Author: Maeve Hayden

Categories
Culture

VA Book Fest

Mojgan Ghazirad signs copies of her autobiographical novel 'The House on Sun Street' at a March 12 event at the Staunton Public Library. Photo by Pat Jarrett/Virginia Humanities.

The Virginia Festival of the Book is back in action March 20-24, with five days of panels, parties, and events to celebrate all things literary. Renowned authors flock to our city for engaging talks, everyone on the Downtown Mall has a book or two in their arms, and our too-long reading lists get even longer. This year’s milestone fest celebrates 30 years, with appearances by acclaimed authors such as Roxane Gay, Sarah Weinman, Percival Everett, Jami Attenberg, and Jeannette Walls. Here are a few of our recommendations for lit-lovers looking to indulge their interests, learn something new, or connect with others over the pages of a good book.

FOR THE DISRUPTORS

A UVA prof’s critical look at Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue

Bonnie Hagerman, an associate professor in UVA’s Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, discusses her debut book, answers questions, and signs copies on March 21 at the Omni Hotel. Publicity photo.

Jumping through hoops: Bonnie Hagerman debut reveals the scant media coverage of female athletes

In 1964, Sports Illustrated editor André Laguerre faced a challenge. As the temperature dropped and winter neared, so did the off-season for many sports. With a five-page spread to fill and no games to cover, Laguerre decided to run a travel story with photographs of model Babette March in a white bikini. The inaugural swimsuit issue was born.

Many of us can remember the first time we saw a cover of the controversial swimsuit issue, which catered to the male gaze and didn’t even include female athletes until a 1997 feature on tennis player Steffi Graph became a massive moneymaker. Models like Christie Brinkley, Elle Macpherson, and Tyra Banks posed scantily clad in high-fashion images that couldn’t be more out of place in a sports publication. More recently, Ronda Rousey became the first athlete to show up on the cover in 2016, followed by soccer star Alex Morgan, and tennis champ Naomi Osaka.

Why did it take female athletes so long to show up, and why are they forced to turn into models for this publication that brushes their athleticism under the rug in favor of playing up their sensuality?

Questions like these were catalysts for University of Virginia Professor Bonnie Hagerman’s debut book, Skimpy Coverage: Sports Illustrated and the Shaping of the Female Athlete.

An athlete and collegiate rower herself, Hagerman found her unique specialty of women, gender, and sport in graduate school. What originally started as a master’s thesis turned into a Ph.D. dissertation, and last year, a published book.

“I’d grown up with Sports Illustrated magazines all around the house, and I was aware of the fact that female athletes didn’t show up on the pages very often, and when they did there wasn’t much written about them,” says Hagerman. “I was interested to see which athletes they did portray, and what they did say about them.”

Two decades in the making, Skimpy Coverage dives into SI’s treatment of female athletes since its founding, examining race, femininity, identity, sexuality, stereotypical archetypes forced on sportswomen, and large-scale events such as the Olympics.

The book follows sportswomen of the past, like Wilma Rudolph, who was at one point the fastest woman in the world, and women’s tennis maverick Billie Jean King, to current-day GOATs Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe, using them as case studies to examine female athletes’ lack of media coverage and the hoops they have to jump through for support, despite being the best in the game.

The challenges faced by these women still impact athletes today, at every level. Working at UVA afforded Hagerman first-hand experiences from student-athletes.

“Students in my classes really helped me hone what I wanted to say,” says Hagerman. “To put it in perspective, some of the issues I was seeing female athletes dealing with in the 1950s are things some female athletes in my classes are talking about. Challenges presented by expectations of femininity, the challenges of being a lesbian in sport.”

Think back to the NCAA championships in 2021, when images of the men’s and women’s basketball weight rooms went viral. The men’s much larger, and well-equipped, while the women’s measly room housed a simple rack of dumbbells.

“What was great about that was that people were upset,” says Hagerman. “They realized it was unfair, and there was a swift response.”

Support for women’s sports is growing—just look at the record-setting fan turnout for the UVA women’s basketball game against Virginia Tech. For Hagerman, recognizing these milestones is as important as working to fix what’s wrong.

“There’s been a ton of change since Sports Illustrated’s [swimsuit issue] was first published in 1964,” says Hagerman. “Title IX in 1972, Billie Jean King’s activism for equal pay, Venus Williams following up with that activism for equal pay and being successful, we see more media coverage of women on TV. There have been a number of great moments to celebrate, but we still need to recognize the challenges that remain. There’s a lot to be done.”

Whether you’re a casual Olympics watcher every four years or a die-hard lover of sports, Hagerman’s Skimpy Coverage offers a new lens through which readers can critically watch and cheer for their favorite teams—go Hoos!

FOR QUEER VOICES

Celebrate queer love, friendship, and found family

Everything I Learned,
I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
Curtis Chin
In his memoir, Chin touches on his upbringing as a queer, Chinese American boy in Detroit in the ’80s. In the midst of homophobia and racism, Chin found sanctuary in his family’s Chinese restaurant.
Thursday 3/21 | UVA Bookstore

Better Halves: Romcom Heroines Meet Their Matches
Ashley Herring Blake & Lana Harper
Try out a new trope at this love-filled panel with two acclaimed romance writers. Blake’s Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date sees sparks fly in a fake dating scheme, and Harper’s In Charm’s Way is a light-hearted, magical enemies-to-lovers romp.
Friday 3/22 | Omni Hotel

Alternate Appalachias
Jeff Mann, Danielle Chapman & Anya Liftig
This three-person panel includes Jeff Mann, author of Loving Mountains, Loving Men: Memoirs of a Gay Appalachian, now in its second edition. Mann discusses his relationship with Appalachian culture and society as a gay man, alongside authors Danielle Chapman and Anya Liftig.
Friday 3/22 | New Dominion Bookshop

FOR THE NATURE LOVER

Animals-lovers, gardeners, farmers—it’s all good here.

