April 2022 Issue

In April, we’ll take you fly fishing, dine at Alexandria’s Ada’s on the River, and visit the hip mid-century modern enclave, Hollin Hills. Discover Virginia’s secret gardens, now in full bloom. Meet Charlottesville pastry chef Rachel De Jong, of Cou Cou Rachou—and hop on the Capital Trail for a bike ride through history. Get the buzz on Danville’s The Bee boutique hotel and find out when the new Ceasars Casino is coming to town. And in our special section on the State of Education, find out how Virginia’s schools are leading the way with wellness programs that help students build healthy habits for a lifetime. Pick up your April 2022 issue today!

Student Well-Being

Emotional wellness has become a top priority on campus. (Students at Randolph College) Virginia’s colleges and universities are leading the nation in embracing innovative mental health programs designed to address the challenges that students are facing now. Just ask sophomore Kevin Aviles, a wellness ambassador at William & Mary in Williamsburg. “A […]

by Staff

Putting the Glam in Glamping

Getaway’s stylish micro cabins immerse visitors in the outdoors. Let’s be honest: a lot of tiny houses look like they were thrown together from home store remnants. But the folks at Getaway, a vacation rental company with 16 outposts nationwide, take a different approach. They build style-forward structures that are more MoMA […]

by Staff

Old-Fashioned Tweeting

How city noise impacts bird chatter. A Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) sings from its perch on a moss covered log. Growing up in rural North Carolina, Dana Moseley was always curious about the chirps and trills of birds. What are they saying? Who are they talking to? After a rebellious period studying […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Delicious Inspiration

An artist paints for restaurant relief. A lifelong watercolor artist, Bo Prillaman trained his eye on 30 restaurants for his new book, Richmond in Watercolor: Dining Out. “I was thinking of people like the waitress who’s worked at the same diner for 20 years,” says Prillaman, a retired architect, who was inspired […]

by Constance Costas

Shenandoah Honors

To clear the land for the national park in the 1930s, hundreds of mountain families lost their homes. Now, they’re being recognized. Joshua Gooden The chimneys stand off trail, hidden by foliage. They go mostly unnoticed by the millions of people who visit Shenandoah National Park each year. But they are the […]

by Staff

The Buck Stops Here

Once extinct, Virginia’s Eastern elk are back. elk elk 2005 acrylic on reclaimed ply 10″ x 10.6” spring 2022 phil’s paintings are inspired by the overlooked erverydayness that surounds us. his artworks suggest the passage of time through a marked surface and evidences of wear. phil is represented by i2i art inc. at www.i2iart.com/phil […]

by caroline kettlewell

A Place Called Guinea

In Gloucester County, a centuries-old culture with its own dialect endures. guinea pics 01-28-2022 06 (Photography by Rob Ostermaier) A yard sign in front of the wooden house behind the white fence on Lillaston Lane summed up Guinea Neck in Gloucester County this way: “There’s no place like this place anywhere near this place so this […]

by Staff

Santé at the Ritz

Pentagon City hotel delivers Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. (Photo by Greg Powers) On the menu at Santé, the new Mediterranean restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City, grilled Virginia oysters happily coexist with shrimp saganaki and chickpea fries. “It’s an experience that transports, yet feels familiar all the same,” says Matthew Felix, the hotel’s […]

by Constance Costas

Potato Chips & Gratitude

The transformative power of a thank you. (Illustration by Hadley Hooper) When I was a child, I learned that any joy that lingered after a Christmas or birthday would quickly curdle with one stern question from my mother: “Have you written your thank-you notes?” Thus, the habit was ingrained and, in […]

by Staff

Road to Food Stardom

Hatch Kitchen stirs up next-level tastemakers. Tyler Darden (Photography by Tyler Darden) We’ve all known that friend: The one whose homemade salad dressing tastes so good, you wish she’d bottle it. The grill master whose rib sauce beats anything you’ve found in stores (you know, you’ve searched). Or the weekend baker whose […]

by John Haddad

Back from the Brink

Founded in 1830, Clore furniture in Madison was facing the end. Their customers had other ideas. (Photography by Jeffrey Gleason) When the Great Recession slowed orders to a trickle in 2016, Clore Furniture president Troy Coppage was forced to make a heartbreaking decision. His company’s handmade hardwood tables, dressers, chairs, and […]

by Eric J. Wallace

Bradford Breakup

Is it time to end our romance with the darling of suburban landscapers? Time was, nearly every Southeast subdivision hopped on the Bradford pear train. Instantly popular, the trees were touted as disease-resistant, adaptable, and inexpensive. A 1964 New York Times article heralded it as a near perfect ornamental tree while developers […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Dinner with a View in Old Town

