Month: December 2023

Say you’ve just moved into a new house. Or the seasons changed. Or it’s your birthday. There are endless reasons to host a gathering, but where do you begin? We’ve asked a few local experts—from home hosts to the pros—how to pull off a low-fuss get-together. It starts with an idea, then throw in some wine, some tunes, and you’ve got yourself a kiki. Let’s party!

THE SIMPLE WAY TO SOIRÉE

Edward Warwick-White has been helping host parties for as long as he can remember (“Even Christmas felt like a big party where friends and neighbors could drop by at any time,” he says of his family holidays growing up). He’s lent a hand to local wedding and event planners, and is often tapped by friends and family to arrange charcuterie boards or help flesh out a theme for parties at home. And in his position as assistant dean of the full-time MBA program and student affairs at UVA’s Darden School of Business, he’s overseen everything from Proud to be Out Week to planning graduation for the McIntire School of Commerce and opening week for Darden. 

We knew he’d have thoughts on everything from the food to the décor, and asked him to share his opinions on each, but his greatest tip is this: “At the end of the day, you do you,” he says. “Inspiration is great, but do what feels natural and comfortable for you. Your guests will love it.”—CH

THE FOOD

If it’s a cocktail party, it’s all about the apps. If it’s a multi-course dinner party, be careful to not overload your guests on pre-dinner apps and snacks. I like to focus on having three or four substantial apps as opposed to a smattering of 15. My go-tos are a meat (ex: chicken satay skewers), a veg (ex: crudité/grilled veggies and hummus), a sea (ex: shrimp, oysters), and a cheese board situation. I’d rather replenish than be continually cycling through different dishes. Don’t forget to include some gluten-free options. 

I’m obviously a big fan of a cheese/charcuterie board, and I like to make one whenever possible—they’re communal, they offer a lot of variety in a contained way, and they can be a centerpiece/conversation starter on their own. I love that guests can try different combinations of things without fully committing—ooh, a little goat cheese with some fig jam and a praline pecan? Don’t mind if I do! Ooh, a little manchego with some hot honey and speck? Naughty little treat! It’s like speed dating, but with cheese. Be sure to include both hard and soft cheeses, and at a minimum, cut the cheese (lol) for your guests to start. Much like a cake, no one wants to be the first person to cut into a big wedge. 

Ina Garten was right: Store-bought is fine. 

I love to cook, but I don’t believe we have to do it all. Make two things, buy three things. We are fortunate to be surrounded by so many incredible food options here in Charlottesville, so we should take full advantage. Whether it’s snagging a flourless chocolate cake from MarieBette for dessert (finish off with some fresh berries and cream), an antipasto platter from Mona Lisa, or an abundance board from Plenty Cville, you can really treat your guests without spending the whole night in the kitchen. 

The drinks

My handsome husband got very into craft cocktails during the pandemic, but the goal is not for him to be bartending all night. When we host, he’s started making drink menus based on what’s being served, who is coming, and what’s available. By having a narrow cocktail list, he can maximize ingredients and time. You can offer a variety (a few shaken, a few stirred, and a signature) without having to take orders for piña coladas and vodka stingers. If you don’t have a mixologist husband, storebought is fine. But no, seriously. Consider a batch cocktail like an Aperol spritz in a big carafe. Guests can pour over ice and garnish with an orange wheel. I’m not a wine expert, so I always let my friend Mariko bring/pick the wine. Don’t be afraid to say, “This is what we will have, but if you want something else, feel free to bring it!” Most guests want to bring something—make it something you can use. 

Here’s the thing: Your guests want to have a good time. 

They don’t want to feel like you stayed up all night getting everything ready. Instead of trying to impress, focus your energy on making everyone feel at home. It doesn’t have to be fancy or fussy to be nice. Reclaim the keg party! Order a variety of favorite pizzas from local pizza joints paired with a pony keg of craft beer or cider and your best jam band playlist. Guests care about good food, good company, and a good time—not about salami shaped like roses and napkins folded into swans. 