Wild Asana: Animals, Yoga, and Connecting Our Practice to the Natural World
Allison Zak
Author and yoga teacher Allison Zak gets to the bottom of the dog in downward dog in her illustrated exploration of yoga poses and their animal counterparts. Then, grab a mat and try out the moves for yourself.
Thursday 3/21 Central JMRL Library

Growing Organic Food
Tanya Denckla Cobb
Learn how to grow your own food with Tanya Denckla Cobb, author of The Backyard Homestead Guide to Growing Organic Food. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, whatever you’re planting, Cobb’s got the info on seed-starting, growing, and harvesting.
Saturday 3/23 Omni Hotel

Love for the Land
Brooks Lamb
Brooks Lamb and fellow farmers Ebonie Alexander, Michael Carter Jr., and Renard and Chinette Turner discuss dwindling farmland in the face of suburban sprawl, racial injustice among farmers of color, and other concerns. Lamb’s moving book highlights stories of small-scale farmers caring for the land.
Sunday 3/24 Ivy Creek Natural Area

FOR THE HISTORY LOVER

Stories retold, histories remembered, and ideas reborn.

The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families
Karida Brown & Charly Palmer
The Brownies Book was originally published as a monthly magazine by W.E.B. Dubois in 1920. Now, it’s reimagined by scholar Karida Brown and artist Charly Palmer as a beautifully illustrated celebration of Black culture, with stories, play excerpts, poetry, art, and more.
Saturday 3/23 Omni Hotel

Book Tour: James
Percival Everett

The acclaimed author is bringing his book tour to town. Get an early peek at James, Everett’s stunning reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this time told by “Jim.”
Saturday 3/23 The Paramount Theater

Unsung Women
Ruth P. Watson, Virginia Pye & Stephanie Dray
Get to know Maggie Lena Walker, the first Black woman bank president, in Watson’s A Right Worthy Woman, then travel to Gilded Age Boston in Pye’s The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann, and wrap it up with Dray’s Becoming Madam Secretary, a look at Francis Perkins.
Wednesday 3/20 JMRL Central Library

ICYMI

Don’t miss a second go round of readings by these authors, “as seen in C-VILLE.”

Erika Howsare
“The loveliness of deer might go without saying, but still, there it is: The more you look, the more they seduce,” writes Erika Howsare in her debut nonfiction book, The Age of Deer. Howsare appears at the Natural Born Creatures panel alongside Nicolette L. Cagle.
Thursday 3/21, JMRL Central Library.

Irène Mathieu
Referencing the milky covering that can occur on an infant’s tongue after feeding, Irène Mathieu’s milk tongue is a collection filled with precise, embodied language that explores parenthood, family, and the intricacies of existence in this world. Mathieu appears at the Family Trees & Legacies panel with Remica Bingham-Risher and Lightsey Darst.
Friday 3/22, New Dominion Bookshop.

Diane Flynt
“Behind each knobby brown orb, underneath every quirky apple name or sprightly flavor, lies a person, culture, and history. And nowhere is this history more interesting than in the South,” writes cidermaker Diane Flynt in Wild, Tamed, Lost, and Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South.
Sunday 3/24, James Monroe’s Highland.

Henry Hoke
A queer mountain lion in “ellay” is the narrator of Open Throat, a novel by Charlottesville’s own Henry Hoke. If that piques your interest, pick up a copy at Queer Reimaginings, a panel moderated by Hoke with SJ Sindu and Addie Tsai.
Thursday 3/21, Omni Hotel.

Categories
Abode Magazines

The house so nice, they built it twice

Photo: Meredith Coe Photography

Building and designing your dream home is usually a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hours upon hours are spent researching and deciding on every detail, from where to store the KitchenAid to the right shade of white for inside the coat closet. If you’re lucky, you move in and everything is just as magical as you imagined. More likely, though, you’ll wish you’d done some things differently. After all, taste changes and hindsight is 20/20. 

So, what if you got to build your dream house twice? You could keep the things you liked, fix those pesky little problems, and drop any passé trends that old you loved.

Helen Kessler is so lucky. 

Kessler and her family moved from Norfolk to Charlottesville in 2016, when she built her first dream home, a modern barn-style dwelling. After living there for five years, the family decided to move. A piece of land popped up in Greenwood, they got an offer on their old home, and suddenly they had the challenge of building a new home from scratch in the midst of the pandemic with a tight deadline. 

Mitchell Shifflett of Evergreen Builders was brought on as project lead, and Kessler’s friend Kristin Cory as architect. The team got to work using photographs and drawings of the original home, and by summer 2022 the Kesslers had moved into their new one. 

Sitting neatly atop nearly 22 acres of the land, the dream house 2.0 is a sleek testament to the beauty of contrasting forms and materials. Dark, concrete composite boards in the shade Midnight Oil wrap the house, broken up by a wall of pale stone. The rich hues of the concrete seamlessly carry up to the gabled roof. 

