Month: July 2018

Categories
Arts

Movie review: Badassery undermines Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Benicio Del Toro returns in the morally ambivalent sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Courtesy Sony Pictures

The U.S. government’s current definition of terrorism, according to Sicario: Day of the Soldado’s Secretary of Defense James Riley (Matthew Modine), is the use of violence to achieve political ends. Riley says this to mercenary Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), who has just come back from Somalia where he killed a man’s brother as an interrogation tactic, and is being hired to start a war between rival drug cartels using whatever means he deems necessary.

An intelligent movie with something to say —like this film’s predecessor, Sicario—may have seized this as an opportunity to explore the state of mind where societies employ the same tactics as those they claim to oppose, or the moral gray area of deciding whether to one-up a so-called terrorist at his own game.

Day of the Soldado essentially throws away all of the strengths of Sicario and ramps up the weaknesses, turning the high-minded tightrope act between getting results at any cost, and fighting evil the right way, into gawking admiration of how badass these possible war criminals are.

Sicario: Day of the Soldado
R, 122 minutes
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Violet Crown Cinema

The film begins with a pair of suicide bomb attacks, one during a border crossing and the other in a Kansas City supermarket. This connects back to Mexican drug cartels, which have moved into human trafficking, forming alliances that lead the American government to classify them as terrorists. They recruit Graver and Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) to start a war between the cartels, making it look like one kidnapped the daughter of another, but an encounter with Mexican federal police (corrupt, or just not amenable to foreign troops killing people on their soil?) blows their cover. Gillick takes responsibility for escorting Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner), the daughter of a cartel kingpin, to safety while Graver goes home to face the political fallout.

Ambivalence regarding the moral implications of crimes committed by a film’s hero can make for an exciting experience because everything about it becomes a source of tension, including the unpredictability of the outcome and whether success for the main characters is the most desirable resolution. Sicario had the benefit of Emily Blunt’s character—underwritten though impeccably acted—as a third party witness to the questionable mission. Its sequel is interested in none of these questions, but content to admire the badassery of men who are okay with torture.

Director Stefano Sollima brings none of the visual flair or use of space that Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins used to elevate the straightforward story of Sicario into a morality play. Instead, Sollima is content to make Day of the Soldado look and feel like a run-of-the-mill genre flick with no appreciation for the sensitivity of the subject matter or the complexity of the characters. Taylor Sheridan, a writer who has deftly handled complicated sociopolitical topics before (Wind River) also sacrifices atmosphere for a convoluted plot that takes a lot of time to go nowhere in particular. The performances, as before, are terrific, though both Graver and Gillick seem to be completely different people, raising the question of why a sequel was even necessary if the filmmakers aren’t going to maintain the best part of the first installment.

Playing this week

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
377 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056

Ant-man and The Wasp, Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ocean’s 8, Uncle Drew, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213

Ant-man and The Wasp, The First Purge

Violet Crown Cinema
200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000

Hearts Beat Loud, Hereditary, Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Mountain, Ocean’s 8, RBG, TAG, Uncle Drew, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Categories
Arts

First Fridays: July 6

Rich Tarbell photographed more than 100 local musicians, including Lance Brenner of absurdist rock band The Falsies (pictured here), in their creative spaces for an upcoming book on Charlottesville music. Preview some of the book’s images this month at Studio IX. Courtesy artist

About a decade ago, Rich Tarbell sold a guitar to pay for his first camera.

Frustrated with his own music, Tarbell decided instead to document local music on film. And while live concert photography is fun, it all starts to look the same after a while, says Tarbell, who likes the behind-the-scenes stuff that most of us don’t get to see.

Last fall, in the middle of a creative slump, Tarbell decided to work on a project that would celebrate the local music scene in a new way. Instead of choosing his own subjects, Tarbell asked the musicians themselves who he should photograph. He started with Terri Allard and Jamie Dyer (the matriarch and patriarch of local music, according to Tarbell) as well as Sally Rose Monnes and Koda Kerl, asking each of them to pick two artists he should shoot next.

He photographed the musicians in their creative spaces—for many, it was a studio, a bedroom or basement practice room. For others, it was the steps outside the old Prism Coffeehouse, a rock near the river, or, in one case, wearing a chicken costume and standing at a desk in the river.

Tarbell soon realized that the photo shoots led to valuable discussions of Charlottesville music past and present, so he started recording the conversations. Together, the photographs of more than 100 local musicians, plus the oral histories, make up re: Charlottesville Music, Tarbell’s printed-and-bound ode to the local music scene, to be released later this year.

Until then, about 20 of the book’s photographs will be on display at Studio IX in July. “It’s worth documenting,” Tarbell says of the stories contained in the book, “to celebrate what we have, and have had, here.”—Erin O’Hare

First Fridays: July 6

Annie Gould Gallery 121B S. Main St., Gordonsville. An exhibition of industrial and marine wooden sculpture by Alex Gould; and a show of work from more than 25 artists, including Donna Ernest and Barbara Venerus.