Ada’s on the River heats up Alexandria’s waterfront. Is it someone’s birthday?” our server asks when she bounces up to our table. My family is dining at Ada’s on the River, on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria. We look at each other and laugh. We are celebrating life, and Ada’s feels […]

by Staff

The Life-Changing Magic of Fly Fishing

For these dedicated anglers, casting a line brought new possibilities. Fly Fishing Virginia Beaver Creek (Photography by Kyle Laferriere) For Beau Beasley, it all began in the back of an ambulance. Beasley, a 23-year-old Fairfax County paramedic at the time, had responded to a call concerning an angler at Burkes Lake who […]

by Staff

Hip, Historic, Hollin Hills

How a generation of young suburbanites went modern. (Alcoa Care-free Home; photo by Tammy Loverdos) A testament to suburbia in the heyday of Frank Sinatra, martini bars, and Tupperware parties, the mid-century modern community of Hollin Hills runs counter to the buttoned-up colonial revivals that proliferated here during that era. Here, […]

by Jill Devine

Field of Carnivores

At this Stanardsville nursery, insects are on the menu. (Photo courtesy of Robert Sacilotto) Look closely: the rows of colorful flowers at Botanique, a curious plant nursery in the Blue Ridge foothills, are not flowers at all. They’re carnivorous pitcher plants. Robert Sacilotto was first inspired to grow carnivorous plants—which survive on insects […]

by Jackson Landers

The Pakalachian

This food truck dishes up Southern fare with a Pakistani twist. Comfort foods from Appalachia and Pakistan come together in this Abingdon-based food truck with a decidedly down-home vibe. “It’s all very familiar, like mac ‘n cheese, on the one hand,” says Katlin Kazmi, coowner of the Pakalachian, with her husband Mohsin. […]

by Madeline Mayhood

If These Pillows Could Talk

Textile artist Sarah Gibson Wiley captures life’s singular moments. (Photograph by Adam Ewing) Artist, interior designer, and seamstress Sarah Gibson Wiley gives her clients an inspired way to capture their favorite memories. Since 2012, Wiley has been creating pillows that artistically replicate photos of weddings, pets, children, family homes, and beach vacations. […]

by Elizabeth Cogar

Transported by the Capital Trail

A two-wheeled tour through history offers luxury and adventure. (Anne Poarch of Basket & Bike; photography by Adam Ewing) I first cycled the Virginia Capital Trail when it opened to much fanfare in 2015, and I was eager to see how it had evolved since then. The trail—which runs parallel to the […]

by Dean King

Pages: 12

Events

January 25, 2025

January – February @ Art Works!

Art Works

January 25, 2025

Eclipse: an Athenaeum Sculpture Invitational

Athenaeum

January 25, 2025

The ASO presents Gold Rush: An American Musical Adventure!

These Virginia Cities are Tops for Retirees

The golden years are about living your best life in ways you prioritize—be it weather, cost of living, or access to amenities like restaurants, golf courses, fitness facilities, and healthcare. With proximity to the mountains and coastline, Virginia is a nature lover’s mecca. And it’s one of the few states that counts Washington, D.C., as […]

by Madeline Mayhood

Secretariat is Home at Last and Cast in Bronze

People call Secretariat Virginia’s greatest athlete for good reason. The thoroughbred racehorse, foaled near Ashland at Meadow Stables, not only won the American Triple Crown in 1973 but set and still holds the record in all three of its races. Yet, until recently, all monuments dedicated to Big Red were found outside his home state. […]

by Hope Cartwright

Restoration of 17-Century Ship in Virginia Sets Sails

—By Katie Farthing With the winds of hope and prosperity filling its sails, the Susan Constant landed at Jamestown in 1607 with 54 Englishmen aboard hoping for glory and gold. Fast forward 400 years, the original three-masted square rig has long since disappeared, but her lore has remained a vital connection to Virginia’s past, […]

by Staff

April 2022 Issue

Student Well-Being

Current Issue

Events

January – February @ Art Works!

Eclipse: an Athenaeum Sculpture Invitational

The ASO presents Gold Rush: An American Musical Adventure!

Most Popular

These Virginia Cities are Tops for Retirees

Secretariat is Home at Last and Cast in Bronze

Restoration of 17-Century Ship in Virginia Sets Sails

April 2022 Issue

Student Well-Being

Current Issue

Events

January – February @ Art Works!

Eclipse: an Athenaeum Sculpture Invitational

The ASO presents Gold Rush: An American Musical Adventure!

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

Most Popular

These Virginia Cities are Tops for Retirees

Secretariat is Home at Last and Cast in Bronze

Restoration of 17-Century Ship in Virginia Sets Sails

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today