“It’s a very sort of taut, minimalist feel to the outside,” says Cory. “There are minimal overhangs on the roof and minimal trim. Everything’s very clean.” 

More contrast can be found in the French gravel patio that leads from the driveway to the front door—a glass window that lets visitors see straight through the house and through the windows at the other end.

When the Kesslers built their first home, they decided to lean into the new-for-the-time modern farmhouse look. The home featured two stories, a flat roof section, an “H” shape, and a white exterior. Since then, the white farmhouse has certainly had a mainstream moment, so Helen looked to Europe for some fresh inspo. 

The new build—with its single story, “L” shape, and unique hues—is inspired by Suffolk barns found in the South of England and Scandinavian barn homes.

“It’s a Nordic kind of look and feel without it feeling too architectural or too cold,” Kessler says. “We did want it to feel like a warm and inviting, natural family home, not something that was really stylized and overly designed.”

The doors open to an open-concept living, dining, and kitchen area, which at once feels minimal and clean, yet lived in and homey. Kessler achieved this by using a warm-toned white for the walls and a vaulted ceiling, clever lighting with dimmers (like the white resin antler chandelier by Kathy Kuo Home), and texture through rugs, overstuffed furniture, and pops of color. 

One way Kessler incorporated color and added depth into the space is through sparingly placed opulent wallpapers.

“I do love minimalism and that clean, Nordic aesthetic, but I also enjoy some of the richer, more dramatic English wallpapers that you get in some of the country homes,” she says. 

Though the front door opens right into the open living space, Kessler was able to create the feel of a separate foyer by papering a botanical wallpaper with flowers and bees on two walls facing each other right inside the door. The bathroom backsplashes also come alive with trippy wallpapers, like the kaleidoscopic pattern in the primary bedroom’s ensuite bathroom, and pink alligator print in the powder room.

In the kitchen, the cabinetry is kept entirely below waist-level, drawing the eye upwards to the dark soapstone countertops and a backsplash made from the same concrete boarding found outside. The center of the kitchen boasts two custom-built islands from local maker Mike Conway of Conway Custom Woodworks, topped with thick slabs of Carrara marble. 

Raw materials continue to make appearances in the restoration hardware table, and the radiant-heat concrete floors, which give an earthy feel to the space, and fun details, like a wood-burning stove from Malm, give the house a charming feel. 

“I think about, as an architect, what I would love to do differently with a project once it’s done,” says Cory. “That’s what Helen’s been able to do with this house. She lived in the old house, it was her dream house, and she had it exactly the way she wanted. Then she was able to do everything she wanted to do differently, and you can feel that.”

Categories
Abode Magazines

Good vibes

Photo: Stephen Barling

For a lot of us home-decor lovers, the bones of a house are sometimes the least exciting part. We give some thought to what windows will get the best light, and how we want the kitchen to flow, but it’s the finishing touches—patterns, colors, furniture—that make designing a house fun. 

Crozet couple Bob and Bev LoPinto have a different outlook. For them, good bones make a world of difference.

The couple started building their home in 2020. They chose Crozet to be close to family, and decided to do a custom build in a Stanley Martin community. Going custom was essential for the LoPintos, who wanted to build their house according to ancient Indian building principles that connect inner spirituality and social harmony with dwelling construction (think feng shui).

The principles go by various names, including vastu shastra (“structure science”) and sthapatya veda (“establishment knowledge”). It all roughly translates to the science of architecture, and it includes directives on orientation, placement, symmetry and proportion, and more. 

From the outside, you might not even be able to tell that the LoPinto home is steeped in such ancient traditions. According to Bob, that’s because surface-level design doesn’t really matter, it’s what’s beneath that counts. 

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for personal preference,” says Bob. “We went with a Mediterranean, Italian-like stucco exterior for our house.”

It’s perhaps easiest to incorporate vastu into a new build where you have total control over all variables, but if you’re renting or buying, Bob says there’s one rule that’s most important to follow. 

“The most important principle of vastu and sthapatya veda is the orientation,” says Bob. “That it’s true east or true north, any other orientation is not ideal. The rest [of the principles] make it even better, but if one has a choice, look for true east and true north.”

The LoPintos chose to face their house east to take advantage of the nourishing influence of the rising sun. Connection to nature is another big part of vastu, and a lot of the rules are designed to help residents take advantage of the benefits of the natural world. 

Moving past the unassuming exterior, the house opens into a massive, two-story entryway atrium. While most atriums are grand, and meant to impress, the LoPinto atrium serves another, more intentional purpose. 

In the center of the atrium—in the very center of the house—sits a table with flowers, which marks the brahmasthan of the house. The brahmasthan refers to the “silent center,” which is where the intelligence of the house is believed to live. The space is meant to help distribute positive energy, and serves as another reflection of nature, mimicking the “silent” center found in the heart of a cell, a seed, or even a hurricane.

The rest of the house flows from the atrium, and features 10-foot ceilings, lots of symmetry, and plenty of natural light sources. All the dimensions are precisely calculated, and the LoPintos made an effort to be energy efficient and sustainable where they could by installing triple pane windows, a high-efficiency heat pump, all-natural wood flooring, and limestone details.

The kitchen can be found in the southeast corner of the house.