Art on the Trax 5784 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “SUMMER018,” collage by William H. Atwood. Opens July 14.

FF Chroma Projects 103 W. Water St. “Synonyms & Antonyms,” gestural drawings by Nym Pedersen; and “Personal Truths,” lithographs and mixed-media sculptures by Akemi Ohira and Chuxin Zhang. 5-7pm.

FF CitySpace Art Gallery 100 Fifth St. NE. “Eclectic, Clever, Composed & Collective,” a photography exhibit. 5:30-7:30pm.

Common House 206 W. Market St. “Motherland,” a pop-up exhibition of paintings by Jum Jirapan. 4-8pm.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. “Useful by Design” pottery by Nan Rothwell. Opens July 14.

FF C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Virginia’s Best—Retro Style Posters,” featuring graphic designs by Barbara Shenefield. 6-8pm.

FF Dovetail Design & Cabinetry 309 E. Water St. Alaina Clarke displays her metalsmith with original jewelry pieces. 5-7pm.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “In My Room: Artists Paint the Interior 1950-Now”; “20th Century Still Lifes from the Permanent Collection,”  featuring the work of Picasso, Braque and Carrie Mae Weems, among others; “The Art of Protest”; “Reflections: Native Art Across Generations”; and “Oriforme” by Jean Arp.

FF The Garage 100 W. Jefferson St. “Learn how to farm, the end is near,” an exhibition of walnut ink and pigment paintings from Allyson Mellberg-Taylor and Jeremy Taylor. 5:30-7:30pm.

Java Java 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. Kris Bowmaster exhibits a new, five- panel work.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. An exhibition of new work by Frank Walker that addresses the notion that black bodies are disposable and easily erased.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection 400 Worrell Dr. “Beyond Dreaming: The Rise of Indigenous Australian Art in the United States”; and “Ngunguni: Old Techniques Remain Strong,” an exhibition of paintings on eucalyptus bark from northern Australia.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “The Livestock Marker Show,” featuring paintings by Gwyn Kohr, Kathy Kuhlmann and Russ Warren that use livestock markers as the medium.

FF McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. “Gaean Reveries,” a multimedia, surrealistic exhibition from Sam Gray, in the Sarah B. Smith Gallery; “McGuffey Members’ Summer Group Show,” colorful multimedia works from members of the gallery, in the Downstairs South Hall Gallery and Upstairs North and South Hall Galleries; and Heather Owens’ “Safety” in the Downstairs North Hall Gallery. 5:30-7:30pm.

FF Milli Coffee Roasters 400 Preston Ave. “The Sea Change Series,” an exhibition from Tina Curtis. 6-8pm.

FF Music Resource Center 105 Ridge St. “Women in Color,” a mixed-media exhibition from Sri Kodakalla. 5-7pm.

FF Roy Wheeler Downtown Office 404 Eighth St. NE. Ceramic arts exhibition from Angela Gleeson. 5-7pm.

FF The Salad Maker 300 E. Market St. “Exploring the Bounds of Digital Art,” an exhibition of richly colored work by Martin Phillips. 5:30-7:30pm.

FF Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the main gallery, “Ngerringkrrety: One Voice, Many Stories,” an exhibition of paintings and weaving by Australian Aboriginal artist Regina Pilawuk Wilson; and in the backroom, a mixed-media exhibition by Sahara Clemons. 5:30-7:30pm.

Shenandoah Valley Art Center 122 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. A members’ anniversary show judged by Leah Stoddard.

FF Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Scrapes,” an exhibition of oil paintings by Lizzie Dudley. 6-8pm.

FF Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “re: Charlottesville Music,” an exhibition of photographs taken by Rich Tarbell related to the local music scene. 5-8pm.

FF VMDO Architects 200 E. Market St. An exhibition of oil paintings by Bettie Dexter. 5:30-7:30pm.

FF First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many downtown art galleries and additional exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions.

Categories
Arts

Charlottesville Opera tells modern stories

Trevor Scheunemann, at a recent rehearsal for The Marriage of Figaro, says although he’s performed the role of Count Almaviva several times, it was guidance from director David Paul that helped him understand the vulnerability of the character. Photo by Amy Jackson

Most of the time, when we talk about characters in books, in movies and plays, we talk about their arc—who the character is when the action begins and when it ends, and the curve followed in between.

But opera singer Trevor Scheunemann knows it’s not always that simple.

It’s especially not that simple for Count Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, a role Scheunemann has sung a number of times throughout his career, with the San Francisco Opera, the Washington National Opera and the Opéra National de Bordeaux.

