C-VILLE Weekly | April 24 - 30, 2024

Man falsely accused of Rivanna Trail assault speaks out after charges dropped PAGE 11

Renowned folk singer John McCutcheon brings banjo, fiddle, and dulcimer to PVCC PAGE 30

Crutchfield celebrates half a century in business

WEEKLY SPECIALS

Mondays-Fridays

Wine & Food Specials

Wednesdays

Monticello Wine Week’s

White Wine Showcase 5/1

Paint & Sip 5/8, 6/12

Chef Tasting Series 6/26, 7/17

10% Off Bottles Every Wednesday

Thursdays

Thursday Night Music Series

Live Music 5-8PM -or- Music Bingo 6-8PM

$5 Glasses Of Wine, Beer & Cider and Chip Flights

Fridays

Live Music 5-8PM Every Friday

Virginia Oyster & Wine Celebration - Every Friday

Tasting Bar Takeover Series - Select Fridays

(See Winery Calendar For Details & Dates Of Tastings)

Saturdays

Live Music All Day Every Saturday: Afternoon Live Music 1-4PM

Eastwood After Dark: Fun & Lively Bands 5-8PM

Sundays

Music Bingo 4/28, 5/5, 6/30

Wine Club Spring Picnic 5/5 Maker’s Market 5/12, 6/16

Paint & Sip 5/26, 6/9

Scan for Winery Calendar

White Wine Showcase

Wednesday, May 1 | 6:30-8:30PM (VIP Entry 5:30PM)

Indulge in the epitome of elegance and refinement at the Monticello Wine Week. Join us for a relaxed evening celebrating the finest white wines of the Monticello Wine Trail, set at the beautiful Eastwood Farm and Winery. This event is a must for white wine enthusiasts, bringing together top wineries for a night of tasting, discovery, and pure enjoyment.

Enjoy tastings from 15+ wineries along with great food!

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We offer Large Party Reservations for 7-30+ people and Private Events for up to 200 people.

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Now booking spring and summer gatherings.

Plan your event today!

Blenheim Vineyards | Chestnut Oak Vineyard | Chisholm Vineyards | Cunningham Creek Winery | Eastwood Farm & Winery | Grace Estate Winery | Hardware Hills Vineyard | Hark Vineyards | Hazy Mountain Vineyards | Michael Shaps Wineworks | Montifalco Vineyard | Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards | Septenary Winery | Trump Winery Road Vineyards | Woodbrook Farm Vineyard

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THIS WEEK

Hello, Charlottesville! Thank you for reading C-VILLE Weekly. Our city is home to many longstanding businesses that are institutions for generations of customers. A few months ago, we wrote about Reid’s Super Save Market—a staple to many—and the community’s efforts to keep its doors open for the foreseeable future. This week, we look at a very different company: Crutchfield, which celebrates 50 years in business in 2024.

In our cover story (p. 22), Andrew Hollins interviews founder Bill Crutchfield about the early days of his audio-equipment business, and visits the Crutchfield complex near the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport. Crutchfield talks about how he started by wanting to restore old Porches in the 1970s, and from there realized there was a market for car stereo retail. As drivers switched from 8-track to cassette tapes as their portable music medium of choice, it turned out that Crutchfield was on to something.

It’s great to see a local business last 50 years—and it’s even more impressive to see its leadership remain intact through that time. Bill Crutchfield credits some of his company’s success to his constant vision, and to the fact that his family name is so closely associated with the quality of the company’s service and products. I imagine that puts some pressure on you to protect your reputation. Richard DiCicco

4.24.24

Keep up the glow! It’s your last chance to sign up for only $99 in April and enjoy six months of unlimited Clear + Brilliant treatments at $100 OFF! ($400 original price)

Other perks include monthly member-only specials!

WEDNESDAY,

MAY

This year you will meet some of the puppies born in November as well as our dogs in advanced training. Please join us for SDV’s training demonstration featuring our service dogs in training.

“I think it’s hugely important that we have female representation.”

—Charlottesville Tom Sox’s Chesley Mullins, speaking to CBS19 on being the baseball team’s first female president

NEWS

IN BRIEF

UVA assault

University of Virginia police responded to an assault April 21 on the 1400 block of University Avenue. The incident, which occurred around 2am, left one adult male victim with serious injuries. He was sent to UVA Medical Center. University police transferred the case to the Charlottesville Police Department, and detectives have begun an investigation. Photos of individuals sought by CPD are available at charlottesville.gov/1741/police. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact CPD at 970-3280 or the Crime Stoppers tip line at 977-4000.

Burn out

One of the tiki torch-bearers from August 11, 2017, has pleaded guilty to participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tyler Bradley Dykes, 26, of Bluffton, South Carolina, who was arrested in Charlottesville last year, took a guilty plea on two felony counts regarding his assault on Capitol police officers. According to the plea agreement, Dykes faces a maximum of eight years in prison, plus a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Dog’s day

The Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA raised more than $100,000 this year during its 11th annual bow-WOW-walk fundraiser, which was held on April 20 at Boar’s Head Resort. The event featured both a competitive 5K race and a leisurely dog walk. Pet owners could also enter their furry friends into competitions for best trick, best costume, and pet-owner look-alike. According to CBS19, more than 250 people attended the fundraiser, whose proceeds will go to homeless animals and programs at CASPCA.

Rock solid

Dollars and sense PAGE 13

Dave Matthews Band has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the starstudded class of 2024.

Musical acts become eligible for nomination 25 years after the release of their first recording, and are inducted based on voting by more than 1,000 music historians, industry professionals, and current Hall of Fame members. Since 2012, fan voting has been a part of membership consideration, giving the winner of the poll one additional vote toward induction. In its first

year of eligibility (2020), DMB was the first and only group to win the popularity poll, but not be inducted into the hall.

Eligibility, nominations, and inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been the subject of much national attention since its founding in the 1980s. After decades of snubbing Rock and Roll icons, the hall now balances honoring iconic figures years after they became eligible and inducting newer acts.

Joining DMB in the Class of 2024 are Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton,

Mascot mania

Along with a new name and building, Charlottesville’s only middle school will soon have a new mascot. Voters have until April 30 to tell Charlottesville City Schools their preference from the list of finalists: the Black Knights, “another type of knight”(e.g. Junior Knights, Orange Knights), the Chargers, and the Monarchs.

The final choices were selected through an earlier survey conducted by the school district, with each potential mascot illustrated through stock photos and AI-generated images to give voters a feel for potential logos. CCS emphasizes that the

Mary J. Blige, Kool & The Gang, Foreigner, and A Tribe Called Quest. While this year marks the largest group of inductees ever, several nominees were snubbed, including Sinéad O’Connor, who died last year.

“Dave Matthews Band is honored to be in the @rockhall Class of 2024,” the band said on X/Twitter. “Congrats to our fellow nominees and thanks so much to all of our fans for the support!”

The Class of 2024 will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on October 19 in Cleveland, Ohio.

“images shown are only starting points,” and it will work with a designer once a mascot is selected.

Regardless of which mascot comes out on top, the school’s colors and logo will be orange and black to match Charlottesville High School’s colors.

The district has not given a timeline for the selection of the mascot or revealed a final design, but Buford Middle School will formally be renamed Charlottesville Middle School when the new building is officially opened for the 2025-26 school year.

Charger Monarch Black Knight

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‘Permanent damage’

Charges dropped against man who was arrested for Rivanna Trail assault

By Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

After almost three months, Charlottesville police have dropped charges against Patrick McNamara for the January 12 assault of a woman on the Rivanna Trail. The case against McNamara has been dismissed, but the arrest continues to affect his life.

On January 18, McNamara was taking a break outside while working from his apartment when he was approached by a CPD detective and placed under arrest. “It is not wise to talk to the police even if you’re innocent. I’m naive and thought, ‘this is a mistake,’” he says. “I didn’t know what I was being arrested for.”

Court filings indicate McNamara was arrested based on eyewitness identification by the victim, who was assaulted at approximately 9:39am on January 12 less than half a mile from the Rivanna Trail underpass at Free Bridge. The victim described the suspect as a “white male with short brown hair and an athletic build, approximately 6'2", possibly 20-30 years old … wearing a white puffy jacket with a dark hooded sweatshirt underneath, which was pulled up over his head.”

When shown an image of McNamara by a friend on January 16, the victim identified him as her attacker. She later told law enforcement she was “100 percent positive” it was McNamara who assaulted her, according to court filings.

Following his arraignment and release on bond, McNamara was suspended from his job and given three days to vacate his apartment by his leasing company.

On January 22, investigators obtained surveillance footage from Cosner Brothers Body Shop. The video shows McNamara passing the victim without incident, and later a different individual in a puffy white coat can be seen in the area.

The person who collected the video initially told the case agent there was “nothing of value” on the recording, and “never prepared a supplement documenting its collection.”

The commonwealth’s attorney’s office was not aware of the surveillance footage or its content

until April 9, following a letter submitted by McNamara’s attorney—Rhonda Quagliana—on April 8 requesting police obtain surveillance and video footage from 19 locations.

Charlottesville Police are currently conducting an internal investigation into the handling of the footage.

Both the commonwealth’s attorney’s office and Quagliana filed motions to dismiss the charges against McNamara on April 11. While Quagliana’s filing is a complete rebuke of law enforcement’s treatment of McNamara and its handling of the case, the commonwealth called for a dismissal on the grounds that “there is no longer proof beyond a reasonable doubt to support this prosecution.”

The charges against him have been dropped, but McNamara’s trying to piece his life back together: He still hasn’t heard from his job about reentry, he still doesn’t have a place to live, and he still feels isolated.

“The truth of the matter is that there’s permanent damage,” says McNamara. “I’m upset at the pre-

“What happened in the legal process was unacceptable.”

PATRICK MCNAMARA

sumption of guilt that was levied upon me by all the institutions in my life.”

“I know I’m innocent. It’s hard for me to articulate to somebody what it feels like,” he says. “I have a lot of really good friends and I’m very thankful for that. I know that their assumption was, ‘Patrick couldn’t have done this, this is ridiculous.’ But to what degree of certainty I will never know.”

McNamara says the arrest has impacted all of his personal relationships.

“The commonwealth’s attorney made it sound like … ‘we don’t have enough to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt.’ The police chief has spoken publicly since then and said, ‘we didn’t have enough to go beyond reasonable doubt,’” says McNamara. “That’s embarrassing language. … It’s just, frankly, it’s bullshit. And because of that, people will always doubt maybe I did it.”

Charlottesville Police Department declined to answer questions from C-VILLE about the handling of the investigation and interactions with McNamara. “Chief Kochis has done numerous engagements on various media outlets regarding the case,” wrote Public Safety Information Officer Kyle Ervin in an email. “Please refer to any previous comments made on the matter.”

As he contemplates how to move forward, McNamara says he is speaking to lawyers about potential legal action, but what he wants most is change and a return to normalcy.