“As the sun goes through the sky, its highest point is in the southeast, and your largest meal of the day should be lunchtime,” says Bob. “So the orientation of the sun coincides with the peak of your digestion, it’s in synchrony with nature.”

If the LoPintos need to take a moment away from all the hustle and bustle, they head to the meditation room in the northeast corner, another area known for conducting good vibes. The 12×12-foot room features soft lighting, and has metal-clad wiring with a built-in power kill switch.

“The bedrooms and the meditation room are all built with power kill switches, so when you’re sleeping you can turn off all the outlets so there’s no electromagnetic influence,” Bob says.

The most notable part of the house is the lit cupola that sits atop the roof and glows different colored hues. A glowing cupola isn’t mandated by vastu—”that was for fun,” says Bob.

For the LoPintos, it’s a design they can feel. 

“You walk in and feel uplifted, not imposed upon,” says Bob. “I wouldn’t live in any other kind of house, and once you’re in it you won’t want to leave.”

Categories
Culture Food & Drink

Smoking hot starts, sweet sips, and celebrated returns

Due to popular demand for his Caribbean food, Jonathan Wright Jr. went from a City Market stall to opening 434th Street, the latest addition to Dairy Market’s food hall. Photo by Dairy Market.

Taking orders

Dairy Market’s newest vendor, 434th Street, is making a flavorful splash in the food hall’s menu. The Caribbean stall is the passion project of local chef-owner Jonathan Wright Jr., who serves up classic island dishes with a Virginia twist. Wright’s journey to Dairy Market began in 2020 with a humble $30 smoker. His tender braised oxtail and fiery jerked chicken quickly grew popular at Charlottesville City Market, and the demand allowed Wright to move into catering. Four years later, Wright’s cooking in his first brick-and-mortar spot. Grab breakfast on the weekends starting at 8am, or try coconut curry goat or crab fried rice on the evening menu. 

Is it real, or is it Krissy Cakes? The bakery recently set up permanent shop at Dairy Market, where it serves up delish cupcakes, hyper-realistic custom cakes, and other sweet treats. Sate your craving with a perfectly frosted red velvet, butter pecan, or snickerdoodle cupcake. 

On the Downtown Mall, try the catch of the day at Bonny & Read, a new seafood concept from chef Chris Humphrey, in the former Brasserie Saison space. The swashbuckler-inspired menu includes she-crab soup, pan-roasted arctic char, and clever cocktails like the Sao’s Seduction, a refreshing sip of matcha, Ceylon cinnamon, white chocolate, marigold, and oat milk. 

The renovated Omni Hotel boasts two new spots to nosh. Start your day at the Hillock Neighborhood Kitchen with some buttery grits or a warm breakfast bowl with sweet potato and chorizo, or build your own French omelet. For lunch or dinner, the lavishly decorated restaurant and bar The Conservatory features shareable plates, bigger bites, and a customizable cocktail menu with options to build your own highball—just choose your spirit and mixer.

Kick back with a frozen marg and nachos from the expanded menu at Fiesta Azteca Tap House and Mexican Kitchen. The family-owned eatery changed names and moved from its previous spot in Crozet to the former Ivy Road House building off route 250. In Charlottesville, the team behind Tacos Gomez food truck is serving up sweet and savory Mexican bites at Desayuna Con Gomez, a Pantops brick-and-mortar breakfast and lunch spot. Try fresh-from-the-oven pan dulce, including polvorones, naranja mantecada, and conchas. 

Drink your vegetables at Clean Juice, an organic juice and smoothie bar at The Shops at Stonefield. The locally owned franchise also serves up healthy wraps, sandwiches, acai bowls, and wellness shots. 

Moves and news

Sandwich-lovers rejoice—Littlejohn’s is back. New owners are reopening the iconic delicatessen in its original spot on the Corner, with a menu that includes nostalgic favorites like the Nuclear, Wild Turkey, Five Easy Pieces, and the Sampson. Keep an eye on @ljs_on_the_corner on Instagram for the official opening date. 

In ’cue news, Vision BBQ moved its smokers next door, into the vacated Siren space. The larger venue means the Southern eatery can now offer table service, an expanded menu, live music, and bevvies from the full bar. 

There’s a familiar face in Common House’s kitchen. Laura Fonner, previously of Siren and Duner’s, is the new chef at the social club. Starting February 10, non-members can make reservations to check out Fonner’s mouthwatering brunch menu. 

Guajiros Miami Eatery has settled into its new spot at 114 10th St. NW. Swing by Wednesday through Friday from 5-10pm to try an all-new food and drink menu at Guajiros After Dark.

This in from the town crier—The Thomas Jefferson Foundation is purchasing Michie Tavern. Visitors can still enjoy the same 18th-century inspired fare, but we’re excited to see what fun changes the acquisition may bring.

Hot hot hot

We’re sweet on MarieBette’s hot chocolate month. The bakery, and its sister spot Petite MarieBette, are pouring a decadent new flavor every day for the month of February. Sip on a frothy mug of lemon peel, white chocolate rose, or ancho chili-flavored hot chocolate, topped with pillowy housemade marshmallows. 

Foods of All Nations has the scoop on SugarBear—literally. The small-batch, locally made ice cream is now available by the scoop or as an ice cream cake at the gourmet grocery. 

It’s time to preorder your King Cakes. Great Harvest Bread Co. is baking the colorful confections later this month, and Albemarle Baking Company’s version can be picked up through February 13. 

