Albemarle Magazine – June/July 2024

Solutions start in the South.

We are the Southern Environmental Law Center, one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted right here in the South. As lawyers, policy and issue experts, and community advocates and partners, we take on the toughest challenges to protect our air, water, land, wildlife and the people who live here. Together, we can solve the most complex environmental challenges right here in Virginia.

JUNE/JULY 2024

PRESIDENT

BLAKE DEMASO blake@albemarlemagazine.com

PUBLISHER

HEATHER HALSEY SIEG heather@albemarlemagazine.com

EDITOR

ROBERT VICCELLIO robert@albemarlemagazine.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

AHNA SEE ahna@albemarlemagazine.com

BUSINESS MANAGER

MELISSA GESSLER business@albemarlemagazine.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Cathy Purple Cherry Myles Mellor Rob Seal Gabriella Hoard-West

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND CIRCULATION albemarlemagazine.com/subscription-services business@albemarlemagazine.com 434-817-2755

ADVERTISING heather@albemarlemagazine.com

COMMENTS AND STORY IDEAS robert@albemarlemagazine.com

Guide to Summer Fun

If you’re looking for ways to beat the heat and enjoy the season, you’ve come to the right place.

Gone Swimmin'

Photographer Bill Mauzy captures the beauty and serenity of secluded swimming holes around the area. 42

Outdoor Elegance

Take a tour of stylish porches and luxurious pools.

Campfire Tales

For the past 50 years, children with medical needs have enjoyed summers at Camp Holiday Trails.

12 Welcome Letter

As Albemarle begins a new chapter, a look at what’s ahead.

14

Local Life

National recognition for the Downtown Mall, a swimming dynasty, accolades, and more.

25 Art Life

See what galleries have planned for the months to come.

32 Summer Reads

Kick back with some summer reads from Virginia authors.

58 Sports

Local athletes are making big waves in the sports world.

Hoop Dreams:

Kymora Johnson, a first-year on

the UVA basketball team, was the Cavaliers’ leading scorer this past season. Read about her and other hometown stars in the Sports department.

60

Stage Life

Jason Isbell highlights a full slate of summer concerts.

62 Life of the Party

Checking in on events and benefits around the community.

Virginia Athletics

Introducing the New Albemarle Magazine, from our President and Publisher

Welcome

I’m writing to you as the new steward of Albemarle magazine. As a native of Charlottesville, this opportunity holds a special place in my heart. For as long as I can remember, Albemarle has been a constant presence, telling the stories of our community and its history, people, places, businesses, and events.

What drew me to this endeavor is not just the magazine’s enduring presence over the past 37 years, but also the opportunity to build on that strong foundation. Our goal is to expand the scope of Albemarle while honoring its legacy. We’re envisioning new departments and ideas,

I am honored and excited to introduce myself as the new publisher of Albemarle magazine. I have an honest passion for engaging with the community and have enjoyed a career dedicated to supporting and promoting local businesses. I can’t wait to help make this magazine for and with you!

Throughout my personal and professional life, fostering connections has always been at my core. I see myself as the

more vibrant photography, and immersive editorial content— all reflecting the voices and experiences of life in Central Virginia.

To accomplish that, I wanted to put together an excellent team and I’m excited to introduce the new staff of Albemarle Heather Halsey Sieg takes over as publisher, bringing years of experience in publishing and advertising—and countless connections throughout the community. Robert Viccellio is our editor. Robert has more than 30 years of experience editing several publications, including a 16-year run as

bridge between the magazine and this phenomenal community, working to amplify voices and celebrate achievements.

My hope for Albemarle is to infuse it with even more local life. From playful and purposeful party pics to captivating home and garden tours, I want to show off life in Central Virginia. Like Blake, I was born and raised here, and I know that our community is bursting with talented individuals and extraordinary organizations, and we plan to shine a spotlight on them for all to see.

My vision for Albemarle extends beyond printed pages—it's also about forging meaningful partnerships with local businesses. As the heartbeat of our community, they play a vital

editor of The University of Virginia Magazine. Ahna See is our new creative director. I have worked directly with Ahna for more than six years, and she has proven to be one of the most talented and versatile designers in the area. Last but not least is my amazing business manager, Melissa Gessler, whom I have worked with for more than 18 years.

In closing, I am inspired by the possibilities that lie ahead for Albemarle. I invite you to join us on this journey as we embark on a new chapter filled with creativity, collaboration, and community spirit.

Blake DeMaso President

role in shaping the fabric of this region and this magazine. I also hope to partner with even more community and philanthropic organizations to help further connect their missions with our audience.

While our print editions remain the cornerstone of Albemarle, we are also focused on expanding our online presence. Through our website, social media platforms, and email newsletters, we will keep you informed and engaged between issues.

I can’t wait to show you what lies ahead for Albemarle magazine. Together, we will celebrate the unique spirit of our community and create something special.

Heather Halsey

Sieg

Publisher

Albemarle magazine's new team, from left to right: Heather Halsey Sieg, Blake DeMaso, Melissa Gessler, Robert Vicellio, and Ahna See.

Tom Daly

Local Life

This Ed Roseberry photo shows Main Street as it appeared before it was converted to the brick-lined pedestrian mall we know today.

A NATIONAL TREASURE

With its bustling outdoor cafes nestled under the shade of large willow oaks and live music playing at Fridays After Five, the Charlottesville Downtown Mall seems to shine brightest during the summer months. As it approaches its 50th birthday, the Mall was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the “official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation.” Coordinated by the National Park Service, the register supports efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources. The sole pedestrian-only portion of a Main Street in Virginia, the Mall was also named to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 2023, which stated: "The construction of the Downtown Mall was a turning point for Charlottesville’s commercial success and its 20th-century revitalization—one that helps maintain the significant role that Main Street has played in the city’s history for more than 200 years."

Designed by Lawrence Halprin & Associates in the mid 1970s to revitalize the downtown community, the Mall was dedicated in July 1976. “Its design features are fitting a historic district, yet they are not simulations of ‘ye olde’ Charlottesville,” wrote the Cultural Landscape Foundation in a 2008 reort. “The Mall has come to represent a moment in Charlottesville’s past when the city came together to create a true community space that persists successfully to the present day.”

Local Life

BUILDING A DYNASTY

In the long history of college athletics, there’s a special place reserved for dynasties: Pat Summit and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in basketball, or John Wooden and his UCLA Bruins of the 60s and 70s. Bear Bryant and Alabama loom in college football, as does Dan Gable and his Iowa wrestlinvg legacy.

Now, on the Grounds of the University of Virginia—specifically, at its Aquatic & Fitness Center—a new dynasty is taking shape. The Virginia Women’s Swimming and Diving team has won four consecutive NCAA Championships, with its standout athletes racking up records and medals before moving on to the highest levels of international competition.

It’s a big deal, even at UVA, no stranger to national titles with 34 team NCAA wins. The women’s swimming team’s four consecutive championships tie a school record, equaling the men’s soccer teams of the early 1990s.

In March, after his team put on a dominant display at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship in Athens, Ga., head coach Todd DeSorbo tried to sum it up.

“I’m not sure I can put it into words,” DeSorbo told reporters. “It’s really hard

to digest even that we won. I told the girls before the session tonight that there are only nine teams, I think, that have ever won one national championship, and we are one of nine. And when you have 70 teams at a national championship, you know, that’s pretty impressive in and of itself. So it’s just wild.”

This year’s team featured sisters Alex and Gretchen Walsh, who between them have 24 NCAA Championship titles and four NCAA records, and it built on the past success of alumni such as Kate Douglass, a ’23 graduate and current world champion.

The Walsh sisters are both aiming to represent the United States at the next Olympic Games in Paris, after trials this summer. The coach of that Olympic team?

UVA’s Todd DeSorbo.

As for the team, enough swimmers are returning for next season that they are already planning to add another trophy to the case.

“I think it’s so cool to be making history like this,” Gretchen Walsh said after the national title win this spring. “I do think we’ll try to just keep the streak going ... I don’t see the end in sight for Virginia for a little while.”

