Month: July 2017

News

The inns and outs of historic lodgings and their descendants

Post author By Rick Britton
Post date July 27, 2017
3 Comments on The inns and outs of historic lodgings and their descendants

Lisa Jones, general manager of the Dinsmore House Inn, remodeled the Federal-style building with her brother, co-owner Ryan Hubbard, to open it as a B&B in 2003.

When Charles Dickens—the Victorian era’s greatest novelist—traveled through America via stagecoach in 1842, he found the experience absolutely abysmal. The coaches, he wrote, had “never been cleaned since they were first built,” and because they lacked springs, the slightest jolt was enough to dislocate a traveler’s bones. “At one time we were all flung together in a heap at the bottom of the coach,” he wrote of one day’s jaunt, “and at another we were crushing our heads against the roof. Now one side [of the carriage] was down deep in the mire. …Now the coach…was rearing up in the air, in a frantic state. …Never, never once, that day, was the coach in any position, attitude or kind of motion to which we are accustomed in coaches.”

Here in central Virginia, in the era before passenger trains (which first arrived in the 1850s), stagecoach travel—thanks to the area’s heavily rutted roadways—was really no better. Visitors to Charlottesville typically came packed aboard the Fredericksburg or Richmond stage, their trunks lashed behind and on top with mud-splattered leather belts. The scenery along the route was beautiful, no doubt, but the lengthy rides must have been exhausting. In the 1820s, for example, the stagecoach trip from Richmond to Charlottesville—a distance of only 70 miles—took more than 24 hours.

What made the traveling bearable? As any 18th- or early 19th-century American excursionist would answer: It was the taverns. Built along the main stagecoach routes, inns and taverns—the names were somewhat interchangeable—provided the rest, food and beverages that the rattled riders so desperately needed. Central Virginia history is filled with stories of the region’s many famous taverns, and the wonderful events of which they were a part. Nowadays, central Virginia is graced with a number of modern-day inns and taverns—the direct lineal descendants of those long ago way stations. They, too, have stories to tell.

Tags Dinsmore House Inn, Michie Tavern, Silver Thatch Inn, The Lafayette

News

In business: Drugs, booze and a moving van

Post author By Lisa Provence
Post date July 27, 2017
No Comments on In business: Drugs, booze and a moving van

Pharmacist Leah Argie opened Top Notch, an independent pharmacy on Preston Avenue, to “fill the specialty niche no one else is doing in Charlottesville.” Photo by Eze Amos

By Lisa Provence and Samantha Baars

Sure it’s blistering hot, but for three new businesses, July was the perfect time to hang a shingle. One local pharmacist fills a void, an app from a UVA alum serves an untapped market, and a moving company franchise offers help with the heavy stuff.

Meadowbrook begats Top Notch Pharmacy

For those mourning the recently closed Meadowbrook Pharmacy, its former pharmacist has opened her own independent drugstore, and it looks a lot like the old one, albeit with different ownership.

Leah Argie wanted to own her own pharmacy one day, and when she learned this spring that she would be out of a job, that timeline got pushed up a bit.

Last week Top Notch Pharmacy had a soft opening of its Preston Avenue store, which is eerily reminiscent of Meadowbrook, although maybe there are only so many independent drugstore designs.

Argie was considering candles when a reporter walked in, the “fun part” of the job, she says. Like her former place of employment, she wants to sell unusual gifts, like the toddler seersucker bow tie-and-suspenders combo, that you don’t find anywhere else.

Despite another CVS coming in on the Meadowbrook site at the corner of Barracks Road and Emmet Street, Argie thinks there’s room for an independent pharmacy like Top Notch to “fill the specialty niche no one else is doing in Charlottesville,” she says.

That includes making compound medications, such as hormone replacement creams, gluten-free meds or carrying veterinary drugs.

And if you have multiple daily drugs, Top Notch will create blister packs to put all the morning drugs together so it’s easier to take what you need at the right time.

“That’s a service that’s hard to find,” says Argie.

Top Notch will deliver drugs, and there’s one more similarity to Meadowbrook: Argie hired several of the folks who worked there. “People will see some familiar faces,” she says.

An app you’ll want to drink to

A look at the app’s local map, courtesy of Happy Hour Hunter.

A month ago, UVA alumni and CEO of Edge Tech Labs Shaun Masavage broke into a previously untapped market when he launched Happy Hour Hunter, an app designed to help you belly up to the bar without emptying your pockets.