Storied sips

Three Notch’d Brewing and Ivy Creek Foundation teamed up to release a collaborative brew in support of the Historic River View Farm and the Carr/Greer family. The farm land was purchased by Hugh Carr, a formerly enslaved man, in 1870. His family would go on to play influential roles in advocating for the education of African American farmers and children in Albemarle County. After touring the 219-acre farm and preserve, Three Notch’d brewers created the River View Farm Legacy Ale, a golden ale brewed with oats, wheat, and corn—all crops that Carr grew at River View. Sample it at Three Notch’d on February 8, or snag a four-pack to take home—a portion of proceeds go to the Ivy Creek Foundation. 

Three Notch’d Brewing and Ivy Creek Foundation launch their new collaborative brew, River View Farm Legacy Ale, on February 8 at 5pm. Register to attend the launch party at ivycreekfoundation.org. Photo by Three Notch’d Brewing.

Vals & Gals

’Tis the season of love, and C’ville’s restaurants are here to help make Valentine’s or Galentine’s Day extra special. Spoil your loved one at a special prix fixe dinner at upscale spots like The Ivy Inn, Birch & Bloom, and Tavola, or celebrate the girls at the Galentine’s Sip, Sparkle, and Paint class at South and Central Latin Grill.

Categories
Arts Culture

Izabelly Gleed in the HotSeat

Izabelly Gleed. Photo by Sarah Cramer Shields.

Izabelly Gleed started ballet when she was 4 years old. “A doctor suggested [dancing] for my feet instead of correction boots,” says Gleed. “I actually wasn’t thrilled at first and often would try to escape ballet classes early on!” Now, Gleed is rounding out her seventh and final season as a company artist with Charlottesville Ballet. She’ll take the stage on February 2 and 3 at CB’s Heartbeats, an intimate, hour-long performance of contemporary choreography and classical favorites, including the Grand Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire. Stick around after the show to meet and mingle with Gleed and other dancers. charlottesvilleballet.org

Name: Izabelly Gleed.

Age: 33.

Pronouns: She/her.

Hometown: Vitória, Brazil.

Job(s): Ballerina and dance teacher with Charlottesville Ballet.

What’s something about your job that people would be surprised to learn: How hard it actually is to dance for hours and look effortless while doing it. It takes a lot of endurance and daily training to create the beauty you see on stage.

First role you danced: The Bluebird variation from the famous ballet Sleeping Beauty.

Favorite ballet move: Petite and grand allegro (the little jumps and big leaps).

Favorite role you’ve performed: Kitri in Don Quixote—this was with the Cuban ballet school Espaço da Dança, and my partner was my ballet teacher.

Dream role: Myrtha in the romantic ballet Giselle or George Balanchine’s Serenade.

What’s on your pre-show playlist: A lot of Brazilian music and all of them from different genres. I also enjoy Coldplay to balance the Portuguese.

Best part of living here: How gorgeous Charlottesville is. It doesn’t matter which season we are in, there are so many amazing views in all of them.

Worst part of living here: The chaos and indecision on inclement weather days in the winter.

Favorite restaurant: Bang!

Bodo’s order: Capicola and/or three-cheese sandwiches.

What’s your comfort food: For a meal, I go with a good dish of meat, rice, and beans … and I always want chocolate as comfort food.

How do you take your coffee: For everyday coffee, I take it with cream, and for special days I go with a vanilla latte. Charlottesville Ballet’s downtown studios are next to JBird Supply, which is dangerous.

Who is your hero: I have to say my mom, who is a true inspiration to me.

Best advice you ever got: Everything has its own time. If it hasn’t happened yet, maybe something else will and you might even prefer it.

Proudest accomplishment: Being able to do what I love. Lots of little girls dream of being a ballerina, but very few make it into this competitive career and I feel lucky to be one of those few.

Describe a perfect day: Any day that I get to spend time with people I love.

If you could be reincarnated as a person or thing, what would you be: My puppy because she has everything she could ever want and lives the best life.

If you had three wishes, what would you wish for: To travel the world, to be able to spend more time with family and friends, and to never get another injury.

Most embarrassing moment: My bachelorette party back in 2019.

Do you have any pets: Yes, a very cute English bulldog named Clara, who’s named after the lead character in The Nutcracker.

Favorite movie and/or show: Right now it’s “Reacher,” but it depends on the month and what mood I’m in.

Favorite book: Honestly I have many of them since I read a lot, but the first one from my childhood that will always be with me is Harry Potter. I’m also into Stephen King right now.

What are you listening to right now: Coldplay and Taylor Swift.

Go-to karaoke song: “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay.

Best Halloween costume you’ve worn: A cow onesie, complete with a pink udder on the front. My students love it, and it sometimes makes appearances at the theater to keep my body warm backstage.

Who’d play you in a movie: Jenna Ortega.

Celebrity crush: Henry Cavill.

Most used app on your phone: WhatsApp and Candy Crush.

Last text you sent: Love you (to my husband).

Most used emoji: Laughing crying face and heart.

Best journey you ever went on: Moved to the U.S. from Brazil without really knowing anyone, got a job, made friends, and ended up finding an amazing person, who’s now my husband, in the process.

Next journey: I am retiring from dancing professionally this spring, which is bittersweet for me. I will still work closely teaching students and being a manager at Charlottesville Ballet Academy, and I cannot wait to see what life has for me in its next chapter.