WELL SUITED

The collaboration between sisters Gretchen and Alex Walsh doesn’t end at the UVA pool, where they’ve been bringing home national titles and breaking records.

Ahead the Paris games, the two Olympic hopefuls unveiled a new line with swimwear company Sporti. The “Star Spangled Summer” collection, “draws inspiration from classic Americana and aims to encapsulate the vibrant energy of team spirit and togetherness,” the company said. The launch comes between the 2024 national championships, where the Walsh sisters each won three individual events, and June qualifiers for the Paris Olympics.

Coach Todd DeSorbo celebrates with some of UVA’s national champion swimmers

Matt Riley

THE 50-YEAR CLUB

Two Charlottesville entrepreneurs—Bill Crutchfield and Fred von Lewinski—recently celebrated the impressive milestone of 50 years in business.

CRUTCHFIELD CHARLOTTESVILLE AQUATICS

Born in Charlottesville in 1942, Bill Crutchfield was fascinated with electronics from a young age. He started building radios when he was eight years old, and when he was 13 he built what he believes to have been the first stereo system in Virginia. Crutchfield turned this talent into his first business when he was only 15—installing stereo equipment in homes, a venture he continued throughout high school and college.

After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, it wasn’t long before he began

thinking about starting another business. While restoring old Porsches as a side venture, he had trouble locating aftermarket stereo systems to install in his cars. That sparked his idea of becoming the first car stereo mail-order retailer, and in March 1974, he launched Crutchfield Corporation. Today, his company’s more than 600 employees embody the traits that has made Crutchfield so successful over the years— expertise, exceptional customer service, and a passion for the gear they sell.

Fred von Lewinski had a love for the water long before he started his business building pools. As a child and teenager, he enjoyed swimming in the cool waters of the Bay of Fundy during summer camp in Nova Scotia. After his first year at the University of Virginia, he took a summer job as a lifeguard and pool supervisor in the Washington, D.C., area.

When he returned to UVA after sumemer break, he put his new skills to use as he and another student started a pool-service company. By the spring of 1974, they were

opening pools for several clients around Charlottesville. After his business partner went to law school, von Lewinski expanded Charlottesville Aquatics to include pool maintenance and repair, and in 1977, he built his first pool for a UVA professor. Although he’d never even seen a pool being built, his inaugural pool won a design award. Since that first award, his company has racked up more than 175 design awards and has added hot tubs and billiards tables to its offerings.

HIGHEST HONORS FROM UVA AND MONTICELLO

The University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello presented their highest honors, the 2024 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals, to a trio of national and international luminaries in the areas of Architecture, Citizen Leadership, and Law. This year’s awardees are:

KATE ORFF, Architecture

A UVA alumna and nationally recognized expert in landscape architecture, urban design and climate adaptation, Orff has spent her career understanding how landscape architecture can aid and enhance areas being reshaped by a warming planet and rising seas.

JULIEANNA L. RICHARDSON, Citizen Leadership

The founder and president of The HistoryMakers, a national non-profit educational institution that describes itself as "the digital repository for the Black experience” has presented and preserved on video the histories of thousands of African Americans.

THE HONORABLE ROGER L. GREGORY, Law

Gregory is the first Black judge to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Before joining the bench, Gregory co-founded the Richmond law firm of Wilder & Gregory in 1982 with future Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

MASTER GARDENERS HONOR FERN CAMPBELL

The Piedmont Master Gardeners have named Fern Campbell the recipient of their first Exceptional Leadership Award. Campbell joined the Piedmont Master Gardeners in 2013, when she completed Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener training class.

“Whether we’re helping to establish a new garden program at an elementary school, staffing a Help Desk at a farmer’s market or the County Fair, or helping to make a community garden more productive and sustainable, Fern is there, making sure we have the volunteers and materials in place to get the job done,” says PMG President Judy Kirby. She and her husband, Cleve Campbell, who is also a Master Gardener, maintain a 15,000-square-foot home garden in western Albemarle County. Much of the garden’s output, fresh and preserved, is donated to local emergency food providers.

From left: School of Architecture Dean Malo André Hutson, Architecture Medalist Kate Orff, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Dean Ian H. Solomon, Citizen Leadership Medalist Julieanna L. Richardson, Law Medalist Judge Roger L. Gregory, School of Law Dean Risa Goluboff, UVA President Jim Ryan and Thomas Jefferson Foundation President Jane Kamensky.

Fern Campbell

Dan Addison

Ralph Morini

TOP OF THE CLASS

Albemarle County Public Schools has recognized three exceptional individuals for its 2023-24 awards of excellence.

SARAH REYES, an English and geometry teacher and the English Learners Department Chair at Albemarle High School has been awarded the ACPS Teacher of the Year. She has helped form several cultural groups, including the Latinx Club, the Latino Mentorship Program, and Latino Family Forums since she began teaching at AHS more than seven years ago.

CARLA DODSON, a fiscal administrator at Virginia L. Murray Elementary School is the Classified Employee of the Year. Dodson— who began her time at ACPS in 2011 as a bus driver, and, since 2014, as an office support staff member at Murray—goes the extra mile for her community, according to the colleagues and parents who nominated her for this distinction.

MARK LEACH, assistant director for enterprise applications in the technology department, is the recipient of the ACPS Leader of the Year award. Many of Leach’s colleagues who nominated him for this honor admired his attention to detail and dedication to ensuring that his is able to make a difference in students’ lives through technology.

Jim Faulconer

503 Faulconer Drive

Charlottesville · VA · 22903

c: 434.981.0076

e: jfaulconer@mcleanfaulconer.com

MCLEAN FAULCONER INC.

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FARMINGTON

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Elegant stone residence in Farmington Country Club on 5 landscaped acres with stunning Blue Ridge Mountain views. The property offers unusual privacy yet great convenience to Charlottesville, the University of Virginia and the many amenities of the Club. Includes a separate guesthouse, office, detached garage, pool, koi pond and garden building. With exquisite craftsmanship and charming details throughout, this comfortable 5-bedroom home. MLS#650584

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MILL HOUSE

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Former house of noted local architect Floyd E. Johnson, the Miller’s House has been renovated and expanded, on the banks of Totier Creek, which runs through the property, Thoughtfully renovated and expanded with 5-BR, 3 full and 2 half bath home graced by tall ceilings, cozy rooms, numerous FPs and modern-day kitchen and baths. Guest house, 2-bay garage, pool, equipment shed plus 130 acres of open and wooded land. MLS#639196

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Art Life

841 Wolf Trap Road, Charlottesville 434-882-2622 · lydmgallery.com

DEAN DASS: PASSENGER MANIFEST

through June 30

Dean Dass’s new exhibition at Les Yeux du Monde, Passenger Manifest, provides an important key to the artist’s entire body of work. There are grand landscapes transfigured by glowing orbs of light, works on paper depicting delicate, gilded outlines of nude figures floating within stained clouds of soft colors and glittering air, and collages featuring symbolic entities such as birds, tents, fireflies, and helmets, which appear in invented but strangely familiar sky spaces. Assembled books in which ancient narratives of human history are retold on handmade pages bearing storied imagery and cribbed

ciphers add another powerful component to the exhibition. To look at Dass’s art in this show is to find your name on that list of voyagers.

Every aspect of Dass’s inspiration and process—what he calls his “constellation of factors”—is present in these new pieces, which collectively represent the cosmic expedition in which we all participate. His unorthodox practice yields work that incorporates many and diverse realms of knowledge through natural base components such as plants, dirt, water, oils, and minerals—materials that are

proximate in the world. Where these investigations often lead, however, is not near to us, at least not in a physical way.

Passenger Manifest, the show’s title piece, is characterized by soft color washes and elegant figuration transposed over rich layers of handmade paper. Yet the lyrical beauty of floating bodies and clouds is belied by a dark and epic dissonance. As Dass notes, "Even the idea of looking, looking up, into the future, as it were... that's the human predicament, and we're all just passengers."