The entertainment

Having an activity can be fun, but it can also wreck a vibe faster than your ex showing up drunk and uninvited. If you’re planning an activity, read the room/assess the vibe as the night goes on. If everyone is having a great time talking and catching up, maybe you don’t need to stop the train for charades and card games. If the goal is for guests to get to know one another, consider something easy like some fun/funny question prompts on the table, but don’t make it weird. I went to a party solo once where all of the husbands had to sit at one table, while all of the wives had to sit at another table. If you know me, I would have rather been at the other table with the few wives I knew. I also went to a party where the hostess made us continually rotate seats every 30 minutes, and it eventually just got old. Your guests are coming to have a good time, not to be in a social experiment. 

The tunes

Music is a fast and easy way to create a vibe. Obviously music can serve a theme (Roaring ’20s, Beach Boys, Christmas, bluegrass…) but I also like to approach music seasonally. Summer to me feels vintage breezy like Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, fall feels cozy like Fleet Foxes or Django Reinhardt. Don’t ignore the volume—is it background music? Or are you trying to start a dance party?

The look

Décor should be simple, pretty, and true to who you are. If you have a theme, feel free to embrace it without breaking the bank. I once co-hosted a baby shower with an Alice in Wonderland/Mad Hatter tea party theme. We decorated with scattered playing cards, mismatched tea cups, saucers, and swapped out flower vases for arrangements in tea pots, and even some edible décor—cookies that said Eat Me from a local bakery. If you don’t have a theme, don’t underestimate the power of fresh flowers, votives, lighting, and some personal touches. Keep floral arrangements low for conversation, adjust the lights as the night goes on, and don’t overdo it. Even if your table is magazine-worthy, it’s no fun if you your guests can’t figure out where to set down their glass. 

Word to the wise: Don’t let a theme ruin your party. 

Theme parties can be fun, but they can also be stressful and cumbersome for your guests. If you’re going with a theme, make sure it serves the purpose of the event—generating excitement, not creating a barrier for entry. Remember that not everyone has a flapper dress or a leisure suit in the closet. The goal is to not create a bunch of work for your guests before they even get in the door. Keep it fun. One of my favorite summertime party themes is “Camp Warwick White”—hot dogs, burgers, nugs, s’mores bar, a batch cocktail (“bug juice”), and some lawn games. Guests can wear T-shirts, shorts, and tanks. Who doesn’t love adult summer camp?!

The practicals

Be organized. One of my favorite tips for a cocktail party is to arrange all of the serving dishes on the table and label each one with a post-it of what will go on it. That way, you aren’t digging for dishes at party time. If guests arrive early, put them to work—chiffonade that basil while you enjoy that free booze, my friend! Make/purchase food that can stay warm or be easily replenished. Consider a buffet or family-style so you aren’t in the kitchen plating every course, and clean as you go, if you can. If you have enough glasses and plates from cocktail hour, go ahead and run the dishwasher so you aren’t overwhelmed with dishes after dinner. And if you’re going to be in the kitchen cooking/prepping, be prepared for most of your guests to gather in the kitchen, too. 

A word on dishes: Rent! 

I’m not talking the musical or the Charlottesville housing market—I’m a big fan of rentals for a party. Whether it’s linens, glassware, or a cotton candy machine, renting is a great way to save time and shake things up without the lifelong commitment of buying. For Thanksgiving, I like to rent almost everything but the food and family. Not only can you pick out fancy pheasant plates and funky amber goblets that you’d only use once a year, you can avoid the mountain of dishes at the end of the night when you’re completely over it all. Just scrape your dirties and drop them in a milk crate for return. Renting glassware for your next cocktail party is a great way to avoid both emptying your cabinets or resorting to red solo cups. Keep it fun and fresh by mixing in some of your own favorite pieces. 

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THE PERFECT PLAYLIST

If you’re throwing a party, you’ll need a list of tunes created with a good time in mind. We asked WNRN’s Jeff Sweatman to get the party started, and he delivered with a 33-song (“in part as a salute to the 33 1/3 LP,” he says) list, plus a few notes for true music nerds. You’ll likely recognize a few names on the list. 

“I wanted to represent at least some of the amazing music being made right now across the Commonwealth (Deau Eyes, Free Union, Kate Bollinger, Kendall Street Company, Boxed Lunch, Dogwood Tales),” he says, “and C’ville legends of yore, too (Love Canon, Pavement, Tommy Boyce).”

Give it a listen.—CH

Track 1: Sets template/vibe I was going for, plus the band is called Dinner Party! 

Tracks 11 and 33: U2 and Bob Dylan are reinterpreting past works to (mostly) great effect.