Favorite word: Saudade, which doesn’t have an exact translation to English, but it’s similar to missing something or someone.

Hottest take: Air fryers don’t work as well as the real thing.

What have you forgotten today: To buy eggs at the grocery store—I was too focused on planning my ballet classes!

Categories
Arts Culture

The Big Picture

Annie Yuan's “Fuzhu,” made of cardboard, paper, wire, foam, and plastic bags. Photo by Erika Phillips.

Plastic bags, candy wrappers, puzzle pieces, and leaves don’t usually top the list of materials used to create the fancy frocks we see on catwalks and red carpets. Except, that is, at the annual St. Anne’s-Belfield Wearable Arts Runway Show, where upper-school students like Annie Yuan (left) repurposed and recycled existing materials to create the one-of-a-kind garments that were on display Saturday, January 20, during two shows. Greek mythology was the theme for this year’s event, which featured the work of more than 20 student-designers, as well as performances from St. Anne’s-Belfield musicians.  

Photo by Erika Phillips.

Categories
Culture Living

Olivia Brown in the HotSeat

Olivia Brown. Supplied photo.

Charlottesville is full of smarty-pants who love to work their brains at trivia night. And you’re guaranteed to find a gathering nearly every night of the week, like Random Row’s Sunday evening battle of wits, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s Thursday night get-together for “Jeopardy!” wannabes, and Starr Hill Downtown’s Wednesday evening extravaganza, where host Olivia Brown quizzes crowds. Brown’s trivia journey began at World of Beer, where she helped keep score. She’s been at Starr Hill since 2021, and, fun fact, recently launched her own company, Trivia with Olivia, through which she hosts public and private events, virtual trivia, and offers DIY trivia packs. triviawitholivia.com

Name: Olivia Brown.

Age: 30.

Pronouns: She/her.

Hometown: Centreville, Virginia.

Job(s): Tour Guide at Monticello by day, trivia host and owner of Trivia with Olivia by night.

What’s something about your job that people would be surprised to learn: That people playing bar trivia will fight to the death over the most minute details, so watch out and make sure you do your research before writing a set of questions.

Favorite trivia fact: Pierre, South Dakota, is the only state capital in the United States that doesn’t share any letters with its state’s name.

What’s your best trivia category: I’ve done so many trivia categories over the years, but a couple I’ve really enjoyed are “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” rounds, and quirky things like “Living or Extinct?” where teams had to guess whether the animal I gave them still exists or not.

What’s the key to choosing the best trivia team name: A good pun can go a long way! And while inappropriate team names are usually quite funny, there is a line where you make trivia hosts not want to say things on the microphone.

Best part of living here: Seeing the mountains on the most casual drives, like to the gym or the grocery store.

Worst part of living here: My rent.

Favorite local restaurant: The Local in Belmont. I have never had a bad experience—it’s always impeccable.

Favorite local place: My bed, but if I can’t pick that I’d have to go with Mint Springs Valley Park.

Bodo’s order: I have celiac so I go one of two routes: BYO bagel and order plain cream cheese and lox, or the Turkey Cleo Salad and potato salad on the side.

What’s your comfort food: My dad’s spaghetti bolognese. Cooks three to four hours, and I’ve been eating it for as long as I can remember.

How do you take your coffee: With a splash of French vanilla creamer, hot or iced.

Who is your hero: Elie Wiesel and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are among my biggest heroes. People who represent my Jewish identity and did everything in their power to fight for themselves and for others.

Best advice you ever got: Since I was a child, my mom has told me: “There are always options.”

Proudest accomplishment: Officially registering my trivia company as an LLC was an extremely proud moment for me. I’m not one for big leaps of faith, but I finally put all that trust in myself and decided to do it!

Describe a perfect day: Somehow convincing my body to sleep past 8am, getting brunch (preferably with a kick-ass bloody mary), a hike with a view (preferably of mountains), dinner with my favorite people (preferably with an array of Mexican food), and a hot bath before bed (preferably with a book).

If you could be reincarnated as a person or thing, what would you be: I think I’d like to be a millennial’s house plant. Just put me in a nice sunny spot, doted on day in and out, happily growing.

If you had three wishes, what would you wish for: First and foremost, that celiac could be cured and I could eat gluten again. Second, I’d wish my family and friends never wanted for anything and got everything that made them happy. Third, a house full of rescue puppies because coming up with a third wish is hard and this seems like something everyone can get on board with.

Most embarrassing moment: When I was a preteen, I wanted to use a round brush to blow-dry my hair, but I had no idea what I was doing. I tried to do it and ended up getting the brush fully stuck to the top of my head. We thought we were going to have to cut my hair off at 9pm on a school night. My older brother figured out how to solve it, but refused to tell my mom and me until I agreed to make him sandwiches whenever he wanted. He mentioned we could remove the bristles with pliers and then the round brush would slide out. It worked and I spent the next decade of my life making sandwiches for him (he’s now married, so I’m off the hook).

Do you have any pets: I don’t, but I love to dogsit so I can get my fair share of dog serotonin in.

Favorite movie and/or show: The original Lion King will forever be my favorite movie, with Lord of the Rings: Return of the King coming in second.

Favorite book: Reading is my favorite hobby so this is almost an impossible question. Since I read it as a kid though, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has always been my answer.