The Marriage of Figaro takes place over the course of a single day in the Count’s villa near Seville. It’s a continuation of the story presented in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, but in Figaro, the Count has fallen out of love with his wife, Rosina (the Countess Almaviva, whom he pursued so intensely in Barber), and now lusts after Susanna, the maid and the bride-to-be of the servant Figaro.

“The opera’s not named after the Count, but—and maybe I’m biased—he’s one of the more interesting characters, since he goes through so much in the opera,” says Scheunemann. Through tricks and clever maneuvers, Figaro, Susanna and the Countess manage to thwart the Count’s effort at seduction while teaching him a lesson and provoking him to beg for forgiveness. Count Almaviva has “less of an arc than a roller coaster of arcs, peaks and valleys,” says Scheunemann.

The Marriage of Figaro
July 8–14

Into the Woods
July 27-August 5

The Paramount Theater

Scheunemann says that often, the Count is portrayed either as “a Don Juan figure, very smooth and seductive,” or an “aggressive, monstrous, demonic figure.” But with guidance from director David Paul, Scheunemann has come to understand a vulnerability that’s rarely lent to the character.

The production is set in mid-20th century America, giving the whole thing a sort of “Mad Men” feel, says Charlottesville Opera Executive Director Kevin O’Halloran, adding that it won’t be the “park and bark” that most people think of when they think of opera. The smaller setting means this opera company can take more risks.

First performed more than 200 years ago, Figaro’s story is timely in light of the #MeToo movement, says Scheunemann. He says that audience members may feel a sense of solidarity with Susanna (portrayed by Karin Mushegain), how she faces “pressures from a male-dominated workplace to acquiesce to certain things she would not be comfortable with otherwise.”

Charlottesville Opera’s second production of the season, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods opening (July 27) at the Paramount, is perhaps equally timely in America’s social and political climate, says interim Artistic Director Steven Jarvi.

The musical weaves together various Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and is very much about how “we’re all going to see the consequences of the road we walk down,” says Jarvi.

At the heart of the musical is the story of a childless baker and his wife seeking to start a family, their encounters with the witch who cursed them, and their run-ins with other fairy tale characters, like Little Red Riding Hood.

Rena Strober, who plays the Witch, says Into the Woods is largely about seeing the humanity in every person. Strober, who has acted on Broadway and on television (“Veep,” “Shameless” and the Disney Channel’s “Liv and Maddie”), says that before she stepped into the role she “viewed the Witch as the villain of the show. But now that I’m getting behind her, I’m finding her humanity…she is the heroine in my mind, as she wants what’s best for her and the child she raises.”

Deborah Grausman, another Broadway-trained actor with television experience (she voices Smartie the smart phone on “Elmo’s World” and “Sesame Street”), who plays Little Red Riding Hood, is compelled by her character’s straightforwardness. “She pretty much tells it like it is,” says Grausman. “She calls people on things; she’s a truth-teller [who] doesn’t necessarily change her opinion for whatever company she’s in.”

There are plenty of adult themes in the musical, so a children’s performance is offered, but the original opera is suitable for ages 11 and up. “I think it’s important for families to see this show together in order to have conversations about the more difficult questions Into the Woods brings up,” says Strober.

As with The Marriage of Figaro, Charlottesville Opera is taking a few risks with Into the Woods.

Strober won’t spoil the surprise, but she says that director Raymond Zilberberg has found “a very perfect window into how to connect the present.” The cast “ooh-ed and aah-ed” throughout the first read as it saw how the audience members will be forced to use their imaginations in ways they haven’t since they were kids, says Strober. “It’s a new telling of the story with absolute integrity and respect. People will leave really affected.”

Categories
News

In brief: Cantwell on Kessler, what stoners are ordering and more

Special delivery!

Shopping in stores is so 2015, and several Charlottesville services are making sure you never have to step foot in one again. Starting now, locals can sign up for a membership with Shipt, a virtual marketplace with same-day shipping from Target and Harris Teeter, for $99 a year or $14 a month.

GrubHub, which bought out OrderUp last year, is an existing delivery service for area restaurants and fast food joints, and a newer service, called GoPuff, seems to have its own audience in mind.

Users can order “puff stuff” such as vapes, hookah shisha and rolling papers, while also choosing from a giant selection of (non-alcoholic) “dranks,” “munchies,” “eaaats,” supplies “for the crib” such as Febreeze or something called bedroom dice, “pints on pints” of ice cream or other refreshments that are “frozen af.”

For a flat delivery fee of $1.95, the people of Charlottesville have been ordering from GoPuff, mainly between the hours of 9pm and midnight, since March, according to Elizabeth Romaine, director of communications.

“GoPuff has been very well received,” she says. “We’re super excited to be here in Char-lottesville so that we can deliver our customers what they need, when they need it most.”

We checked in to see what it is exactly that locals need the most. Here are the top 10 products ordered in Charlottesville. No, bedroom dice didn’t make the list.

