which will be held in the Burley Middle School auditorium.
    Like any hotly contested measure, the process is likely to be painstaking (and protracted, if history is any guide). As Planning Director Wayne Cilimberg pragmatically warned, “the devil is going to be in the details.”
Categories
Uncategorized

Try this now

Ashtanga Yoga of Charlottesville 505 Monticello Rd., above Mas restaurant. 970-7980. www.charlottesvilleashtanga.com. Offers Ashtanga Yoga classes and Mysore Practice Sunday-Friday. $12-15 ($7 for Mysore) for drop-ins; first class free.

The ATTiC Glass Building, 313 Second Ave. SE, Suite 208. 977-7186. Offers Alexander Tech-nique teacher training with Daria Okugawa, plus yoga classes, workshops, privates and more.

Bikram Yoga Charlottesville 109 Fifth St. SE. 220-1415. www.bikramyogacville.com. Offers day and evening “hot yoga” classes for beginners to advanced practitioners. Daily, 9:45am & 4:30pm; Monday-Thursday, 6:45am & 6:30pm. $12-15 for drop-ins.

Blue Ridge Chi Corner of Monticello Avenue and Gleason Street. 823-8291. Offers tai chi classes for beginners. Contact for price and times.

Blue Ridge Yoga 1717-2A Allied St. 971-9642. www.blueridgeyoga.com. Classes in all levels of yoga offered Monday through Saturday. See website for details.

Body*Mind*Spirit Preston Plaza. 984-9700. www.spiritandbody.com. Offers a variety of yoga classes including mommy & baby yoga and Tai Chi.  Call for schedule.

Community Mediation Center offers mediation services and training. 977-2926. Call for more information

Community Space 1117 E. Market St. 979-9642. www.thecommunityspace.com. Offers day and evening classes specializing in pre- and post-natal yoga, yoga for men, Pilates/ yoga blend, yoga/meditation blend, and yoga for beginners to multilevels. Call for schedule. $10-15 for drop-ins.
 
DanceFit Movement Center 609 E. Market St., Studio 110. 295-4774. www.njira.com/ dancefit. Holds yoga classes every Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30pm, and Saturday 2:30pm. $10-13 per class.

Dual Recovery Anonymous 123 Fourth St. NW. 979-2440. Ongoing support group for those with both a chemical dependency and an emotional illness, every Thursday, 3pm.

Eating Disorders Support Group 3479 Preddy Creek Rd. 923-4520. An ongoing support group providing long-term connections and continual support for individuals with eating disorders every Sunday. Free, 1-2pm.

Food Not Bombs Tonsler Park, Cherry Avenue at Fifth Street (Belmont neighborhood). 296-3963. Meets every Sunday to prepare vegetarian (often vegan) meals together. Volun-teers needed, kids welcome. Free, 1pm.

Mental Wellness Support Group 123 Fourth St. NW. 465-1674. Meets every second and fourth Wednesday. Free, 6-8pm.

Moondance Meditation Center 277 Crawfords View Rd., Afton. 361-1229. Offers sessions in meditation with the Samadhi Floatation Tank. By appointment only. $50 per session.

NatureSpirit 717 Rugby Rd. 243-6421. nature spirit@uucharlottesville.org. Meets the first Sunday of every month at the Thomas Jeffer-son Memorial Church to explore different Earth-centered traditions and new ways to connect with nature in the modern world. Newcomers welcome at 6:30pm, starts at 7pm, Free. Please bring a lite snack/beverage to share.

Raja Yoga with Matteus 505 Monticello Rd., above Mas. matteus@teabazaar.com. Offers Raja Yoga classes that focus on asanas, breathwork and meditation every Wednesday, 7:15-8:15pm.  Email for information.

Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville Route 604 in Buckingham. 800-858-9642. www.yogaville. org. Hosts ongoing yoga workshop weekends. Price includes tuition, housing and vegetarian meals. See website for details.

simplyYOGA 223 W. Main St. 984-9675. Offers gentle, beginner and multilevel yoga classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Seniors welcome. $9-15 per class, first class free. Call for times.