For 35 years, Dass taught studio art at the University of Virginia (1985-2020), receiving the AllUniversity Teaching Award in 2003, for which he was nominated by students. Dass’s works have been exhibited and collected by important institutions nationally and internationally. He began working with Les Yeux du Monde’s founder Lyn Bolen Warren in 1985 and has been an integral part of the gallery’s programs for nearly 40 years. He has made inestimable contributions to the Charlottesville art community, the University of Virginia, and the broader midAtlantic cultural scene.

LES YEUX DU MONDE

Summer Solstice, 2024. Oil on linen on panel, 24.5 x 41"

IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: PHOTOGRAPHS BY RUSSELL HART

June 4–June 30

Growing up in Charlottesville was deeply formative for Russell Hart, and, after decades away, he has recently returned to the area. In that long interim, Hart has produced a substantial body of fine-art photography from trips both domestic and around the world. Yet his work, which has been exhibited at galleries and museums up and down the East Coast, is a far cry from the usual travel photography.

“It’s about the ways in which humans occupy and alter the landscape,” says Hart, who was editor at American Photo magazine for most of his career and now teaches in the master’s in digital photography program at New York City’s School of Visual Arts.

Hart’s prints are large, sharp, and mainly in longtoned black and white, a medium he likes for its help in simplifying his subjects. The exhibition also includes more recent color work that focuses on pristine nature, albeit rendered with unusual, painterly hues, and a separate group of still lifes and interiors from a project called As I Found It: My Mother’s House, which will be published as a monograph this fall by Germany’s Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg.

See more of Hart’s work at russellhartphoto.com.

Sarah B. Smith Gallery 201 Second Street NW, Charlottesville 434-295-7973 · mcguffeyartcenter.com

1ST FLOOR GALLERIES - McGuffey Art Center Incubator Artists

2ND FLOOR GALLERY NORTH - Jill Kerttula: The People in Our Neighborhood

2ND FLOOR GALLERY SOUTH - Blake Hurt

July–August

McGuffey Members Summer Show McGUFFEY ART CENTER

TOP: Sauropod near Natural Bridge MIDDLE: Dresses for Sale at the Caldera BOTTOM: Pregnant Pony, Grayson Highlands

When The Slaves Go Marching In (Charles Deslondes), 2020 from the RAFTERS series. Archival print, edition of 29: New Orleans Saints Jerseys. Cotton, sugar cane, transatlantic slave trade shackles, Haitian coat of arms plaque. 24 x 20

JEFFERSON SCHOOL AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER Contemporary Gallery 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville 434-260-8720 · jeffschoolheritagecenter.org

June 1–August

Nic[o] Brierre Aziz is a Haitian-New Orleanian interdisciplinary artist and curator born and raised in New Orleans, LA. His current practice is deeply community focused and rooted around the utilization of underdiscussed personal and collective histories to reimagine the future.

The artwork shown here, When the Slaves Go Marching In, references Charles Deslondes, who led the 1811 German Coast Uprising in New Orleans, the largest rebellion of enslaved people in North American history. The rebellion came extremely close to overtaking the Orleans territory and establishing a free independent Black republic, but the rebellion was eventually quelled and survivors were executed.

The exhibition features works that critically consider such things as history, migration, white supremacy, and the lives of Black males. Aziz says that he “seeks to create work from the dark matter that uplifts and heals, while exposing truths that enable us all to tread down a more collectively harmonious path of liberation.”

HONORING THE POINT: THE GWYNNE MCDEVITT SPORTING DOG COLLECTION

through September 15

This exhibition and accompanying catalogue highlight Gwynne Garbisch McDevitt’s (1931–2022) inspiring life and bequest of 84 works, representing revered 19th and 20th century American, British, and French sporting artists, to the National Sporting Library & Museum.

McDevitt was the child of Col. Edgar William Garbisch and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch and the granddaughter of Walter P. Chrysler, the founder of the Chrysler Corporation. She grew up at her family’s famed 18th-century Georgian-style retreat, Pokety Farms on the Little Choptank River in Maryland. There, she was surrounded by the worldclass American naïve artwork the Garbisches collected.

McDevitt pursued her love of field sports and art throughout her life and was a dedicated field trial competitor and equestrian in addition to being a thoughtful sporting art collector.

McDevitt amassed much of the art collection under the advice of William Secord, the founding President of the AKC Museum of the Dog, longtime owner of the Manhattan-based art gallery specializing in canine subjects bearing his name, and a recognized author. He became her trusted friend and encouraged McDevitt to bequeath her collection to the NSLM.

The landmark fine art exhibition reflects the wide-spread fascination with specific dog breeds and attests to the exponential growth of the sporting dog art market. Their popularity attracted the attention of sporting book publishers, who eagerly sought their talents to produce outstanding illustrations. McDevitt’s collection provides a remarkable opportunity to display these books and historic titles on sporting breeds alongside the works of art, underscoring the rich interconnected history between art and text.

THE NATIONAL SPORTING LIBRARY & MUSEUM

102 The Plains Road, Middleburg, Va. 540-687-6542 · nationalsporting.org

Gwynne at Doubledee Farm, 1989

Robert Kennedy Abbett (American, 1926-2015), Oil on board, 23 7/8 x 36 inches

SECOND STREET GALLERY

115 Second Street SE, Charlottesville 434-977-7284 · secondstreetgallery.com

ABOVE: Zofie King — Transmutation, 2023

THE ART OF COLLAGE

June 7 - July 19 (Main Gallery)

The Art of Collage exhibition in the Main Gallery is a group show comprising the work of 40 contemporary artists who are exploring the rich breadth and history of collage through their own art. The exhibition will include a selection of artworks that explore the creative potential of collage and demonstrate innovative approaches to the medium. Featured artists in the exhibition include Richard A.

Alonzo, Hannah Diomataris, Cassie Guy, Blythe King, Zofie King, Sri Kodakalla, Mary Lamb, Johathan Lee, Lisa Macchi, Nikki Painter, Sharon Shapiro, Laura Wooten, and William Wylie.

Watercolor, gouache, acrylic pen, transfers on Fabriano 140lb paper, 30 x 22 inches (35 x 27 1/2 inches, framed

TOP RIGHT: Jonathan Lee — Diana , 2020

Record covers, pva, and paint on wood panel, 36 x 36 x 1.5 inches

CENTER RIGHT: Cassie Guy — The Party Is Over, 2024 Mixed media on wood, 24 x 24 inches

PAPER ROOM: JESS WALTERS WITH STEPHEN HASKE AND SARAH LAWSON

June 7 - July 19 (Dové Gallery)

Paper Room is a mixed-media exhibition transforming the Dové Gallery into an interactive space enveloped in paper and filled with papercovered and paper-sculpted objects. Jess Walters has teamed up with fellow Charlottesville-based artists Stephen Haske and Sarah Lawson to collaboratively curate an immersive experience exploring the ways we cultivate “house and home” from sociocultural influences in the media, consumer market, and medical industrial system.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Installation view of paper-covered and paper-sculpted objects in a living room setting.

A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN

JULIUS ROSENWALD, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, AND THE 4,978 SCHOOLS THAT CHANGED AMERICA

Through April 20, 2025

In 1911, Booker T. Washington, the leading Black educator in America, met Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck and Company. The meeting led to the creation of the Rosenwald Schools—4,978 schools built in 15 Southern states that helped educate Black children during a time of deep racial inequalities in public schools. In Virginia, 382 Rosenwald buildings were constructed between 1917 and 1932.

Atlanta-based photographer Andrew Feiler journeyed throughout the South to document the remaining school buildings and their alumni, forming the basis of an award-winning book and a traveling exhibition. A special section of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture exhibition showcases the history of Rosenwald schools in Virginia.

Elroy and Sophia Williams with a portrait of Sophia’s grandparents, former slaves who acquired and donated land for a Rosenwald School.