“I don’t think it’ll ever be the same as it was on January 17,” he says. “I think there’s gonna be difficulties until the arrest is completely expunged from my record.”

“What happened in the legal process was unacceptable,” McNamara says. “It is scary. It is dangerous. And I am just a random, nameless citizen of this town that was caught up in this system. And if it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody. And that, to me, is very scary until there’s change. What does change look like? I don’t know.”

At press time CPD has not issued a news release about McNamara’s charges being dropped, and has not updated the original release detailing his arrest.

Charges against Patrick McNamara were dropped on April 11.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Passing the buck

Virginia legislators delay vote on state budget amid busy April session

By Catie Ratliff reporter@c-ville.com

Charlottesville representatives returned to Richmond for the April meeting of the state legislature. The April 17 session was originally intended to address vetoes, amendments, and the state budget, but a jam-packed agenda pushed budget considerations to May.

Though he didn’t outright veto the budget, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin put forward 233 amendments to the bill, and went on a tour of Virginia to rally opposition to what he called a “broken” spending plan.

Rather than try to address the divide on the budget during the one-day session, the House of Delegates voted unanimously to reject Youngkin’s budget amendments—allowing lawmakers to meet for a special session of the legislature on May 13 and, hopefully, pass the final spending plan by May 15. Legislators have completely scrapped the budget, and are now building a new budget with input from Democratic and Republican leadership.

Lawmakers have until July 1 to pass a budget before Virginia goes into a government shutdown. In the interim, the state budget delay is creating uncertainty for local governments, including Charlottesville’s.

The city’s budget was finalized on April 15, but questions about state funding make planning difficult for local school systems and other organizations slated to receive money from the commonwealth.

“The amount of state funding for local school systems is unknown,” said City Councilor Michael Payne in an email. “We have to wait to see how much additional revenue goes to [the] state increasing teacher salaries, funding ESOL positions, etc.”

According to Councilor Lloyd Snook, the state’s pushback of budget deadlines in recent years has added an additional layer of difficulty to the local budget process, resulting in city lawmakers “working in the dark.”

“Because council did not give the schools as much as they wanted, I was hoping that the budget would include at least another $2 million for the schools,” said Snook in an email. “The budget that is now supposed to be adopted in May might help the schools directly, but who knows at this point?”

Charlottesville will also feel the impact of the April legislative session through the failure of multiple bills introduced by local representatives. The legislature did not overturn any of Youngkin’s vetoes, despite bipartisan and popular support for several bills.

Among the legislation struck down were two bills from state Sen. Creigh Deeds, both of which focused on gun control.

In a bill update shared on social media, Deeds addressed the failure of Senate Bill 383, which was inspired by the fatal on-Grounds shooting of three University of Virginia student-athletes in November 2022.

“Purportedly, it was known that the student on trial for their murders was having trouble and had firearms in his room in a University-owned residence hall,” Deeds wrote. “Even though this violated policy, law enforcement was hamstrung in their ability to respond to this information because this was not a criminal violation. SB 383 was about making sure law enforcement can act on reliable intelligence. If this had been law, the University Police would have been able to obtain a search warrant and remove the firearms.”

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Hall pass

UVA Alumni Association submits plans for a new building

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500 Westfield Rd, Charlottesville, VA

n Tuesday, April 30, representatives from the University of Virginia Alumni Association will publicly present a site plan for “a new Alumni Hall” at the corner of Emmet Street and Lewis Mountain Road.

The Alumni Association is a separate entity from the university, and pays property taxes to the City of Charlottesville. Unlike UVA, it also must comply with the city’s land-use regulations, which means paying $6,565 in fees for a recent application.

A preliminary site plan was filed on August 3, 2023, under the former zoning, and this is one of several projects that is still being considered under the old rules that include site plan conferences. (That conference will be held in the Neighborhood Development Services conference room in City Hall on Tuesday, August 30, 2024, at 9am.)

Under the city’s new Development Code, the zoning for the 3.15 acre property is Residential-A, meaning redevelopment would be difficult. However, the replacement building is allowed due to an existing special use permit for a private club that was first approved in 1980 and last updated in 2016.

“The applicants may redevelop their property for the new building, so long as they comply with all conditions of the existing special use permit,” says Dannan O’Connell, a city planner coordinating the review.

O’Connell says the site plan is preliminary and could change depending on feedback.

The UVA Alumni Association has been in the current building since 1936, when

it moved in to what was then Kappa Phi House. For many years, the city used Alumni Hall for a voting precinct, but a new electoral map adopted last year ended that practice. The association uses the building for hundreds of events throughout the year, including home football game parties, and the facility is often rented for private events.

The Alumni Association has hired Centerbrook Architects and Planners to take the project through the planning process. The Connecticut-based firm recently designed the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center at Duke University.

According to the preliminary site plan, the existing two-story building will be completely removed, but some of the signature trees on the property will be kept. The new building would be a maximum of 35-feet tall, with a max footprint of 29,075 square feet.

If the project proceeds, it will be part of an era of transformation along Emmet Street. Just to the south, construction is nearing completion on the four-story Contemplative Commons, including a new pedestrian bridge to Newcomb Hall. Even further to the south, a private project called Verve Charlottesville has been approved by the city and will see several dozen residential units at Woodrow Apartments be replaced with an apartment with 446 new units. The project will not include an adjacent property on Lewis Mountain Road that’s owned by the University of Virginia Foundation, upon which two single-family homes currently stand.

The UVA Alumni Association did not respond to a request for a comment at press time.

“The applicants may redevelop their property for the new building, so long as they comply with all conditions of the existing special use permit.”

DANNAN O’CONNELL, CITY PLANNER

The 20th-century building that currently houses the UVA Alumni Association will likely be replaced with a new Alumni Hall.

CENTERBROOK ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS

EDGEMONT

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 15 miles south of Charlottesville, is this rare 572-acre historic estate whose design is reputed to be the only remaining private residence attributed to Thomas Jefferson. $15,000,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700 www.HistoricEdgemont.com

MEADOW FARM

436+ acre parcel of land in Southern Albemarle!

4 division rights; complete privacy; lush, gently rolling terrain; long road frontage; stream; 3-acre lake; 125-135 acres of open land; mature hardwood forests. Under conservation easement. MLS#651411

$2,985,000 Charlotte Dammann, 433.981.1250

HIGH FIELDS

Scenic 42-acre farm just 10 miles from Charlottesville. It features pastures, woodlands, a serene creek, antique farmhouse, updated kitchen, three bathrooms, four bedrooms, and panoramic Blue Ridge Mountain vistas, with a substantial barn. MLS#651245 $1,695,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076

THE BARRINGER

Immaculate two-story penthouse offering private luxury living in the heart of UVA. Unparalleled views from the light filled spacious great room, kitchen, balcony, two en suite bedrooms, laundry and half bath. Assigned parking. MLS#$650507

$689,000 Charlotte Dammann, 434.981.1250

NEWPRICE NEWPRICE

FARMINGTON

Charming Farmington Country Club residence with panoramic Blue Ridge Mountain views is situated on five lovely, landscaped acres. Circa 1930 with tasteful additions, this 5-bedroom stone house is enhanced by separate guesthouse, pool, office, koi pond & garage. MLS#650584 $5,975,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

MILL HOUSE

Former house of noted local architect Floyd E. Johnson, on the banks of Totier Creek. Thoughtfully renovated and expanded, 5-BR, 3 full and 2 half BA. Guest house, 2-bay garage, pool, equipment shed plus 130 acres of open & wooded land. MLS#639196 $2,245,000 Court Nexsen, 646.660.0700

FREE UNION PARCEL

42 acre tract on Wesley Chapel Road with the right to be divided into two 21 acre parcels. Big views with clearing towards the Blue Ridge. Stream frontage on Burruss Branch. Old logging road recently cleared for easy access. MLS#647055 $799,000 Tim Michel, 434.960.1124

JAMES RIVER ROAD

Enjoy expansive pastoral views with the mountains in the background from this spacious 3-bedroom residence with wrap around porch on 5.44 acres. The tranquil atmosphere lends itself to full time living or a weekend retreat. Great high speed Internet.

MLS#651338 $539,000 C. Dammann, 434.981.1250

HIGHER GROUND

27 acre estate, mountaintop retreat with 11,400 sf., 8-BR, 6.5-BA residence with many outside terraces, decks and unsurpassed panoramic mountain views!

10 miles to famed Omni Homestead Resort, 2 miles to the airport. Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455 www.highergroundva.org

FOR WATERS

133.77-acre land tract in scenic Madison County, near Graves Mountain Lodge, with Rose & Robinson trout rivers on property. Adjacent to Shenandoah National Forest, Camp Hoover, with Old Rag views. Includes cottage, barns and fenced. MLS#650696 $2,200,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.0076

MACLIN BUILDING CONDO

North of Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, a 2-BR, 2-BA condo offers modern amenities: 1,400 sq.ft., gas fireplace, gourmet kitchen, glass window dining room, urban, Blue Ridge views, parking, high-speed internet. MLS#651029 $777,000 Jim Faulconer, 434.981.007 or Will Faulconer, 434.987.9455

KESWICK ESTATE

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1895 Westview Rd | Charlottesville

Natural & serious privacy in the heart of Cville, hidden down a lane yet a 5 min walk to Barracks Rd shopping and 5 min drive to UVA or Downtown Pedestrian Mall. Two homes with decks on nearly an acre leading to creek. Flexible space with a separate home office, and two primary suites. Three kitchens with stainless steel appliances, 6 full bathrooms, 7 bedrooms, 5 living rooms. Two primary suites in brick house including one on the 1st floor. Lovely permanent landscaping and fenced yard. Excellent income history used as 4 AirBnBs.

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Yates Nobles | 434.996.0888

1869 Rhett Ct | Charlottesville

1404 Meadowbrook Rd | Charlottesville

$795,000 |

$945,000 | montaguemillercom/650361

Trish Owens | 434.825.5393

1704 Old Brook Rd | Charlottesville

Two older homes on this lot. Property is DEVELOPABLE. 7.96 acres zoned R-2 Residential. Beautiful, flat to sloping terrain, mostly wooded with some steep slopes. A Builder & Developer will create something special here.

$995,000 | montaguemiller.com/646888

Gaffney Saadut Team | 434.760.2160

Beautiful one owner home in desirable and convenient Mosby Mountain! Custom build by Gaffney Homes, this property is on a cozy CUL-DE-SAC with rear privacy. Roomy main level living with 2 story ceilings. Close to UVA. Carter

This beautifully remodeled Mid-century Ranch home is a must see in the CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE. Located close to UVA, within a 5-minute walk to BODO’S, Meadow Creek Gardens Trail & RTF Trail. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths.

$995,000 | montaguemiller.com/650936

Gaffney Saadut Team | 434.760.2160

(434)242-8355

BillCrutchfieldcelebrates50

Long before he was a successful businessman, pilot, and entrepreneur, it was evident that Bill Crutchfield’s fate was to be the main character of his story, whatever that may be. In 1950, at 8 years old, he built his first radio. At 13, he built what was, to the best of his knowledge, “the first stereo system in Virginia.”