Top 10

1. Nestlé Pure Life water

2. Cheez-Its

3. Pepperoni Bagel Bites

4. White Castle cheeseburgers

5. Pepperoni Hot Pockets

6. Glacier Freeze Gatorade

7. Blue raspberry Laffy Taffy

8. Honey BBQ Fritos

9. Kraft Mac & Cheese

10. Sour cream & onion Pringles

“Jason Kessler never was and never will be a leader. …Speak privately with any other organizer of [Unite the Right] and they will tell you that working with Kessler was a nightmare. Talk to Jason, and he will say the same of them.”—Chris Cantwell, aka the “Crying Nazi,” on his Radical Agenda website

In brief

30 hate charges

photo Eze Amos

James Fields, 21, the neo-Nazi from Ohio who plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters August 12, killed Heather Heyer and injured dozens, was indicted on 30 federal hate crime charges June 27. Says Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “At the Department of Justice, we remain resolute that hateful ideologies will not have the last word and that their adherents will not get away with violent crimes against those they target.”

‘Festival of the Schmestival’

Justin Beights has asked for a permit to hold a family-friendly fundraiser for about 400 people at the site of last year’s deadly Unite the Right rally on August 12. He promises a celebrity dunk tank and a petting zoo, possibly with a giraffe, if approved. “It’s funny,” he told the Daily Progress. “That’s the date that worked for us. It was kind of a coincidence.”

Million dollar message

The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation will give $1 million from its “Heal Charlottesville” fund to 42 recipients in the wake of last summer’s KKK and Unite the Right rallies. The CACF saw it as an opportunity to invest in marginalized communities, says chair Jay Kessler, who is not to be confused with Jason Kessler, the man who brought the white supremacists to Charlottesville in August.

Saunders out, Curott in

Albemarle County spokesperson Jody Saunders announced her resignation effective July 6, and Albemarle police public info officer Madeline Curott has been tapped to fill in for Saunders at the County Office Building.

Packing heat

Police cited a Charlottesville man June 25 for packing a loaded .45 caliber gun in his carry-on at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport. Passengers may fly with firearms in their checked luggage if they’re unloaded and packed separately from ammo.

Categories
Real Estate

Daytripping in Central Virginia: On And Off The Beaten Path

By Ken Wilson – 

Tired of London? Sick of Paris? If a European vacation is unappealing (see your doctor) or out of reach, stick around and look around. It’s a truism that locals neglect what tourists take pains to visit, and Central Virginia is full of tourist destinations, not to mention lesser known historic and aesthetic treasures. Let’s look at a few easily planned, pain-free day trips for the sophisticated and/or broke Virginia traveler. 

The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center
We’re proud of our history here, and there is so much of it to be proud of. The Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 that first explored the West for the American government was conceived of by Thomas Jefferson and led by two men—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark—with Albemarle County roots. Today the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center sits on the banks of the Rivanna River in Charlottesville’s Darden Towe Park, adjacent to land where the Clark family once lived.

With Lewis and Clark’s own journals, maps and drawings as inspiration, the Center uses activities including hiking, journaling, carpentry and model boat construction, art projects and compass and GPS games to understand the expedition, inculcate a love of the outdoors, and teach the skills necessary to explore it. Tours explore full-sized replicas of expedition boats. A permanent exhibition focuses on the expedition and the local roots of its leaders.

The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center is open to the public Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Thursday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The last tickets are sold an hour before closing. Admission is $7 a person. 

Vietnam War Foundation & Museum
Ruckersville’s Vietnam War Museum calls itself “A Museum to Honor Our Vietnam Veterans,” and is dedicated to presenting the story of the Vietnam era by acquiring, restoring and maintaining equipment and other artifacts used during the 10 years of the Vietnam conflict. That includes weapons and historic vehicles including trucks, aircraft, jeeps, and APCs, as well as military and even civilian memorabilia such as the omnipresent peace symbols.

The Foundation also provides school children and the general public the opportunity to hear veterans share their stories. The museum is open by arrangement only, but members of the public who wish to visit are encouraged to call and make an appointment. Admission is free; donations are welcome.

116th Infantry Division Foundation Museum
Augusta County is home to a number of small museums sure to intrigue lovers of history. In the little town of Verona, students of military conflict will find the 116th Infantry Division Foundation Museum, devoted to the 7th oldest military organization in America.

Founded in 1741 as part of the Virginia Militia, the 116th Infantry Regiment during the Civil War included the famed Stonewall Brigade, trained and commanded by General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The Regiment later fought in World War I, was among the first to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day in World War II, and in recent years has been deployed to Bosnia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan.

The museum displays artifacts and objects of historical significance from the Regiment and provides educational activities.