What are you listening to right now: I just started The Office BFFs audiobook by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.

Go-to karaoke song: I am an unapologetic Nickelback fan, and will always sing “Photograph” (an American classic).

Best Halloween costume you’ve worn: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum with one of my best friends.

Who’d play you in a movie: I have been told before that I remind people of Mila Kunis, so I would be blessed to have her be me in a movie.

Celebrity crush: Henry Cavill, the big, muscly nerd of my dreams.

Most used app on your phone: Instagram. I’m a sucker for the doom scroll sometimes.

Last text you sent: Asking my family to pick my most embarrassing moment that was appropriate to publish where other people could read it … they collectively said they had nothing that was both embarrassing and publishable, so were not of much help.

Most used emoji: Crying with laughter face.

Subject that causes you to rant: The state of health care in the United States.

Best journey you ever went on: For my 30th birthday, I went with a few of my best friends out to Utah and we went to three national parks in five days and it was a deeply soul-invigorating trip to bring me into my third decade of life.

Next journey: While I’ve made it a goal of mine to visit all of the national parks, my next planned trip is to Mexico at the end of January. Need a few days away from the winter.

Favorite curse word: I try not to sometimes, but I curse like a sailor and the F-word is my most common expletive.

Hottest take: Hot dogs are sandwiches. Fight me.

What have you forgotten today: To take my reusable grocery bags out of the car.

Categories
Arts Culture

Page numbers

Karen Duncan Pape's "De-Circulated" is on display at McGuffey Art Center through January 28. Pictured: "To Kill A Mockingbird." All images courtesy of the artist.

Landscape photographer Karen Duncan Pape turns her lens to the page in “De-Circulated,” an exhibition of reconstructed covers of banned books on display at McGuffey Art Center through January 28.

“Growing up in Southwest Virginia, books were extremely important to me, as they exposed me to other worlds and broadened my perspective,” says Pape. “I was shocked to find that books I had read in AP English many years ago were being banned in America today, and I was upset that young people might lose access to literary tools that might help them develop critical and inquiring minds, or that might support them in their quest for self-understanding.”

Pape began checking out banned books from libraries and taking multiple exposure photographs of the covers, which she blended in post-processing to create new designs. Books like Lola at the Library, banned in Pennsylvania, The Hate U Give, and The Bluest Eye, both banned in multiple states, are refracted and reimagined into colorful new forms. The abstract photographs obliterate or obstruct the text—a reminder from Pape of the power of the written word, and what is lost when it’s eliminated.

“Relativity”
“Why We Can’t Wait”

Mystery vibes

Karen Duncan Pape: “‘Relativity’ ( above left) is taken from a book cover about Albert Einstein, all of whose work was burned in 1933 in Nazi Germany, simply because he was Jewish. The book cover itself is simple and sort of boring, gold and black, with a photograph of Einstein. As I was working on the piece, I thought about the mystery of Einstein’s work. He said ‘The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science.’ The resulting blue piece speaks, I hope, of Einstein’s sense of mystery, and of something which we cannot see but can only sense. 

“‘Why We Can’t Wait’ by Martin Luther King, Jr. is another piece that brings me joy. This book was banned in South Africa at the height of apartheid. The image, with its elevating verticals and large WE, implies Dr. King’s idea that, now just as when he wrote this book, WE cannot wait, and WE together are responsible for moving humanity forward into a more balanced, peaceful, and loving state.”

Categories
Culture Food & Drink Knife & Fork

More than a beverage

Keep an eye on Corey Hoffman’s socials (@neonculturebrewing) for details on the upcoming tasting room at Murphy & Rude Malting Co. Photo by Tristan Williams.

All roads flow back to beer for Corey Hoffman, founder and head brewer at Neon Culture Brewing, a small-but-mighty start-up with big plans and singular suds. 

Hoffman’s history with beer as a drinker includes—like many of us—college-age encounters involving red Solo cups, ping-pong balls, and cold cans sipped at a bar. That all changed in 2017 when Hoffman’s brother asked a simple question that launched a career: Have you ever heard of homebrewing? 

“At the time I was looking for something to pour myself into,” says Hoffman. “I was trying to get out of my mom’s house, as all millennials try to do after you’re there way longer than you’re supposed to be, so I bought this [homebrewing] kit on a whim.”

Hoffman’s first beer was pretty undrinkable, but the experience inspired him to start researching and learning more about what goes into brewing beer. As he delved deeper into the worlds of homebrewing and beermaking, it became abundantly clear to him just how white the brewing industry is.  

“When I started homebrewing I quickly realized there weren’t a lot of people that looked like me that were doing what I was doing,” Hoffman says. “I wondered in my mind, why don’t Black people like this beer? Why don’t I see a lot of Black homebrewers? It’s not that they don’t like it, it’s just that either you’re not exposed to it, or maybe the price point is too high, but mostly that it’s very intimidating walking into spaces when you don’t know anything about them.” 

“That was the catalyst for me starting my own thing,” Hoffman says. “I wanted to share what I was doing with people, but at the same time I wanted to change the perception of what craft beer is—who it’s for and what it’s about.” 

So Hoffman launched Neon Culture, a grassroots, community-organized brewery that keeps inclusivity, community, and collaboration at the heart of its mission. It’s also the first Black-owned brewery in Charlottesville. 