Studio 206 206 W. Market St. 296-6250. www.studio206downtown.com. Offers a variety of classes throughout the week, including NIA, Vinyasa Yoga, Feel Good Yoga, Synergy Dance and Contact Improv. For more details see website. $9-15.

Svaroopa Yoga Rio Center, 1445 Rio Rd. E., Suite 201. 823-2368. Ongoing classes, yoga therapy and individual instruction in this gentle, non-athletic yoga. Special back care classes offered.

Categories
News

Local farmers association protests national animal ID program


The Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (VICFA), a statewide organization with leaders locally, has formed a national grassroots organization to lobby against the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), the group announced last week.
    NAIS seeks to keep track of all livestock through microchip technology. Federal officials say the system will allow them to chase down disease outbreaks. Under the program, all cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry and other livestock—even chickens that are only used for a family’s home-use eggs—would be tracked. The USDA seeks to make NAIS mandatory for all farms by 2008.
    Small farmers criticize the program, saying they’ve been keeping good track of livestock for generations, and NAIS’s costs will crush their small businesses.
    Debbie Stockton, editor of VICFA Voice, the organization’s newsletter, says the program “puts independent farmers in terrible peril. This program as it is currently written would wipe out independent and small farmers in this country, and I don’t think that’s an exaggeration.”
    NAIS has been volunteer-enrolling farms at the state level with 282,394 farms enrolled nationally so far. The farms are given a seven-digit ID number and animals are tagged with a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), which can cost up to $3 per animal. Farmers must keep records of animals’ births, deaths and locations if they leave the premises.
    Stockton calls the level of intervention “absurd.” Under the program, “if you take your horse for a trail ride and leave your property you have to report to the government,” she says.
    VICFA’s national lobby, the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (NICFA), has legal counsel and is planning trips to Washington, D.C., as NAIS moves toward the national levels.
    Stockton is hopeful the economics and politics of the issue will break it in Congress. “We’re very hopeful,” she says. “The groundswell in opposition to this is enormous all over the country.”
    Local farm advocates view NAIS as another blow to local, independent food systems. Stockton says, “The most secure farm system in the world is a local, decentralized food system.… They say we have to do this in the industrial world because it has to become a standard, and we say ‘no.’”

Categories
Arts

Willner’s way


I have always subscribed to the theory that you can find out as much about someone through their record collection as you could ever want to know. I could start a dating service based on what is in the  record collections of single men and women, and virtually guarantee success. Some people predict criminality through craniology, but I stake my reputation on too many Daniel Johnston records.
    For the last “On The Record” column, I went to someone who is as quintessentially Charlottesville as you can get. He worked for a number of years at Charlottesville’s proto-health food restaurant, The Garden Gourmet, where he met Johnny Gilmore, his drummer of choice ever since. You can catch him out most nights of the week, playing all kinds of styles with all kinds of different players. He is currently recording and mixing his own first record. I give you Matthew Willner.

Spencer Lathrop: Guitarists?
Matthew Willner: I love Jeff Beck on Blow by Blow. So many tones, and he doesn’t use a pick. A huge influence on my playing. I loved Jimi Hendrix before I even played the guitar. All his albums are perfect. Jimmy Page, who is about vibe and not about perfection. Physical Graffiti is my favorite. I love James Brown’s guitarists, like “Cheese” Martin or Jimmy “Chank” Nolan. Taj Mahal is a huge influence on my playing. I like a lot of his stuff, but especially The Real Thing, that double live album with the four tubas. And Jerry Reed, especially, has been a huge influence on me. And early King Crim-son—Robert Fripp has been a big influence, like the album Red.
    And Tim Reynolds. So versatile and so phenomenal, especially that stuff he was doing in the early ‘90s.

Jazz fusion?
Billy Cobham Spectrum, hands down. One of the most incredible, ridiculous drummers of all time. Plus it has Tommy Bolan on it. That leads to Mahavishnu Orches-tra’s Birds of Fire. Jaco Pastorius’ two albums. The first one, but especially Word of Mouth. His composing and arrangements are transcendent. I have listened to it for 18 years, and I still hear new things. And Stanley Clarke’s School Days, which is about the bass playing. 