Andrew Feiler

Take a break from the heat and enjoy some books by local authors, recommended by the helpful and knowledgeable staff at New Dominion Bookshop on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. As New Dominion celebrates its 100th year in business, make a visit to this venerable community bookstore for these and other books from their extensive selection.

Summer

WITH A LOCAL FLAVOR

YOUNG ADULT

We Are All So Good at Smiling

By Amber McBride

In her hauntingly beautiful novel-in-verse, Amber McBride, a National Book Award finalist and assistant professor in the UVA English department, writes about depression and healing from trauma. Back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression, her main character, Whimsy, meets a boy named Faerry. When Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.

Booklist ” STUNNING...

Readers will revel in the depth of Whimsy and Faerry’s relationship, all the while finding solace and relief in the calculated messiness of their search for wholeness.

We Are All So Good at Smiling

ADULT FICTION

What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better?

By Jody Hobbs Hesler

The death of an outsider in a tight-knit neighborhood prompts a mom to yearn for solitude. A man wrestles with regrets from an affair while his wife hovers toward death in the ICU. A woman aches to rescue a seemingly mistreated child she observes in the grocery store. These are some of the stories, told against the backdrop of Virginia back streets and small towns, in this debut collection from Jody Hobbs Hesler, who also teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville.

Photography Champloo

Reads

SCIENCE AND NATURE

What An Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds

By Jennifer Ackerman

For more than three decades, Jennifer Ackerman has been explaining and exploring science and the natural world for a lay audience. Her latest book, a New York Times bestseller and a Best Book of 2023 by Publishers Weekly, delves into the mysterious world of owls. Through her own personal field observations and research, she uncovers the aweinspiring secrets of these elusive creatures, exploring their behavior, communication, and presence across the globe and through human history.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Som Tum and Sticky Rice

By Jay Pun, Illustrated by Emily Ramai Kim

Charlottesville native Jay Pun is a musician, the owner of Thai and Southeast Asian restaurant Chimm, and a music teacher at Renaissance School. He’s also the author of a picture book about a mother and daughter preparing a traditional Thai meal. Pun recalls growing up in one of Charlottesville’s first Thai families during the 1980s and noticing a lack of representation of his culture and people. He hopes his book encourages young readers to celebrate their cultural heritage and feel a sense of pride in their culinary traditions.

See What Matters Most

Whether they’re inside or out, Alarm.com’s home security cameras are designed to protect your home or business from every angle. Check in from wherever you are, day or night, to see who’s at your door, or what’s waiting for you. With an all-in-one solution, these advanced security systems make home/business management simple.

The GUIDE to FUN ! Summer

Summertime in central Virginia can be hot and humid. But it also can be a lot of fun. From ways to cool down on our local waterways to old-school entertainment at drive-in movies and video arcades, we’ve got you covered.

Amy Marciniak

Food & Drink

VINEYARDS

The wine industry in Central Virginia is enjoying a moment in the international spotlight. Last year, Wine Enthusiast named Charlottesville and the Monticello American Viticultural Area the 2023 Wine Region of the Year. honoring the more than 40 wineries in Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Orange, and Nelson counties, further establishing the region as a premier destination for wine enthusiasts. The Monticello Wine Trail includes dozens of wineries within a 25-mile radius of Charlottesville. monticellowinetrail.com

BREWERIES

Virginia is home to more than 200 craft breweries, many of which are nearby. There are a couple of great ways to roll through the list of local brewpubs. The Charlottesville Ale Trail includes breweries, cideries, and distilleries in and around Charlottesville. The Brew Ridge Trail casts a wider geographical net, including breweries from Charlottesville, Crozet, Afton, and more. charlottesvillealetrail.org brewridgetrail.com

SPIRITS

The Commonwealth’s distilleries also have a trail of their own, the Virginia Spirits Trail. Check out their website for a searchable map to find local distilleries like Ragged Branch, Silverback, and Vitae that are making smallbatch, craft spirits.

virginiaspirits.org

FARM TO TABLE

Cultivating more than 50 different varieties of vegetables, Bellair Farm grows good food, while taking good care of the land and its customers. Groups and individuals can explore the farm and take advantage of Bellair’s many offerings, including pick-your-own flowers and veggies, community-supported agriculture programs, workshops, and seasonal events. Their onsite barn store sells Bellair produce, grass-fed beef, eggs, and pastured pork— along with farm-raised products from local partners. bellairfarm.com

On the Water

THE RIVANNA RIVER

Although the Rivanna flows right through Charlottesville, if you hop in an inner tube or kayak to float down the tree-lined river, it can instantly feel like you’re miles away from it all. Getting its name from an abbreviation of “River Anna,” the Rivanna’s headwaters originate in the Blue Ridge Mountains and has 766 square miles of watershed. One easy access point for floating the river is at Darden Towe Park, just a stone’s throw from downtown.

An enclave of riverside fun has been growing just off High Street near the Free Bridge. The Rivanna River Co., a Charlottesville paddling outfitter and guide service, rents kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards, and tubes for excursions on the scenic river. The company has joined forces with nonprofit organization The Front Porch to host the summertime Rivanna Roots concert series (see frontporchcville.org/rivanna-roots-lineup).

Next door, Hogwaller Brewing, part of the legacy of restaurants created by the late Will Richey, serves up burgers and beer from renowned brewer Mark Fulton. Made-fromscratch gourmet ice cream is available from their new neighbors, SugarBear. “Tubing, kayaking, the riverfront trail, the sauna, cheeseburgers, beer, music, nature, firepits, ice cream, places to play, something for everyone,” SugarBear owner Emily Harpster told The Charlottesville 29 in describing the riverfront scene.

Behind the Stage Rivanna Roots

Merrie Mill Farm & Vineyard

Kayaking on the Rivanna

Blue Mountain Brewery

Ragged Branch Distillery

Bellair Farm

Kate Thomson

Tom Casey Hayley Sarah Photography

Tom Daly

Katen Reynolds

On the Water (continued)

BATTEAU CRUISES

James River Batteau Co. blends pleasure cruises with historical storytelling to offer a unique way to experience “America’s Founding River.” Aboard a 45-foot replica batteaux—a flat-bottomed wooden boat piloted by a pole wielding navigator—guests learn how batteaus changed the face of early Virginia. All cruises include complimentary charcuterie to enjoy on the river. Their sunset cruises include live acoustic music that blends with the sounds of night falling on the river. jamesrivertour.com

WHITEWATER RAFTING

Richmond was named Outside magazine’s “Best River Town,” and a guided rafting adventure with Richmond-based Riverside Outfitters is a great way to get out on the James River. Whether you’re looking for a thrill ride in Class III whitewater or you’re interested in a more relaxing rafting experience, the James has what you’re looking for. Riverside Outfitters offers trips on smaller rapids for ages 5+, and trips on the bigger rapids for ages 9+. These fun adventures last 3 to 4 hours with a break on an island for some time to relax and swim.

riversideoutfitters.com

Sunset Cruise on a Batteau

Rafting on the James River

Courtesy James River Batteau Co.

Courtesy Riverside Outfitters

Fun & Games

FAMILY BIKE TRIPS

Take a road trip to Damascus, Va. to ride along the scenic, rail-to-trail Virginia Creeper Trail, which is best known for the 17-mile section from White Top to the town of Damascus. Bring your own bikes or rent them from local outfitters, who also provide shuttle service to the top of the trail. Once there, a leisurely, almost entirely downhill ride awaits. Considered one of the nation’s best bike trails (but also terrific for hiking and horseback riding), the scenic Virginia Creeper Trail meanders through forests and farmland—and across nearly 50 wooden trestles—a total of 34 miles from Abingdon to Damascus.

High Bridge Trail is another spectacular rails-to-trails adventure that’s suitable for the whole family. The 32-mile, mostly flat, crushed limestone trail is ideal for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding. The trail’s highlight is crossing the majestic and historic High Bridge, which is nearly half a mile long and towers 125 feet above the Appomattox River. For an easy ride, start in Farmville and head to the High Bridge, just 4.5 miles away.