“It was very crude by today’s standards,” he says. “I combined two sets of speakers connected to two separate mono hi-fi amplifiers in my bedroom. They were connected to a two-channel tape head mounted to an old office reel-to-reel tape recorder.”

Crutchfield’s father was the head of neurology at the University of Virginia, and a man his son describes as “an early adopter of technology.” That forward-thinking, open-mindedness wouldn’t simply be passed down to his son—it would be amplified by his talent, augmented by his experience, and harnessed as one of Bill Crutchfield’s greatest assets as an entrepreneur.

This aptitude for detecting trends, and Crutchfield’s ability to detect problems and solve them before they exist, were what helped him turn his modest car stereo business into an electronics empire that became one of Charlottesville’s flagship businesses.

“I wanted to restore old Porsches,” Crutchfield says. “And that’s when I noticed that there was a real lack of car stereo retailers. I thought it was a market that was really underserved at that time. That’s how I found my niche.”

Prior to the 1970s, car audio systems were something that came stock from the factory, and their availability from third-party retailers was extremely limited. Until the advent of the 8-track tape, the sound system in a vehicle was thought of as a luxury by many—an afterthought. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, as cassette tapes became the popular album format, car audio exploded into a million-dollar industry. By that time, Crutchfield had already established itself as one of the premier names in the business, not through the promulgation of retail stores like most of their main competitors, but through

their mail-order business and the Crutchfield “magalog.”

“Our first catalog was a disaster,” Crutchfield says. “A lot of it was wiring diagrams we drew ourselves, and it just didn’t work very well. Our second one wasn’t much better. I thought it would be a good idea to start including articles about installing these devices in our catalog, but it went against everything people knew about advertising and marketing back then to use space for anything other than sales copy. But that was when we really started seeing some success, was with our ‘magalog.’”

As the company was making its name in the mail-order business, Crutchfield’s retail store was becoming more popular in Charlottesville, and its advertising on radio and television in the area became inescapable. The company outgrew building after building, eventually constructing its headquarters and fulfillment center beside the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport.

Arriving at 1 Crutchfield Circle for the first time, I notice that the building is earth-sheltered, with the ground built up around it for temperature regulation. Forty years before “going green” was a thing, Crutchfield designed his company headquarters to be one of the most energy efficient commercial buildings in the world at that time. I walk through the door and, after a firm, oldschool handshake, Crutchfield invites me to tour the facility with him.

We hop in his electric Mercedes-Benz, and silently glide through the rain between the three different properties that make up the Crutchfield complex. The first stop on the tour is the call center, a soft-white cubicle matrix dotted with personalized workspaces, comfy chairs, and baby gates used to keep people’s dogs confined in their own workspaces.

“We’re a dog-friendly company,” Crutchfield says, a bit of an understatement, given that every third person seems to have a furry friend with them.

Everywhere we walk, inspirational messages adorn the walls. At first glance, they

While Bill Crutchfield was building his business, he says he worked 100 hours or more almost every week. He credits this work ethic, along with finding the right niche and even his name, as possible reasons for the success of his 50-year-old company.

seem like the pseudo-spiritual posters created to motivate employees stuck in the daily office grind. What I don’t realize is that what hangs on the walls at Crutchfield isn’t the trite clichés so commonly used as filler for blank office spaces. I am reading Bill Crutchfield’s core values, something everyone takes seriously, and with good reason: They saved his company.

It was the 1980s, and Crutchfield was struggling.

“Our 1982 sales grew significantly while our profits nosedived,” Crutchfield says. “In 1983, our financial situation worsened. Sales fell by 10 percent, and earnings turned negative. Our cash reserves dwindled rapidly because of these losses. By spring, I had to take out more short-term bank loans to help cover these losses.”

He sought help, and one vice president was vocal about his belief that Crutchfield need-

ed to spend less on the quality of his magazine and customer support, and focus on matching his competitor’s prices. Crutchfield even got input from the University of Virginia undergraduate business school (for which he chaired the advisory committee). A professor wrote a case study that concluded, “Crutchfield Corporation has gotten bigger than Bill Crutchfield can handle.”

Crutchfield spent several weeks and months contemplating the problem, and the conclusion he came to was that the issue with his company was one of culture and not of capital.

“During this lonely intellectual probing, I read a statement which was so appropriate to our situation that it was almost uncanny,” Crutchfield wrote on the company website in a retrospective post. “It was made by Thomas Watson, Jr. during a lecture at Columbia University in 1962. The IBM chair said, ‘I firmly believe that any organization,

EZE AMOS

in order to survive and achieve success, must have a sound set of beliefs on which it premises all its policies and actions. Next … I believe that if an organization is to meet the challenges of a changing world, it must be prepared to change everything about itself except those beliefs as it moves through corporate life.’

“Now I understood exactly what the problem was,” Crutchfield continued. “My company once had a set of common beliefs—my beliefs. When the company was much smaller, I was instinctively able to ensure that everyone adhered to my beliefs. As it grew, I had to delegate decision-making to others. As a result, my beliefs and the company’s beliefs gradually started to diverge. By 1983, they were vastly different. Since this change had occurred so slowly, I never fully recognized the problem until I read Mr. Watson’s comments.”

Crutchfield’s campaign to reinstill his values into the company he built began with the obvious task of defining those values. First, the total satisfaction of the customer is paramount. Second, respect for dedication to your fellow employees. Third, maintaining a commitment to excellence. Paramount above all three things, though, is a very simple, ancient maxim: Treat others as you want to be treated. Through training, innovation, incentives, and discipline, he began to regain control of his company’s culture and morale. It was a crucial time, and it’s why many people, including Chief Human Resources Officer Chris Lilley and Chief Content Officer Amy Lenert, say the culture and camaraderie within the company is what makes Crutchfield such an amazing place to work.

“Working in creative [departments], there can be a certain amount of egos involved,” Lenert says. “That really just … doesn’t exist here. Honestly. Everyone’s really on the same team.”

“I wanted to restore old Porsches. And that’s when I noticed that there was a real lack of car stereo retailers. I thought it was a market that was really underserved at that time. That’s how I found my niche.”

“I came on in ’94,” Lilley says. “I thought I would be here maybe a couple years.”

Lilley says it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that the true commitment toward each other and the business really shined.

“We were open because the governor kept a lot of businesses with shipping capacity open in case they needed the distribution access for PPE,” he says. “So we were dealing with that, plus all the people working remotely, and in the middle of all that, sales went through the roof. It was up, like, 30 percent. I mean, it was crazy. And in the middle of all that, Bill came and we were talking and he said something I’ll never forget. He said, ‘You need to understand: You and I are responsible for 400 families.’ I think it’s even more than that now. But I think that’s what really makes me love my job, is having someone who shares my values and really wants to take care of people.”

BILL CRUTCHFIELD

When Lilley talks about Crutchfield— both the company and the man—“taking care of people,” it isn’t euphemistic. Crutchfield was the driving force behind smoking cessation programs in his company in the ’80s, back when you could still smoke on some airplanes. He was concerned about the environment when he built his primary corporate headquarters building in 1977. When Crutchfield recognized the negative environmental impact of styrofoam packing peanuts, he came up with a biodegradable, starch-based replacement that is manufactured in-house.

“Sometimes, I tell people from Charlottesville I work for Crutchfield,” Lenert says. “And sometimes they’re like, ‘the stereo store?’” in reference to the company’s retail space on 29 North near Rio Hill. “We’re a multi-million dollar company, with four huge buildings, hundreds of employees. … All I tell them is, ‘it’s so much more than a store.’”

We couldn’t have done it without the amazing support of our sponsors, partners, artists, and the Charlottesville community.

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Tai Chi Center, Citizens’ Climate Lobby - Charlottesville, Civil Solutions, Club Pilates, Common Grounds Healing Arts, Community Investment Collaborative, Cville Dance Co-Op, Eastwood Farm & Winery, Equal Justice USA, Good Times Only Silent Disco, Green Dogs Unleashed, Heart & Soul Fitness, hEarth Cville, IX Art Park, LightHouse Studios, Ligmincha International, Live Arts, LoveNoEgo Foundation, McGuffey Art Center, Out & About, Panorama Natural Burial, Preservation Piedmont, Prolyfyck, Salute The Sun Yoga, Sexual Assault Resource Agency, Second Chancer Foundation, Simply Mindful Moment, SuZen LLC, The BUCK Squad, The Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center, The RESTORE Project, The Sister Cities Commission, The Tonsler League, Theological Horizons, UVA Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, UVA Law Decarceration Clinic, UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy, Uhuru Foundation

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CULTURE

SATURDAY 4/27

JUMPING FOR JOY

A full day of horsing around awaits at the 45th running of the Foxfield Races. The historic steeplechase event, born out of the tradition of fox hunting, features seven full race cards over flat tracks, hurdles, hills, and obstacles for the jockeys and their thoroughbreds. Live music, local vendors, and a variety of food trucks combine with derbystyle fashions, enthusiastic tailgating, and friendly side wagers at this outdoor affair. $65–8,400, 9am. Foxfield track, 2215 Foxfield Track. foxfieldraces.com

93 REASONS TO LEAVE THE HOUSE

SATURDAY 4/27

RALLY ’ROUND

Dozens of local artists gather to draw and paint together in the heart of downtown at Gallery Rally 2024. Now in its ninth year, the creativecommunity-driven event affords art lovers the opportunity to meet artists, talk with them about their work, and witness acts of creation firsthand. Each of the works made during the rally is available to take home for just $100, which allows both fledgling and experienced collectors an occasion to celebrate.

Free, 4pm. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St. SE. secondstreetgallery.org

FRIDAY 4/26

FRETS ON FIRE

While heavily grounded in the music of their native Mexico City, Grammy Award-winning guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela brings weightier world music to their incendiary stage shows. With influences ranging from flamenco and classic rock, to heavy metal, spiritualism, and philosophy, their albums and live concerts serve as transcendent listening experiences that set both the stage and soul alight. $39.75-74.75, 8pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

CULTURE FEEDBACK

Songs and stories

John McCutcheon talks of living in C’ville and prepping for album number 45

By Jedd Ferris arts@c-ville.com

At the intermission of his concerts, John McCutcheon asks attendees to submit song requests for the show’s second set. It’s how the Grammy-nominated folk singer, who’s released 44 albums during his five-decade career, figures out what to play. With a huge catalog of material, McCutcheon says his performances are spontaneously constructed, and singing is just part of the evening. He often introduces songs with lengthy stories, and he makes time to showcase his prowess on more than a dozen traditional acoustic instruments, including banjo, fiddle, and hammer dulcimer.

“It’s an interesting tightrope to walk,” says McCutcheon, 71, of his time on stage. “You want to do your new stuff, but people come because of what they’ve heard before. Being a soloist has forced me to learn how to read an audience. At this point, singing songs is the easy part. What’s fun is crafting a show that comes together as a whole.”