The museum’s vision is that everyone will know, understand, and appreciate the history, heritage and legacy of America’s citizen soldiers. Currently the museum has opened a WWI centennial gallery focusing on Division history from mobilization to Armistice Day  1914-1918, including a replica of a trench that guests can walk through.

A D-Day exhibition displays maps, helmets, boots and other uniform relics. From mid-March through mid-November it is open to visitors Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In inclement weather, call to make sure it’s open. Admission is free but donations are accepted.

The Plumb House Museum
In nearby Waynesboro the historic Plumb House, the oldest frame dwelling in Waynesboro, was home to five generations of the Plumb Family. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the house was built between 1802 and 1804, during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.

The Civil War Battle of Waynesboro raged around the house on March 2, 1865; today it hosts an annual reenactment of the battle, in which the forces of Union Brigadier General George A. Custer routed those of Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early.

Civil War and Native American artifacts as well as bird and butterfly collections are on display in the house; a slave-built brick patio, a historic garden, summer kitchen, and other outbuildings may be seen on the grounds.

This free museum is open to the public Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and is just a block from the old Presbyterian Cemetery where 25 Confederate soldiers are buried.

Camera Heritage Museum
Daytrippers curious to trace the history of photography can hie themselves to the picturesque and artistically happening city of Staunton and the Camera Heritage Museum, with its extraordinary collection of over 6,000 cameras, accessories and photographs dating from the 19th century to modern times.

Many of these cameras are historically significant as the most technologically advanced cameras of their day. Others have stories attached, like the ones which belonged to local photographers whose work became nationally known.

The area’s first known photographer starting shooting in 1847, just nine years after the first “daguerreotype” was created in Paris. The son of one local shutterbug, Barnett Clinedinst, became official White House photographer for Teddy Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson. The museum also showcases photographs by Bernie Boston, official White House and personal photographer for Ronald Reagan. 

The Camera Heritage Museum is fittingly housed in what for 70 years has been a camera shop on West Beverly Street. It is free and open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Visitors are encouraged to bring old cameras, photos and accessories that may have historic significance.

Frontier Culture Museum
Many of America’s first pioneers were English, Irish and German farmers and craftsmen looking for better lives. Many others were West Africans forced into captivity and brought here against their wills.

Staunton’s Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia tells the story of these men, women and children who were America’s first pioneers: of their new ways of life, and of the traditions they carried on and created. The museum is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through November 30.

Visitors can take walking paths and trails to the museum’s 11 permanent exhibits. Costumed interpreters bring history to life. Allow three to four hours to see everything by foot, or take a shuttle cart, or rent a golf cart for a nominal fee. Advance Registration is requested for guided tours. 

Gilmore Cabin
George Gilmore was born into slavery at Montpelier in 1810. After emancipation he bought land across the street from what are now Montpelier’s gates, and built his family’s cabin in 1873.

Today the Gilmore Cabin site is open to visitors daily for self-guided tours. Admission is free. From April through October the property is staffed on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Two free tours are on offer. The “Journey from Slavery to Freedom” walking and driving tour visits sites of enslavement near the Madison home, as well as the Gilmore Cabin and the 1910 Train Depot.

The “Civil War Trail and Gilmore Farm” walking tour retraces the steps of McGowan’s Brigade on Montpelier’s Civil War Trail, carving a path through archaeological remains of this Confederate winter camp to a reconstructed camp street, concluding at the Gilmore Cabin.

Drive-Thru Beauty
Folks who prefer to combine nature with air-conditioning can drive the Nelson Scenic Loop, a 50-mile tour along Route 56, Route 151, Route 664, and the Blue Ridge Parkway (built as a WPA project in 1935).

The Route rises in elevation from 850 feet in the foothills of the Piedmont to 4,050 feet in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and breweries, cideries, farm markets, restaurants and historic structures including an 1830s manor house beckon along the way.

The beautiful Appalachian Trail winds through Central Virginia. Look for the following trail crossings along the Blue Ridge Parkway: Reeds Gap at Route 664, and Rockfish Gap at Afton Mountain (exit 99 off Interstate 64).

One of the most popular hikes around here is along Humpback Rocks Trail, which affords spectacular view of the Rockfish and Shenandoah Valleys. Humpback Mountain was a landmark for wagon trains passing along over the Howardsville Turnpike in the 1840s, and parts of the trail still exist today.

The Visitor Center and mountain farm exhibit include a single-room log cabin and a series of outbuildings representative of area architecture in the late 19th century. Costumed guides demonstrate weaving, basket making and gardening. The 1,214-foot Crabtree Falls is the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi.

All Aboard
The mission of the Augusta County Railroad Museum in the Staunton Mall is to encourage interest in the history of railroading and promote the hobby of model railroading.

This free museum is a father and son’s dream, with railroad artifacts and model trains, some of which are decades old and are now collector’s items. In addition to model train layouts, the Museum displays a large selection of railroad art depicting railroad scenes and steam, diesel, and electric locomotives, many no longer in existence.