Soul?
Sam Cooke’s Night Beat with Billy Preston is just crushing. Anything by James Brown. I like my bootleg of him live in Paris in 1971. He left his band there the next day. Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. Early Temptations with David Ruffin. Aretha Franklin. They are all very good. Soul ’69 is great. But then Aretha Arrives is so good. And the funk band Mandrill is great. Omar Mesa is one of my favorite guitar players. And Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On is amazing.

New records?
The new Stevie Wonder, A Time to Love, is amazing. And Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine is really good.

Categories
Arts

Happy birthday, MTV

“My Super Sweet 16”
Tuesday 10:30pm, MTV

I am so embarrassed for everyone involved in this program. I’m embarrassed for the “stars,” who throw childish fits and go power-mad while preparing for their big 16th birthday bashes. I’m embarrassed for the parents, who seem totally comfortable with blowing thousands of dollars on lavish parties for their little brats—inviting practically the entire school, hiring national pop stars to perform, buying gowns even a stripper would find tacky (and don’t forget the obligatory hot new car the urchins invariably demand). And I’m embarrassed for viewers, who implicitly encourage this type of shameful behavior by continuing to tune in. It doesn’t matter if you laugh, because 50 more wannabes are harassing their parents to take out third mortgages to pay for their stupid parties so they can be just like these idiots. Stop the madness, people.

“Made”
Monday 4:30pm, MTV

Of all of MTV’s reality fare—and that’s pretty much all the network has to offer these days—“Made” is the most redeemable option. In each episode, a teen is “made” into something else. It can be pretty superficial, like the goth girl who wants to become a cheerleader—but sometimes the show offers some genuine life lessons, as it did when it helped a blonde ditz become a rugby player. But the message is generally a good one: Broaden your horizons, teens, and if you want something different, go out and get it. What’s not to like?

“Fresh Meat”
Monday 10pm, MTV

In a hilarious turn of events, the fame whores entrenched in the incestuous “Real World” and “Road Rules” franchises have apparently become tired of humiliating themselves in the “Challenge” shows (in which the pseudo-stars perform various stunts in an effort to score some minor-league cash). So now the producers have paired up the “alumni” (contestants from previous seasons of “RW” and “RR”) with the titular, aptly named “fresh meat” (aspiring fame whores who have not yet had their souls crushed by being totally ignored at The Tropicana, despite having done Jell-O shots off a hooker on national TV). It’s all very stupid, with little to offer besides nonstop backstabbing and bitchery. But I’ll admit to kind of loving it.

Categories
Uncategorized

Other news we heard last week

Tuesday, July 25
Cavs have room to Groh
One problem UVA football won’t have this year is high expectations. The ACC media pick the Cavs to finish fourth of six teams in the ACC Coastal Division, just one point ahead of UNC (though far ahead of Duke). Al Groh plays up the low bar in the press today, saying the prediction “is probably pretty accurate, pretty smart thing to do if you want your postseason standings to mirror your preseason standings,” according to The Daily Progress. When asked if he’d like to finish higher than fourth, Groh answers, “Even higher than that, but we always try to look at the reality of things, too.” Way to fire up the troops, coach!

Wednesday, July 26
From the Department of Irony
Real Simple, a home decorating magazine, came out in the August issue with a 1788 quote by, of all people, Thomas Jefferson: “I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage, with my books, my family, and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give.” Neither Jefferson or the dozens of slaves who maintained his two mansions, Monticello and Poplar Forest, could be reached for further comment.

Thursday, July 27
Pat Michaels passes the hat
Last year, UVA prof (and State climatologist) Pat Michaels told business leaders that he was running out of money for his research, which questions the cause and extent of global warming. Luckily for Virginia’s own anti-Gore, the energy industry heard him loud and clear, and, according to the Associated Press, a Colorado utility launched a campaign to collect donations. The Intermountain Rural Electric Association kicked things off with a cool hundred grand, and reportedly has another $50,000 already lined up. Michaels has a history of taking research money from the energy industry, but he has long insisted that the funds don’t influence his research (which has claimed, among other things, that excess carbon monoxide actually helps the environment).