Of the song requests he solicits from his audience, McCutcheon says there are some typical favorites, including “Christmas in the Trenches,” an engaging ballad set in World War I from the 1984 album Winter Solstice, and “Old People in Love,” a sentimental tune from 2009’s Untold Another staple, “Kindergarten Wall,” has roots in Charlottesville. McCutcheon wrote the cheery recollection of lessons learned during the first year of school, found on his acclaimed children’s album Mail Myself to You, after one of his kids finished kindergarten at Burnley-Moran Elementary School. McCutcheon lived in town for two decades, from 1986 to 2006, and although that time coincided with a period of heavy national touring, he fondly recalls collaborating with members of the local music scene and fostering community with other singer-songwriters who lived in the area, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ellis Paul, and the late Jesse Winchester.

“We were all pals, and it still feels right when I get together with some of these folks,” McCutcheon says. “For me, Charlottesville became a place where you could be-

come engaged in a community and lend a hand in your own peculiar way.”

A standout memory? On New Year’s Eve in 1999, McCutcheon assembled hundreds of musicians, including church choir singers, rock players, and the Charlottesville High School band, for a special performance for First Night Virginia that took place under a big circus tent set up near where the Ting Pavilion is currently located.

“The kind of imagination that can come from a really creative small city like Charlottesville was really exciting and liberating,” he says.

McCutcheon now resides in the Atlanta area, but he keeps Charlottesville in rotation on his regular touring schedule. He’s found a comfortable spot for shows at Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Mainstage Theatre, where he’ll perform on Saturday, April 27.

When McCutcheon returns to town, he’ll bring material from his latest album, last year’s Together, a collaborative collection of songs with fellow longstanding folk artist Tom Paxton—an influential figure in the genre who made his mark alongside Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk in the 1960s Greenwich Village revival scene.

At the onset of the pandemic, McCutcheon and Paxton started meeting for weekly writing sessions via Zoom, and the duo found a groove that yielded 14 songs. Like much of McCutcheon’s discography, the album’s lyrics move between subjects that are topical, humorous, historical, and personal.

Album opener “Ukrainian Now” takes a supportive stance for citizens of an invaded country still in the throes of war. With emotive bow work from ace fiddler Stuart Duncan and a stirring chorus, the song has broadly resonated with listeners, and it even resulted in a Ukrainian family living in Seattle sending McCutcheon a bandura—a traditional Ukrainian string instrument—as a gesture of thanks.

“It went viral, as the youngsters say,” McCutcheon says of the song. “We were getting comments from frontline soldiers in Ukraine. When I decide to write a song [about something], I want to contribute to the conversation in a way that helps people see it in a way they hadn’t thought about it before.”

McCutcheon already has album number 45 in the works, and he says it will include backing from Charlottesville drummer Robert Jospé and a song written with Trent Wagler of The Steel Wheels. Although he’s glad to be back on the road, McCutcheon says he’s continued to embrace remote co-writing, with fruitful results.

“It’s kept the creative juices going,” he says. “I’m still doing it regularly and coming up with a lot more songs.”

“For me, Charlottesville became a place where you could become engaged in a community and lend a hand in your own peculiar way.”

Wednesday 4/24 music

Berto and Matt. Latin guitar night. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 201 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com

Brandy Clark. The 17-time Grammy nominee, CMA Award winner, and Tony nominee performs Americana originals. $28-42, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

BRIMS Presents: The Tannahill Weavers. A special brand of Celtic music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms. Free, 6pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com

Karaoke. Showcase your singing skills with Jennifer DeVille. Free, 10pm. Rapture, 303 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. rapture restaurant.com

Open Mic Night. Calling all musicians, poets, and everyone in between. Hosted by Nicole Giordano. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St.

The Wavelength. Vintage rock, jazz-blues vibrations, and original tunes for your midweek music boost. Free, 6:30pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com

Vinyl DJ Ryan Wood. Ryan Wood of Kendall Street Company spins the finest old-school soul and funk records. Free, 6:30pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superfly brewing.com

classes

Paint + Sip. Render a Blue Ridge Mountain view. Paint, sip, repeat. $40, 6pm. Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. prnbrewery.com

etc.

Bingo. Four games, fun prizes. Free, 6pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger. Examine how Sargent’s unique practice has influenced modern art and culture through interviews with curators, contemporary fashionistas, and style influencers. $11-15, 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

SuperFly Run Club. Run around the city, then enjoy $5 pints. Free, 6pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superfly brewing.com

The People’s Joker Gotham City’s favorite funnyman takes on a new identity in director Vera Drew’s offbeat comedy. $10, 7pm. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Thursday 4/25 music

Beach Fossils. New York underground fourpiece dream pop band. With Brooklyn-based pop band Nation of Language. $32-102, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com

Berto and Vincent. A night of wild flamenco rumba and Latin guitar. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com

Bill Adams and the Blue Sunburst Band. Bringing you a roots mix of blues, country, Western swing and rockabilly. Free, 7pm. Dürty Nelly’s, 2200 Jefferson Park Ave. durtynellyscville.com

Dwight Martin. Enjoy hits from the ‘60s–’00s and $5 drinks in addition to the regular menu. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwood farmandwinery.com

Renowned folk singer and former Charlottesville resident John McCutcheon performs at PVCC on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30pm.

Karaoke. Eat, drink, sing. Free, 7pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

The Barons. Ethereal, booty shakin’ rock ‘n’ roll music. $12-15, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesouthern cville.com

Thursdays Around 5. Local singer-songwriter Theocles Herrin performs tearful ballads to pop bangers. Free, 5pm. The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Blvd. thecenter cville.org

words

Hunting Images: On Poetry, Art, and Translation. An evening in honor of Italian poet and writer Antonella Anedda, who will speak on her interests in art and poetry. Free, 5pm. Campbell Hall, Room 160, 110 Bayly Dr.

etc.

Dart Night. Weekly dart night with $1-off pints. Free, 6pm. Decipher Brewing, 1740 Broadway St. decipherbrewingco. wixsite.com

Little Naturalist Program. Explore the trails and introduce your children to nature. Free, 10am. Ivy Creek Natural Area and Historic River View Farm, 1780 Earlysville Rd. ivycreekfoundation.org

Trivia Night. Six rounds with eight questions per round, including a visual and audio round. Free, 6:15pm. Potter’s Craft Cider, 1350 Arrowhead Valley Rd. potterscraftcider.com

Wordplay. A team-based trivia competition for people who love vocabulary, pop culture, history, literature, and showing off their smarts. $20, 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Friday 4/26 music

Chickenhead Blues Band. New Orleansstyle boogie-woogie rhythm and blues. Free, 6pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshouse winery.com

Dogwood Tales. Lo-fi, shoegaze, and country influences. With Mike Frazier and Small Paul. $12-40, 7:30pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesouthern cville.com

Emily Hunter. UVA Distinguished Major flute recital. Free, 8pm. Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds. music.virginia.edu

Evan Honer. A captivating blend of modern outlaw country, indie folk, and pop sensibilities. $20, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jefferson theater.com

Fridays After Five: Drew Pace. High-energy, lyrical, country jams. Free, 5:30pm. Ting Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. tingpavilion.com

Ian Gilliam and The Fire Kings. Rock ‘n’ roll, blues, rockabilly, and country. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St.

Josh Mayo and Alex Bragg. Mayo and Bragg do their acoustic duo with a few friends joining in on the outdoor stage. Free, 6pm. Högwaller Brewing, 1518 E High St. hogwallerbrewing.com

Natalie Blue. New, independent, alternative rock. Free, 10pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskey jarcville.com

Rodrigo y Gabriela. Grammy Award-winning duo with eclectic influences from classic rock, heavy metal, and flamenco. $39-74, 8pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Writer’s perspective

Nashville hitmaker Brandy Clark takes her own songs on the road

By Aaron Irons arts@c-ville.com

Brandy Clark has long been a lauded pen among Nashville songwriters, landing hits with chart-toppers like Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert, while handily stepping out with her own records woven from classic country and contemporary heart-on-the-sleeve fearlessness.

On her self-titled fourth album, Clark is as powerful as ever, showcasing stunning personal narratives alongside blood-andbone ballads that survey fresh angles bound by neither convention nor cliché.

“I think that’s always the challenge of a songwriter and a singer,” says Clark, who on her latest release maneuvers through tales of heartbreak, homicide, and home. “There are songs that aren’t hard for me to find a way into—like ‘Take Mine.’ I wrote that for my godson. And ‘Dear Insecurity’ [which won the 2023 Grammy for Best Americana Performance], I wrote about my own insecurities.”

On “Tell Her You Don’t Love Her,” Clark implores a friend’s ex for mercy, an act the album’s producer, Brandi Carlile, approached with skepticism.

“Whenever I go into a project with any producer, I like to give them the last 18 to 24 songs that we whittled down from my catalog,” says Clark. “You just get too close to [songs] at some point. I always think of the producer as the last writer on the songs … and the only song that Brandi didn’t choose that I was set on [recording] was ‘Tell Her You Don’t Love Her.’ She said, ‘I just don’t believe that from you.’”

Clark says the song was written about a friend whose ex-boyfriend was stringing her along, and Clark wanted the guy to “stop the long goodbye,” and just tell her friend he didn’t love her. And that “really shifted it for [Carlile],” says Clark, adding that Carlile’s problem with the song was its “small emotion: ‘You are pleading with this guy to let your friend off the hook. It’s not a big, aggressive emotion,’ so we broke it down really small, and by the end of the recording [Carlile] said, ‘You know, that’s top three for me now.’”

After connecting during the pandemic lockdown, Clark and Carlile (dubbed BC Squared) collaborated on two tracks that would ultimately appear on the deluxe edition of Clark’s 2020 album Your Life is a Record. Clark says that working with another musician was an eye-opening experience.

“The thing that Brandi was really good at—I mean, she’s great at several things—but one of the big things was holding a mirror up in front of my face and saying, ‘Okay, is this really you? And if it’s not really you, what’s your way into it?’’’

Another track, “Ain’t Enough Rocks,” tells the graphic story of a father sexually abusing

his daughters and meeting an end at the bottom of a river. In the song’s final moments, Clark delivers the chill-inducing line, “Sometimes the only cure for a certain kind of problem is the right amount of limestone to keep it at the bottom.”

“That was one that everybody fought for but me because I was a little timid to do that song because I’m not a survivor of abuse,” Clark says. “I didn’t wanna come off as pretending I was for a song. Brandi said, ‘A, this is a great song. And B, I believe you when you sing it. It’s a story song and there’s something in this story that you resonate with.’”

Clark says it’s the last verse that resonates with her, and “I think there’s some crimes

that don’t deserve a jury, and that was my way into that. I know that sounds so black and white and awful, but I just feel like there are some things that are so terrible, people should at least never breathe free air again.”