As if you needed to be encouraged to get your drink on, Happy Hour Hunter maps out up-to-date drink specials in the user’s city. It’s one of two uses of an app called DrinkMate, which also functions as a breathalyzer if you buy an additional mouthpiece.

Though his app is the first to offer such a public drinking service, Masavage says other efforts to track happy hours, such as “an underground spreadsheet” that once circulated through Washington, D.C., have caught his eye.

“A lot of people have tried to do this before and they’ve continually failed because they don’t have a method of keeping things up to date,” he says. “The best aspect is that you can help keep deals up to date with your own edits and earn points and badges along the way. This is why we call it a ‘Wikipedia for happy hours.’”

About 3,500 monthly active users have already downloaded the app in Charlottesville and other cities, including D.C., Baltimore, New York City and Miami, but Masavage says tracking every special in every bar in every city in America will take some time. His team has also been surprised to see happy hour aficionados entering drinking data in Ireland and Germany.

“We didn’t even realize how big happy hours are overseas,” he says.

Another franchise moves to town

A college town sees a lot of relocating, enough that a former Charlottesvillian and his partners decided to open a Two Men and a Truck franchise here.

The company started booking moves last week, “the second we turned [on] the website,” says Rebecca Feldman, one of the franchise owners. She and her husband own franchises in Richmond and Chesterfield, and turning west to Charlottesville seemed like a logical step.

Partner Nathan Bocock, who also works out of Wilmington, North Carolina, attended Stone Robinson Elementary, and got his start in the moving biz working with Bryan Feldman in college. “We love the Charlottesville area and I wanted to visit more often,” he says.

Two Men currently employs between 10 and 12 people and has two trucks. The company anticipates a fleet of about 12 trucks and 50 employees in the next few years, says Rebecca Feldman.

Besides packing, loading and unloading your possessions, specialty services include moving grand pianos and hauling out furniture when a house is getting new floors, says Feldman.

And here’s a tip for new-to-the-area Two Men and a Truck: Watch out for the 14th Street bridge, which loves to eat moving vans.

Another independent runs for City Council

Post author By Lisa Provence
Post date July 26, 2017
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John Edward Hall makes an independent bid for City Council. Staff photo

John Edward Hall has left a light footprint in the city where he’s lived for 17 years. But despite his lack of public visibility, he’s decided to run for City Council as an independent.

Hall, 66, says he’s an inventor, a design engineer and an entrepreneur. He was inspired to run by independent candidate Paul Long, whom he met on the free trolley. “That was at a time I needed 15 more signatures to get on the ballot,” says Long. “He asked how he could do that.”

The statues of generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson have been an issue in Charlottesville for more than a year, were the focus of a blue ribbon commission, and City Council voted to remove the stature of Lee in February. Hall says he thinks there should be a public referendum on how to handle the statues.

He’s interested in transit, and says he wants the Transit Center to have machines that give change for the 75-cent fares. The Fashion Square Mall stop needs repair and permanent benches, he adds.

He wants concrete sidewalks along streets like Stribling and Harris avenues, and says property owners should share the cost. And he supports a living wage of $12 an hour.

Long, who ran for City Council in 2009, says he asked Hall about the issues that motivated him. “He wants to bring people together,” says Long.

Hall joins independents Long, Cassie Clawson, Kenneth Jackson and Nikuyah Walker, as well as Democrats Heather Hill and Amy Laufer on the November ballot.

Relax Year-Round In Your Waterfront Home

Post author By REW Writers
Post date July 26, 2017
No Comments on Relax Year-Round In Your Waterfront Home

By Celeste M. Smucker–

Water draws and fascinates us, and along with mountain views is the natural feature most sought-after by home buyers. Whether we own a lot on one of our local lakes, a home on the James River or a rural property with its own pond, water adds value to our lives.

The water calls us for many reasons from taking the edge off day-to- day stress to providing a sense of tranquility and a relaxing place to be after a hectic day regardless of whether we are working, vacationing or retired. Many people retire on the water after spending vacations there a couple of weeks a year during their working days, often buying a second home for occasional weekends that get longer and longer until, finally, living full time on the water becomes a reality.

Outdoorsy people also love life on the water where they have easy access to recreational activities like boating, fishing, canoeing or kayaking, and jet or water skiing. Spectacular views, access to swimming beaches and public boat ramps (for those who don’t have their own dock) as well as hike and bike trails add to the allure of being full time on the water.