DISC GOLF

Disc golf, one of the fastest growing sports in the country, is thriving in and around Charlottesville. Several outstanding courses that are free and to the public were built by the Blue Ridge Disc Golf Club, founded in 2022 to advance the sport across Central Virginia. Through collaboration with Albemarle County, the club built its first course at Walnut Creek Park in 2002. The course surrounds Walnut Creek Lake and combines scenic beauty with the challenges of shooting through fields, woods, and over water.

LOCAL DISC GOLF COURSES

• Chris Greene Lake Park

• Greene County Community Park

• Meadow Creek Gardens Park

• Walnut Creek Park

High Bridge

Virginia State Parks

Abingdon

CVB

Fun & Games

DRIVE-IN THEATERS

During the peak of their popularity in the 1950s and ‘60s, more than 4,000 drive-in theaters were in operation across the country. Opened in 2009, the Goochland Drive-In Theater harkens back to those days with a family-friendly drive-in movie experience. Featuring the latest blockbusters and Retro Nights showcasing timeless classics, the theater provides options to watch from your car or from a lawn seating section.

In 1950, cars started rolling into Hull’s Drive-In Theatre in Lexington, Va. Today, it’s one the country’s only nonprofit driveins after a group called Hull’s Angels formed in 1999 to save the theater. The Goochland and Hull theaters have both been ranked among America’s best drive-in theaters. hullsdrivein.com goochlanddriveintheater.com

ALBEMARLE COUNTY FAIR

The 2024 Albemarle County Fair will be held on the fairgrounds of James Monroe’s Highland from July 27-29. Representing the county’s rural heritage, agricultural history, and natural beauty this “Old Time Country Fair” has something for everyone—livestock, agriculture products, craft exhibits, live music, cloggers, historic demonstrations of wool spinning and blacksmithing, food trucks, and more. albemarlecountyfair.com

The GUIDE to FUN! Summer

DECADES ARCADE

Pac-Man, Centipede and Donkey Kong were just a few of the games that made arcades one of the most popular places to be in the 1980s. You can relive the golden age of arcade games at Decades Arcade, Central Virginia’s largest arcade with more than 120 games. Located on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall, Decades Arcade has pinball machines from the ‘50s to the present, arcade games from the ‘80s and ‘90s, and home consoles from the ‘70s to today. There’s no need for quarters or tokens—all the games are on free play, included in the entry fee.

decadesarcade.com

Goochland Drive-In Theater

Goochland County Economic Development and Tourism

Celebrations & Festivals

JUNETEENTH

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States on June 19, 1865. This year’s Juneteenth celebration in Charlottesville begins on Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m. with a staged reading of local playwright William James’s 5th & Dice, a play about a Charlottesville neighborhood. The next morning at 9:00, the third annual Juneteenth Parade begins at Burley Middle School and ends at the Jefferson School City Center. Following the parade, enjoy the Emancipation Concert on the yard of Jefferson School and visit with vendors who are part of this year’s Black Business Expo. jeffschoolheritagecenter.org

INDEPENDENCE DAY

On Sunday, July 3, the Boar’s Head Resort will host an Independence Day celebration that includes spikeball and cornhole tournaments, a pie-eating contest, and live music from Koda & Marie of Chamomile & Whiskey and Friends—all capped off with a fireworks display reflecting off the waters of Heritage Lake. This year’s event will include an entry fee. boarsheadresort.com

Start your Independence Day at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, where, on every July 4 since 1963, people from around the world have taken the oath of citizenship on Monticello’s West Lawn. The ceremony is an emotional highlight of this celebration of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Festivities also include inspirational speakers (past notables include George W. Bush, Madeleine Albright, and Dave Matthews), along with patriotic music, historic games and activities, and Monticello root beer floats. monticello.org

Fireworks at Boar’s Head

Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello Rob Garland Ian Atkins

Juneteenth at the Jefferson School

The GUIDE to FUN! Summer

WINTERGREEN MUSIC FESTIVAL

Running throughout the month of July, the Wintergreen Music Festival feels like a “summer camp for adults.” Patrons can attend engaging morning coffee talks, listen to inspiring concerts, and observe student masterclasses and rehearsals. Whether you attend for a day, a weekend, or the entire month, you'll experience professional musicians and artists from around the country joining forces with aspiring student musicians. Anchored by its core weekend series, MountainTop Masterworks, there are also chamber music concerts performed throughout the week on the mountaintop at Wintergreen Resort and in the valley at various vineyards and breweries. Along with classical music, the festival features bluegrass, singersongwriter, jazz, and big band music. wintergreenmusic.org

VIRGINIA THEATRE FESTIVAL

Founded in 1974 as the Heritage Repertory Theatre, VTF has a 50-year history of staging some of the world’s most renowned plays and musicals while also highlighting the voices of new playwrights and composers. As the professional summer theatre of the University of Virginia since 1974, VTF offers an immersive theatre experience, where UVA faculty, staff, and students work alongside both professional artists and community members. In 2022, after being closed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the theatre reemerged with a new name (Virginia Theatre Festival) and a continuing commitment to presenting an annual summer festival of musicals, classic works, and new plays for the local Charlottesville, Albemarle, and UVA communities.

SUMMER 2024 SCHEDULE

50 Years and Counting: A Musical Revue

June 27-30; Culbreth Theatre

Little Shop of Horrors

July 11-2; Culbreth Theatre

The 39 Steps

July 25-August 4; Ruth Caplin Theatre virginiatheatrefestival.org

Last Summer's Performance of Cabaret

Wintergreen Music Festival Opening Night Tristan Williams

GoneSwimmin’

Blue Hole at Sugar Hollow — Albemarle County

VirginiaExploring ’s HolesSwimming

For the past few summers, Bill Mauzy has laced up his hiking boots, and, with camera in hand, made his way to tuckedaway swimming holes around Virginia. He’s found them through word of mouth and by researching them on websites such as swimmingholes.org.

“I’ve had a lot of fun traveling to these places where I otherwise never would have considered traveling to,” says Mauzy, a landscape architect and photographer. “I’m

amazed by how much there is to do in Virginia and how diverse the landscape is.”

His ongoing photography project goes beyond pretty pictures. Mauzy is fascinated by swimming holes as places of informal gathering, summertime ritual, and communion with nature. Through his lens, these often simple, humble landscapes become somehow transcendent.

White Rock Falls — Nelson County

Blue Hole at Rawley Springs — Rockingham County This ladder leads to the top of a boulder, from which people can jump into the swimming hole on the other side.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL MAUZY

What I love about these places as cultural landscapes is that, in many cases, they are improvisational, there being little or no official sanctioning or management of them as places to swim.

—Bill Mauzy ”

“There seems to be a general concern with our society becoming increasingly disconnected or alienated from nature, particularly for children,” says Mauzy. “How could you get more immersed in nature than jumping in a swimming hole? It’s complete immersion in nature. In many cases, people revisit these places seasonally throughout their lives, establishing rituals. There’s immersion and ritual, which suggest to me that these are sacred places, spiritual landscapes.”

Mauzy’s design training has had a significant influence on his work as a photographer, helping him see places like swimming holes in nuanced ways and find layers of meaning in them. “These images have a subtext—there’s a rich history of people interacting with these landscapes,” he says. “I don’t know if I would ever have gotten to that realization without the sort of analytical training that a landscape architecture degree provided.”

Despite his thoughtful consideration of the cultural uses of these landscapes, most of his swimming hole pictures don’t include people. Mauzy explains that he regards these photographs as stage sets, a concept he learned from the work of Michael Kenna, a renowned landscape photographer. Kenna rarely

Rose River — Madison County

Cascade Falls — Giles County

includes people in his photos, but he leaves the viewer with a suggestion of the people who might inhabit the landscapes.

“The resulting sense of emptiness leaves room for viewers to place themselves in the landscape,” says Mauzy.

“That broadens the interpretive possibilities of the image.”