Friday, July 28
Kanye West apparently wrong
Julian Bond cheering George Bush? Such was the recent scene at the White House, reports The Washington Post today. Bush signed a bill yesterday that extends the Voting Rights Act before a crowd that included civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Julian Bond, NAACP board chairman and history professor at UVA. The legislation maintains, for the next 25 years, measures taken in the 1960s to ensure voting rights for Southern blacks. Some Southern House members balked at the renewal, saying the South no longer needed federal oversight of elections procedures, but in the end the bill passed with little conflict.

Saturday, July 29
Jurisprudence’s loss is puzzlers’ gain
Celebrated “puzzle-master” Will Shortz—beloved by crossword fanatics everywhere for his work on The New York Times puzzle and NPR Weekend Edition quizzes—was nearly sidetracked into a different profession entirely, he told Allentown, Pennsylvania’s The Morning Call today. Shortz, who had created his own crossword-centric major (“enigmatology”) at Indiana University, enrolled in UVA law school in 1974. “Originally my idea was to practice long enough to retire and do what I want,” he told the paper. “But then I thought, ‘Why spend 10 years of my life doing something I didn’t love?’” After graduation, Shortz moved right into puzzle-making, and the rest is crossword history. As for the legal road not taken? “I never had second thoughts,” he said.

Sunday, July 30
The Apostle prefers Piedmont
Piedmont Virginia is going upscale, The Washington Post reported today, in yet another article about the “urbane country” phenomenon. According to the Post, more people are earning big-city incomes working from home in places like Culpeper, Warrenton, Madison—all the way down to Albemarle and Charlottesville. To up the star factor, the Post interviewed Warrenton resident Robert Duvall, who personifies the gentrification (and growing celeb status) of Virginia’s rolling countryside. The article also notes expensive restaurants, $1,200 artworks and Starbucks as far as the eye can see. Rural charms and historic character are met with urban tastes and modern technology, he writes: “Think of it as Monticello on broadband.” Um, we already do.

Monday, July 31
That’s some grilled chicken
The Downtown Mall crowd had one less choice for lunch today: A fire at Eppie’s caused an estimated $6,000 in damages just after midnight. The Daily Progress reports no one was injured in the fire, which investigators determined was started by some cleaning rags in a closed garbage bag. “It doesn’t look like anything suspicious,” said Battalion Chief Jeff Garrison.

Capshaw unloads MusicToday
The Wall Street Journal reports today that local music and real estate mogul Coran Capshaw has sold his 6-year-old rock merchandising company, Music Today, to Live Nation Inc., a spin-off from Clear Channel. Live Nation, “the world’s largest concert-promotion company by revenue,” according to the Journal, had previously held a minority stake in Capshaw’s company, which reportedly did sales of more than $100 million last year. Today’s deal delivers Live Nation a majority stake. Capshaw will still run the company, which he described to the Journal as “connecting the artist and the fan and, in a friendly way, monetizing those connections.”