The song, co-written with Jessie Jo Dillon and Jimmy Robbins, also features an appearance by guitarist Derek Trucks, who first turned down the project because his studio was not open, but Carlisle sent it anyway. “He was so inspired by the song that he figured out a way to do it,” says Clark. “So that makes me feel amazing as a writer on that song.”

Clark calls her latest collection a raw version of herself, and though some critics and fans may be surprised by her more bare-knuckle moments, this isn’t a reinvention, it’s a live-edge cut of the songwriter.

“I’ve been in the world of trying to write commercial songs,” says Clark. “I’ve never been really great at writing commercial songs. A lot of people think I am because I’ve had a few hits, but overall, I’ve had a lot more non-commercial songs.

“But you get into that mindset of a certain, for lack of a better word, formula,” she adds.

“And Brandi doesn’t know that formula. So for me to bring in some structure and her to bring in some non-structure, I think we landed in a really great place.”

Singer-songwriter Brandy Clark’s new album got some expert attention from producer Brandi Carlile. Clark performs at The Jefferson Theater on Wednesday, April 24. PUBLICITY

Our retail store is open regularly and we carefully curate and host a variety of 21+ events, supporting local artists and artisans, to bring cannabis lovers together. Whether you are passing through the city or found your forever home in Charlottesville, Virginia, The Hidden Leaf will continue to provide a safe haven for all of us. We look forward to welcoming you with open arms in a friendly and hidden place, where you are seen and known.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

Friday 4/26

Sue Harlow. Enjoy live tunes with your wine, cider, and beer, along with a full menu of food options. Free, 5pm. Eastwood Farm and Winery, 2531 Scottsville Rd. eastwood farmandwinery.com

UVA Concert Band. Large wind ensemble spring concert, conducted by Dr. Elliott Tackitt, Dr. Andrew Koch, and Professor Michael Idzior. Free, 6pm. UVA Amphitheater, 235 McCormick Rd. music.virginia.edu

etc.

Advocacy in Action Walk. Join The Nature Conservancy’s Mikaela Ruiz-Ramon for a walk at Azalea Park and learn about environmental advocacy. Free, noon. Azalea Park, 304 Old Lynchburg Rd. nature.org

Outdoor Series. A three-day outdoor festival presenting eight arts partners including Charlottesville Symphony, Charlottesville Opera, and more. $10-35, All day. Merrie Mill Farm and Vineyard, 594 Merrie Mill Farm, Keswick. merriemillfarm.com

Puzzle Crawl. Self-guided puzzle hunt through breweries and wineries. Crack codes, unravel riddles, and piece together clues. $15, All day. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. starrhill.com

The SW2 Festival of the Moving Creature. A menagerie of mythical entourages of two giant creatures roaming and bringing joy to UVA Grounds. Free, 7pm. Betsy and John Casteen Arts Grounds at UVA, Culbreth Rd. virginia.edu

Saturday 4/27

music

Berto Sales. Sounds of Brazil, Spain, and Latin America. Unique finger-picking style and contagious energy. Free, 11am. Tavern & Grocery, 333 W. Main St. tavern andgrocery.com

Brass In Pocket: The Pretenders Tribute. Covering favorites from the The Pretenders to Blondie. Free, 7pm. Pro Re Nata, 6135 Rockfish Gap Tpke., Crozet. prnbrewery.com Her Checkered Past. Sip cider and enjoy an afternoon of live music in the orchard. Free, 2:30pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarlecider works.com

John McCutcheon. Folk music’s Renaissance man showcases his infinite vocal and lyric variety. $15-18, 7:30pm. Piedmont Virginia Community College, V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Dr. pvcc.edu

Josh Mayo and The House Sauce. Rocking originals and classic covers. Free, 10pm. The Whiskey Jar, 227 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thewhiskeyjarcville.com

Kyshona. A performer unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song. $2025, 8pm. The Front Porch, 221 E. Water St. frontporchcville.com

Mo’ Lowda and the Humble. Self-produced indie rock from Philadelphia. With Austin-based pop-psychopomps The Bright Light Social Hour. $20-60, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesouthern cville.com

Scuffletown. Calypso, bluegrass, reggae, and blues. Free, 5pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glass housewinery.com

South Canal Street. Live music, sumptuous seafood, and mountain views. $10-15, noon. DuCard Vineyards, 40 Gibson Hollow Ln., Etlan. ducardvineyards.com

Three Notch’d Road in Polyhymnia: Praetorius for Eastertide. Celebrate the Easter season with one of Michael Praetorius’s great choral and instrumental masterpieces performed on period instruments. $Free-30, 7:30pm. First Presbyterian Church, 500 Park St. firstprescharlottesville.org

dance

Ballroom Dance. A fun evening of dancing. Beginners welcome, no partner required. Come for the class and stay for the dance. $5-10, 7pm. The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Blvd. thecentercville.org

stage

Met Live in HD: La Rondine Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the French courtesan Magda. $20-26, 1pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

classes

Painting Owls with Coffee. Apply different strengths of coffee to watercolor paper to explore value in composition. Ages 16+. $35, 2pm. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com

etc.

Foxfield Spring Races. Nationally recognized steeplechase races in the heart of Virginia. Prices vary, 9am. Foxfield Racing LLC, 2215 Foxfield Track. foxfieldraces.com

Annual Cider Blossom Festival. An extensive line-up of activities for the entire family to enjoy. Free, 1pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com

Artful PLAY! Designed for children with developmental differences and their families. Free, 10am. The Arc Studio, 1149 Rose Hill Dr. arcpva.org

Bird Walk at Riverview Park. Expert birder Jim Nix leads a walk to explore the area and learn about spring migrating birds. Free, 7:30am. Riverview Park, 1909 Chesapeake St. nature.org

Fernbrook Preserve Nature Hike. Join master naturalist Dorothy Carney to explore the area and participate in the City Nature Challenge. Free, 9:30am. Burnt Mill Rd. nature.org

Frog and Salamander Hike. Herpetologist Chris Asquith leads a hike to explore the area, identify species, and learn about wetland habitats. Free, 10am. Bentivar Farm Rd. nature.org

Gallery Rally 2024. A live-drawing party and fundraiser featuring local artists. Free, 4pm. Second Street Gallery, 115 Second St SE. secondstreetgallery.org

Independent Bookstore Day. Shop local and support your community bookstores. Free, 9:30am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St. ndbookshop.com

Kid*Vention. Strap on your goggles and slip into your lab coat for this annual celebration of everything science. Free, 9:30am. Ting Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. tingpavilion.com

Puzzle Crawl. See listing for Friday, April 26. $15, All day. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. starrhill.com

Storytime. Readings of recent favorites and classics. Free, 11am. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. newdominion bookshop.com

The Awful Truth Cary Grant and Irene Dunne want a divorce—but not as much as they want to ruin each other’s new romantic possibilities—in this classic comedy. $10, noon. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Tree ID Hike. Celebrate Arbor Day with a walk in the woods. Free, 10am. Ivy Creek Natural Area and Historic River View Farm, 1780 Earlysville Rd. ivycreekfoundation.org

Sunday 4/28 music

Crozet Choir. The spring concert features a medley of songs leading to a sense of home. Free, 4pm. Crozet Baptist Church, 5804 Saint George Ave., Crozet. crozetchorus.org

Mandy Patinkin. See the acclaimed actor, singer, and storyteller in his most electrifying role: concert performer. With Adam Ben-David on piano. $49-89, 7pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Mirabelle and Matty Metcalfe. Live music, 100 percent estate wine and a Blue Ridge Mountain sunset view. Featuring Popitos Pizza. Free, 1pm. Chisholm Vineyards at Adventure Farm, 1135 Clan Chisholm Ln., Earlysville. chisholmvineyards.com

Próxima Parada. Songs focused on personal growth and groove. With indie-folk trio Oliver Hazard. $20-25, 7:30pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesouthern cville.com

Ryan Hollander. An exciting blend of classic sophistication and contemporary relevance spanning pop, R&B, and rock. Free, 2pm. DuCard Vineyards, 40 Gibson Hollow Ln., Etlan. ducardvineyards.com

The Wavelength. Vintage rock, blues, and originals in the orchard. Free, 3pm. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarleciderworks.com

Willie DE . A solo acoustic set of bluesy rock. Free, 2pm. Glass House Winery, 5898 Free Union Rd., Free Union. glasshouse winery.com

words

Christopher Tilghman. Celebrating the release of the author’s new novel, “On the Tobacco Coast.” Free, 2pm. New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St. ndbookshop.com

Silent Book Club. Sip cider and read in quiet camaraderie. No assigned reading, no obligations. Bring your own book of choice. Free, noon. Albemarle CiderWorks, 2545 Rural Ridge Ln., North Garden. albemarle ciderworks.com

classes

Crochet for Beginners. Learn the basics of crochet, leave with a bamboo crochet hook and a small crocheted washcloth. Ages 12+. $25, 11am. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com

Knitting 101. Learn the basics and leave with a pair of knitting needles, the beginning of a scarf, and enough yarn to finish it. Ages 12+. $25, 1pm. The Scrappy Elephant, 1745 Allied St. scrappyelephant.com

Paint + Sip. Learn a variety of techniques and skills. Paint, sip, repeat. $35, 3pm. Blue Ridge Cafe and Catering, 8315 Seminole Trl., Ruckersville. blueridgecafe.com

etc.

Beautiful Trace: Art in the Park. Join artist Amanda Nelsen for a walk in Darden Towe Park, where you will create a nature-based message and image. Free, 1pm. Darden Towe Park, 1445 Darden Towe Park. nature.org

CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

Polyhymnia

Praetorius for Eastertide

Saturday, Apr. 27, 7:30pm, First Presbyterian (Park St., C’ville)

Sunday, Apr. 28, 4:00pm, Trinity Episcopal (Staunton)

Three Notch’d Road performs early German liturgical works from Michael Praetorius’ 1615 Polyhymnia, Caduceatrix, et Panegyrica on period instruments. Program director & cellist Jeremy Ward leads a consort of instruments and voices, including soprano Sheila Dietrich, countertenor Nathan Medley, trombonist Paul Von Hoff, and Christa Patton (harp & winds.) Preconcert talk by Dr. Susan Treacy, professor of music emerita, 30 minutes before each performance.

Tickets online or at the door: $30, youth/students free 434.409.3424 www.tnrbaroque.org

OPEN CALL

area artists of all disciplines

The Paramount Theater of Charlottesville invites to submit proposals to activate a local remnant of the South’s segregation laws, The Paramount’s Third Street Box Office.

Three artists will receive an honorarium of $2,500 each

MAY 1, 2024

For more details, scan the QR code or visit: tinyurl.com/443d4hsd

Vino valor

Charlottesville scores coveted wine region title

By Shea Gibbs arts@c-ville.com

The Monticello American Viticultural Area won Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Region of the Year award at the end of 2023, and according to Brantley Ussery, it was not only for the area’s juice, but also for the squeeze.

“The things that Wine Enthusiast really liked about our region is the approach, our inclusivity,” says Ussery, director of marketing and public relations for the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We’re trying to dispel the myth that wine needs to be enjoyed in a certain way. There are no right or wrong ways.”

