Culture

Make Your Independence Day Celebration Sparkle With these essential additions.

Make your Independence Day gathering spectacular with these star-spangled must-haves that combine patriotic flair with practical elegance and good taste. Create a star-spangled display with decorations from My Mind’s Eye. Stars and Stripes Decorative Hanging Stars fits the bill. $25. MyMindsEye.com Bring the American spirit to your pool this Fourth of July with Mark & […]

by Gracie Hayden

A Valentine for Kissinger

If anyone needed a love note in 1972, he did. In February, when conversation hearts begin showing up on store shelves and long-stemmed roses fill flower shop windows, my thoughts turn to President Nixon’s Secretary of State. Henry Kissinger entered my life in 1971, when I was just seven. I was […]

by Staff

Alvin Hall Interview

This award-winning broadcaster’s new work explores cultural and historical spots found in the 1936 historic guides. Driving the Green Book by Alvin Hall. HarperOne. pp.288 $29.99 Konstantin Rega: Your new book is about travel; was the desire to travel the impetus for Driving the Green Book? Alvin Hall: Well, I travel […]

by Konstantin Rega

Ketch Secor Interview

The Barter Theatre announces its 23rd annual Appalachian Festival of Plays & Playwrights. Ken Gray Images This February 23-26, catch Ketch Secor’s musical Hooten Holler (Feb. 23 at 7:00) and many other works by local and national artists. The festival’s mission is to develop an authentic Appalachian canon of theatrical works. A beloved feature […]

by Konstantin Rega

Sadeqa Johnson Interview

We explore inspiration, heritage, womanhood, and a new book by this bestselling Virginia author. The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson. Simon & Schuster. pp.384. $27.99. Konstantin Rega: What inspired you to write this? Sadeqa Johnson: One of the things that I was thinking about was my mother’s relationship with […]

by Konstantin Rega

Virginia’s Historic Interpreters

It’s a 400-year commute for these costumed guides. Photo by Kyle LaFerriere Docents deliver, tour guides can inspire, but a skilled interpreter, outfitted in full period costume, has the power to bring the past vividly to life. For the actors, teachers, and historians who work in the niche field known as “public history,” getting […]

by Kinsey Gidick

A Common Thread

The art of embroidery and quilting shows how artists learned and lived back in the day. Courtesy of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg Most times, we don’t pay attention to bed coverings like quilts unless we’re shopping for a new one. Of course, the one your grandmother made as wedding gift or other […]

by Konstantin Rega

James K. Dill Interview

A Richmond author finds inspiration in the idea of home and runs with it. Malone Ridge by James K. Dill. Little Star. pp.364. $17.99 Konstantin Rega: What inspired this work? James K. Dill: I wanted to write a story about coming home and exploring what home really means. I […]

by Konstantin Rega

The Villa

In Rachel Hawkins’ new book, the past is never dead; its influence is always at work. The Villa by Rachel Hawkins. St. Martin’s Press, pp.288. $28.99. In this tale of female friendship and haunted houses, bestselling (and Virginia-born) author Rachel Hawkins continues to delight her audience with thrills and chills. Emily and Chess were […]

by Konstantin Rega

No Strings Attached

A master puppeteer brings author Akutagawa’s story to the stage. Blacksburg’s Moss Arts Center will host a next-gen spin on a 170-year-old form of Japanese puppetry with Akutagawa. Using advanced video projection and original live music, the show brings master puppeteer Koryū Nishikawa V and puppet artist Tom Lee together to animate […]

by Konstantin Rega

Forbidden Forest

The Forbidden Forest looms over Leesburg. Matthew Rumbelow A spell has been cast over Leesburg, transforming its Morven Park into Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience, an immersive nighttime walkthrough—the first in the U.S. from the theatrical designers and experiential creators of Universal Studios’ Wizarding World theme parks. Through January, witches and wizards […]

by Margaret Wadsworth

Stitched Magnolias and Hillary Fayle’s inspired artwork

Artist Hillary Fayle’s botanical embroidery evokes connection and wonder.