Track 12: Brittany Davis is blind, non-binary, and in the supergroup Painted Shield with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. 

Track 13: The original lineup of Fishbone is back!

Tracks 15, 21, and 25: Everyone who knows about SAULT and Danielle Ponder and Joy Oladokun is better for it.

Track 22: De La Soul is finally on streaming services!

Track 28: This came out in early 2021 so it’s a funny pandemic juxtaposition of scenarios (meeting God/The Devil/being sentenced to death) and food (gorditas, quesadillas, chicharrón—not necessarily in that order)

Track 29: Whether it’s SNL, covering Bo Burnham, or creating a new supergroup, Phoebe Bridgers has the Midas touch lately. Her version of Sir Paul’s song coulda been a big hit in a less jam-packed release environment.

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GOOD FOR THE GATHER

Making people feel seen is artist Britt Davis’ superpower. She does it through her paintings—which often feature encouraging titles and hidden messages—as well as through events at her home. A co-host of TONIC + bloom, a seasonal women’s retreat, Davis says it’s important to help guests feel at home and relaxed. 

“I like to do simple things like run around with no shoes on, or have my kids greet people in the driveway,” she says. “This helps people know our home is a place where they can come as they are.” 

Davis is a strong believer that if you don’t have a specific reason to gather, it’s fine (and fun!) to make one up. We asked her for a list of her greatest hits—plus a few tips and tricks she’s learned over the years.—CH

Seasons of love

Every fall, the Davis’ host 300 people at their Greenwood farm to celebrate the turn of the season. They hire a band, have crafts for the kids, and roast s’mores. “We always have Brownsville fried chicken and drinks and every family brings a side dish to share,” Davis says. “It’s turned into one of my kids favorite days of the year, with tons of kids running around the farm covered in marshmallow stickiness.” (For the adults, Davis recommends this spiked cider recipe: Mix 2 oz. of Captain Morgan’s spiced rum to 4 oz. of warm apple cider. Add a cinnamon stick and serve.) 

For the ladies

Davis loves helping facilitate new friendships, so she hosts a casual playdate party for new-in-town moms. It can be as simple as putting out a pitcher of water and a bowl of fresh strawberries. “I love seeing info being exchanged,” Davis says. “Meeting families who are in the same stage of life as you, when you are new to an area, can help you feel so hopeful and at ease.” 

Solemn vows

A suicide loss survivor, Davis hosts an annual event called Ladies Summer Survival Toast during suicide prevention week. Guests wear white and write short love letters to themselves on a luminary that gets floated in the pool. “This event started seven years ago when I lost my best friend to a silent battle of postpartum depression,” Davis says. “I did the first toast to thank the friends that truly helped me survive the summer that she passed. It’s beautiful to see how the event has evolved over the years.” 

Country strong

For her daughter’s 5th birthday, Davis nabbed straw hats the Dollar Store, bought a 12-pack of mason jars and had all the guests arrange flowers. “It was sweet, simple, gave them an activity to do, which was also their favor to take home,” she says. Two years later, for her daughter’s 7th birthday, the girls painted wooden bird houses. 

Simple is good

“For my first child’s 1st birthday party, I had my husband and father moving furniture into a UVA garden. I hired a photographer. All of the decor was DIY perfection,” she says. “By baby number three I realized that the first birthday party was for me surviving that challenging first year.” She wised up: For her third child’s 1st birthday, she asked friends to meet her at King Family Vineyards with a side dish. “We had a fabulous time drinking wine and snuggling my 1-year-old on a picnic blanket.”

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EASY SERVE

When it comes to wine, you don’t need to be an expert to offer something that’ll have your guests’ mouths watering. We asked Reggie Leonard, co-founder of Blenheim Vineyards’ inclusive wine club Oenoverse, to help us out with a list of Virginia bottles that’ll please all palettes (and budgets). 