Making high-quality wine is a prerequisite for the prestigious magazine award, according to Wine Enthusiast’s published criteria. And the local AVA, which includes about 40 wineries in and around Charlottesville, impressed the publication’s judges with its range of award-winning bottles, including classic Bordeaux varieties, carbonic chenin blancs, and more obscure petite mansengs. The judges also praised the region’s “place in American wine history” and the collaborative nature of local winemakers. “We’re not as cutthroat as some other regions,” Ussery says. “They all share tips and tricks.”

To be clear, Ussery and his organization actively pursued the award, establishing a relationship with Wine Enthusiast over several years, including as a paying advertiser. But lest folks think Charlottesville had an inside track to the honors, consider the competition. Two of the five finalists, announced last December along with our area’s AVA, were Provence, France, and Lambrusco, Italy. The other two were up-and-coming South African and Australian regions.

The Monticello AVA, which encompasses Charlottesville and Albemarle County and is referred to simply as Charlottesville in Wine Enthusiast’s promotional materials, was the only North

American finalist for the 2023 award. The magazine has bestowed top wine region honors since 2003, with winners in Abruzzo, Italy, Sonoma County, California, and Champagne, France.

According to Tracy Love of Blenheim Vineyards and the Monticello Wine Trail, Ussery and the CACVB deserve significant credit for elevating the Charlottesville wine region into the conversation with the other finalists. Now, the region is looking to capitalize on the award during its annual Monticello Wine Week, which runs from April 26 to May 3, and includes two rosé-focused events, one banquet each for red and white wines, a sparkling brunch, a golf tournament, and a celebration of the Wine Enthusiast award.

“It is pretty shocking that of all wine regions in the world, they chose us,” Love says. “But we believe we have the opportunity to be the most diverse wine region in the world. We don’t have a lot of laws or traditions or standards telling us what we have to do, and I think that’s really appealing to people … just being able to experiment and figure out what works.”

According to Love, Monticello wines made a splash at this year’s Virginia Governor’s Cup, where the best wines in the state compete for the podium. With Wine Enthusiast’s national recognition, it’s like the region has been “pushed off the diving board,” and Love reckons it’s an opportunity for local wineries to jump to the next level.

For one thing, they can continue to focus on adapting to climate change, another reason Wine Enthusiast named the local AVA the best in the world.

“It’s forced the wineries to adapt. Some are going to hybrids, and everyone is kind of reevaluating the vinifera,” Love says. “It’s an emerging wine region, and the wines get better year after year.”

For more information about Monticello Wine Week go to monticellowinetrail.com.

Charlottesville winemakers Matthieu Finot, Damien Blanchon, Stephen Barnard, Jake Busching, and Tim Gorman celebrate at the Monticello Wine Week golf tournament.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

Sunday 4/28

Developmental Darts. Open to dart throwers of all skill levels, or anyone who just wants to learn the basics. Free, 1pm. Decipher Brewing, 1740 Broadway St. decipher brewingco.wixsite.com

Puzzle Crawl. See listing for Friday, April 26. $15, All day. Starr Hill Brewery, Dairy Market. starrhill.com

Monday 4/29 music

Berto and Vincent. An evening of Spanish rumba and Latin guitar with Berto Sales and Vincent Zorn. Free, 6:30pm. South and Central Latin Grill, 946 Grady Ave., Suite 104. southandcentralgrill.com

etc.

Geeks Who Drink Trivia. A reason to look forward to Mondays. Compete with teams of up to six people. Free, 6:30pm. Decipher Brewing, 1740 Broadway St. decipherbrewing co.wixsite.com

Monticello Wine Week: Winemaker’s Golf Tournament. Tee off in style at the Monticello Wine Week Winemaker’s Golf Tournament, hosted by Keswick Hall. $250, 8am. Keswick Hall & Golf Club, 701 Club Dr., Keswick. keswick.com

Paramount On Screen: Clerks A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof. $9, 7:30pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. theparamount.net

Spider-Man 3 Spider-Man is back—in black?—and fighting not only a trio of villains, but also his own darker impulses. $10, 7pm. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 5th Street Station. drafthouse.com

Trivia Night. Unleash your trivia talent. Beer, pizza, and big laughs. Hosted by Brandon “The Trivia Guy” Hamilton. Free, 6pm. Prince Michel Vineyard & Tap 29 Brewery, 154 Winery Ln., Leon. princemichel.com

Tuesday 4/30 music

Digitalis Electronic Music Festival. An annual concert of experimental work for sound and visual media, featuring premieres from UVA students. Free, 8pm. Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds. music.virginia.edu

Karaoke. Sign up and sing your favorite songs. Hosted by Thunder Music. Free, 9pm. Holly’s Diner, 1221 E. Market St.

Vincent Zorn. Solo wild flamenco rumba. Free, 7pm. The Bebedero, 225 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. thebebedero.com

WXTJ End of Semester Show. Featuring Natalie Blue, Behind the Sun, Swamp Street, and Terrified of Spiders. $10, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. thesoutherncville.com

etc.

EUREKA An elliptical meditation on the experiences of indigenous communities across the Americas. This screening features a conversation with director Lisandro Alonso. $13, 7pm. Violet Crown Charlottesville, 200 W. Main St. charlottesville.violetcrown.com

Geeks Who Drink Trivia. Good trivia, good times. Free, 7pm. Firefly, 1304 E. Market St. fireflycville.com

Music Bingo. Prizes to be won. Hosted by King Trivia. Free, 7pm. SuperFly Brewing Co., 943 Preston Ave. superflybrewing.com

Rockets’ red glare

Alex Garland’s Civil War offers an uneven dystopian vision

By Justin Humphreys arts@c-ville.com

Alex Garland’s newest film Civil War presents a vision of a wartorn, near-future United States that taps into many Americans’ fears of the worst-case endgame of ever-growing political divisiveness. It’s a promising idea, but this uneven movie is loaded with ridiculous plot holes, and despite delivering several impressive scenes, the film doesn’t maintain its level of quality.

A few years from now, America is splintered into various warring factions that are never fully spelled out. Some of these groups are semi-realistic, Portland Maoists are mentioned, while others strain believability, and talk of a Texas-California alliance seems like pure fantasy. Within this hellish landscape, seasoned combat photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and journalist Joel (Wagner Moura) set out for Washington, D.C., to land an interview with the president (Nick Offerman) before he’s captured and executed.

Following these two characters would make for a solid film, but, inexplicably, they bring along two companions on the dangerous mission: veteran journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), and aspiring photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny). Sam-

my is physically incapable of keeping up on the arduous journey, and Jessie is inexperienced, and they just seem shoehorned in to liven up the plot.

Civil War really shines when it depicts a war-ravaged nation devouring itself, including a key stop in Charlottesville. The film excels when it focuses on this nightmare intruding into the mundane: distant fires and tracer bullets flying over ordinary American buildings, a carwash turned into a torture chamber, or a wrecked helicopter in a JCPenney parking lot. Another strength is its little details, like how Lee buys gas with Canadian dollars, American money having become devalued like Confederate bills after the real Civil War.

Other high points are the tense, very bloody action sequences, including an encounter with two sarcastic snipers and the final assault on Washington, D.C. With only a few exceptions, the visual effects throughout are hellishly convincing.

Alex Garland is a frustrating filmmaker who never fully delivers on the promise of his films’ concepts. His movies are marked by intermittent scenes of real wit and talent, and long stretches where their plots completely disintegrate, as in the horribly muddled Men Civil War is no exception. Seeing the vast American warzone through the

photojournalists’ dispassionate—even cold-blooded—coverage was a sound basic concept, but injecting the two supporting characters was simply bad plotting. There are other significant flaws in the story, but revealing them would involve spoilers.

Civil War

R, 109 minutes | Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Regal Stonefield, Violet Crown Cinemas

The cast is mostly fine, even when saddled with clunky dialogue. All the below-the-line talent on the film is first-rate across the board, including costume design, production design, makeup, and particularly visual effects. Garland and his team get bonus points for making unusual musical choices and not going for ironically traditional patriotic music.

Civil War deliberately avoids political partisanship, which will relieve some viewers and annoy others. This opaque approach doesn’t detract much from its quality, but it does point to an overall concept that’s too vague for its own good. There is so much about the film that better writers could have cleared up. But since this particular Civil War is so hotly divided between its virtues and its flaws, in the end, there’s no victory— just a draw.

Civil War really shines when it depicts a war-ravaged nation devouring itself, including a key stop in Charlottesville.

Civil War, starring Jesse Plemons, combines fear and fantasy in a dystopian take on America’s political divide.

There’s something for everyone at JABA. Discover your options with JABA’s Senior Helpline (434) 817-5244 or visit jabacares.org/senior-helpline You are as unique as JABA’s services that empower those 60+ to reach their personal goals. Celebrate who you are and where you are on the aging journey with resources to make the most of your stage of life. Action plan to age your way. Get help with your immediate or upcoming needs. Prepare for retirement. Learn how to better care for someone you love—and yourself—with caregiver resources. Find answers to tough questions. And so much more!

Replying to Ageism

A podcast host with a considerable following on X/Twitter recently strayed from his normal posts about tech and climate change - his areas of interest - to lament that aging in your 40s is manageable but when you hit 50 “your kids leave and your body falls apart and any illusion of control vanishes.” Normally, in response to most of his recent posts, there were anywhere from 5 to 25 replies. This post received over a thousand replies.

Some pointed out that health issues had changed their lives long before 50, while others pointed out that turning 60 or 70 was much worse - just wait! Others said they felt better at 65 or 70 than they had at 50. Some pointed out that while their bodies had failed them they felt better mentally than they had when they were younger. While some shared the podcaster’s perspective, many more described a variety of circumstances that defied categorization.

“Age alone is a poor predictor of health status because aging is not a homogenous, linear experience,” said Tracey Gendron, chair of the Department of Gerontology at the VCU College of Health Professions, in a recent interview. Gendron is also executive director of the Virginia Center on Aging and author of the book “Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It.”

“People age and develop differently, and there are no milestones or expectations to make comparisons,” said Gendron. “If we automatically assume someone of a given age is not capable or in poor health, that is ageism.”

Even if that someone is ourselves.

Remarkably, I couldn’t find any replies that recognized the podcaster’s ageism or called him out for it. But most of the replies he received repeatedly pushed back on the idea that aging could be defined by a number. While they might not have been completely conscious of doing so, the commentors were defying ageism!

“I’m 76 and still surf, ski, sketch,

enjoy the teenage grandchild. Decline is happening as expected. Too busy to feel sorry for myself.”

“I’m 51 and have a 5-year-old...I’ve never been more happy and active.”

“I’m 76 and feel about like I did in my 40’s - better, actually, since I don’t have to dress up or wear heels.”

“I’m 74 and despite my body falling apart, I’m pretty happy. You handle things as they come and adjust.”