In our area, waterfront living doesn’t have to be something we enjoy only occasionally while on vacation or visiting a friend or relative. One of our many waterfront communities has just what we need to begin experiencing this same vacation lifestyle every day. Ask your REALTOR® for advice. You will be surprised at the variety of properties that are available, affordable and nearby.

A Host of Options
Water living comes in many forms from a pond or a stream on your own property to a rural lot on the James to one of our area’s popular waterfront communities such as Lake Monticello, Lake Louisa, Lake Anna, or Smith Mountain Lake. Each has its own ambiance and advantages for buyers to consider before making a purchase.

The James is our Commonwealth’s largest river. Flowing from the mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, it “has been an active part of our lives for a long time,” says Paul Kilgore with Montague Miller and Co. who has been active in Amherst County Real Estate for over 30 years.

In Colonial times the river served as an “interstate highway” and the main means for getting goods from west to east. When rail took over as the main means of transportation, the tracks were built along the river, zigzagging back and forth across it and effectively eliminating 50 percent of river frontage, Kilgore said. He described Lynchburg as “a unique river town,” but a place where the railroad makes the water inaccessible.

Our local topography can also be a hindrance to river access, Kilgore continued, explaining that in parts of Amherst County the banks are very steep. In addition, the depth of the water can be a problem for boaters, though there are exceptions. For example, the area above the Reusens Dam has consistently deep (5 to 17 feet) water sufficient for any kind of boat, Kilgore said.

All of these considerations are important for buyers wanting riverfront property, so be sure to use an agent well versed in the area. Kilgore also advises that while lots are available, they are hard to find so tell your agent to be on the lookout. With “stealth and a little luck,” you can find what you want, he continued.

Other popular alternatives are the lakefront communities that come with lots of amenities both tangible and intangible. Vicki Wilson, Principal Broker with Monticello Country REALTORS®, shared that she and her husband used to enjoy visiting her parents at the gated community of Lake Monticello in Fluvanna County after they relocated there from Charlottesville in 1983.

“We would spend every 4th of July here, where there would be fireworks on the lake and tons of family activities. We loved it so much, we built our waterfront home here twenty years ago and never left. We have raised our twins here and they still live at the lake too.”

Lake Monticello, with its 22.5 miles of shoreline, is just 15 miles from Charlottesville, a big part of the attraction. It also offers amenities such as a golf course, marina, clubhouse and pool.

“Buyers are attracted to Lake Monticello because of the quality of life offered by the community and the entire Charlottesville area,” said Patsy Strong, Principal Broker with Strong Team REALTORS®. “Whether people are looking for the fun and relaxing waterfront lifestyle or the world-class experiences in Charlottesville, Lake Monticello offers an opportunity for people to have both,” she added.

For buyers who like a gated community but want a quieter experience, nearby Blue Ridge Shores, the planned community on Lake Louisa, may be just the ticket. A private lake for home owners only, it was first filled in 1960, but had to be refilled after Hurricane Camille destroyed the dam in 1969. Today it has five miles of shoreline, and features fishing, water skiing, tubing and boating. Swimming is also popular there and the community maintains three beaches. However, if you love to jet ski, look elsewhere as that activity is prohibited.

Further to the east is Lake Anna overlapping Louisa and Spotsylvania Counties with a small section extending into Orange. Mitch Shumate, owner of Lake Anna Realty, explained that it is the second largest lake in Virginia, with over 200 miles of shoreline and 13 thousand acres of water surface. Its size allows for multiple communities with many different housing styles to choose from. A public lake, it attracts lots of boat traffic and authorities require strict adherence to state boating laws. Similarly, if you love to fish a current license is required.

Although further from Charlottesville than either Lake Louisa or Lake Monticello, Lake Anna attracts an increasing number of commuters from our area, Shumate explained, along with those from Fredericksburg and Richmond.

Smith Mountain Lake, west of Charlottesville near Lynchburg and Roanoke, is the largest lake contained entirely within the Commonwealth. With over 500 miles of shoreline and multiple communities overlapping two counties, buyers will find everything they need.

Deborah Beran with RE/MAX Lakefront Realty, Inc., a Smith Mountain Lake resident for over 30 years, described it as the “hidden jewel of the Blue Ridge.” The lake was created from a dam and reached full capacity on March 7, 1966, making it over 50 years old.

