Month: August 2010

Rec & Fitness intro video by Okay Yellow

PLACE TO HIKE
Humpback Rocks
Runner-up: Sugar Hollow
Back on top this year after a brief hiatus, Humpback Rocks prompts just one response from readers: Every day should be Hump day. The 740′ peak takes just 45 minutes to climb, but once at the top, hikers have a 360 degree view of the Shenandoah National Park, George Washington National forest and surrounding greenery.

PLACE TO MOUNTAIN BIKE
Walnut Creek Park
Runner-up: Observatory Hill
Amateur biker beware: Walnut Creek is a challenge. A single track for five miles, the trail makes a twisty-turny adventure for those of you who like not only to ride, but ride rough. There’s a less intense trail for those who’d prefer to take a leisurely stroll around the park instead. To those few, we say, see below. For more information on this winner, click here.

Where else but Humpback Rocks can you get to the top of the world in 45 minutes?

PLACE TO ROAD BIKE
Earlysville Road
Runner-up: Free Union Road
Road biking is, undoubtedly, mountain biking’s less-grueling, enjoy-the-scenery sister hobby. As such, it requires a more picturesque setting. Readers say, for this new category, that setting is Earlysville Road. Mind the curves!

PARK FOR KIDS
Pen Park
Runner-up: Greenleaf Park
A playground area, a volleyball court, eight tennis courts, a batting cage, a Little League field and three outdoor picnic shelters keep Pen Park No. 1, facing off against more than 20 local parks. And that includes your runner-up, with its mushroom fountain and interactive water pole.

KIDS’ SUMMER CAMP
Triple C Camp
Runner-up: Camp ACAC
It’s unclear what the three Cs of Triple C Camp stand for, but you readers don’t seem too concerned with that. As long as your kids are happy, Libby and H. Rothenberg’s summer camp will keep on winnin’, as it’s done this year for the second time in a row. Camp ACAC, a newcomer to Best Of, takes the runner-up spot with its age-specific camps and special features like a computer lab, movie theater and 30′ water slide. For more information on this winner, click here.

Run, river run: You say Rivanna Trail is the best place for a jog.

PLACE TO RUN
Rivanna Trail
Runner-up: UVA Grounds
In an inexplicable switcheroo, Ridge Road—last year’s winner—is not even represented in this year’s tabulation. In its place? The Rivanna Trail, with its ground-like features and surrounding flora. Your runner-up, UVA Grounds, provides a similar experience: Top-notch earth and lush greenery.

GOLF COURSE
Birdwood
Runner-up: Old Trail
Always a crowd pleaser, Birdwood gets another Best Of win this year. As does the runner-up. Old Trail, an 18-hole public course, is located just 12 minutes west of the ’ville in Crozet. It boasts fairways “reminiscent of Scottish links courses.” We’re glad you readers know what that means. For more information this winner, click here.

YOGA STUDIO/TEACHER
Lizzie Clark at Bikram Yoga
Runner-up: John Piller and Hilary Steinitz Jackson of ACAC (tie)
Readers are still hot for Lizzie Clark; the instructor of the 105-degree exercise nabs the top spot again for the second year in a row. New to the list, though, are John Piller and Hilary Steinitz Jackson. In addition to her ACAC classes, Jackson’s a regular at Downtown yoga spot Studio 206. As for Piller, he runs ACAC’s yoga program. You dig his Kriya and Ashtanga expertise.

PILATES TEACHER/STUDIO
Robin Truxel of Tru Pilates
Runner-up: Carla Shifflett of Posture Studio
Former marathon runner Robin Truxel discovered Pilates after sustaining a back and hip injury. She loved it so much, she stuck with it. Now, she’s helping you stick with it, too. Two years as the top Pilates instructor in town, she’s your tried and tru winner. But don’t miss runner-up Carla Shifflett’s moves: She’s relocating to a Downtown storefront and working to get clients lined up at the new spot.

PLACE TO WEIGHT TRAIN
ACAC
Runner-up: Gold’s Gym
With more than 75 pieces of equipment in each of its four locations in Charlottesville and Albemarle, all dedicated to helping you get in fighting shape, ACAC dominates this category. Gold’s Gym takes second place, with more than 44 years’ experience in the biz, including a star turn in 1977’s Pumping Iron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. For more information on this winner, click here.