Rosé

Still: Blenheim 2022 Rosé

Sparkling: Rosemont Extra Brut
Sparkling Rosé

Treat yourself: King Family Vineyards
2021 Mountain Plains Rosé (100 percent petit verdot + one year of age)

White

Lighter-bodied: Eastwood Farm and Winery Petit Manseng; Early Mountain Vineyards 2021 Five Forks

Medium/full-bodied: Common Wealth Crush “The Artist Formerly Known As Sparkling”; Fifty-Third Winery 2022 Chardonel

Sparkling: Veritas Scintilla, Gabriele Rausse Chasselas Doré 2022 Sparkling 

Treat yourself: Midland 2018 Blanc
de Blancs Zero

Red

Lighter-bodied: Early Mountain
2022 Young Wine Red

Medium/full-bodied: Afton Mountain Bacco ’19

Sparkling: Bluestone Vineyard 2022
Half Bubble Off-Center

Treat yourself: Ankida Ridge 2021
Pinot Noir

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PRO TIP

Anyvent owner Jazmin Portnow is known for creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind wedding experiences for clients. We figure, anyone who knows how to pull off an event like that surely has some tips for home hosts. We tapped her expertise for a few tricks when it comes to creating a memorable event at home.

Tip 1: Details, details, details: Focus on creating an experience for your guests for events both big and small. Sure, people don’t typically notice that anything is “missing,” but they will potentially talk about small details and how they felt throughout your gathering for years to come. For instance, I didn’t realize how much people noticed this until my mother-in-law commented on how lovely our dining room table always looked—all due to the magic of a few Crate & Barrel vases and Trader Joe’s centerpieces created right in my kitchen. You can bring out the good china and flatware for special gatherings, but places like Amazon and Etsy have a lot of high-end disposable options that look fancy, won’t break the bank, and will elevate any gathering. 

Tip 2: Let food be their guide. Food is the focal point at most events, so be sure to place it in an area that you’d like guests to gather in. If your food is too far away from the action and pulls people away from the party, it has the power to bring down the vibe or take your guest’s attention away from the festivities. And, word to the wise: Create a fun menu that allows you to prep things ahead of time. It’s great to spoil your guests and showcase your talents in the kitchen when you host, but try to avoid being so tied up in the kitchen that you don’t have time to enjoy quality time with your guests.  

Tip 3: Don’t forget drink tags. Ever put your drink down at a party and forget which one was yours? It happens all of the time and leads to a lot of waste. Avoid waste and look like a details rock star by providing guests with wine or cup charms that differentiate one glass from another.

Ken Farmer has made both his careers out of doing what he loves. Whether he’s appraising on PBS’s popular and long-running “Antiques Roadshow,” or performing on a local stage as Ken Farmer and the Authenticators, his knowledge of and love for the arts, crafts, and music of southwest Virginia shines through.

Farmer’s roots in the back country go deep. He grew up in Pulaski, where at age 10 his father got him an inexpensive Teisco del Rey bass guitar. This was 1960, and “I was drawn to rhythm and blues. I learned all the bass lines to the Rolling Stones songs,” Farmer says. When he got to Emory & Henry College, his roommate told him while they were jamming, “You’ve got a pretty good tenor voice—you should sing too.” That’s when Farmer got introduced to Doc Watson, his first guitar hero. In his junior year, when the family moved to Delaware, Farmer got exposed to the music scene in the Philadelphia area and began learning about the full range of American roots music.

By 1974, Farmer was living in Wytheville and married to Jane, his college sweetheart. “We had no furniture,” Farmer recalls, “so we started going to local auctions—we’d buy the stuff left over at the end. Once we started buying stuff, we had to figure out how to sell stuff. We [took a load] down to the Metrolina flea market in Charlotte and made $2,000.” Jane was working as a teacher, and soon Farmer quit his job as a probation officer and became a self-employed dealer. “I’m a stuff nerd,” he says. His superpower is remembering objects and their context—quality, source, and price. 

At the same time, Farmer was traveling to fiddler conventions and guitar competitions. He met some musicians from Radford, who invited him to join their bluegrass band Upland Express. By 1979 Jane was pregnant with their first child and the couple moved to Radford. Farmer left the band to become a real estate agent and then a broker—which got him into estate sales. In selling off entire estates, Farmer found “I didn’t know enough about pricing everything, so I started auctioning—off the back of a truck at first. Eventually I bought a tent, and then a warehouse.” He found auctioneering combined his increasing knowledge of “stuff” with his performing instincts, and it also gave him more experience in valuing objects, which led him into appraising. 

In 1995, he got a call from a producer for PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow.” The producer liked his credentials as a generalist who could evaluate not only regional furniture and furnishings, but also crafts, tools, and textiles. Over 20 years, Farmer had built up a breadth of experience and a network of experts he consults to get the best information on “things I don’t see much of, from Asian art to jewelry and rare instruments.” 