Categories
Living

Les bons temps d’Elliewood


Horrendous recent disasters aside, New Orleans still shines in the popular imagination as a bastion of culinary and cultural wonderfulness. Maybe it’s the any-excuse-for-a-party spirit, maybe it’s the spicy flavor of both food and people. Or maybe it’s the fact that, in the French Quarter, you can drink beer in the street while getting your palm read by a former trapeze artist from Malta. Well, here’s a little more evidence that the Big Easy still evokes romance, even after the flood: Brothers and business partners Walter and Alexander Slawski, who already run Vinegar Hill’s South African eatery The Shebeen, plan to open another place on the Corner, and they’re calling it Zydeco: Bourbon Street BBQ.
    It’s not just the name, says Walter Slawski, that will recall free and easy days in the Delta. With an atmosphere that has, as he describes it, “that shabby French feel,” Zydeco will serve up a New Orleanian menu at both lunch and dinner—stuff like crayfish etouffee, cornmeal-crusted catfish, and po’boys. Slawski also promises “upscale barbecue” (pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket) and veggie options like green gumbo and salads. Red beans and rice! Hush puppies! Lift up your shirt! (Wait—scratch that.) 
    Slawski concedes, without any prompting, that Zydeco’s spot on Elliewood Avenue—which has housed a succession of short-lived businesses, most recently A.J.’s—has a reputation as a “doomed space.” But, he says, “I’ve heard the same about 247 Ridge-McIntire,” where The Shebeen is bubbling along just fine, thank you. He plans to hedge his bets by running some catering, maybe offering delivery, and installing a women’s bathroom.
    Yep, you read that right. “The most striking thing that I have found during late-night excursions” to the Corner, UVA grad Slawski explains, “has been the lack of bathrooms…particularly for women.” Being anonymous and genderless, Restaurantarama can neither confirm nor deny this assertion. However, we are happy to pass on the information to all you fed-up Corner-crawling females. The Slawskis will provide not only a lavatory, but an actual women’s lounge—“really just a big comfortable ‘rest stop,’” says Slawski. We can only assume the lounge will not involve earning beads through any potentially compromising activities. Lift up your shirt! (Wait—scratch that.)
    The Slawskis are aiming for a late August opening.

Debunked
Last week, we reported a rumor that the Hardware Store would become the latest local eatery to join über-developer Coran Capshaw’s list of restaurant holdings. This, as we’ve since been informed, was complete hooey. Well, such is the nature of the grapevine. What we’ve found out is that a) Capshaw is not buying the Hardware Store, at least not at the moment, and b) If anyone buys it, they will not do so for months to come. Says owner Stan Epstein, “Come on down for a hamburger, it’s business as usual.”
    Epstein does concede that, as he delicately puts it, “there have been interested parties who have come and looked.” The Hardware Store is currently in its 30th year, making it one of the Downtown Mall’s longest-running businesses. According to Epstein, there’s been occasional interest in the property over the years, but things have especially heated up within the last year. The current “boomtown” atmosphere, as Epstein calls it, certainly stands in sharp contrast to the Mall’s rocky early days. And though Epstein speaks fondly of his and his wife Marilyn’s three-decade journey at Hardware’s helm, in the end, he succinctly concludes: “At the right price, anything is for sale.”
    We still can’t confirm it, but Restaurantarama has a definite feeling that something is brewing over there. But hey: We’ve been wrong before.

Categories
Arts

Galleries & Exhibitions

C-VILLE Weekly defines an exhibition space or gallery as a venue that displays art and is either nonprofit, donates space to artists or hosts regularly rotating exhibitions. Gallery listing is at editorial discretion. To have your show considered for inclusion, please provide the names of artists and shows, media used, contact information and the show’s beginning and end dates.

Abundant Life 201 E. Main St., Suite Q (Above Zocalo). Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9-11am; Monday and Thursday, 1-5pm; Tuesday and Wednesday, 1-6pm. 979-5433. Through August: “Camera Obscura,” photography and mixed media by Keturah Earley, Sean Chandler, Chuck Adcock and Melissa Franco.

Angelo 220 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. Mon-day-Saturday, 11am-6pm. 971-9256. Through August 31: “Lightness and Weight,” paintings and works on paper by Laura J. Snyder.

Blue Ridge Beads and Glass 1724 Allied St. Monday-Saturday, 10:30am-5:30pm. 293-2876. New glass pieces, paintings and stained glass instruments by Jerry O’Dell.
Boar’s Head Inn Store 200 Ednam Dr. Daily, 10am-5pm. 972-2241. Through August: Col-lages by Mary Boxley Bullington; oils by Gray Dodson; watercolors by Jeanette Buys; photography by Jack Cacciatore; wood treasures by Kirk McCauley.

Boutique Boutique 411 E. Main St., Down-town Mall. Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. 293-8400. Through August: “Married Life,” paintings by Baldwin North and Mindy North.
BozArt Gallery 211 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. Wednesday-Thursday, noon-6pm; Friday-Saturday, noon-9pm; Sunday 1-4pm. 296-3919. Through August: “Associates Show,” works by various artists.