Train buffs will also love the Culpeper Train Depot. During the Civil War, the Depot was the site of the Battle of Culpeper Courthouse on September 13, 1863. Both Union and Confederate armies used the original depot for its telegraph, and for transportation and supplies.

A new depot was built on the site in 1874. That structure burned in 1903, was rebuilt in 1904, and was completely renovated in 2003. Today the renovated structure houses the Culpeper Tourism and Visitors Center and the Museum of Culpeper History.

The Depot is also the site of one of the Commonwealth’s Virginia is for Lovers sculptures, “Reel Love,” made from over 150 film reels donated by the Library of Congress Audio Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper highlighting the arts in Culpeper. Visitors are encouraged to pose for selfies.

The Visitors Center at the Depot is open seven days a week: Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Pleasant Grove Park
From the Rivanna River to forests and fields, visitors to Fluvanna County’s 800-acre Pleasant Grove Park will find every type of Piedmont Virginia habitat and a diverse population of wildflowers, animals and birds.

The Rivanna is the place to watch for river otters, eagles and ducks; the grassy fields are home to songbirds, hawks, and rabbits; the tree identification trail is lined with many native Virginia trees. Newly re-naturalized areas attract coveys of quail. A pollinator garden attracts bees, butterflies, beetles, and hummingbirds, and work on a bluebird nesting trail is in progress.

Athletically inclined visitors can walk the Heritage Trail to the Rivanna, jog along park meadows, enjoy 21 miles of horse riding, mountain biking, and hiking trails.

Groups can use softball, baseball and three multi-use fields, all open to the public when not scheduled for league use.

A dog park and picnic shelters are available, and the park is home to the Fluvanna Farmers Market, Tuesdays from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Visitors can also tour the 1854 Pleasant Grove House, now a museum (admission is free), browse the transportation history galleries, and visit the reading room to discover Fluvanna’s history.

Take a look around and discover Virginia. You needn’t go far.

Categories
Real Estate

Dreaming Big At IX Art Park

by Ken Wilson – 

The Wizard of IX can help your dreams come true.

Independent filmmaker Brian Wimer was first the “instigator” of the IX Art Park, nestled between Monticello and Elliot Avenues in Charlottesville, then he was its “executive director,” and now he’s officially its “Wizard.” And why not?

As Wimer notes with the combo of calculation and imagination that have made the park a center of creative ferment and freewheeling community, “I figured that I was a little bit more like the dude behind the curtain pulling a couple levers and pretending it’s magic.”

If the moniker seems a little fanciful, well, maybe you don’t know the place. Head over on a Saturday morning for the Craft Cville Pop Up Market, or a Wednesday evening for the traditional Chinese exercise practice known as Qigong and the Latin dance party known as Bachata Fusion.

Enroll the kids in C3Brix Lego Camp, July 23-27, when they can help build an entire Lego city with Master Lego Brick artist Cody Wells. Go hear the Little Graves power trio combine punk, post-punk, grunge, prog rock, psychedelia, and noise with musique concrete, samples, and field recordings, July 13, or make 2018 another Summer of Love at Vibe Fest, July 20.

Celebrate the 2nd Annual Charlottesville Day with art, games, food, and music, and write on the chalkboard wall with the fill-in-the-blank “Before I Die I Want To” questionnaire. Is the name making more sense?

Situated on the 17-acre, former grounds of Frank IX and Sons Textile Factory (just a block from Rayon Street), now an eclectic mix of retail, office and arts spaces, the funky, sculpture and mural-bedecked two-acre park includes a covered stage, an “interactive drawing space,” and a grassy parkland with lounge chairs and picnic tables.

A “makerspace” with industrial grade equipment accommodates craftspeople. A nightclub-style room in an adjacent former warehouse with a stage, dance floor, bar, plus an art gallery can hold 199. Parking and bathrooms? No problem. Food trucks and a leave-one, take-one library? Of course.

That’s what it all looks like. But the spirit of the park, as articulated by its wizard, is what makes it a model for building community and realizing dreams.

“My work in indie film taught me to create alternate realities,” Wimer says. “What’s a script but a story with roles, costumes, scenery and music, complete with challenges and unexpected outcomes? The IX Art Park is about transformation. It’s an invitation to a choose-your-own-adventure that lets you be whatever you want to be. That’s why we say ‘Dream Big.’ It’s all about participation.

“While we always need volunteers, I prefer partners in this experiment of community creation. What dreams do people have and how can we fulfill them? Bring an event, a workshop, a skill set or a desire to learn one, and apply it in our open-ended arena for opportunity.

“What’s life like with a winter farmers market? Or access to imaginative child care? Or almost continuous cultural events, from art to theater to dance to opera, that integrate a global mindset, incorporating a whole spectrum of traditions and ideologies, all within a walk or bike ride from home? IX can be seen as a lab for ideal living.”