Leslie Becker is an architect, Broker/Owner of SML Properties International and owner of Premier Vacation Rentals. A long time resident of Smith Mountain Lake she conducted a search for lake communities from Virginia to Pennsylvania before settling there. She cited the return on investment from property ownership as a big reason for her decision along with amenities such as easy access to DC and the Northeast via the bullet train out of Lynchburg, or direct flights to LaGuardia out of Roanoke.

Waterfront Market Is Hot
Shumate described the real estate market as “active, the best market we’ve had in 3-4 years.” The rental market is also hot and the properties they manage—vacation rentals that go by the week— are fully booked.

“This is an unbelievably exciting market,” exclaimed Libby Sandridge with Dockside Realty who specializes in Lake Anna properties.

“Inventory is down,” Becker said stating that they had double the inventory of homes for sale at Smith Mountain Lake a year ago. They are seeing greater growth in the part of the market in Bedford County where owners can rent their homes on a part time basis. In Franklin County, which features full time owners only, the growth is happening but is a little slower.

In addition Becker indicated prices are rising making it more of a sellers’ market than previously. Buyers looking for foreclosures will be disappointed as there aren’t any, she said.

The market is also impressive at Lake Monticello. Last year at this time, Wilson said, there were 117 total sales, while this year sales to date are 136. Eight waterfront homes have sold this year starting at $384,000, while there are 4 under contract ranging in price from $399,500 to $935,000.

Waterfront Buyers
While retirees, people anticipating retirement in the near future, and second home buyers are the obvious candidates for waterfront property, this is changing as more and more people telecommute or work a business out of their home.

Sandridge reports that “Lake Anna still remains a second home community, however we are seeing more primary home buyers due to Dominion Power and other local companies not to mention that today many jobs are giving employees the option to work remotely.”

“Most of our waterfront buyers are from Northern Virginia and DC Metro Area, New Jersey and New York,” Wilson said. She added that while some start out wanting a second home where they can relax on weekends, in her experience, many move there permanently, often “sooner than later,” either retiring early or working from home. Of course the availability of high speed internet makes it easy to work from home she said, and “what is better than working from home with a water view and access to the lake?”

Beran said that people buying vacation homes or those investing to rent are common as are “snow birds,” people who summer at Smith Mountain Lake and spend winters somewhere warmer like Florida.

Becker is seeing more and more young families with children relocating to Smith Mountain Lake, often entrepreneurs who work from home. The health care sector is also a draw in that area bringing people who are willing to drive the half hour or so to their jobs.

She estimates that about half of the buyers are people looking for a second home who plan to retire there and half are full time residents. While there are exceptions, most second home buyers come from no more than 3 hours away, minimizing the drive and assuring they won’t be too far from family and friends when they do finally move there for good.

A Knowledgeable REALTOR® Is Essential
“Choose a brokerage that specializes in waterfront properties and homes,” Wilson said, a sentiment echoed by the other agents.

“The Lake Anna real estate market is unique and location counts more than any other single factor,” Sandridge explained, adding that “it is important to be careful and make sure you are receiving advice from a local experienced Lake Anna agent.”

Becker urges buyers to ask their agents about the depth of the water and whether that is controlled. The water depth of Smith Mountain Lake is “controlled within five feet,” she said because it was created by a dam. This means residents can always count on it being deep enough for their boats.

Sellers also need an agent who understands waterfront property in order to help set a reasonable price when they list their home and to offer helpful advice and negotiation expertise when they receive a buyer contract.

If you yearn for the perfect second home, are looking forward to retirement, or just love the idea of living on the water, this is a great time to buy. Contact your agent now for more details.

Celeste Smucker is a writer and blogger who lives near Charlottesville.

Real Estate

Fun on the Water: Boating, Fishing, Water Skiing

Post author By REW Writers
Post date July 26, 2017
No Comments on Fun on the Water: Boating, Fishing, Water Skiing

By Ken Wilson–

Put me on a mountain, way back in the backwoods.
Put me on a lake with a biggin on the line.
– Montgomery Gentry

We have the mountains, we have the backwoods, and we sure do have the lakes and the rivers. Fishing and boating enthusiasts have everything they need here in Central Virginia, including the mild winters. All that means their favorite time of year is . . . pretty much year-round.