Farmer has appraised everything from a North Carolina secretary desk worth six figures to tools and fishing equipment. The worst part, he says, is telling someone the “antique” they’ve staked their heart on is a fake. He also cautions that simply getting a price range is not the whole story. “There’s also what you have to spend [formal appraisal, restoration, research on provenance, advertising in the right places, etc.] to turn that object into money.”

Most of all, Farmer points out, “I can’t put a value on what that object means to you.” Farmer’s home is filled with everything from folk art to fine art, and “I could tell you a story about every single piece.” Early in their married life, he and Jane spent pretty much their last dime on a decorated Appalachian pie safe that they have kept and enjoyed for almost 50 years. His advice: “Surround yourself with things that give you a little love every day.”

Music has given Farmer plenty of love for decades. His repertoire includes rockabilly, blues, roots rock, and country—basically, the full range of the 20th century, including contemporary songwriters and original music. “I love that you can play this music that’s still performed as it was 100 years ago, and you can take it and make it your own,” Farmer says. “Other people have drawn from the music of Appalachia—Gram Parsons and Marty Stewart, to name only two.”

When he moved to Charlottesville in 2012, Farmer began meeting local musicians through the Central Virginia Blues Society. For the last five years, he’s played guitar and sung lead vocals with The Authenticators—Rob Martin of Nelson County, Frank Cain, and Preston Wallech. They’ve played area wineries and pubs, Fridays After Five, and the Blues Society’s annual festival. This year’s gigs include Plaza Antigua in Waynesboro, The Camel in Richmond, and Carter Mountain Orchard. 

While he loves the crafts of the back country, Farmer admits he’s a musician first. “Music frees my mind,” he says. “It’s a hypnotic, spiritual thing—a great gift.”

BEHIND THE SCENES

While the “Roadshow” may look casual to viewers, quality control is rigorous. Appraisers (who are not paid) fill out a form listing their expert contacts, which get vetted beforehand, Farmer says. During the show, “you’re surrounded by your peers checking out what you’re saying.” The evaluations may look off the cuff, but appraisers do get a chance to prepare—and of course, only a small number of the most interesting appraisals make it into the show.

Have you ever walked into a closet full of clothes and walked out feeling like you have nothing to wear? Victoria Proscia knows that feeling. As a stylist with House of Colour, Proscia is a pro at finding the right colors and clothing cuts to enhance inner beauty. No more blindly shopping trends that just don’t feel quite right, instead Proscia guides clients to clothing staples they can mix and match, and to colors that make their eyes pop, skin gleam, and budget breathe a sigh of relief. 

434: What is color and style analysis?

Proscia: It’s a process that’s very clarifying to home in on your best wardrobe. There are always trends in the fashion industry, sometimes that can be cuts of clothing and sometimes that can be color. What’s really, really important for budget purposes is to know what colors actually look good on, not only from a confidence standpoint, but also a financial standpoint. There can be a lot of trends that are a bit more expensive and trends that simply just won’t work for you, so it’s nice to know where you live in terms of trends—what looks best on your body, but also what colors make you go bright and clear and approachable.

So what happens in a consult?

What happens typically during a person’s first color analysis appointment is they’ll walk in draped in both warm and cool colors. So we go over the color wheel and I give an overview of yellow-based colors and warm colors, and blue-based colors and cool colors. We drape [fabric swatches] of these warm and cool colors on you, and we go back and forth, seeing and rating the changes in your skin. From there, we get you to a season and a subseason. We have two warm seasons, autumn and spring, and we have two cool seasons, winter and summer. It really depends on if someone’s skin looks best in soft, blended colors or clear, bright colors.

And then in style analysis, we talk about everything and find your two clothing personality archetypes—dramatic, classic, natural, gamine, ingénue, or romantic.

What can the right colors do for a person?

Have you ever been told that you look tired? A lot of times you’re in a color that makes you actually go really tired or unhealthy. Sometimes it’ll bring out more of that yellow pigment in your skin or it will make you have too much pigment in your skin where you look really chilly. Does a color make you go crisp and clear and bright, or does it make you go kind of shadowed and you look like you didn’t get the full eight hours last night.

Does that mean you should throw out all the clothing in your closet?