Mauzy photographs the swimming holes in soft, indirect light, capturing the dappled sunlight that trickles

through the forest. His choice of black-and-white imagery is another key element of his approach. “I like to concentrate mostly on form, and by reducing or eliminating the color, it helps to communicate that aspect of a photograph more easily,” he says. “I do make color photographs commercially, but for my personal work, if it’s going to be in color, it has to be an image that is about the color.”

ABOUT

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Bill Mauzy is a landscape architect and photographer based in Nellysford, Virginia. His photographic art is available for purchase through Haley Fine Art of Sperryville, Virginia. He offers architectural and landscape garden photography on commission and practices site design and garden making through his firm, Three Ridges Landscape Architecture. For more, please visit mauzyphotography.com or @mauzyphotography on Instagram.

Williamsville Gorge at Swinging Bridge — Bath County

Janie Molster - Interior Design

By Catherine Purple Cherry, AIA, LEED-AP, Founder and Principal of Purple Cherry Architects

EleganceCraftingOutdoors

DESIGNING REFINED SPACES FOR SUMMERTIME LIVING

Designing outdoor spaces that support casually elegant summertime living involves a successful blend of functionality, aesthetics, and comfort. An environment that is both practical and inviting will ensure that family and friends will utilize the space time and time again. While there are endless ways to enhance an outdoor space, a few tried and true design elements can transform any backyard into a sophisticated and functional retreat. When creating outdoor architecture, we typically collaborate with a professional landscape architect in the development of a master site plan, which details layout and flow, landscaping and hardscaping, and pool size and orientation, among other features. This guide delves into the nuances of integrating these features into an outdoor space ideal for summertime enjoyment.

Covered & Screened Porches

THE HEART OF REFINED OUTDOOR LIVING

Covered porches serve as the nucleus of any outdoor living area, offering a sheltered space that elegantly transitions between indoors and outdoors. They provide respite from the sun’s intensity and protection from inclement weather, ensuring usability during various weather conditions.

Through the custom design process, we ask our clients to express their goals with regards to how they entertain and the number of people that a porch needs to support. It is important to know if that area is seating six or twelve, as that will impact the depth of the porch. It is also important to have the conversation as to if the porch is a rocking chair porch in which a linear arrangement can happen, or a congregate seating group, which then requires a much deeper porch. As well, a porch can support both casual seating and dining or only one of those functions.

Photography by Darren Setlow, Durston Saylor, and David Burroughs

Entertaining Areas

SPACES FOR SOPHISTICATED SOCIALIZING

The most special entertainment areas are where the inside meets the outside of a home. When you can expand the house’s indoor living or kitchen area into the “outside room,” you can embrace the views, the wind, and the smell of nature while doubling the floor area of your entertainment space. Outdoor living spaces are opportunities for introducing open fire and flowing water, creating whimsy, and introducing sounds that differ significantly from the emotions experienced inside the home.

One way to incorporate this concept is by utilizing a folding glass wall system. These systems allow the doubling of an entertainment area with easy flow across the large opening’s width. The glass walls can fold on themselves in a scissor like fashion, or they can slide and stack into a wall pocket. Where bugs prevail, a large screen

Kevin Campion - Landscape Architect

can be married with the folding glass panels. Adding heaters in cold climates helps extend the porch use. Lastly, having the paved or decked floor flush with the finished floor level of the house creates the safest integration of two large open spaces.

Pool Houses

A MULTIFUNCTIONAL SANCTUARY

When imagining a traditional pool house, one might envision a practical little structure comprised of a small bathroom/changing room, pool equipment storage, and potentially a little covered seating area. Historically, the pool house’s main function has been very utilitarian, which could also make it very unexciting. However, the practical pool houses of yesterday have evolved into dreamy structures that now serve as the central hub of modern outdoor living, offering a truly full-service experience.

In addition to meeting functional requirements, today’s pool houses offer both indoor and outdoor lounge spaces with stone fireplaces, conditioned spaces with foldaway glass walls creating the ability for year-round use, full kitchen and dining spaces accommodating everything from lunch for the kids to full farm-to-table meals, built-in gourmet grilling centers with entertaining features such as pizza ovens and ceramic smokers, outdoor fire pit, and full scale bar spaces taking the form of anything from a rustic barn to a modern sports bar aesthetic. To create a truly experiential space for friends and family to gather, some pool houses are also designed to accommodate pool tables or ping pong tables, home gyms, and guest suites, and can also be supported by a bocce ball, croquet, or pickle ball court, or playground space.

Go Forth

Architectural design and interior design have a significant impact on the way we emotionally react to spaces, both indoors and outside. Our senses— what we see, feel, and touch—influence our thinking, feelings, and actions and, therefore, our entire body. Thus, one of the most important ways we can take care of ourselves is to spend time in delightful outdoor spaces that connect us to nature and help us appreciate the beauty of life.

Kevin Campion - Landscape Architect

Born and raised in Virginia, Cathy Purple Cherry ultimately landed in Annapolis where she grew a large architecture and interior design firm specializing in high-end custom homes and estates. Today, the firm has five offices—Charlottesville, VA, Middleburg, VA, Annapolis, MD, New York, NY and Washington, DC—and specializes in creating luxurious residences across the United States. A talented architect, visionary, and three-dimensional thinker, Cathy is able to marry clients’ dreams with the reality of the built environment.

·

Campfire Tales

CAMP HOLIDAY TRAILS FOCUSES ON THE CHILD, NOT THE ILLNESS

In the mid-1960s, three pediatricians from the University of Virginia, Dr. Peter Houck, Dr. Elsa Paulsen, and Dr. Robert Selden, shared a vision for a camp where children with medical needs could experience the great outdoors under roundthe-clock medical care. Originally, each physician operated their own camp, and early facilities included local schools, churches, and the backyard of a hospital. In 1973, with considerable community support and David Goodwin’s donation of 75 acres of land near the Charlottesville reservoir, Holiday Trails, Inc. was founded. The first buildings were built by volunteers and in 1974, Camp Holiday Trails became one of the first camps in the region to welcome children with diverse medical diagnoses.

Now celebrating its 50th year, Camp Holiday Trails (CHT) has created a community where children and teens with medical needs and their siblings can thrive. Over the past five decades, more than 10,000 kids with diverse medical diagnoses have come to the camp to develop confidence, independence, and lifelong friendships while participating in traditional activities like horseback riding, arts and crafts, fishing, sports, swimming, archery, campfire songs, and more.

“CHT has remained true to its original mission for 50 years and counting,” says Tina LaRoche, who has been Camp Holiday Trails executive director since 2004.

“We have a tight thread back to our founder’s vision and continue to adapt and shape our work alongside our campers and families.”

At its core, CHT is a community of acceptance, welcoming different abilities with the knowledge that these differences are what makes the world a more interesting place. The camp accomplishes this through a commitment to creating a community built on positivity, empathy, inclusion, and compassion. Campers choose their activities and are encouraged to take risks that build their confidence and self-assurance. CHT provides a critical respite from the daily stress of managing the chronic illness that campers, along with their families and caregivers, would otherwise not be able to experience. Here, kids no longer feel defined by their illnesses or economic conditions.

Campers and their siblings come to CHT from across the country, but are predominantly from the MidAtlantic region. Many campers have multiple diagnoses, including cancer, diabetes, sickle cell, hemophilia,

juvenile arthritis, or are recipients of transplants. Almost half also have mental health diagnoses. The majority come from economically challenged households, but the camp raises funds to accommodate as many campers as possible. Typically, CHT covers more than 90% of the cost for its campers. The camp works to counteract what it calls “nature-deficit disorder.” Combining a focus on being outdoors and connecting with nature, exercising and eating healthy foods, building friendships with counselors and other campers, and being cared for by a tie-dye-wearing medical team, the camp creates a welcoming and inclusive space where campers can thrive and have fun. It’s a place where kids can just be kids.

leTters from Camp

My sister Charley and myself were blessed to attend CHT for over 10 years! We were known as the Batten twins way back then. We were born with chronic renal failure and both had kidney transplants. CHT allowed us to celebrate being children and young adults without worrying about medical issues we faced in regular day to day life. We attended camp and also volunteered there after graduating high school.