Boating
Canoers can paddle right through downtown Waynesboro on the Waynesboro Water Trail, a four-mile stretch of the South River. Boat ramps located at either end, in Ridgeview and Basic parks, make for easy access, but the river is also accessible along the way. Experienced boaters classify the Trail an “easy paddle,” with only Class I and Class II rapids (Class VI is the highest on the scale) along the way. The Trail is open sunrise to sunset.

Waynesboro’s Paddle the Park program offers rentals of solo and tandem kayaks for use in Ridgeview Park on Sunday afternoons until the end of pool season (an August date as yet to be determined). Rentals are first come, first served, and rates are $10 per hour for solo kayaks and $15 per hour for tandem kayaks.

A limited number of canoes and kayaks are also available for rental on Albemarle County’s 62-acre Chris Greene Lake through August 22 at just $5.00 an hour.

Water Skiing
Water skiers around here are apt to head to Lake Anna, whose 20 square miles ripple through Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania counties, making it one of the largest freshwater inland lakes in Virginia. Water ski season at Lake Anna extends from April through October. Cool air and cool water make full wetsuits or dry-suits necessary early and late in the season. Short wet suits usually suffice by mid- May, and swimsuits will do in June, July and August. For calm water, go out early.

Fishing
“The diversity that Virginia has to offer for fishing opportunities makes it probably one of the best states I’ve lived in for fishing,” says Carson Oldham, owner of the Albemarle Angler in Charlottesville’s Barracks Road Shopping Center. “Within three hours you can either be catching brook trout in the high mountain streams or you can be in the Chesapeake Bay catching stripers and redfish and flounder and everything else—it’s amazing.”

Oldham’s a fan of Chris Greene Lake, where the fishing for largemouth bass, bluegill and more is good from the bank, or in a canoe, kayak or non-motorized boat, and of the lower part of the Rockfish River, a 28.7-mile-long tributary of the James River in Nelson County with “phenomenal” smallmouth fishing. “The James,” he says, “definitely has a lot of catfish in it.”

During the summer months he loves floating the James, Shenandoah and Rivanna rivers for smallmouth bass.

Central Virginia is brook trout territory too. “The Jackson River in the Hidden Valley area [in Bath County] is phenomenal for floating the tail waters,” Oldham says. “The Moormans River right here in Charlottesville is a phenomenal brook trout stream.” He’s referring to the North Fork of the Moormans River, which runs near Crozet and flows into the Charlottesville Reservoir, from which the city gets its drinking water. Fishing there is catch and release, with single hook artificial lures allowed. The beautiful North Fork also has swimming holes and waterfalls.

The Rapidan, which begins in Shenandoah National Park, was the first fish-for-fun fishery created in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is another fine brook trout river, with many catches in the 7-9 inch range, but some ranging up to 10 inches. Only single point hook artificial lures may be used here—bait is not allowed. All trout must be immediately returned to the water unharmed.

Virginia’s trout season extends year-round. The state limit is six trout per day, none less than seven inches. Exceptions exist for heritage, urban, special area, special regulation, and fee fishing waters, so it’s best to check carefully. Wild and stocked trout are plentiful in the spring and fall, and during mild winters. Low stream flows and warming water temperatures mean tougher luck June through September.

At Orange County’s Lake Anna, the fishing goes on even in the dead of winter, thanks in part to water flowing into the lake from the nearby Dominion Power’s North Anna Power Station, which can be as much as seven degrees warmer than Mother Nature’s average. Best known for its lunker largemouth bass, Anna has also been stocked with bluegill, redear sunfish, channel catfish, striped bass, walleye, blueback herring and threadfin shad. Anglers can access the boat ramp starting 5:30 a.m; lights illuminate the ramp when the sun does not.

Lake Nelson in Nelson County has a concrete boat ramp, a courtesy dock and gorgeous views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nelson is stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, channel catfish, and crappie. Electric engines are permitted here, but gas engines are not.

Boating Safety
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries offers a free classroom boating safety course. Pre-registration is recommended since classes fill fast. The US Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Power Squadron (a recreational boating organization with more than 35,000 members) offer classroom courses costing $25–40. For water lovers, Oldham says, “This is a great state. I encourage people to get out and enjoy the outdoors and the boating and fishing that Virginia has to offer.”

Tags boating, Virginia, Water Sports

News

A neighborhood divided: Proposed regs in Woolen Mills still controversial

Post author By samanthabaars
Post date July 26, 2017
No Comments on A neighborhood divided: Proposed regs in Woolen Mills still controversial

A recent poll of Woolen Mills residents who live in the proposed historic district showed that 57 percent of survey respondents were not in favor of the change. Photo by Skycladap.com

City Council is expected to vote next month on a proposed Woolen Mills historic conservation district that would impose new regulations on about 85 residences and that continues to divide homeowners in the neighborhood.