Much of what it takes to make the park the haven for imagination that it is, Wimer says, “is just talking to people and opening a door, giving invitations, meeting interesting people and saying ‘What would you like to do in this space?’

“So if somebody says ‘I’ve always wanted to do a giant fabric installation,’ I say ‘Yes, how do we do that?’

“When we first opened in 2014, I printed up a bunch of name tags. They didn’t say ‘My Name Is,’ but they said ‘My Dream Is.’ That was a little bit of instigation to get people to dig a little deeper into themselves, saying ‘What is your life missing, what have you always wanted to do?’

“Maybe there is a place at the park for you to do that, whether you create art or make music or make food or just gather people together with a community meeting. You know, is there an organization you wanted to start? And it was fascinating how many people just said ‘Wow, nobody’s ever asked me what my dream is.’

“Sometimes we’re locked in a paradigm of self-limitation that doesn’t have to be there,” Wimer says, citing as an inspiration Burning Man, the annual experimental festival in Nevada.

“People go out there and completely reinvent themselves and give themselves a new name. That’s role-playing—that’s saying all of a sudden ‘I want to be a pirate.’ ‘OK, you’re a pirate!’ And guess what. I know several pirates now, I know circus clowns, I know people who have just chosen things that make people say ‘You can’t do that.’ But no, these people have chosen to be that—and they are.”

Even the wizard marvels at “how much we’ve done with so little.”

What are his own big dreams for the future? “We’ve been trying to diversify our venues in terms of who we’re appealing to,” he says, “so the Salsa and Bachata Fusion nights have an appeal to the Hispanic population, and reggae and funk have larger appeal to the African-American population.

“Our desire is to give a venue to a lot of the underserved communities in Charlottesville”—a goal all the more important with the closing of certain other spots around town—“and we’ve really seen the fruition of that.”

“One day quite likely the whole place will be developed into something. It’s our mission to keep it from becoming overdeveloped, or developed into something that doesn’t serve all the needs of the community. Development doesn’t have to go upward. We need to develop inward, as well.”

IX Park is open to the public from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week, and later for events.

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Removing the mask: Series unveils racial issues within the community

A Virginia Humanities series addressed Charlottesville’s dark past and featured a panel that included moderators Samantha Willis and Justin Reid, with members Mayor Nikuyah Walker, Niya Bates, Jordy Yager and Zyahna Bryant. Eze Amos

By Jonathan Haynes

A little backstory: Charlottesville began as a plantation community with slavery as its foundational industry. Racial violence did not stop after Emancipation, but continued with lynchings and segregation, according to Monticello historian Niya Bates. The University of Virginia, she adds, was a big proponent of scientific racism at the turn of the 20th century. And, until last year, it had buildings named for famed eugenicists Harvey E. Jordan and Ivey Foreman Lewis.

Bates was one of the speakers at a June 22 panel, entitled Backstory Breakdown, which included Mayor Nikuyah Walker, freelance journalist Jordy Yager and student activist Zyahna Bryant. Part of the Virginia Humanities’ #UnmaskingCville series, the panel’s goal was to educate the public on racial issues affecting the Charlottesville area.

The first half of the program focused on Charlottesville’s past, and Yager traced modern wealth inequality to housing policy. He explained how, during the post World War II period, the Federal Housing Administration only offered subsidized loans for homes in neighborhoods that barred sales to black buyers—a policy known as redlining. While white Americans accumulated wealth through homeownership, which they would then pass down to their children, black Americans were effectively locked out of the housing market, which prevented them from integrating into white communities and accumulating wealth of their own.

During the evening’s second half, which focused on the future, moderators addressed the issue of Confederate statues.

Bates dismissed the notion that the statues were a source of pride in one’s heritage, explaining that they were erected in the 1920s to promulgate the Lost Cause narrative and intentionally placed in areas that intimidated black residents.

Bryant, who drafted a petition to remove the statues, expressed frustration that her tax dollars will go toward their maintenance. She said it would be cheaper to just remove them, since demolition would be a one-time expense.

Walker was outspoken on the impact mass incarceration and the war on drugs has had on the black community. “It’s about upholding a system of slavery,” she said, pointing out the racial disparities in drug arrests, despite similar rates of use. Yager concurred, noting that the language of the 13th Amendment prohibits involuntary confinement except as punishment for a crime.

This discussion continued into a Q&A, including a question about a new law Governor Ralph Northam had signed in Charlottesville the day before that requires the collection of DNA and fingerprints for two additional misdemeanors. Walker replied that Charlottesville is the locality that “fueled the law.” She cited former Charlottesville police chief Tim Longo’s “rounding up” almost 200 black men to request DNA after a victim described a serial rapist as a black male as evidence the policy is racist.