— Amanda Batten

“Some of our favorite activities are just like what you would see at any traditional camp,” says Taryn Mouhot, camp director. “Our campers love to be on the waterfront, where they can fish, kayak, and canoe. They love horseback riding on the horses that are donated to us during the summer. Our challenge course with high ropes, a rock-climbing wall, and zip line is always a camp favorite. We also do all the other traditional activities like friendship bracelets, campfires, songs and s’mores.”

CHT welcomes more than 300 campers to summer camp, over 150 participants to the year-round Family Camp program, and about 300 participants to its year-round Pop Up Camps. During the next several years, the camp plans to expand its reach to include at least 1,000 campers as the need grows for this kind of specialized camping experience.

The Batten Sisters

ClarissaHullMcSweeney

As an unsure college kid, I found the best job! I witnessed children with medical needs spend nights away from home for the first time ever, and worked alongside future medical professionals who now care for people across the nation. I learned empathy, creativity, flexibility, and most importantly FUN! There’s no other place like CHT.

— Clarissa Hull McSweeney

Camp HistorY

1970s

Enhanced infrastructure and fostered community engagement, including the construction of cabins

1980s

Broadened the spectrum of diagnoses and medical conditions supported at camp, with continued growth in camper numbers.

1990s

Volunteers honored by the White House for their exceptional service to the community.

2000s

Expanded impact with new collaborations with organizations such as the Virginia Hemophilia Association and Family Camps.

2010s

Programs significantly expanded to include year-round operations; camp facilities retrofitted to accommodate all seasons.

2020s

Introduced innovative programs such as Pop Up Camps and broadened camps to include siblings.

2024

Celebrating 50 years of transformative camp programs for kids with medical needs and starting to build the new Med Korner.

More than 600 volunteers help make the camp’s mission a reality, including about 60 medical volunteers who donate their time each summer to ensure campers have a fun and safe experience. “Running camp is like running a small city—and we need every hand,” says LaRoche.

Along with its overnight summer camps, CHT offers a diverse range of programs including year-round family retreats, and innovative Pop Up Camps. These traveling Pop Up Camps allow CHT to meet the needs of children through partnerships with UVA Pediatrics, VCU’s pediatric hematology and oncology clinics, Carilion Children’s Hospital in Roanoke, and many more partners.

“It gives kids a small piece of camp magic that they can take home with them, so we’re touching more lives that way,” says Mouhot. “We’ll do temporary tattoos, face paint, or pipe-cleaner butterflies—anything we can do in a one-on-one setting that doesn’t require being outdoors. We also do larger scale Pop Ups at other locations that include traditional camp activities.”

The camp’s 50th anniversary campaign, which includes a new medical facility for campers, received a boost from a $50,000 donation from this past April’s 45th running of the Foxfield Spring Races. “For us to go this alone would be really challenging but to do it with our partners and with our community makes our work that much easier,” says LaRoche.

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AT HOME

Albemarle magazine frequently features ideas for buying, building, renovating, repurposing and redecorating the indoor and outdoor spaces that define our lives, and the resources to bring those ideas to fruition.

MOVING TO A NEW HOME?

CARDINAL HOME CENTER HAS YOU COVERED.

Learn more about the services, premium brands, and products Cardinal Home Center offers at their stores in Madison, Charlottesville, and Crozet. Their dedicated staff provides expert advice for your next project, helping you pick out the right paint, hardware, lumber, cabinets, and more. The expansive showrooms also offer an array of electrical, plumbing, tools, and more for homeowners, DIYers, or contractors alike. cardinalhomecenter.com

FIRST HOME, SECOND HOME, VACATION HOME, RELOCATING, DOWNSIZING, NEW BUSINESS, OR BUSINESS EXPANSION?

Albemarle magazine invites you to meet our Who's Who of Realtors®, an exclusive listing of CAAR members on our website (albemarlemagazine.com/whos-who) dedicated to connecting potential buyers and sellers and building relationships in our community.

by Myles Mellor

ACROSS

1 Cardinal Home Center is a retailer for this high quality brand of outdoor power tools and equipment 4 Driveway material 8 Cry of discovery 9 Braking system, abbr. 11 Underground plant supports

Leaf collectors 13 Year, for short 14 Pruning tools 18 Increase

20 ___ and for all

22 Revitalizes the lawn, in a way

25 Green and yellow insectivorous bird

26 Word on two Monopoly squares

27 Brand offered by Cardinal for outdoor stains and sealants

28 Solvent and also a component of some paints and varnishes

32 Make a piece of land more attractive by altering the existing design, adding ornamental features, etc.

34 Just off the BBQ grill

35 Neatening up

36 To-do list items

DOWN

1 Garden hose attachments

2 Robotic mower brand from 1 across

3 Doesn't break down

4 Flower beds, lawns, and shrubs, etc.

5 Bible boat

6 Without difficulty

7 Weight measurement, abbr. 10 Brand offered by Cardinal for rust protection and fence paints 15 Brick-bearer's tool 16 DC alternative 17 Another word for retaining wall or embankment 19 ___ and tear 21 Tree's offshoots 23 Colored, in a way

Former 29 Brassy sound 30 Garden area 31 Arrival time guesses, abbr.

33 Travel on snow

Sports

SOMETHING IN THE WATER?

A NUMBER OF AREA ATHLETES ARE DOING BIG THINGS IN THE SPORTS WORLD.

THOMAS HEILMAN, Crozet

When Thomas Heilman was 14 years old, he made a major splash in the swimming world, breaking an astonishing total of 14 national-age-group records during three swim meets in December 2021. A year and a half later, at age 16, he became the youngest member of Team USA’s World Championship squad after breaking Michael Phelps’ national age-group record in the 200m butterfly during the 2023 US International Team Trials. His 1:53.82 time in the 200m butterfly during last July’s World Championship meet in Fukuoka, Japan, made him the fastest swimmer in US history under 18 and the fourth-fastest American in the event all-time. In addition to butterfly, Heilman also holds national age-group records in freestyle and individual medley.

Currently a junior at Western Albemarle High School, Heilman trains with the Cavalier Aquatics Swim Club at Brooks Family YMCA. He and coach Gary Taylor have their sights set on the Olympic trials in June and a potential spot on the US team for this summer’s Paris Olympics. If he makes the Olympic team, Heilman will become the first US male swimmer younger than college age to compete in the Olympics since 2000. “He does a number of things that separates himself from other swimmers his age,” Taylor said in interview with 29 News. “He’s extremely mature, and like many other elite athletes, he’s extremely coachable.”

The top-rated recruit in SwimSwam’s class of 2025 rankings, Heilman has verbally committed to UVA, where his older brother Matthew is already a member of the swim team.

HENRY FORD, Charlottesville

Although just a freshman on UVA's baseball team, Henry Ford has been a force on baseball diamonds around Charlottesville for many years. First, as baseball player for the McIntire Little League, Ford was described by Virginia coach Brian O'Connor as “a Little League legend.” The summer before he started college, Ford was a star player for the Charlottesville Tom Sox, leading the team in batting average, slugging percentage, RBI, doubles, home runs, and total bases. Ford says that he’s been going to UVA games since he was two months old and playing for the Cavaliers is a “dream come true.” One highlight of an outstanding first season at UVA was three home-run game against North Carolina. Ford also set the UVA freshman home run season record, which had stood since 2002.

Virginia Athletics

Jack Spitser

KYMORA JOHNSON, Charlottesville

UVA guard Kymora Johnson was one of the best first-year players in the country this past basketball season. Named to the All-ACC Second Team and and ACC All-Freshman team, Johnson is the first UVA player to earn All-ACC team honors as a freshman since 2002. This season, Johnson was twice named ACC Rookie of the Week, the second most among by any freshman in the league.

A McDonald’s High School All-American and two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year (2022-23) at St. Anne’s Belfield School, Johnson led the Cavaliers in scoring (15.3), assists (5.4), steals (1.8) per game, and minutes played (31:09).