PUBLIC POOL
Onesty Pool/Meade Park
Runner-up: Washington Park
The human body contains 70 percent water, so it’s only natural that, this year, readers would flock to the city park that’s big on H2O. Renovated only a year ago, Meade Park’s Onesty Pool features three water slides, a lazy river and water sprinklers. You can find a pool at this year’s runner-up, too…along with a playground area and basketball courts.

PERSONAL TRAINER
Bill Burnett of Success Studio
Runner-up: Jenny Peterson of ACAC
Flip flop alert: Last year, you said this year’s winner was runner-up. Now, you say Bill Burnett is the tops! What gave him the edge? Sheer muscle, baby. That and his fun group classes, exercise know-how and passion for the job. Your runner-up, Jenny Peterson, continues to get physical at ACAC.

 

 

<Back to the winners

Three months after the May 3 death of UVA lacrosse player Yeardley Love—allegedly at the hands of fellow student-athlete George Huguely—President Teresa Sullivan disclosed how the University plans to enforce the requirement that students self-report.

Dean of Students Allen Groves says that the self-reporting policy is not a new system, but was adopted in 2004 and included in the student handbook. “I am confident that a number of students out there probably were not aware of this policy. It’s among many non-academic policies,” he says.

“My understanding is that we are now changing this from a passive notification system to a more active notification system,” said Sullivan, speaking to reporters in Madison Hall. This fall, all UVA students will have to disclose any arrests before they access NetBadge, a system where they access e-mail accounts and course materials. According to Dean of Students Allen Groves, a portion of the screen will remind students of their obligation to new incidents within 72 hours of occurrence.

For student-athletes, however, reporting requirements begin 48 hours earlier.

“The one place where there is a difference is student athletes have additional obligations to the athletic program and their coaches,” says Groves, who consulted with Athletic Director Craig Littlepage about the procedure. Sullivan said athletes are required to tell their coaches within 24 hours of an incident. “If we discover that they had not so informed the coaches, there are going to be appropriate sanctions taken by the athletic department,” she said.
Following Love’s death, news of Huguely’s previous run-ins with the law—a 2008 arrest for public drunkenness and resisting arrest—became public. Former University President John Casteen met with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to discuss introducing legislation requiring Virginia police departments to report arrests of UVA students to the University.

According to Littlepage, student athletes attend annual informational meetings with their teams concerning “team, department, University and NCAA rules.” Following the meetings, “they would need to do the self-reporting.”

In the event that an athlete reports an offense, he or she is not automatically dismissed from the team. Rather, “depending on the circumstances, a student-athlete could be suspended, return to participation, lose scholarship support or be dismissed from the team,” says Littlepage via e-mail.

Student self-reporting was first adopted in 2004, and, said Sullivan, it’s included in the student handbook. Still, Groves says that “a number of students out there probably were not aware of this policy.”

So, what happens to a student who reports prior arrests or convictions?

“We’ll evaluate the information to see what kind of follow-up, if any, needs to be done,” says Groves, who will review all students’ responses. “It could be as simple as looking at the information, making a note of it on our confidential database that’s only in my office, so that we know of this in the event that something happens in the future and we want to understand the context.”

The next step would be a conversation with the student, which may be a phone call or an e-mail to glean additional details, or a face-to-face. In the most serious cases, Groves says, the matter might be referred to the University Judiciary Committee or the University Threat Assessment Team, a committee created in response to the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead.

Even if a student does not report a prior encounter with law enforcement—which could result in expulsion—Groves says information about incidents can come in from different sources, including notification from people familiar with the student.

“I can tell you over my time as dean there have been a couple of cases where students have been incarcerated, and that is obviously a flag,” says Groves.

Sullivan told media that, even in the case the General Assembly “wishes” to move forward with the reporting legislation, “our students come from other states as well.

“And for that reason, I actually like to rely on student self-reporting, because I don’t think we can require all 50 states to tell us what happens to our students when they are somewhere else,” she said.

Asked whether the policy violates students’ rights, Groves, who is an attorney, said that such disclosures are common practice in the business world. “I would hope that students, faculty, parents, everyone would understand that this is simply an issue of our attempting to make this a safe community,” he says.