I’m 64. Yes, kids grow up and leave but watching them grow is amazing. I have my aches and pains. But here’s a secret: you never did have any control. Over anything. So, let go and just be.”

“As a gerontologist, I’m fascinated by the wide chasm between the reality of aging and aging myths and misconceptions. The first and most important thing you can do is educate yourself,” said Gendron. “Aging is the one universal thing every human being on the planet has in common. And yet, it is a subject very few people ever take the time to learn about properly.”

How is it that we can live for five decades and still allow an aging milestone to cripple our sense of self? How is it possible to feel old when we turn 25? Why do we characterize aging as a series of disasters and cliffs to be fallen off? Why do we categorize and separate age groups from each other?

“Generally speaking, people tend to hyper-focus on the more negative aspects of aging rather than acknowledging that aging is a process of change that includes both decline and growth,” said Gendron.

Indeed, whether you’re 18 years old and getting your first job or 70 and taking your first yoga class, the reality is that aging is an ongoing process, not a series of checkpoints, and that no matter where we are along the continuum, we all have more in common with each other than we realize.

Charlottesville families have trusted Our Lady of Peace for over 30 years. Discover our inspired lifestyle for yourself!

Welcoming new residents!

Call today to learn more about the compassionate care, lovely apartments, wonderful amenities, and active, family-oriented lifestyle that makes our community one-of-a-kind.

What Residents Are Saying

“Here I feel safe, loved, respected, and not alone.”

Barbara Allison, Our Lady of Peace Resident

434-973-1155

our-lady-of-peace.com

751 Hillsdale Dr. | Charlottesville Residential Living • Assisted Living Memory Care • Nursing Care

David McNair handles communications, media relations, and social media efforts for JABA. Charlottesville’s

“We found Commonwise after struggling to find reliable care. We felt the difference immediately and they have provided a consistently high level of service ever since. Every caregiver has been delightful and professional.”

To learn more about Commonwise, call 434-202-8565 or visit commonwisecare.com

PUZZLES

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that every row, column, and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

ACROSS

1. President and Supreme Court justice

5. Hockey players, slangily

11. Kangaroo move

14. Spaghetti ___ carbonara

15. Pavlovian response

16. Reddit Q&A session, briefly

17. Instruction at a bench

19. Powerful connections

20. Amino and folic

21. Salt, in chem class

22. Kardashian matriarch

23. Choose from a menu

25. Opinion

27. NHL #1 draft pick of 1984 and Pittsburgh Penguins superstar

33. Music st ack

36. Lisa of “Melrose Place”

37. Talk nonsense

38. Pepper’s

DOWN

32. Gen-___ (post-boom babies)

33. Job title that gets a “yes”?

34. Singer Lovato

35. Give up

39. Cranky

41. Myanmar flag feature

44. “And so forth”

46. ___-garde

49. What “Tao” means

50. Quite a sight

53. Good, to Guillermo

54. “The results ___!”

55. Night in Naples

56. Bitter bar orders

57. Links warning

59. West Germany’s capital

60. Came down to the ground

61. “99 Luftballons” German singer

64. Rolls over a house?

65. Mend

51. Allergy symptom

52. Maker of Wayfarer sunglasses

56. Uncertain 58. Longtime

By Rob Brezsny

Gemini

(May 21–June 20): My Gemini friend Alicia thrives on having a quick, acute, whirling-dervish-like intelligence. It’s one of her strong points now, but it wasn’t always. She says she used to be hyperactive. She thought of serenity as boring—“like some wan, bland floral tea.” But after years of therapy, she is joyous to have discovered “a kind of serenity that’s like sweet, frothy hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.” I’m guessing that many of you Geminis have been evolving in a similar direction in recent months—and will climax this excellent period of relaxing growth in the coming weeks.

Cancer

(June 21–July 22): All Cancerians who read this oracle are automatically included on the Primal Prayer Power List. During the next 13 days, my team of 13 prayer warriors and I will sing incantations to nurture your vigor, sovereignty, and clarity of purpose. We will envision your dormant potentials ripening. We will call on both human and divine allies to guide you in receiving and bestowing the love that gives your life supreme meaning. How should you prepare for this flood of blessings? Start by having a long talk with yourself in which you describe exactly why you deserve these gifts.

Leo

(July 23–Aug. 22): A meme on Instagram said, “The day I stopped worrying about what other people think of me was the day I became free.” This sentiment provokes mixed feelings in me. I agree it’s liberating not to be obsessed with what people think of us. On the other hand, I believe we should indeed care about how we affect others. We are wise to learn from them about how we can be our best selves. Our “freedom” includes the discernment to know which ideas people have about us are worth paying attention to and which are best forgotten and ignored. In my opinion, Leo, these are important themes for you to ruminate on right now.

Virgo

(Aug. 23–Sept. 22): The city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is a holy place for Islam. Jerusalem is the equivalent for Judaism, and the Vatican is for Catholicism. Other spiritual traditions regard natural areas as numinous and exalting.

Aries

(April 20-May 20): Bordering the Pacific Ocean for a thousand miles, Chile’s Atacama Desert is a place of stark and startling beauty. Unfortunately, its pristine landscape is also a dumping ground for vast amounts of discarded clothes that people bought cheaply, wore out quickly, and didn’t want anymore. Is there any other place on Earth that more poignantly symbolizes the overlap of sacred and profane? In the coming weeks, Taurus, you will possess a special aptitude for succeeding in situations with metaphorical resemblances to the Atacama. You will have an enhanced power to inject ingenious changes wherever messiness is mixed with elegance, wherever blemished beauty requires redemption, and wherever lyrical truths need to be rescued from careless duplicity or pretense.

For instance, the Yoruba people of Nigeria cherish Osun-Osogbo, a sacred grove of trees along the Osun River. I’d love it if there were equivalent sanctuaries for you, Virgo—where you could go to heal and recharge whenever you need to. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to identify power spots like these. If there are no such havens for you, find or create some.

Libra

(Sept. 23–Oct. 22): In my astrological opinion, you are entering a period when you can turn any potential breakdown into a breakthrough. If a spiritual emergency arises, I predict you will use it to rouse wisdom that sparks your emergence from numbness and apathy. Darkness will be your ally because it will be the best place to access hidden strength and untapped resources. And here’s the best news of all: Unripe and wounded parts of your psyche will get healing upgrades as you navigate your way through the intriguing mysteries.

Scorpio

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): According to my astrological perspective, you are entering a phase when you could dramatically refine how relationships function in your life. To capitalize on the potential, you must figure out how to have fun while doing the hard work that such an effort will take. Here are three questions to get you started. 1 What can you do to foster a graceful balance between being too self-centered and giving too much of yourself? 2. Are there any stale patterns in your deep psyche that tend to undermine your love life? If so, how could you transform or dissolve them? 3. Given the fact that any close relationship inevitably provokes the

dark sides of both allies, how can you cultivate healthy ways to deal with that?

Sagittarius

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I feel sad when I see my friends tangling with mediocre problems. The uninspiring dilemmas aren’t very interesting and don’t provoke much personal growth. They use up psychic energy that could be better allocated. Thankfully, I don’t expect you to suffer this bland fate in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You will entertain high-quality quandaries. They will call forth the best in you. They will stimulate your creativity and make you smarter and kinder and wilder. Congratulations on working diligently to drum up such rich challenges!

Capricorn

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1894, a modest agave ferox plant began its life at a botanical garden in Oxford, England. By 1994, a hundred years later, it had grown to be six feet tall but had never bloomed. Then one December day, the greenhouse temperature accidentally climbed above 68 degrees F. During the next two weeks, the plant grew twice as tall. Six months later, it bloomed bright yellow flowers for the first time. I suspect metaphorically comparable events will soon occur for you, Capricorn. They may already be underway.

Aquarius

(Jan. 19-Feb. 19): Have you felt a longing to be nurtured? Have you fantasized about asking for support and encouragement and mentoring? If so, wonderful! Your intuition is working well! My astrological analysis suggests you would dramatically benefit from basking in the care and influence of people who can elevate and champion you; who can cherish and

exalt you; who can feed and inspire you. My advice is to pursue the blessings of such helpers without inhibition or apology. You need and deserve to be treated like a vibrant treasure.

Pisces

(Feb. 20-March 20): In his book Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception, Thom Hartmann theorizes that distractibility may have been an asset for our ancestors. Having a short attention span meant they were ever alert for possible dangers and opportunities in their environment. If they were out walking at night, being lost in thought could prevent them from tuning into warning signals from the bushes. Likewise, while hunting, they would benefit from being ultra-receptive to fleeting phenomena and ready to make snap decisions. I encourage you to be like a hunter in the coming weeks, Pisces. Not for wild animals, but for wild clues, wild signs, and wild help.

Aries

(March 21-April 19): Have you ever gotten your mind, heart, and soul in sweet alignment with the spiritual beauty of money? An opportunity to do that is available. During the next four weeks, you can cultivate an almost mystical communion with the archetype of well-earned wealth. What does that mean?

Well, you could be the beneficiary of novel insights and hot tips about how best to conduct your finances. You might get intuitions about actions you could take to bring more riches into your life. Be alert for help from unexpected sources. You may notice that the more generous you are, the more the world’s generosity will flow your way.

Expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text message horoscopes: RealAstrology.com, (877) 873-4888

The object of this suit is to effect a judicial sale of certain real property, reportedly containing 5.998 acres, more or less, and designated as Tax Map Parcel No. 09400-00-00-027A1 and which is being assessed on the tax records of the County of Albemarle, Virginia in the name of Michael Wayne Perkins, Jr., in order to subject such property to the lien thereon for delinquent real estate taxes.

It appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location of Michael Wayne Perkins, Jr.

It is therefore ORDERED that Michael Wayne Perkins, Jr. appear on or before May 6, 2024, and take such action as they deem appropriate to protect any interests they may have in the abovedescribed property.

It is further ORDERED that the foregoing portion of this Order be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in the C-Ville Weekly, that a copy hereof be posted on the door of the Courthouse and that a copy be mailed to the last known address, if any, of the Respondents.

And this cause is continued.

I ASK FOR THIS:

JONATHAN T. WREN, VSB #40304

MARTINWREN, P.C.

ENTER: Claude V. Worrell, II

DATE: 3/29/24

designated as Tax Map Parcel No. 04900-00-00-005A0, and which is being assessed on the tax records of the County of Albemarle, Virginia in the name of Michael W. Crosby, in order to subject such property to the lien thereon for delinquent real estate taxes.

It appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that Barclays Bank Delaware is not a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia and that its last known address is 125 South West Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801.

It also appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that the Complainant has used due diligence to ascertain all of the owners of the subject property but has been unable to do so and that there are or may be persons unknown who claim or may claim an interest in the property, namely the heirs, devisees, personal representatives, successors, or assigns in and to the title and interest of Michael W. Crosby, and any other Respondent.