Among the Cavaliers’ four wins over ranked opponents, Johnson led UVA in scoring in three of them, all of which were 20-point games. Among her eight 20-point performances, her career high of 35 points in the Cavaliers’ triumph at then-No. 15 Florida State—UVA’s first ranked win last season— is good for fourth most by an individual in all league matchups this season. She concluded her season with 172 assists, a UVA freshman record.

As a five-star recruit coming out of high school, Johnson could have played anywhere in the country, but decided to stay local and signed with Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton and the rebuilding UVA program. “There’s no place I’d rather be—it’s home,” says Johnson.

CONNOR SHELLENBERGER , Charlottesville

University of Virginia attackman Connor Shellenberger is wrapping up his UVA lacrosse career as the school’s all-time leader in points scored, surpassing the previous record of 277 points. No other active Division-I player has more assists than Shellenberger and he is second among all active DI players in career points.

“It’s pretty cool to be a part of it, but it goes to how lucky I’ve been to play for some unbelievable coaches with some unbelievable teammates,” Shellenberger says. “They make my job easy, so it’s really a group effort.”

Listed as the No. 1 recruit in the country by Inside Lacrosse, Shellenberger was named Prep League Player of the Year after his senior year at St. Anne’s Belfield. Since that time, he has played four seasons for the Cavaliers and, as of press time, has scored 321 career points (130 goals and 191 assists) and been named a four-time USILA First Team All-American (2021-23), three-time Tewaaraton Award Finalist (2022-23), two-time NCAA All-Tournament Team (2021, 23), and four-time All-ACC (2021-24).

Coach Lars Tiffany notched his 200th career victory in the same game that Shellenberger set the points record, a 16-10 win over Albany in March. Tiffany feels fortunate to have had a player like Shellenberger on his roster and says it’s been a thrill to watch from the sidelines. “It’s been an incredible ride because he’s such a good person and he’s so unselfish,” Tiffany says. “He must be the greatest teammate ever, and that’s why dishes the ball to everyone else.”

Virginia Athletics

Virginia Athletics

Stage Life

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jason

Isbell and the 400 Unit

Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist Jason Isbell and his band, the 400 Unit, come to Ting Pavilion on June 30. Originally from Green Hill, Alabama, Isbell is regarded as one of the most revered songwriters of his generation.

“There's no better songwriter on the planet at this moment, no one operating with the same depth, eloquence or feeling,” says American Songwriter magazine. A former member of The Drive-By Truckers, Isbell went solo in 2007 and has since won four Grammy Awards and nine Americana Music Association Awards.

RIVANNA ROOTS CONCERT SERIES, PRESENTED BY THE FRONT PORCH AND RIVANNA RIVER COMPANY 434-806-7062 • frontporchcville.org 221 Water Street, Charlottesville

JUNE 15: Afro Asia with Not Your Average High School Band

JUNE 29: Mike Burris Band with Robey Family Band

JULY 11: Corey Harris Band with Jen Tal Duo

JULY 25: Ramona and the Holy Smokes with Acelia

THE FOUNDRY AT BASIC CITY BEER

540-943-1010 • thefoundrysound.com 1010 East Main Street, Waynesboro

JUNE 6: Woody Woodworth & The Piners

JUNE 7: Tray Wellington and South Hill Banks

JUNE 13: Fireside Collective

JUNE 14: Sisters & Brothers

JUNE 15: Cris Jacobs with special guests The Seven Bends

JUNE 20: Red NOT Chili Peppers

JUNE 21: Corey Harris

JULY 12: Hackensaw Boys

JULY 16: Dopapod

JULY 20: Kanin Wren's Taylor Swift Experience

AUG 1: The Keith Allen Circus

AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER 877-682-4236

americanshakespearecenter.com 10 South Market Street, Staunton

JUNE 13–JULY 7: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] (again)

JULY 18–NOV 23: Macbeth 2024

JULY 25–OCT. 20: The Importance of Being Earnest

THE PARAMOUNT THEATER

434-979-1333 • theparamount.net 215 East Main Street, Charlottesville

JUNE 5: Exhibition on Screen™ - My National Gallery London

JUNE 11: Pride Anthems

JUNE 21-23: Charlottesville Opera Presents: The Music Man

JUNE 27: Pete Davidson: Prehab Tour

JULY 12 & 14: Charlottesville Opera Presents: The Elixir of Love

FOUR COUNTY PLAYERS 540-832-3824 • bbvwine.com

17655 Winery Road, Barboursville

JULY 12–17: Shakespeare at the Ruins: The Comedy of Errors

TING PAVILION

434-245-4910 • tingpavilion.com

700 E Main Street, Charlottesville

JUNE 30: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

JULY 14: Michael Franti and Spearhead with Trevor Hall & The Great In-Between

JULY 17: Nickel Creek and Andrew Bird

JULY 21: Ben Folds

WAYNE THEATRE, ROSS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

540-943-9999 • waynetheatre.org 521 West Main Street, Waynesboro

JUNE 7: Rock the Block - Annual Wayne Gala

JUNE 13: The Three Sisters

JUNE 21: Jimmy Fortune

AUG 3: Stand-Up Comedy Show with Mark Riccadonna & Friends

THE CHARLOTTESVILLE BAND

434-295-9850 • cvilleband.org 1119 5th St SW, Charlottesville

JUNE 11: Summer Season Opener at Monticello High School – Music in Motion

JUNE 30: Family Pops Concert at The Paramount

JULY 23: Summer Season at The Paramount – The Classics!

AUGUST 13: Cville Band at The Paramount: Great American Songbook Meets Jazz

THE JEFFERSON THEATER

800-594-TIXX• 434-245-4980 jeffersontheater.com

110 East Main Street, Charlottesville

JUNE 12: The Arcadian Wind

JUNE 16: Andy Summers (from the Police)

JUNE 17: The Japanese House

JULY 20: Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA

JULY 27: Town Mountain

THE SOUTHERN CAFÉ & MUSIC HALL

434-977-5590 • thesoutherncville.com

103 South 1st Street, Charlottesville

JUNE 13: Melissa Ferrick

JUNE 14: Fantastic Cat

JUNE 15: South of Heaven with At War, Ekktoplasm & Septic Vomit

JUNE 22: The Way Down Wanderers

JUNE 26: Trousdale – Still Out of My Mind Tour

JUNE 30: Afro Dead & Sia Tolno

JULY 12: The Wildmans

JULY 14: Tommy Prine

JULY 17: Eddie 9V

LIVE ARTS

434-977-4177 • livearts.org

123 East Water Street, Charlottesville

JULY 12-18: The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

Life Party of the

Girls Day Out

The Women’s Initiative at Windsor Hill

Held at Windsor Hill Party Barn, the event raised over $250,000 to provide mental health care to women.

1. Leontyne Peck, Andrea Mayfield, Beverly Colwell Adams, Latoya Cooper

2. Ashley Cullop and Natasha Lawler

2 3

3. The Women’s Initiative Staff: Elizabeth Irvin, Gloria Rockhold, Amy Lane, Dana Eagle, Camille Weaver Smith, Ingrid Ramos

4. Event Committee and Guests

5. Liz Raney, Jamie Waller, Rebecca White, Shannon Thomas

6. Tricia Hoefling and Vanessa Gregg

7. Bryce Harris, co-chair, Christy Craddock, co-chair, Katharine Brooks, art co-chair, Cate West Zahl, art co-chair and contributing artist

Photography by Jen Fariello

6 5 7

45th Foxfield Races

1. Old friends meet year after year at Foxfield Spring Races

2. Foxfield Races attendee making connections with a Farmington hunt horse

3. A little rain did not dampen Sharon Donovan's tailgate

by Camden Littleton

Photography

Waterboys Charity Challenge

Star athletes like Jason Kelce, Ralph Sampson, and Howie Long teamed up with local community members to support the Waterboys Charity Challenge. This two-day event supported the mission of the Chris Long Foundation’s Waterboys initiative, which helps provide clean drinking water in the United States and East Africa.

Maciek Glac Photography