by Konstantin Rega

Most-Viewed Articles of 2022

Here are the Virginia Living articles readers loved this year: from croissants to costume design and everything in between. As always, we have had great fun serving our readers and seeing where their tastes lie—food, homes, Virginia towns, and farming—so it seems. One of the more surprising facts about this Top Ten list is that most of […]

by Staff

Favorite Books 2022

Our picks for the best books by Southern authors or that take place in the South. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Full Review Here (Our interview coming soon.) Buy a copy at The Bookshop. Author Bio: Barbara Kingsolver is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, including the […]

by Staff

The Singularities

The Irish prose master returns with a novel filled with his past work. The Singularities by John Banville. Knopf, pp.320. $30. If there is a lonely man and an old house, you’re probably reading a John Banville novel. And one does not read Banville for plot—his unreliable narrators’ reliability make […]

by Konstantin Rega

Kinnfolk Interview

Celebrating the Irish spirit and making it their own. The Knotted Circle is an exploration of Celtic music by two musicians (Kinnfolk) who feel in love with the music of Ireland and then fell in love with one another in Roanoke, VA. Konstantin Rega: So what inspired this new album, The Knotted Circle? […]

by Konstantin Rega

From Private to Public

A gift to the Chrysler Museum includes works by American masters. Aseismic $34 million gift to the Chrysler Museum of Art (which celebrates its 50th year) in Norfolk from philanthropist Joan Brock includes paintings by American masters John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, and William Merritt Chase. “I could not be happier to make […]

by Konstantin Rega

Demon Copperhead

Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel follows an Appalachian orphan with a nod to Dickens. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Harper. pp.560. $32.50. A number of years ago, I met Barbara Kingsolver at Harvest Table (the restaurant founded by the author and her husband, Steven Hopp) in Meadowview. As my husband […]

by Staff

Before Crazy Rich Asians

In a new memoir, Constance Wu revisits a beloved Richmond bakery. “I want to tell you about bread,” Constance Wu writes in Making A Scene (Scribner, October 2022). The star of Hustlers and box-office smash Crazy Rich Asians—a role that earned her a 2018 Golden Globe nomination, Wu grew up in Richmond […]

by Constance Costas

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Events

June 27, 2025

The Nighthawks

Creative Cauldron

June 28, 2025

4th Friday Art Shows and Opening Reception @ Art Works!

Art Works

June 28, 2025

Yorktown Market Days

Riverwalk Landing

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

Eight Virginia schools received the National Blue Ribbon 2024 award for their high performances. The Exemplary High Performing Schools are Spring Hill Elementary in McLean, Green Run Collegiate in Virginia Beach, Bethel Manor Elementary in Hampton, and St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton. The Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are Central Academy Middle […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

UVA Claims Top Spots Among Public Universities

The University of Virginia has climbed to No. 4 among public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges rankings, advancing one position from last year. The university maintained its No. 24 overall ranking, tying with Emory and Georgetown universities. UVA’s commitment to accessibility and student success stands out in several key metrics. […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Small Town, Big History: The Stories of Abingdon

Long before the first European settlers ventured into the American wilderness, the Delaware and Catawba tribes tracked a buffalo trace through the Shenandoah Mountains. Abingdon—once known as Wolf Hills—emerged along this trail, today’s Route 11. Frequented by westward expansionists on the Great Valley Road, Main Street grew. Today, the city of 8,336 residents hugs Route […]

by Michael C. Upton

Culture

Make Your Independence Day Celebration Sparkle With these essential additions.

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The Nighthawks

4th Friday Art Shows and Opening Reception @ Art Works!

Yorktown Market Days

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The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

UVA Claims Top Spots Among Public Universities

Small Town, Big History: The Stories of Abingdon

Culture

Make Your Independence Day Celebration Sparkle With these essential additions.

Current Issue

Events

The Nighthawks

4th Friday Art Shows and Opening Reception @ Art Works!

Yorktown Market Days

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

Most Popular

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

UVA Claims Top Spots Among Public Universities

Small Town, Big History: The Stories of Abingdon

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today