One of the reasons people are afraid to get their colors done is they think I’m gonna tell them that certain colors don’t work and look bad, and that’s actually not the case at all. Most of us can’t leave our appointments and go home and restart [our closets]; our budgets are just not equipped for that. So during your color appointment we talk about how, if black is not in your palate, how do we make black work with your makeup or your best metal color? Black lives in one particular season, so if you don’t get that season, maybe we just encourage you to move black below the waist. I’m just here to introduce colors to you that look better than, maybe, what’s already in your closet, and I teach you how to organize your closet so that over time we can exchange some pieces for better-than colors.

What’s your own color and style personality?

I am a Jewel Winter, and a Natural Dramatic. I need texture, large-scale accessories, angular necklines, straight lapels. I can do some distressing in denim.

A 20-minute drive from Charlottesville, the town of Gordonsville is an attractive spot for a day trip, with it’s many food, drink, and shopping options. Head northeast and check out all this tiny town has to offer.

What to eat and drink

It goes without saying you have to stop at BBQ Exchange. Chef Craig Hartman’s quick-counter restaurant opened in 2010, and since then has served up some of the most delicious smoked meats you’ll find in Virginia, alongside scrumptious sides like Brunswick stew, hush puppies, collard greens, and more. Get the BBQ Lovers platter to sample a variety of meats or the tofu option (don’t forget the sauce). If you can exercise some self-control (good luck!), save room for one of the homemade desserts or just enjoy a pumpkin or cornbread muffin with your meal. 102 Martinsburg Ave.

Savor scratch-made, bite-sized baked goods at Krecek Kakes Bakery & Coffeeshop. Find Angel Konfections—sweet treats that are a mix between candy and brownie, with a brown sugar or flour crust and fruit or chocolate toppings—at this cozy spot. Three Angel Konfections flavors are offered daily; ask for a sample or buy a gift box to share. The bakery donates a portion of all sales to charitable organizations, so you can do good while you’re savoring the sweetness. 105 S. Main St.

To wash it all down, start at Patch Brewing Co., a family- and dog-friendly outpost where everyone will find something to enjoy. There’s a selection of beer on tap (cider, too), a dog park, a baseball field, indoor and outdoor beer gardens, and burgers and more from their own County Line food truck. There’s also live music on Fridays. 10271 Gordon Ave.

Well Hung Vineyard and Restaurant operates its flagship location on Main Street in Gordonsville, serving brunch, lunch, dinner, and its handcrafted wines. Sip the Playful Pink for a dry rosé crafted from Virginia pinot noir grapes, or enjoy a flight and pick your favorite Well Hung wine. 300 S. Main St.

The new East of Maui Coffee Shop is getting good reviews for its speed and convenience. Grab a custom drink when you need an afternoon pick-me-up. 512 N. Main St.

Where to shop

Need to up your style game? Don’t miss Posh. Browse the robust dress collection, which boasts one thing that many women’s dresses lack: pockets! Sisters Janice Wood and Victoria O’Leary have been having fun through fashion at their shop since opening in 2003. 107 S. Main St.

Browse distinctive antiques at Lindenlaan Antiques & Interiors, where proprietor Annette La Velle has hand-picked 18th- and 19th-century antiques from England, France, and Belgium. To complement the antique treasures, she offers a selection of quality home goods. You can visit the shop by appointment. 205 S. Main St.

Stop into one of Gordonsville’s art galleries, like Annie Gould Gallery or Cavallo Gallery. 

Annie Gould established her space in 2017, and features work from more than 50 regional and national artists. Here you’ll find paintings, jewelry, woodworks, photography, glass, sculpture, and textiles. 109 S. Main St.

Cavallo Gallery features work from local artists, accessories, jewelry, gifts, paper goods, and Cavallo’s “green favorites”—a selection of toxin-free fragrances, apothecary items, teas, coffees, craft mocktails, and more. 117 S. Main St.

Find hand-crafted American-made goods at Folkling, open on Friday and Saturday. This sustainable shop gives new life to old things and also stocks quality heritage goods from nearby artists and makers. 107 S. Main St., Suite 1

What to do

Ranked as one of the top 100 disk golf courses in the world by UDisc disc golfer app, Raptors Roost includes four different courses at Shenandoah Crossing. 1944 Shenandoah Crossing Dr.

At the edge of downtown, the 150-year-old Exchange Hotel Civil War Medical Museum features special events and programs that explore and highlighwt the museum’s history. 400 S. Main St.