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

 

Services intro video by Okay Yellow

DOCTOR
Greg Gelburd of Downtown Family Healthcare
Runner-up: Bruce Campbell
Readers have put Greg Gelburd ahead of the pack for six years now, but that doesn’t mean they want him all to themselves. In fact, for a good cause, they’re happy to share, as they did last fall when Dr. Gelburd took a trip to Haiti to assist with hurricane relief. In second place, Free Union doc Bruce Campbell keeps the home fires burnin’. For more information on this winner, click here.

DENTIST
David Dalley
Runner-up: David and Rebecca Swett
If he keeps pulling out these consecutive wins (he’s on his fifth one!), Dr. Dalley will have to change his name to Dr. Yearly. Stop groaning. We could have said it’s Tooth Hurty, time to call David Dalley. All jokes aside, your winner does some serious dental work. For more information on this winner, click here.

DERMATOLOGIST
Anna Magee
Runner-up: Bonnie Straka of Albemarle Dermatology Associates
Here’s the skinny on Anna Magee: She opened her private practice, Charlottesville Dermatology, in 1994 and specializes in everything from acne to alopecia, as well as cosmetic procedures like fillers and Botox. More than 15 years later, readers say she’s the secret to their worry-free epidermis. Signature Medical Spa owner Bonnie Straka takes the runner-up spot with her medical and traditional spa services. 

GYNECOLOGIST
Ed Wolanski
Runner-up: Sarah Stadler
When they say, “Kid tested, mother approved,” they must be talking about Ed Wolanski. The Locust Avenue OB/GYN provides quality care to women in many of life’s stages. Second place winner Sarah Stadler, of Martha Jefferson, has 15 years in the medical field. 

PEDIATRICIAN
Paige Perriello Runner-up: David Hawkes of Pediatric Associates
Around these parts, “Perriello” is a well-recognized name—and we’re not just talking politics. Since the death of local pediatrician Vito Perriello in early 2009, his daughter Paige has continued the legacy of quality medical treatment for wee ones at Pediatric Associates’ Downtown branch. Over at the West Office on Ivy Road, PA’s David Hawkes takes the runner-up spot. 

CHIROPRACTOR
Douglas Cox of Cox Chiropractic Clinic
Runner-up: Sam Spillman of Balance Chiropractic
You won’t be bent out of shape to know Mr. Cox wins this category again. He’s put in nearly 30 years unkinking your knots and cricks and straightening you out. In second place, Balance Chiropractic’s Sam Spillman excels at soft tissue manipulation. For more information on this winner, click here.

PSYCHOLOGIST/COUNSELOR
Susan Cunningham
Runner-up: Tarn Singh
Readers keep the licensed professional counselor who won in this first-time category in mind when it comes to social work, individual, marriage and family counseling. Tarn Singh, a licensed social worker, leads the rest of the competition. 

PLASTIC SURGEON
Victoria Vastine of Charlottesville Plastic Surgery
Runner-up: Thomas Gampper of UVA
Q: Ideally, how do you know if someone’s had plastic surgery? A: You don’t. No one should be able to tell if you’ve gone under the knife, whether for reconstruction after an accident or just a simple procedure to take the years off. We don’t know which of you guys and gals have elected to have some work done, but Victoria Vastine does. Spread the word: You say she’s the best in town. Thomas Gampper, the runner-up, works out of UVA.

A handyman who’s good with his hands—that’s what you get with Russ Melton.

HOME REPAIR/HANDYMAN
Russ Melton of Charlottesville Handyman
Runner-up: Advantage Handyman and Brad Boozer (tie)
Russ Melton is not only a skilled handyman—readers’ favorite, in fact—he’s also got some top-notch juggling moves. A video on his website shows him tossing around a hammer, a pipe wrench and a paint roller. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves: “Imagine how he could help you around the house,” he says. 

ARCHITECT
Bob Anderson
Runner-up: VMDO Architects
Shortly after last year’s win, Bob Anderson wrote in to let us know just exactly who he is and how he stays off the radar but continues to win this category. Our word count prohibits a lengthy description, but here’s a taste: Locally, Mr. Anderson designed Brookwood townhouses, Alta Vista condominiums and JAUNT headquarters. He’s designed a few residential buildings in Albemarle and Northern Virginia, too. For more information on this winner, click here.