“It’s pretty cut and dry that people don’t want it,” says Eric Hurt, a resident who will live in the historic overlay if it passes. “When a neighborhood association divides a neighborhood and steps onto private property, it’s bound to get heated,” he says in an email to a couple of other Woolen Mills residents.

Though the Woolen Mills Neighborhood Association originally was in favor of implementing the historic conservation district, a recent poll by the city showed that 57 percent of poll respondents living in the proposed area weren’t in favor of it, and that’s why the board pulled its support, according to chair John Frazee.

The initial poll done by the neighborhood association in May 2016 showed that 94 percent of Woolen Mills affected property owners who responded supported the conservation district. Opponents have long argued that those originally in favor weren’t given enough information to make a proper decision, thus paving the way for the second poll.

The text for the new zoning was rewritten for clarity in February, because there were questions about what would be allowed in the historic conservation district and whether homeowners would need Board of Architectural Review approval before building structures as insignificant as birdhouses and mailboxes, Frazee says.

As it’s written now, a certificate of appropriateness will be required for all new buildings that require a building permit unless they aren’t visible from any abutting streets. Additions located to the side or front of principal structures will require approval, as will additions that are equal to or greater than 50 percent of the total gross floor area of the existing building, or additions located on the rear of the existing structure that exceed its height or width.

Painting any previously unpainted brick or masonry will also require a certificate of appropriateness, but repainting a material other than unpainted brick or masonry is exempt. Ordinary maintenance and repairs are also exempt.

“It’s very important to note that I feel that offering the neighborhood an opportunity for the historic district was the right thing to do. I believe that the trade-off of regulation and potential cost is well offset by the protection the neighborhood gets when it comes to things like new construction and demolition,” says Frazee, who has lived in Woolen Mills for about 12 years and spent six of them on the neighborhood association board. He lives two houses outside of the proposed conservation district that namely protects properties on Chesapeake, Riverside, Steephill, Franklin and East Market streets.

“He’s willing to put rules and regulations on the people, but not follow them himself,” says Hurt. And in his message to neighbors, he says, “This situation is very, very, very simple. These homes and properties are owned not by [Neighborhood Development Services] or the [Woolen Mills Neighborhood Association], but by the people who have worked hard, saved money, taken out a mortgage and purchased them. Shame on anyone who is attempting to place restrictions and costs onto their own neighbors.”

Longtime Woolen Mills resident Bill Emory, who is a former member of the City Planning Commission, advocated for passing the ordinance at the City Council meeting, and said historic conservation districts were created to protect the character of “modest, historic neighborhoods without imposing harsh requirements on residents who want to remodel their homes.”

He said there have been no homeowner appeals to council regarding the ordinance since two conservation districts were implemented in the Martha Jefferson and Venable neighborhoods in 2010 and 2014, respectively.

City Councilor Kathy Galvin, an architect, has been vocal in supporting the proposed zoning regulations. She says the Board of Architectural Review voted 9-0 and the Planning Commission voted 6-0 to approve them based on resident input and physical surveys. She also says this historic district is an explicit goal of the city’s comprehensive plan.

“Allowing a second opinion poll to overturn these votes made little sense when resident input is supposed to inform the PC and BAR, not undermine their legal authority,” Galvin says. “If you don’t like the law, change it. Don’t sabotage it.”

The Martha Jefferson and Venable neighborhood associations obtained conservation district status after submitting letters of support and poll results before any BAR or Planning Commission votes, Galvin says.

“No other neighborhood association had a second poll taken after the BAR and PC had voted in favor of their conservation district designation,” she says. “To suddenly make this second poll a condition of council’s approval therefore struck me as being inconsistent and unfair. City Councilors take an oath to govern fairly and in accordance with the law.”

Updated August 1 at 9:00am to clarify poll numbers.

Charlottesville Opera builds community, closes season with ‘Oklahoma!’

Post author By Mary Shea Watson
Post date July 26, 2017
No Comments on Charlottesville Opera builds community, closes season with ‘Oklahoma!’

What do cowboys, farmers and love triangles have in common with the United States of today? To Michelle Krisel, artistic director of Charlottesville Opera, the answer is a lot. That’s much of the reason why Krisel and Charlottesville Opera (formerly Ash Lawn Opera), chose Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! to close the company’s 40th summer season.