C & O 515 E. Water St. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm by chance or appointment. 971-7044. Through August: Works by Jonathan Doner.  Opening reception: Thursday, August 3, 5-7pm.

Convergence 414 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-7pm. 825-8184. Through August: Aerosol street artists show.

C’ville Coffee 1301 Harris St. Monday-Friday, 7:30am-9pm; Saturday; 8:30am-9pm; Sunday, 9:30am-8pm. 817-2633. “Whitmans,” a sampler of media and subjects by Judy Carraway.

Charles L. Brown Science and Engineering Library Clark Hall, McCormick Road. Monday-Thursday, 8am-2am; Friday, 8am-9pm; Satur-day 10am-6pm; Sunday 10am-2am. 924-7200. Through January 2007: “Exquisite His-tory: The Land of Wandering,” prints by the Printmakers Left, artists and poets from UVA’s printmaking programs.

Charlottesville Community Design Center 101 E. Main St. Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm. 984-2232. Through August 25: “Working to Rebuild Pearlington, Mississippi after Katrina,” an ex-hibit from the Building Goodness Foundation.

County Office Building Second Floor Lobby 401 McIntire Rd. Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm. 295-2486. Through August 31: Char-lottesville-Albemarle Art Association presents photographs by Charles Battig and paintings by Coy Roy.

Eppie’s Restaurant 412 E. Main St., Down-town Mall. Monday-Saturday, 11am-9pm. Through August: Paintings by Robin Campo.

The Gallery at Fifth and Water Henderson & Everett, P.C. and Stoneking/von Storch Architects, 107 Fifth St. SE. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 979-9825. Through August: “Beyond the Barn Door,” acrylic paintings of furry and feathered ones by Pat Howe.
HOME 126D Garrett St. Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. 293-1362. Through August: “New Works,” by Andrew Hersey.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr., Peter Jefferson Place. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 244-0234. Through August 19: “Mysterious Beauty: Edward L. Ruhe’s Vision of Australian Aboriginal Art;” through August 23: “Manta Wiru (Beautiful Land): Paintings from Amata.”

Ladd Fine Arts 701 W. Main St. Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm. 977-4147. Through August: International Group Showing by Royal Society of British Artists.

La Galeria 218 W. Market St. Monday-Friday, 11am-5:30pm; Saturday 11am-3pm. 293-7003. Through August: “Differences,” oils and acrylics on canvas by Roger Lehr.
Lee Alter Studios 109 E. Jefferson St. 760-9658. Call for viewing.

Les Yeux du Monde 115 S. First St. Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm. 973-5566. Through August 25: Gloria and David Lee.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. Tues-day-Saturday, 10am-5pm; Sunday 1-5pm. 295- 7973. Through August 13: “Jean’s Gutsy Abstract Art Show,” oil paintings by Jean Sampson and “Summer Group Show” of members’ works.

Migration: A Gallery 119 Fifth St. SE. Tuesday- Saturday, 11am-6pm; First Fridays, 11am-8:30pm; Sunday and Monday by appointment. 293-2200. Through August: Charlottesville-Albemarle Art Association’s Annual Juried Art Show by various local artists; “Inside/Out,” clay vessels and plates by Tom Clarkson; and “Elemental Harmonies,” waterscapes by Suzanne Howes-Stevens and bronze wall sculptures by Jim Martin.

Mudhouse 213 W. Main St. Tuesday-Saturday, 7am-11pm; Sunday 8am-8pm; Monday 7am-8pm. 984-6833. Through August: Post-Hurri-cane Katrina photography of New Orleans by John Shepherd.

Sage Moon Gallery 420 E. Main St., Down-town Mall. 977-9997. Call for hours. Through August: “Essence Revealed,” by ceramic sculptor Diann Schindler.

Second Street Gallery City Center for Con-temporary Arts, Second Street SE and Water Street. Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm. 977-7284. Through August 12: “Love Letter Invi-tational,” a multimedia installation with works on the theme of love by local writers and artists in the May Dove Gallery. Includes contributions from Gregory Orr, John Casey, Paul Curreri, Rita Dove and the Printmakers Left.