It is therefore ORDERED that Barclays Bank Delaware, and any other devisees, personal representatives, successors, or assigns, if any, of Michael W. Crosby and any other Respondent, as they may appear, proceeded against herein as “Parties Unknown,” appear on or before May 6, 2024, and take such action as they deem appropriate to protect any interests they may have in the above-described property.

It is further ORDERED that the foregoing portion of this Order be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in the C-Ville Weekly, that a copy hereof be posted on the door of the Courthouse and that a copy be mailed to the last known address, if any, of the Respondents. And this cause is continued.

400 Locust Avenue, Suite 1 Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 (434) 817-3100 (phone) (434) 817-3110 (fax)

wren@martinwrenlaw.com (email) Counsel for the County of Albemarle

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

Commonwealth of Virginia

VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Albemarle County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re: R.S. (dob 9/15/2023)

The object of this suit is to terminate residual parental rights in R.S. (dob 9/15/2023) and aprove foster care plan with adoption goal.

It is ORDERED that Brooke Jones, Jeffrey Shifflett, and Unknown Father appear at the above-named Court and protect his or her interests on or before June 4, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.

4/2/2024

Areshini Pather

DATE JUDGE

Case No. CL23-1736

VIRGINIA: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE,

V.

DAISY E. JOHNSON, aka

Complainant,

Case No. CL24-202

facebook.com/cville.weekly

April 2430, 2024 c-ville.com

v.

JOHN F. DUNNIVAN, deceased

RUTH L. DUNNIVAN, deceased

JOHN F. DUNNIVAN JR.

DONALD MILLER DUNNIVAN

EDWARD THOMAS DUNNIVAN

RUBY L. DUNNIVAN GIBSON, deceased

CLINTON LLOYD GIBSON SR

CLINTON LLOYD GIBSON JR

SHARON KAY GIBSON

RONALD W. GIBSON

DEBORAH GIBSON

ALMA M. DUNNIVAN HUNT, deceased

CAROLYN GOOLSBY aka

CAROLYN F. THACKER

BARRY THACKER

TIMMY THACKER aka

TIMMY HUNT

SANDRA McPEAK aka

SANDRA LEE HUNT

GERTRUDE A. DUNNIVAN HUNT, deceased

FRANKIE HUNT aka

FRANKLIN WALTER HUNT JR.

LYNDA HUNT McCLURE aka

LINDA J. McCLURE

ROGER LEE HUNT

F&S FINANCIAL MARKETING, INC

THE RECTOR AND VISITORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, a corp t/a UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MEDICAL CENTER, AN AGENCY OF THE COMMONWEAL TH OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

DIVISION OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT Respondents.

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to effect a judicial sale of certain real property, reportedly containing 2.50 acres, more or less, and designated as Tax Map Parcel No. 07100-00-00-057A0 and which is being assessed on the tax records of the County of Albemarle, Virginia in the name of John F. Dunnivan, Donald Dunnivan and Edward Dunnivan, in order to subject such property to the lien thereon for delinquent real estate taxes.

It appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location of Frankie Hunt, aka Franklin Walter Hunt Jr.; and Lynda Hunt McClure, aka Linda J. McClure.

It also appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that diligence has been used that may not have successfully ascertained the location of John F. Dunnivan Jr.; Clinton Lloyd Gibson Sr.; Clinton Lloyd Gibson Jr.; Ronald W. Gibson; Deborah Gibson; Carolyn Goolsby, aka Carolyn F. Thacker; and Sandra McPeak, aka Sandra Lee Hunt.

It also appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that the Complainant has used due diligence to ascertain all of the owners of the subject property but has been unable to do so and that there are or may be persons unknown who claim or may claim an interest in the property, namely the heirs, devisees, personal representatives, successors, or assigns in and to the title and interest of John F. Dunnivan and Ruth L. Dunnivan.

It is therefore ORDERED that Frankie Hunt, aka Franklin Walter Hunt Jr., Lynda Hunt McClure, aka Linda J. McClure; John F. Dunnivan Jr; Clinton Lloyd Gibson Sr.; Clinton Lloyd Gibson Jr.; Ronald W. Gibson; Deborah Gibson; Carolyn Goolsby, aka Carolyn F. Thacker; Sandra McPeak, aka Sandra Lee Hunt, and any other heirs, devisees, personal representatives, successors, or assigns, if any, of John F. Dunnivan and Ruth L. Dunnivan, and any other Respondent, as they may appear, proceeded against herein as “Parties Unknown,” appear on or before May 6, 2024, and take such action as they deem appropriate to protect any interests they may have in the above-described property.

It is further ORDERED that the foregoing portion of this Order be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in the C-Ville Weekly, that a copy hereof be posted on the door of the Courthouse and that a copy be mailed to the last known address, if any, of the Respondents. And this cause is continued.

DAISY ESTELLE WOOD JOHNSON, deceased

WILLIE L. JOHNSON, aka

WILLIE LYMAN JOHNSON, deceased

REBECCA HARKER

MARY ELAIN JOHNSON aka

ELAINE C. JOHNSON

STAN JOHNSON aka

HAROLD STANLEY JOHNSON, JR.

STEVE JOHNSON

GARY JOHNSON

JOAN McDOUGAL

ELLEN REED

CATHERINE ESTELLE SHIVELY aka

STELLA SHIVELY Respondents.

ORDER OF PUBLICATION

The object of this suit is to effect a judicial sale of certain real property, reportedly containing 0.50 acre, more or less, and designated as Tax Map Parcel No. 11100-00-00-03800, and which is being assessed on the tax records of the County of Albemarle, Virginia in the name of Daisy E. Johnson and Wille L. Johnson, in order to subject such property to the lien thereon for delinquent real estate taxes.

It appearing from the Complaint and by the Affidavit filed according to law that the Complainant has used due diligence to ascertain all of the owners of the subject property but has been unable to do so and that there are or may be persons unknown who claim or may claim an interest in the property, namely the heirs, devisees, personal representatives, successors, or assigns in and to the title and interest of Daisy E. Johnson, aka Daisy Estelle Wood Johnson; and Willie L. Johnson, aka Willy Lyman Johnson.

It is therefore ORDERED that any heirs, devisees, personal representatives, successors, or assigns, if any, of Daisy E. Johnson, aka Daisy Estelle Wood Johnson, and Willie L. Johnson, aka Willy Lyman Johnson, and any other Respondent, as they may appear, proceeded against herein as “Parties Unknown,” appear on or before May 6, 2024, and take such action as they deem appropriate to protect any interests they may have in the above-described property.

It is further ORDERED that the foregoing portion of this Order be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in the C-Ville Weekly, that a copy hereof be posted on the door of the Courthouse and that a copy be mailed to the last known address, if any,

1.15 Acre Commercial Building

Located at 2275 Seminole Lane Albemarle County Tax Map Nos. 045B1-05-0C-00400

SALE: FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024 AT 11:00 A.M. AT

THE ALBEMARLE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURTHOUSE LOCATED AT

501 E. Jefferson Street, Charlottesville, VA

In execution of a Commercial Real Estate Deed of Trust, being dated April 15, 2022, and recorded in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court in Albemarle County, Virginia (the “Clerk’s Office”), as Instrument No. 202200004628 (the “Deed of Trust”), the undersigned as Trustee under said Deed of Trust, will offer for sale at public auction the parcel of real estate listed below:

All that certain lot or parcel, with the improvements thereon and appurtenances thereto belonging, situated on the east side of U.S. Route 29 North in Albemarle County, Virginia, shown and designated as “Residue of Parcel 4”, containing 49,875 square feet, more or less, on the plat by Roudabush, Gale & Associates, Inc., dated February 3, 1988, revised February 25, 1988, and attached to an instrument recorded in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County, Virginia, (the “Clerk’s Office”) in Deed Book 981, page 680.

BEING the same property conveyed to Resolute Holdings LLC, a Virginia limited liability company, by deed from 2275 Seminole Lane, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company, dated April 15, 2022, and recorded April 15, 2022, in the aforesaid Clerk’s Office as Instrument No. 202200004627.

(the “Property”).

TERMS OF SALE: A bidder’s deposit of the greater of $100,000 or 10% of the winning bid, shall be paid at the sale by cashier’s check made payable to Bidder (to be assigned to Trustee if Bidder is successful), with the balance upon delivery of a trustee’s deed within 30 days of sale. If the initial deposit is less than 10% of the winning bid, then the successful bidder’s deposit MUST be increased to 10% of the winning bid by cashier’s check or wired funds within three (3) business days. Settlement shall be held within 30 days after the date of sale unless otherwise postponed at the sole discretion of the Trustee. Sale is subject to the covenants, conditions, restrictions, rights of way, and easements, if any, contained in the deeds and other documents forming the chain of title to the Property. The Property is sold “AS IS, WHERE IS,” “WITH ALL FAULTS” and “WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTIES.”

TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE WITH RESPECT TO SETTLEMENT. The deposit shall be applied to the credit of successful bidder at settlement; or, in the event of failure to complete settlement within the time set forth after the date of sale, in accordance with the terms of sale, the deposit shall be forfeited and applied to the costs of sale, including Trustee’s fee, and the Property shall be resold at the cost and expense of the defaulting Purchaser. Risk of loss or damage to the Property shall be borne by successful bidder from the time of auctioneer’s strikedown at the sale. Purchaser shall pay all settlement fees, title examination charges, title insurance premiums, and recording costs. Current real estate property taxes will be prorated at closing as of date of sale. Rollback taxes, if any, will be the responsibility of the Purchaser.

THE TRUSTEE RESERVES THE RIGHT: (i) to waive the deposit requirements; (ii) to extend the period of time within which the Purchaser is to make full settlement; (iii) to withdraw the Property from sale at any time prior to the termination of the bidding; (iv) to keep the bidding open for any length of time; (v) to reject all bids; and (vi) to postpone or continue this sale from time to time, such notices of postponement or setting over shall be in a manner deemed reasonable by the Trustee. Announcements made on day of sale take precedence over all other advertised terms and conditions.

ORDER OF PUBLICATION Commonwealth of Virginia VA. CODE § 8.01-316

Albemarle County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Commonwealth of Virginia, in re: A.M.W.

The object of this suit is to terminate residual parental rights in A.M.W. (dob 7/01/2017) and aprove foster care plan with adoption goal.

It is ORDERED that Robert Carrington and Unknown Father appear at the abovenamed Court and protect his or her interests on or before May 23, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.

3/6/2024

Areshini Pather DATE JUDGE

ESTATE OF ROBERT B. MILLMAN, JR. NOTICE OF TAKING OF DEBTS AND DEMANDS

Upon request of the Executor, I will be conducting a hearing for receiving proof of debts and demands against the decedent or the decedent’s estate on May 23, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., at the law office of Scott Kroner, PLC, 418 E. Water Street, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Rebecca C. Hryvniak Commissioner of Accounts

FOR INFORMATION SEE: www.fplegal.com/foreclosures

Flora Pettit PC, Trustee

Nancy R. Schlichting

530 E. Main Street

P. O. Box 2057 Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 220-6113

lmg@fplegal.com

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