Oklahoma!

The Paramount Theater

Through August 5

“This piece is so important at this time for our country to come together,” says Krisel. “This is about farmers and the cowboys coming together to build a community,” noting that the musical takes place in the years before Oklahoma became an official state in 1907. “This is not ancient history. The issues that they were struggling with—coming up with their identity as a state, respecting the individual but building the community—is what makes America great.”

To open the opera’s 40th anniversary season, the company presented Middlemarch in Spring in collaboration with the Virginia Festival of the Book. It was the company’s first premiere in 35 years. Earlier this month, the Charlottesville Opera performed Rigoletto on the Paramount mainstage and at Virginia Tech’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theater. During Oklahoma! professional soloists and students from the Charlottesville Ballet will join actors and actresses. Together, these artists bring to life Oklahoma! main character Laurey’s opiate-induced dream ballet.

Krisel says creating these artistic partnerships built the foundation for the opera’s anniversary season. During her tenure as general director and artistic director, Krisel focused on collaborating with entities such as the Festival of the Book, Virginia universities and colleges and their students, and like-minded arts groups like the Oratorio Society of Virginia, the Wilson School of Dance and the Virginia Consort.

It’s a memorable season for Krisel, as she recently announced her retirement. She’s stepping down after nearly a decade growing the Charlottesville Opera, and prior to that she built a number of international education and community programs from the ground up at the Washington National Opera. Krisel says she’s excited about the season’s new artistic endeavors.

“If you scratch the surface of an opera singer, how did we fall in love with opera? We sang in our high school or high school musical. What is our national vernacular? It’s the American musical.” Michelle Krisel

“I conceived of the three pieces in our anniversary season as a way to make new friends through community-building, and each in a different way,” Krisel says. “I picked the repertoire by what I think the public will like, what we can do well and what we can afford to do but, more importantly, what can that piece do for us?”

Another of the opera’s relatively new partnerships is with Mary Birnbaum, a theater and opera director who directed La Traviata last year and returned this year to direct Oklahoma!.

Like many theater kids, Birnbaum says, she remembers casting her sister in shows she produced as a child in her family’s living room. She graduated from Harvard and L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris—a prestigious movement and mime school whose tradition stems from Italian commedia dell’arte. She now lives in New York, co-writes and directs productions around the world and teaches acting at Juilliard.

“It’s about the art you make, whether it’s inclusive and involves the community. That’s the way the arts will continue to flourish and have meaning in people’s lives.” Mary Birnbaum

Birnbaum “begged” Krisel to let her direct Oklahoma!, citing the timeliness of the musical’s story, the strength of Krisel’s artistic leadership and the cast’s “brilliant” talent.

“If you scratch the surface of an opera singer, how did we fall in love with opera?” Krisel says of finding the musical’s talented cast and crew. “We sang in our high school or high school musical. What is our national vernacular? It’s the American musical.”

“I don’t get to do musicals a lot, and had a sense that I needed to work on a musical this summer,” Birnbaum says. “Musicals are American opera, and [Oklahoma!] features our greatest composer and librettist.”

To materialize Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration as an artistic duo, Birnbaum kept the set sparse. As an audience member, Birnbaum says she never finds theatrical representations of the outdoors realistic, and wants her pared-down set to emanate feelings of unity, transformation and community engagement.

Birnbaum and her cast play around a lot to understand the dynamics of characters and how they “fought tooth and nail to get everything they have.” They explore feelings of deep political unrest, the shifting grounds that ensue from a disrupted status quo and discuss what it means to be American.

“In a time where you can have a hit like Hamilton, musical storytelling clearly isn’t dead,” Birnbaum says. “It’s about the art you make, whether it’s inclusive and involves the community. That’s the way the arts will continue to flourish and have meaning in people’s lives.”

Tags Charlottesville Opera, Mary Birnbaum, Michelle Krisel, Oklahoma!

Arts

ARTS Pick: Gillian Welch

It took Gillian Welch eight years to release The Harrow & The Harvest. That wasn’t for lack of inspiration, but a stubborn streak of perfectionism that caused Welch to spend the better part of a decade honing down the album to the sparse, dark folk at its core. Hear the resulting classic Americana for yourself as Welch and her partner, David Rawlings, play the Grammy-nominated 2011 album live from front to back.

