Category: 2024 Best of C-VILLE Staff Picks

There were many tributes to local Ten Course Hospitality restaurateur Will Richey after he passed away in late 2023 following a car accident. But perhaps the most enduring will be Ode to a Nightingale, a black lager that brewer Mark Fulton whipped up for the menu at his and Richey’s Högwaller Brewing. A combination of a lager and a stout—two of Richey’s preferred styles—the beer takes its name from Richey’s favorite poem, and its label—a portrait of Richey himself—from local artist (and a former Ten Course employee) Wil Smith.

The primary mission of Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry is to feed people. But last year the nonprofit, which prides itself on letting almost nothing go to waste, donated about 66,000 pounds of spoiled food to local pig farmers—keeping many tons out of landfills. 

“Loaves & Fishes invests labor into inspecting all of our food before we give it out,” says Jane Colony Mills, the organization’s executive director. “When we find food that is starting to spoil, in broken packaging, or otherwise not something we would eat ourselves, we give it to area pig farmers to feed their livestock. Pigs get fruits and vegetables, bread and cakes, meat with broken wrappers, and sometimes even milk and eggs.” Sounds like the squeal deal to us!

The local wine industry got extra buzzy toward the end of 2023, after Wine Enthusiast named the Monticello American Viticultural Area the Wine Region of the Year, noting its long growing history, adaptability in the face of global warming, and inclusive, collaborative ethos. What does this mean for Charlottesville? It’s another step toward becoming a premier destination for oenophiles, among top-tier regions like California’s Santa Barbara County and Italy’s Prosecco, both past winners. Cin cin!

Trees are life. No, really. They provide oxygen, reduce energy costs, fight against climate change, and lead to better health simply by existing. That’s why ReLeaf Cville is working to create as much tree coverage in the city as possible. Last fall, with a $46,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry, the group planted 129 trees on homeowners’ properties throughout Rose Hill, as well as on public properties like Washington Park, Madison Avenue public housing, and J.P. Burley Middle School and the Community Lab School.

After a couple of years in the dirt, Cville Veg Fest—one of the city’s OG festivals—is regrowing greener than ever. Originally founded in 1997 as the Charlottesville Vegetarian Fest (the inaugural veggie fest of the South), it eventually said so long to dairy, and rebranded to the Vegan Roots Festival. After 2019’s event was canceled, Veg Fest had yet to make a reappearance. Now, thanks to Downtown vegan eatery Botanical Fare, Veg Fest is returning in September for a day-long celebration of all things plant-based and earth-friendly. 

With a new location at Ix Art Park, there’s even more room for vegan fun. The first fest back promises plenty of vegan eats and drinks, vendors and exhibitors, speakers, entertainment, games, kids’ activities, and so much more. Plus, it’s a zero-waste, completely compostable event, so plan ahead and bring your own reusable water bottle and cutlery. Find all the deets at veganrootsfest.org.

Want to have something in common with John and Patricia Kluge, The British royal family, The College of William & Mary, and “The Beverly Hillbillies” mansion? Then you should commission a mandmade item from local metalsmiths Stokes of England. Whether it’s imposing wrought-iron gates for your stately home, beautiful and long-lasting furniture for your house or garden, delicate wall scones or a graceful chandelier, an intricate fire screen or a free-standing sculpture, if it’s metal, Stokes makes it. 

Despite the name, Stokes was founded here in 1981 by British master metalsmith Joe Stokes and his son Stephen, who had been an American exchange student and decided to stay. (Two years later, Joe went back to Blighty to set up the firm’s U.K. branch, now run by younger son Chris.) The company’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Southern Living, The New York Times, and on PBS and the BBC. Since 1995, Stokes has been based at its forge in Keswick, where you can visit to watch its smiths at work.

In August 2022, the local Stokes was purchased by Mike and Truleigh Trennepohl, as part of their dream to live in central Virginia and run a family business. Mike and his son Ashton are now forging ahead, learning the metalsmith trade from Stephen Stokes.

A personal trainer for more than 20 years, Cecil Hassell, it’s safe to say, knows how to help people feel confident about what they’re seeing on the outside. But he recently turned his attention to helping people—and more specifically, kids—feel confident about what’s on the inside, too. With his children’s book, The Adventures of the Bald-Headed Bear, he tells the story of (you might have guessed) a bear with no hair who takes a journey to learn more about self-love.

The joy of hunting for the perfect tomato or apple at a farmers’ market is seriously dampened when you’re getting soaked by a downpour. Which is why a spankin’ new red building now stands where there once was only a white tent at 2775 Barracks Rd. After months of construction, the Barracks Road Farm Market reopened this spring with the same impressive array of fruits and vegetables, plants and flowers, eggs, meat, and fish, and baked goods, maple syrup, honey, and pickles—but now shoppers are protected from the elements while they peruse the spot’s offerings. By moving inside, “we hope to better accommodate our customers, offer a better shopping experience, and be able to have a better display,” says Maynard Swarey, the market’s co-owner. If the substantial crowd and flatbeds overflowing with goodies on a recent Friday afternoon is any indication, Swarey has more than achieved his goal.

The Charlottesville Blues Football Club, part of the United Soccer League (the largest soccer organization in North America), kicked off its first season in May. The team, whose home field is at St. Anne’s-Belfield School, is going to “build a fan base one fan at a time,” according to Brian Krow, the Blues’ co-owner. “If you’re a [soccer] lover or not, it doesn’t matter. Come down, see a match, see the men and women play … stand on the field and bleed blue.”

Raise your hand if your toxic trait is buying new bras when you have perfectly good ones in your drawer. If your hand is up, Derriere de Soie suggests turning in the old to make room for the new, with its twice-annual bra drive. The West Main Street store chooses a nonprofit benefactor (this past spring, it was The Haven) and offers a 20 percent same-day discount in exchange for your gently used donations.