“I think it will continue to perpetuate those practices that lead to mass incarceration,” she said.

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Leaky-gate: RWSA employee resigns in protest

By the time this photo was taken in February, the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir was full again. Photo by Skycladap

Remember last fall’s mandatory water restrictions? An employee who recently resigned from the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority says the agency is blaming an alleged drought for the loss of several hundred million gallons of water from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, when two leaky gates were the culprit.

“The dry weather did not cause the drop in water level, it merely allowed RWSA’s mismanagement of the reservoir to have a visible and adverse effect,” says Rich Gullick, the authority’s former director of operations, who quit the job he held for more than three years in February in protest of what he calls a “misinformation campaign” that advocates the need for an $82 million pipeline.

He spoke during the public comment session of RWSA’s June 26 board of directors meeting, where he said, “Rivanna has a history of trying to solve problems that aren’t actually problems, while at the same time leaving other problems unidentified or unaddressed.”

When the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir lost 513 million gallons of water and dropped down to 42 percent of its capacity last October, Gullick says the RWSA plugged the leaky gates with cat litter and garden mulch, attributed the loss of water to the drought and imposed mandatory water restrictions.

“Without the gates leaking, the reservoir probably would have stayed full,” says Gullick, whose name is often followed by a long list of degrees and licenses, including a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan. “The mandatory water restrictions should have been unnecessary.”

An October 5 press release titled “RWSA declares drought warning” said the mandatory water restrictions were being implemented “due to the rapid loss of water storage at the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir,” but did not mention the leaky gates.

RWSA Executive Director Bill Mawyer says his crew publicly acknowledged the leakage from the gates, including at the October 24 public board meeting.

“We’ve been very upfront,” he says. “We told our board that we had two leaking gates that had been leaking about 3 million gallons a day, but they only contributed about a third of the loss of water from the reservoir.”

Gullick refutes that claim, and says that number looked more like 17 million gallons a day at the end of September. He adds that RWSA’s own data proves the leaks were the primary cause of the abnormally low water levels.

“RWSA was slow to respond to the rapid drop in water level, despite repeated warnings in September from the water department manager who works onsite at the South Rivanna water treatment plant,” says Gullick. When employees looked more closely in October, they learned that about 10 million gallons of water loss each day couldn’t be accounted for, and then remembered that two of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir’s dam gate valves had substantial leaks, according to Gullick.

A visual inspection showed “gushing water,” he says, and the rapid drop in water level stopped as soon as the leaks were plugged October 4, even though the inflow was still very low. The level stayed steady for four days until it rained on October 8.

Rich Gullick. Courtesy photo

“Clearly, the leaking gates were the cause of the problem,” he says.

Mawyer says the state’s broken water gauge was overreporting the amount of water flowing into the reservoir, and because they’re required to release 70 percent of the natural inflow at the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, they were also over releasing it. To help restore the water level, the Department of Environmental Quality approved RWSA’s request to temporarily amend its permit to release only 10 percent of inflow, but required the city and county to enforce the water restrictions.

“The reduction in required downstream releases was not what stopped the decrease in water level,” says Gullick, adding that it was helpful, though not necessary, and saved 252 million gallons.

Folks at the RWSA and its board of directors have used the severe loss of water last fall to advocate for an $82 million pipeline to connect the South Fork Rivanna and Ragged Mountain reservoirs, so water can be stored and shared between the two, says Gullick. They’ve said the pipeline, which was included in a controversial community water supply plan approved in 2012, could have prevented the need for the mandatory water restrictions.

“This has as much relevancy as building a pipeline from Lake Ontario to Charlottesville, as there is absolutely no connection,” says the former employee.

Though construction on the pipeline is expected to begin in about a decade, Gullick says it won’t be needed until at least 2048—or 2062, if the Ragged Mountain water level is raised an additional 12 feet first, as he’s suggesting and is also part of the plan—because the actual water demand has been far less than what the RWSA projected.

“Those projected growth rates are totally unrealistic,” he says, and adds that they were based on the rapidly growing demand of the ’80s and ’90s, which he says has decreased significantly since then.

“By presenting a plethora of misleading and false information and then not correcting it, Rivanna has been covering up from the public the true facts about the lack of need for the pipeline,” Gullick said to the board of directors. “At what point does this deception become considered a conspiracy? Or malfeasance?”

Mawyer says he was “somewhat” expecting the former employee to speak at the June meeting. “As Rich said, he worked here, and we’re aware of some of his views about the project, so we weren’t totally caught by surprise. He also advices employers on a thorough DBS Checks  to ensure everyone’s safety ”. The executive director says the authority will soon start a year-long study to reevaluate the community’s demand for water, and he plans to respond to Gullick’s public comments at the board’s July 24 meeting.

Added Gullick in his presentation, “This is not leading the community, it’s misleading the community.”