While many breweries today embrace a classic style, Neon Culture brings a different vibe into the local beerscape—one that embraces experimentation, unconventional ingredients, and welcomes seasoned hop-heads and beer newbies alike. 

“I think of all my brews as mixtapes,” says Hoffman, who is inspired by ’80s and ’90s aesthetics, including bright colors, vintage technology, and music. “We always have one or two beers that are on the normal side, and then there’s at least one with that Neon Culture vibe that’s a little different.”

Hoffman’s previous brews include Appetite for Inclusion, a hazy IPA made with Richmond homebrewer Rusty Barrel, HAZELWHAT?!, an imperial stout with hazelnuts, cacao nibs, and vanilla beans, and Summer at the Dreamhouse, a wheat beer that blends nostalgia with current pop culture and notes of grilled pineapples, mangoes, and habanero.

All of Neon Culture’s beers are brewed at and released in collaboration with Decipher Brewing, as Hoffman slowly works toward opening his own brewery. The next step in his journey—a small taproom and tasting bar in Murphy & Rude Malting Co.’s expanding space—is coming sometime this year. 

“I’m not in a rush,” says Hoffman, who is embracing every step of the process. “I’m trying to make a new culture around here.”

Categories
Knife & Fork Magazines

Supper’s ready

Greenwood Grocery’s new kitchen managers, Reggie Calhoun (pictured) and Nathan Hatfield, have launched Supper Club, a $45 dinner that feeds two people, with a menu that changes every two weeks. Photo: Eze Amos

There’s something special about family-owned establishments. The storied buildings contain years of history, the owners are always hard at work alongside employees, and regulars come back year after year for recipes that are passed down and tweaked through the generations. 

In Crozet, Greenwood Gourmet Grocery has been a roadside staple since 1999. Owners Nina Promisel and David Atwell built the shop on the foundations of a traditional fruit stand, and they’ve worked hard to build it into the sandwich and wine emporium that it is today. 

The shop is bustling year-round with Route 250 roadtrippers looking for a snack, and regulars who stop by to grab fresh bread from Albemarle Baking Co., local produce, or a cold can of craft beer. On the weekends, the kitchen churns out sandwiches like the Blue Slate (smoked turkey, havarti, lettuce, tomato, and ancho lime mayo) and Italian (soppressata and Genoa salami, provolone, diced peppers, lettuce, and housemade Italian vinaigrette) faster than you can count.

Promisel and Atwell’s kids, Zeke, Amos, and Ella, have been instrumental in Greenwood’s success over the years—one of them could usually be found manning the register, managing the kitchen, or moving one of the many impressively large pots that live outside. 

Nowadays, the kids aren’t working in the store as much, and an ever-growing customer base meant Promisel needed to bring in some extra hands. 

Reggie Calhoun and Nathan Hatfield joined the Greenwood team as kitchen managers at the beginning of the year, and they’re helping usher the store into a new chapter of culinary creativity. Their journey to the Greenwood kitchen is almost unbelievably coincidental. Some might chalk it up to fate.

“I was in D.C. up until five years ago,” says Hatfield. “I moved here and was working at Mount Ida until November of last year.” 

After leaving Mount Ida, Hatfield was hired at former West Main Street restaurant Little Star, where Calhoun had been working for four years. Before Hatfield’s first day of work, Little Star closed.

So the two went job hunting, and both landed at Greenwood. Hatfield started just after Christmas in 2022, and Calhoun soon joined him. 

“Nina asked if I would be okay if Reggie came on, I was like hell yeah,” says Hatfield. 

They’ve been tag-teaming Greenwood’s kitchen ever since. Their easy collaboration is obvious watching them move about the space, and their new items fit in perfectly alongside Promisel’s tried-and-true favorites. 

Calhoun’s pizza Sunday special is a big hit for customers looking to grab-and-go, and on the weekends, the limited Reggie Burger appears on the menu, featuring local in-house ground beef, housemade pickles, a relish spread, bacon, and havarti. 

One of their largest undertakings, though, is the Supper Club, a $45 dinner that feeds two people. The menu changes every two weeks, and you can add desserts, sides, and wine pairings. Calhoun and Hatfield collaborate on the menu, with Calhoun usually tackling the savory side and Hatfield making the breads and desserts.

Past Supper Clubs include the Greek Goodness dinner, which featured housemade pita and hummus, with grilled mushrooms and a black-eyed pea stew and a grilled half chicken with lemon, garlic, and za’atar. The Breakfast for Dinner meal had a bacon and potato tortilla española with tomato jam, biscuits, and house sausage gravy, chickpea cakes, and a panna cotta with granola and a fall fruit compote. 

“It’s going awesome. It’s the first time we’ve done anything like this,” says Promisel. “They’ve mastered the stuff that we are already doing and they’re building on it and enhancing it. It’s a great way for these guys to do more interesting and creative stuff than we can offer out of the deli case.”

Hiring two kitchen managers might seem unconventional, but Promisel says it’s been the best decision she’s made. 

“It wouldn’t have worked with other people,” she says. “But between their personalities it’s worked out beautifully and really well.”

The KMs have a ton of ideas up their sleeves that they can’t talk about yet, but in the meantime they’re enjoying sharing their ideas with the Greenwood community. 

“I’m mostly just trying to preserve [the legacy] and add my touches,” Hatfield says. “Nina is open to all of it. I know almost everyone who walks through that door has been here before and I want to make it a good experience for them.”