Where to stay

Make it a weekend and stay the night at the Nathaniel Inn, a boutique historic inn and guest cottage build in 1874. Located in downtown Gordonsville, the inn offers you the privacy of a vacation rental with the upscale hospitality of a hotel. There are three suites at the Nathaniel House with a guest cottage next door that can be reserved for bigger groups. 502 N. Main St.

Nancy Littlefield is a fourth-generation nurse, so it’s not surprising that she describes caring for people as “my calling.” What may be surprising is that her work as an ICU nurse, helping the sick and their families to heal and recover, led her to palliative care, helping the dying and their families through life’s last stage. That will be her focus as the new CEO for Hospice of the Piedmont.

“As an ICU nurse, you get lots of patients facing eternity, and you wonder how to help them,” Littlefield says. Spending time with patients and their families, learning more about their lives and talking about their needs, she says, “I became impassioned about that kind of care.” 

Littlefield has amassed a broad range of experience in her over 30-year career. A New Jersey native, she earned her RN from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia before moving to Virginia in 1987. She earned her bachelor’s in nursing from George Mason University, a master’s degree in health care administration from VCU, and a doctorate in nursing practice from Old Dominion University. Her career has covered the clinical and business aspects of health care, in both acute and long-term care. Most recently, she served as executive vice president and chief nursing officer for Riverside Health System, a network including five hospitals and nine long-term care facilities and hospice/palliative care services in southeastern Virginia.

While she clearly gets her vocation for nursing from her mother, Littlefield credits her father with sparking her career drive. “He was a huge influence,” she says. “He started as a draftsman, and ended up owning the company. One of his leadership lessons was ‘Act like you can handle more.’” That attitude led Littlefield to get a master’s in health administration rather than nursing—to learn more about the business side as well as the clinical aspects of health care.

Another of her father’s mantras was that problems are just an opportunity to find solutions, and Littlefield says that’s how she honed her business management skills—“through experience. Like going through the COVID pandemic—if that didn’t get you through how to handle [health care] problems!” 

During her time at Riverside, Littlefield and her husband were thinking ahead to the next stage; their son and his now-wife both attended UVA, and the Littlefields decide to settle in the Charlottesville area. In 2019, they bought a lot in Keswick and built a home there. With her growing focus on end-of-life and palliative care, Littlefield thought she might end up volunteering for Hospice of the Piedmont, and got to know Ron Cottrell, who was then leading the organization. When he retired this year, Littlefield says, she thought, “Wait—is this a good fit for me?” She decided yes, and so did the hospice board.

Hospice and palliative care are in increasing demand, not only as the population ages but as awareness grows of the importance of quality of life. Hospice of the Piedmont serves more than 1,700 patients a year, according to Communications Manager Jeremy Jones—some in its eight-bed Hospice House and its 10-bed acute care center, but the vast majority in their own homes or assisted-care facilities. As a nonprofit, Hospice of the Piedmont cares for families across a broad socioeconomic range.

One misconception is that going into hospice means giving up. Quite the opposite, Jones says: Palliative care or hospice often enables patients to stabilize their condition and live longer and more comfortably. But number of days isn’t the focus—the goal is “taking care of patients and their families before, during, and after end of life—to walk through that process with them.”

Modern medicine can do amazing things, but there is a time when treatment can do little more. “Hospice is there to seamlessly take over then that time comes,” says Littlefield. “It’s always the patient’s decision—when to have palliative care help with symptom management, so you can do what you want to do with the time that’s left.” 

“I’ve gotten so much from this work, the lessons these patients have taught me,” she says. “Those of us drawn to this work see working through the end of life as a privilege.”

Charlottesville is known as a restaurant town, but it’s also a lively retail place that attracts new ventures. And with an eclectic population—traditional and trendy, students and tourists, third-generation and newbies—it’s not surprising the offerings are eclectic too. 

Airea Garland took the plunge with lifestyle store Mac and Mae, just off the Downtown Mall on Fifth Street. “This is my first solo retail venture,” says the newly minted entrepreneur, counting on her background working at major top-end retailers, and the financial skills of her partner/fiancé. COVID is what kicked off the idea—“It gave me a desire to reinvent my home,” Garland recalls, “and it made me think, ‘Am I really doing what I love?’” So she earned a degree in fashion design and visual merchandising (on full scholarship), while working full-time, and credits the Community Investment Collaborative for supporting her launch. She named her store after two family inspirations—her grandfather Papa Mac and her late mother Anna Mae (whose closet she admits raiding while she developed her own personal style.) 