REAL ESTATE AGENT
Sasha Cannon Farmer
Runner-up: Bob Hughes
It came pretty close, folks, but newcomer Sasha Cannon Farmer takes the lead this year. You chose the Montague, Miller & Company agent because she’s plugged in (read her blog at charlottesville365.com) and personable and has proven that she can do one helluva job: Last December, she earned the title of Certified Residential Specialist, which counts big in the real estate world. 

PLUMBER
Hodges Myers of Myers Plumbing
Runner-up: Laco
When your plumber replies to your Tweets, you know he means business. Once, this year’s winner replied to a gal with kitchen sink issues: “Two options. 1. Move 2. Let me come fix it.” If that’s not confidence, we don’t know what is. For more information on this winner, click here.

ELECTRICIAN
Robertson Electric
Runner-up: Fitch Services
We’re not surprised you chose Robertson Electric again this year. The 40-year-old company knows just how to spark your interest: quality service. In the runner-up spot is 27-year-old Fitch Services, whose preventative maintenance servicing really lights your fire. For more information on this winner, click here.

LAWN AND GARDEN CARE
Snow’s Garden Center
Runner-up: Meriweather Mowing Service
As the slogan goes, “Snow knows.” And, as you’ve demonstrated again this year, readers know too—who to hire for best lawn care, that is. Snow’s stays at the top with its 10 different gardening services, like Plant Insect Control and Seasonal Cleanup. Dave Norford and Rod Ballard’s Meriweather Mowing Service, located in Earlysville, trims the No. 2 slot. For more information on this winner, click here.

CARPENTER
Alloy Workshop
Runner-up: Butch Duke of Duke Building
To alloy means to mix one metal with another, which often enhances its properties. To mix Alloy with your own ideas has much the same effect. Readers have known this about the design-build group for two years now. That’s why the East Market Street company takes home the gold medal. For more information on this winner, click here.

TAXICAB SERVICE
Wahooptie
Runner-up: Access Taxi
There’s undeniable excitement in riding around in a bright green (or orange) Lincoln Town Car tricked out with leather seats, a flat screen TV, DVD player and surround sound. For those who prefer a car with a more modest exterior, owners Bartley McGowan and Joseph Mills provide other options, like a ’68 Fleetwood Cadillac. Either way, you voted the Wahooptie the sweetest ride in town for making you feel like one cool cat. 

ATTORNEY
Matthew Murray of Allen Allen Allen & Allen
Runner-up: Tucker Griffin Barnes
He may not bear the name “Allen,” but readers say that doesn’t hold him back from being a top-notch lawyer. A longtime local from a huge and prominent family, Murray takes the top spot for the first time for his specialties in personal injury and medical malpractice law. 

BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY
Douglas Little
Runner-up: Bob Stevens and Steve Scott
This is a grim category, we know. But when it comes time to find the right bankruptcy attorney—one who’s sensitive, but also knowledgeable—readers say there’s no one better than Douglas Little. The UVA law grad has 35 years of experience in bankruptcy, real estate and business law. 

FINANCIAL PLANNER
Marotta Wealth Management
Runner-up: Margreta Swanson of MH Swanson & Associates
Money may not grow on trees, but readers say Marotta Wealth Management plants the seeds for financial freedom. The company provides more than 10 services for its clients, including comprehensive financial planning, charitable giving and tax planning. 

FORECLOSURE SPECIALIST
Anthony McGhee
Runner-up: Bill Tucker of Tucker Griffin Barnes
Anthony McGhee does it all: He’ll guide you through the foreclosure process from the very beginning, and he’ll even serve as auctioneer if the unfortunate time comes to sell your property. Tucker Griffin Barnes founder Bill Tucker takes second place with more than 35 years of experience in real estate law. 

PLACE TO BOARD YOUR PET
Pampered Pets
Runner-up: Wakefield Kennel
Readers, this comes direct from our furry friends: They need a break from your constant cooing and kissing. They want other kinds of pampering too. At Pampered Pets, they like the cozy kennels and afternoon Frosty Paws ice cream snacks. In second place, Earlysville critters love Wakefield Kennel for its more than 30 acres of fields and woods. For more information on this winner, click here.