Sunday, July 30. $41, 8pm. Sprint Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 245-4910.

Tags Gillian Welch, Sprint Pavilion

Arts

Movie review: Okja

Bong Joon-ho is back once again with Okja, a parable that goes to stylistic extremes to make an existential argument, broadcasting the film’s central metaphor from the very first scene while being far more emotionally and politically trenchant than anticipated. Snowpiercer could have been a straightforward action/sci-fi yarn, but in his hands, it becomes a cautionary tale of the dangers of being right while the larger questions go unasked. With Okja, the story of a girl who befriends a creature intended for consumption rather than companionship, Bong seizes the opportunity to go beyond straightforward animal welfare to all of factory farming, the inheritance of unwanted traditions and the transparent attempts by mega-corporations to put on a friendly face while remaining exploitative.

Okja

R, 121 minutes
Available on demand

The film centers on the relationship between a young Korean girl Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) and a so-called super pig named Okja. Super pigs are the creation of the Mirando Corporation under the auspices of CEO Lucy Mirando, who started the program to counteract the company’s bad image and ostensibly solve the issue of food shortage due to the world’s booming population. To help facilitate the PR recovery, farmers from around the world were selected to raise super pigs and compete in a pageant after 10 years, hosted by superstar TV zoologist Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal).

The trouble begins when Mija is coaxed into believing she would travel to New York with Okja, when in fact her super pig best friend is taken away while she is distracted by her grandfather. She daringly races from the Korean countryside to Seoul, the staging area before Okja is ultimately brought to New York. It is while Okja is in transit from Mirando HQ in Seoul that she encounters the Animal Liberation Front led by Jay (Paul Dano). They are an exceedingly polite band of not terrorists, who begin their rescue operation with pleasantries, requesting Okja’s escorts wear seatbelts before the chaos ensues. With the assistance of the ALF’s translator, K (Steven Yuen), Jay informs Mija of their plan to liberate Okja and all of the other super pigs in New York, that Mirando’s humane face is just a ploy to hide the horrific truth of the entire project.

Bong Joon-ho seizes the opportunity to go beyond straightforward animal welfare to all of factory farming, the inheritance of unwanted traditions and the transparent attempts by mega-corporations to put on a friendly face while remaining exploitative.

Those familiar with Bong’s previous work will be well-aware of his fondness for heightened reality, which can often feel lighthearted but is used to deliver a direly serious message. Some call this tonal inconsistency, but Bong uses ridiculous characters like Johnny—with Gyllenhaal recalling his origins in over-the-top spastic comedy—as tragic figures, not comedic ones. After the opening minutes that establish the legitimately sweet relationship between Okja and Mija, there isn’t a moment of silliness that isn’t somehow wedded to an impending disaster, and vice versa.

Both Okja and Snowpiercer follow our heroes on an irreversible path in the pursuit of justice and the attempts by charismatic adversaries to deter them along the way, and neither arrive at their ultimate destination in a predictable manner. Bong is a modern master of molding preposterous stories into sharp satires, occasionally pessimistic toward humanity’s ability to change for the better but always with an eye toward those committed to doing the right thing no matter what. Bold, original and uncompromising, Okja is one of the must-see streams of the summer.

This is the last of a series of reviews of movies available to stream on demand.

Playing this week

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX

The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213

Baby Driver, The Big Sick, Cars 3, Despicable Me 3, Dunkirk, Girls Trip, Spider-man: Homecoming, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, War for the Planet of the Apes, Wish Upon, Wonder Woman

Violet Crown Cinema

200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000

Baby Driver, The Beguiled, The Big Sick, Despicable Me 3, Dunkirk, Girls Trip, Spider-man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, The Wedding Plan, Wonder Woman

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

377 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056

Despicable Me 3, Dunkirk, Spider-man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes

Tags Okja

Arts

ARTS Pick: Company

In Company, 35-year-old Robert examines his commitment to bachelorhood through mishaps with married couples and temporary girlfriends. Stephen Sondheim originally targeted his music and lyrics to a 1970s audience, but (with George Furth) gave the libretto an update in the ’90s to keep with changing cultural themes. The production marks the return of former Heritage Theatre Festival Artistic Director Bob Chapel, who is sure to explore all of the musical’s hilarious angles.

Through August 4. $15-35, times vary. Culbreth Theatre, 109 Culbreth Rd., 924-3376.

Tags Company, Heritage Theatre Festival