Spruce Creek Gallery 1368 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford. 361-1859. Through August 7: “Party Animals,” paintings by Cynthia Burke.


Starr Hill Restaurant and Brewery 709 W. Main St., Tues-day-Sunday from 5pm. 977-0017. Through Au-gust: “99 Versions of Laura Lee on the Wall,” self-portraits by Laura Lee Gulledge. Opening reception: August 3, 6-9pm, featuring musical performances by Colten Noakes and Michael Meadows.

Transient Crafters 118 E. Main St., Down-town Mall. Monday-Thursday and Saturday, 10am-6pm; Friday 10am-9pm; Sunday noon-6pm. 972-9500. Through August: Local landscapes in oil by Meg West.

UVA Art Museum 155 Rugby Rd.

Categories
News

BOV approves new cancer care center

On Thursday, July 27, the UVA Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee approved the design for a $59 million, eco-friendly cancer care center to be built at the heart of the medical center complex. With tons of glass providing natural light and even an herb garden, the center reflects national trends in sustainability and holistic healing, says UVA Architect David Neuman. He links the building to new trends in medical care, too: “The whole thing in patient care has to do with people having hope…that concept of building is very powerful,” Neuman says.
    UVA sees 2,300 new cancer cases per year; that number is expected to double by 2013. The new center will relocate existing cancer clinics and provide room for new therapeutic facilities.
    The 118,000-square-foot building, complete with a sloped roof to harvest rainwater, will replace the west parking garage at the busy corner at Jefferson Park Avenue and Lee Street. The project will also include the building of a 175,000-square-foot parking garage to the east, with room for 1,100 cars. A main entrance to the hospital complex next door will give a much-needed face lift to the medical center.
    The buildings and Grounds Committee approved the schematic design unanimously. The project, by Zimmer-Gunsul-Frasca Partnership of Washington, D.C., should be completed in 2009.

Categories
News

Filling the John

Tuesday, August 1
Cirque du Soleil’s Delirium. 8pm. $71.50-$101.50. Wild acrobatics and elaborate costumes are included. ‘Shrooms are not.

Monday, August 14
WWE Monday Night RAW. 8pm.  $22-$62. It’s just like ballet—the costumes, the choreography, the intricate plot, the high emotions—without all of those goofy-looking tutus.

Thursday, August 17
An Evening with James Taylor. 8pm. $45-$65. He’s seen fire, he’s seen rain… and we hope we never hear that song again.

Thursday, August 24
The Wiggles Live: Wiggledancing. 3pm, 6:30pm.  $17.50 – $34.50. Admit it. You’ll go just to see Cap’n Feathersword.

Wednesday, August 30
Kenny Chesney. 7pm. $54.50 – $64.50. The star behind songs like “Being Drunk’s a Lot Like Loving You” and “No Shoes, No Shirt (No Problems)” rocks the JPJ. Shirt and shoes required.

Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23
Dave Matthews Band. 7pm. $55. Let’s see, Dave Matthews…Where have we heard that name before?

Thursday, October 12
Eric Clapton. Price TBA. The ‘60s guitar god kicks off his U.S. tour with a visit to little ol’ Charlottesville.

Wednesday, October 18 through Sunday, October 22
Disney On Ice. Price and time TBA. Yes, we know Walt was cryogenically frozen, but do we really need to see his body paraded around to believe it?

Friday, October 27 through Sunday, October 29
Martha’s Market. Price and time TBA. Shop at this unique event to support women’s health care in Central Virginia. An event so earnest, we can’t possibly make a joke about it.

Thursday, November 2
Diversity Career Day. Price and time TBA. Someone should let suspended UVA Dean Rick Turner know about this one.

Thursday, November 16
7:30pm. Larry the Cable Guy. $42.75.
We can’t promise it or anything, but we’re pretty sure Larry is going to be gittin’ something done.

Friday, November 24
Lipizzaner Stallions. Price and time TBA. Bringing new definition to the term “horsepower.”

Wednesday, December 6 through Sunday, December 10
Ringling Bros. Circus. Price and time TBA. At least these elephants won’t cut taxes while a war’s on.