VETERINARIAN
Georgetown Veterinary Hospital
Runner-up: Old Dominion Animal Hospital
Whether little Fluffy has the sniffles or just needs a regular checkup, you say there’s no place better to bring man’s best friend than to one of the four doctors at Georgetown Vet. Over on Preston Avenue, Old Dominion fetches second place for traditional and holistic services. For more information on this winner, click here.

Settle rises to the top for honest car repair.

PLACE TO GET YOUR CAR REPAIRED HONESTLY
Settle Tire
Runner-up: Airport Road Auto Center
You may choose Settle year after year as the best place to get your car repaired, but settling has nothing to do with it. Maybe the company’s shuttle service and free Wi-Fi keeps drivers steering back to the Preston Avenue shop. That, plus the straightforward service. Your runner-up, Airport Road Auto Center, makes it back into the top tier after a brief absence. For more information on this winner, click here.

PRESCHOOL OR DAYCARE
Foundations Child Development Center
Runner-up: Charlottesville Day School
The folks at Foundations say, “Childhood is a journey, not a race.” Of course, if it were a race, they’d be winning. You say the Berkmar Drive child development center is ahead of the pack for its individualized curriculum and small class size. CDS, with its unique offerings—can you say “Spanish class”?—for the 2- to 5-year-old set, gets the runner-up spot.

CATERER
Harvest Moon Catering
Runner-up: C&O Restaurant
A catering favorite for two years in a row, Harvest Moon dazzles with its professional setup, experienced staff and scrumdiddlyumptious menu featuring dishes like crispy white cheddar and chive twice-baked potatoes or fresh tomato gazpacho cappuccino with jumbo shrimp cocktail. We suspect we’re making you hungry for more. (Or are those our own stomachs growling?) For more information on this winner, click here.

HAIRSTYLIST
Jonathan Nuckles of Nuckles Salon
Runner-up: Virginia Glenn of Reflections Salon
His name may be Nuckles, but it’s really his clippin’ fingers—thumb and middle—that chop through the competition year after year. Runner-up Virginia Glenn takes the No. 2 spot with nearly 15 years in the hair biz. For more information on this winner, click here.

BARBER
Staples Barber Shop
Runner-up: Charlottesville Barber Shop
The best barbershops are time machines. Set foot in the doorway and the outside world fizzles away, no matter the decade. Your winner this year makes good on the tradition, chopping locks since 1923. The folks commanding the clippers can call up a ducktail or a pompadour as easily as they can fashion a flattop (ask Howie Long) or a choppy back-n-sides. 

SPA
Oasis Day Spa & Body Shop
Runner-up: Spa at Boar’s Head Inn
A winner again this year, Oasis continues to provide readers with the best in nail and skin care. You love the Water Street spa for its ginger and juniper wraps and its flower hand soaks, not to mention its resurfacing facials and expert waxing. Runner-up Boar’s Head earns a spot on this list with its Deep Steep body care line and relaxing setting. For more information on this winner, click here.

TATTOO ARTIST
Ben Around Tattoos
Runner-up: Acme Tattoo
Our bodies are blank slates primed for the inking. Unless, of course, you’re one of the readers who frequents Ben Miller’s West Main tattoo parlor and voted him number one in this first-time category. In which case, you might not be blank anymore. Ink master Miller and his team will tat you front, back and side to side. Maybe you want an aquarium across your pectorals. Maybe you’d like a branding iron on your buttocks. Ben Around tackles each project with equal fervor. 

DRY CLEANERS
Brown’s Dry Cleaners
Runner-up: Skyline Cleaners
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and so is Brown’s Dry Cleaners. With five locations ready and willing to take your dirty duds, you think that’s practically heaven-sent. Skyline Cleaners, at Barracks Road, wows readers with its special attention to wedding dresses and leather items. For more information on this winner, click here.

HOTEL OR INN

Boar’s Head Inn
Runner-up: Clifton Inn
One thing’s for sure: You readers demand perfection. That’s probably why you vote praiseworthy Boar’s Head into the top spot again this year. You swoon over the private balconies, romantic fireplaces and comfy terrycloth robes. East of town, you crave Clifton’s 18 expertly appointed, cozy rooms. For more information on this winner, click here.