Garland describes her store as “where home and wardrobe meet—how we present ourselves should work with how we are at home.” The space is quiet and airy (there’s a back balcony with French doors that lets in air and light, unusual in a retail space), with racks of clothing and accessories, tables with candles and aromatics, and shelves with pottery and home décor. Garland sees her clientele as largely young professionals, but also “anyone who wants to elevate their home and wardrobe—where everyone feels they can pick out [a style] for themselves.” Since opening in August, she’s still sourcing, but wants to maintain an emphasis on local suppliers, especially artisans. “And my neighbors on the block—Low Vintage and Thai Fresh—have been really welcoming.”

Then there’s The Beautiful Idea, which announced itself with a sign heralding the opening of Charlottesville’s first “anti-fascist bookstore, queer market, and radical community hub.” The new spot on the Downtown Mall near Fourth Street is all that—and hopes to be more. The owners are all trans and active in the LGBTQ community. Senlin Means and Ellie Picard having been running antifascist (“you could also say leftist or anarchist,” notes Means) bookstore F12 Infoshop in gallery and community space Visible Records since 2021; Dylan West and Joan Kovach, founders of Critter Butts, have been selling their “queer feral trash creature” T-shirts, cards, prints, and stickers at the Ix farmers’ market and other outlets. Means and Picard were looking to find a space for F12 Infoshop to enlarge, which meant enlisting a partner, and once they found Critter Butts, it all came together. “[The idea was] we would be an anchor store, and form something like a mall for queer leftist stuff,” says Means. Since the store opened in September, “It’s been wild—there’s been so much support,” says West.

But the “beautiful idea” is more than having a new retail space for their businesses and others, it’s also providing a gathering space for the LGBTQ community. From Critter Butts’ ongoing presence at the farmers’ market and other venues, West says, “we’ve accumulated all these people who felt they were alone—and now they have a place to come, hang out, and feel safe.” Means, who was actively involved in the antifascist resistance to the 2017 Unite the Right rally, says, “We have an antifascist approach—that’s my perspective—but we’re also here to teach and encourage people to explore.” And haven’t we all had days when we’d love to wear a T-shirt that says “Eat the Rich” or “Be Gay Do Crimes” or “Be Ungovernable”? (We’re going with the “Raccoon Bonfire.”)

Another new entry is a long-time Charlottesville institution with a new identity—appropriate, since it’s a secondhand store that offer new lives for formerly owned stuff. Rethreads in McIntire Plaza is now Wilder, and its revamped look is thanks to new management by the owners of a group of secondhand stores in Richmond. Lyn Page, one of the new owners, says that when Rethreads approached them about purchasing, the group was especially impressed by the store’s community of sustainability/reuse businesses—Circa, Heyday, Scrappy Elephant, High Tor Exchange, and the Habitat Store just down the street—and by the Rethreads staff (“their sales associates now work for us, and are amazing!”).

Wilder’s refreshed décor—reorganized floor space, new paneling, refurbished changing rooms—is the beginning of a rebranding that will be consistent with the group’s adult-focused stores in Richmond (Clementine and Ashby). “Currently the store carries a curated mix of secondhand women’s and men’s clothing, plus new jewelry and accessories,” says Page. “That’s what we’re known for, and what we do best.” 

What’s ahead for Wilder? “We’re still in a testing phase, where we’re learning what shoppers want,” Page says. In the meantime, the store has stopped taking consignments—although it will honor all Rethreads store credits from former consigners. In the meantime, Wilder has been stocking merchandise from the groups’ Richmond sellers.

A full rebranding and possible re-launch is in the works, however, so keep your eye on this space—and on the Wilder web page.

Pickleball—the racket game that combines the best of tennis and ping-pong—is the fastest-growing sport in America for the fifth year in a row, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals. Keswick Hall is getting in on the action.

Alongside its recently added pickleball courts, the resort collaborated with Dr. Scholl’s to create the Dink It sneaker—a specially designed shoe to help you play better. With a lightweight, flexible upper, a supportive midsole, and a shock-absorbing heel, the Dink It is offered to guests at no extra charge (unless you want to take a pair home).