April 2009 issue

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Our April issue celebrates spring by showcasing the handiwork of Virginia’s artisan jewelers in a photo shoot unlike any we’ve done before. We also venture inside Virginia Commonwealth’s top-rated arts school, and we travel to Newport News to examine one of the biggest, most complex construction projects ever—the supercarrier christened George H.W. Bush. Following a blog trail took us to Winchester’s One Block West restaurant, and in this issue’s food department, three chefs from around the state stepped up to a challenge we presented them. Also inside: Virginius Dabney and Douglas Southall Freeman, two of the greatest newspaper editors of all time; a visit to Bristol; blowzy peonies and more.

Buxom Beauties

What sleeps in its first year, creeps in its second and leaps to life in its third? It’s the peony—an old-fashioned flower that’s durable, spectacular and often unpredictable.
July 26, 2025

First Africans Day

Stratford Hall
July 26, 2025

Summer Art Sale

Crossroads Art Center
July 26, 2025

Beats, Bites and Brews in Old Town Alexandria

John Carlyle Square