 

<Back to the winners

 

Combined with the development of Hillsdale Drive Extended, construction of the new 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods grocery store has dotted Hydraulic Road with orange cones and construction signs for months. But Alan Taylor, Vice President of River Bend Management, Inc., expects the outer shell of the new store to be complete by December or January.

River Bend Management is the real estate company of developer and Dave Matthews Band manager Coran Capshaw, and oversees Meadowbrook Creek, LLC, developer of the Whole Foods project. Expect 242 parking spots for Whole Foods customers and a grand opening slated for next summer.

A new traffic light is also under construction, to ease traffic flow between Route 29 and the up-and-coming Hillsdale Drive Extended. The first phase of Hillsdale should open before the store does.

In April, the Hydraulic Road Kmart filed a lawsuit against Meadowbrook Creek, also its landlord. The suit claimed that construction of the Whole Foods store and Hillsdale breaches the lease agreement between Meadowbrook and Kmart. Ultimately, the Charlottesville City Circuit Court refused Kmart’s request for injunctive relief. According to Taylor, “We continue to believe that Kmart’s claims are unfounded." 

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

“Males can’t hurt you,” exclaims Ken Hall to a crowd of about 30 onlookers. “Only the female has the ability to sting.” A short brunette wearing a George Strait t-shirt turns and says otherwise to her beau. Mind you, it’s easy for Hall to say as he is wearing his beekeeping suit that looks more like a spaceman’s outfit while he stands inside a mesh observation structure with a few hundred honey bees flying around him. Elsewhere in the Agriculture Tent at the 2010 Albemarle County Fair, which ran through the first week of August, farmers young and old gather to show off and sell their wares. Squashes of all colors and shapes compete for first prize, okras and melons vie for the largest specimen, and Maddie Morales takes the prize for best cucumber pickling. The winning scarecrow stands upright at the other end of the tent, enough straw stuffed in its belly to mimic a proper beer gut, sporting a t-shirt that reads: “Keepin’ it rural.”

Far removed from the trendy storefronts of collegiate life on the Corner or the upscale eateries on the Downtown Mall, the county fair is both a time-honored tradition and a folk grotesque, where good taste and conceit go out the window. It’s an enduring love affair with corn-dogs, smoked meats and deep-fried batter that proves too much for the empty stomach. And, after more than 20 years, it is about to be (temporarily it’s hoped) homeless. The owners of Bundoran Farm in North Garden, long the fair’s locale, have canceled the $1-a-year lease so they can develop about 100 homes on 2,300 rural acres.

Americans will give up a lot in a recession, but the county fair apparently is not high on the list of sacrifices they are willing to make. Indeed, attendance was reportedly up this year by 20 percent to 10,000.

“One basket wins the prize,” growls the carnie barker over at the basketball game, cigarette dangling from his lips, as he hands a pre-teen chap the first of his two shots.

“Yo, there’s some free chocolate chip cookies over there,” exclaims another young male running towards the rides. He sports a Confederate ball cap and a Tom Perriello campaign sticker on the left side of his NASCAR t-shirt. His friends take off in the direction of the Democratic Congressman’s tent, none of them old enough to vote.

Perriello is the first to make it to this year’s fair, walking the grounds for some old-fashioned glad-handing on opening night. One of his opponents, Republican Robert Hurt, will stop by Saturday evening.

Nearby at the Entertainment Tent, the Burnt Mill Band plays to a crowd of about 15. “We’ve got CDs and t-shirts for sale in the back,” reminds the lead singer as he adjusts the microphone. “Here’s a little Kid Rock to get things rollin’.” It’s Wednesday night around 7:49pm and black clouds resembling a smoke stack bear down on Bundoran Farm. Southern rock cover tunes aren’t enough to keep things rollin’ on this night.

By 8pm all rides are shut down as a torrential downpour sends most attendees running for their vehicles. The rides never do open again this night, but the electric light display ripping across the night sky is something to behold. The show must go on, and so it does the next day.

Over at the Livestock Tent, a short mustachioed man gets in the spirit of things. “One dollar folks, yes one thin dollar to win this here heifer. All proceeds go to the 4-H Club.” This is the first year children show animals through the Charlottesville Albemarle Livestock Family Club, one of several 4-H groups at the fair.

On Friday, 13-year-old Olivia Burkholder sells a pair of Barred Rock roosters (names: Julius and Caesar) for $175 a piece. “The buyers ended up giving them back, though,” says Burkholder. “They just wanted to donate the funds to 4-H.”

At that moment, all eyes turn as a pair of llamas pass through the tent. “Is it true they spit on you?” asks a freckled young boy standing with his father, who gets a good chuckle. “Only if they don’t like you,” an elderly woman retorts. “You haven’t given them reason not to like you, now have you?” Scout’s honor, he hasn’t.

Over in the Special Kingdom Tent, the newest fair pastime unfolds. Wives from all walks step up to the microphone to demonstrate how they control their unwieldy spouses in the hilarious Husband Calling Contest. “If you ain’t home in 15 minutes, you good for nothin’, lazy bum,” yells one wife (wielding a rolling pin), and well, we have a pretty good idea of where he’ll be sleeping tonight. By the end of this hottest of days, many of the epicurean delicacies from the baking competitions are looking patched-up a bit. But as they say, a good, flaky crust is so much better than one that you can build a house on.

“We’ll be breaking down early Sunday and heading straight for Augusta,” notes the curly-haired blonde at the basket toss game. She works for Rosedale Attractions, supplier of the amusements at the fair, which has been in business since 1928. Their stable of dingy-looking rides with bad artwork and gregarious flashing lights is oddly comforting. “It’s a lot of hard work, but I love traveling with this show.” She has to repeat that last line, as it’s become hard to hear over the sounds from the nearby Dirty Harry’s Machine Gun Fun game.

More than 4,000 people pass through the gates on Saturday, including Miss Teen Albemarle County Fair, Anna Beth Higgins, who braves the Ferris wheel, despite the fact that the ticket-taker tells folks that the tire that the ride rotates on is starting to look flat. Prospects for a new home for the fair don’t look all that robust at the moment, either. Organizers have said that an ideal solution would be a permanent home, being that it’s costly to build and dismantle the fair and the rides year after year.

“I’m not spending $5 to get on the Horndog,” says one college-age blonde to two friends. A few minutes later, all three of them stand in line for the Elvis-themed ride (it’s actually called “Houndog”). The thrill? Two people sit face-to-face inside a wheel cylinder mounted to a spinning carousel that whips around and around, tossing in every which direction as ticketholders scream their heads off.

Over at the Cannonball, where strapped-in riders are taken 100 feet up a pole and dropped in unison seconds later, one young lady is screaming insufferably. “She can say she’s gonna puke all she wants,” the ticket-taker says with a dead serious look on his face. “Anyone throws up on me, I leave ’em up there!”

As darkness sets in, families begin their inevitable trek back to the parking lot, carrying tired kids in their arms. Over at the food stands, a concessionaire tosses fried onions and peppers, and offers a dollar off all Italian and Polish sausages. Back in the Entertainment Tent, the Cedar Creek country band has ’em packed in to hear their version of “Margaritaville.” Alcohol is not served at the county fair, but the crowd falls right in line, following the lead of Katherine and Matthew Hall, who tango across the small dance floor down front, and damn if it all doesn’t feel as exotic as the shores of Cancun. Call it Americana if you must, but as rural as the whole affair might seem, it’d be hard to imagine Albemarle County without it.

 

Charlottesville filmmakers popularize an image of the city, without a single mention of TJ, the Grish or DMB

The silver screen has always been celebrated for its ability to turn ordinary folks into larger than life characters. By “ordinary folks,” of course we mean well-connected Hollywood types with rock hard abs, chiseled features and few, if any, visible scars. This year, two local films completed the astonishing feat of turning everyday Charlottesville people into larger than life characters—without talking about a Grammy-winning band, that bestselling dude or the smart fella who lived over on that thar hill.

A local teacher named John Hunter was the first to get zapped, in Chris Farina’s World Peace…and other Fourth Grade Achievements. The film follows Hunter, who harnesses the carnivalesque nature of his classroom for a game where students must save an imaginary world with diplomacy. And then in Meghan Eckman’s The Parking Lot Movie, a ragtag assemblage of workers at the Corner Parking Lot became overnight celebrities. Between them, the films garnered attention from festivals like South by Southwest, media outlets like NPR, PBS and—let’s throw it in there—this paper.

 

Remarkably, RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick stays cool in hot water

Each year, more locals throw on their water wings, grip their snorkels in their mouths and belly flop into the debate over the 50-year Community Water Supply Plan. They come up gasping and sputtering over issues like the feasibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and designs of earthen dams for Ragged Mountain, and occasionally use words like “fraud” and “in cohoots” when they regain their breath.

Yet Tom Frederick, the Executive Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, seems to float on top of the issues, as aquatically Zen as an inflatable dolphin.

Frederick has weathered his share of choppy waters from critics: Passed only two years after he took the executive director gig, the Community Water Supply Plan seems more like a motorized wave pool, tirelessly churning discontent among locals. But Frederick—in control of his budget and, more impressive, his temper—makes us want to wade right into the water supply debate. Heck, he makes the water look fine.

 

Patricia Kluge transforms words into bonus cash with a yard sale to beat ’em all

When she opted to downsize last October, local winery owner and philanthropist Patricia Kluge planted a $100 million “For Sale” sign in the yard of Albemarle House, her 300-acre, 13-bedroom estate. She soon discovered the housing market was under-ripe for such luxuries (she slashed the price by 52 percent within months). So it must have come as some surprise in June when her two-day rummage sale (O.K., O.K., it was a full-court press estate auction run by Sotheby’s) far exceeded expectations, bringing in $15.2 million, about 69 percent above what the auction house had estimated. Add to that the proceeds from the sale of her jewelry earlier in the year and La Kluge topped $20 million. What accounts for this recession-defying monumental trick? Apparently, six little words, the auction-world equivalent of a magician’s “abracadabra:” “From the collection of Patricia Kluge.”

 

Teresa Sullivan to head UVA, a college she couldn’t even have attended at 18

You know what’s amazing? Women had the right to vote in the U.S. a full 50 years before they could earn a bachelor’s degree at our local university. By 1970, women had long called themselves Pulitzer Prize winners, U.S. Senators, and (for Pete’s sake) solo flyers across the Atlantic. But it was only in that late year that they could begin to call themselves UVA coeds.
You know what’s equally amazing? This January saw the Board of Visitors vote in Teresa A. Sullivan—who, not to press the point, is A Woman—as UVA’s next president. President! Head honcho! The buck stops with her!

Hailing from the University of Michigan, Sullivan started her new job August 1. Faculty Senate Chairwoman Ann Hamric commented simply that Sullivan’s selection showed the university wanted the “very best person to lead UVA.” We say it shows heartwarming progress where attitudes were once embarrassingly behind the curve.

Still, the times aren’t done a-changin’. Sullivan takes the reins at a school where only 12 percent of tenured engineering faculty are women, and in an age when only 23 percent of American colleges have women presidents. But those female Hoos now outnumber their male counterparts, 56 to 44 percent. And this fall, for the first time, they’ll study under someone they can address as “Madame President.”

 

The photo festival retracts and spells some new, unexpected magic

The seasoned illusionist reveals not his methods. So naturally, it was tough to tell whether there was rhyme or reason to the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph’s schedule. For three years the fest giveth, and on the fourth it taketh away? Huh?

The fest didn’t take our Benjamin and turn it into a one-spot. The trick was called LOOKbetween, and like a good disappearing act, it rendered the festival’s fourth year almost invisible to most denizens of the Downtown Mall. But those who were paying attention were greeted with a voila, a half hour outside of town; and anyone who made it to the farm in White Hall that June weekend can tell you that magic was falling around dozens of up-and-coming photographers like so much confetti.

First, an inflatable screen was illuminated with incredible images; later, bullfrogs from the nearby lake began to croak and a massive bonfire overtook the festivities. The young photographers founded a tent city on a Sugar Hollow Farm where they ate, swam and photographed. With a mere flick of the wrist, the fest had gone from a behemoth presence to a quaint celebration that was as magnificent and successful on its scale as its parent had been for three years beforehand.