FunStuff: Charlottesville events March 1 and beyond
Art interactive
Thanks to artist Daniel Canogar, Second Street Gallery will be turned into an audio-visual experience not to be missed. Using discarded electronic materials from our throw society, such as computer cables, telephone wires, and DVDs, Canogar creates interactive sculptures that mimic our tissues, nervous systems, and brains. The show is called "Reboot" and will be up during the entire month of March.
March 2, Second Street Gallery, 5:30-7:30pm. Free
Art & Poetry
At The Garage on First Street, the gallery and music space beside Hill & Wood funeral home, you'll find a collection of photographs and poetry by Margaret Montague and Abigail Lee, whose exhibition "Material" explores the ideal of success and the pursuit of money and comfort that has become the American dream. Refreshments will be served.
March 2, The Garage, 5pm-8pm. Free
Art & History
At the Central Library, check out the work of late local folk artist Frances Brand, whose exhibition "Firsts" will have portraits of trail blazers, like the first Black mayor of Charlottesville, the first woman priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, the first African-American to get a masters degree from UVA, Booker Reaves, and the area's first women firefighters Mary Garwood and Rebecca Haas (shown here). Nancy O'Brien, the first female mayor of Charlottesville, and Brand's granddaughter Cindy Brand will be on hand to give a presentation about the collection.
March 2, Central Library, 5pm - 7pm. Free
Stevie Jay is back!
Don't forget to catch the one-and-only Stevie Jay as he performs his multi-chakra extravaganza, Life Love Sex Death...and other works in progress. "It's a Charlottesville ritual," says Stevie. "Did you miss it the last 500 times? Don't miss it this time, baby!" Opening night includes a dance party with Beleza Brazil from10pm-1am. Seating will be limited, so reservation are recommended. Email .
March 9 & 10, The Bridge, 8pm, $10-$5
Harlem Globetrotters
The skilled hi-jinx of the Harlem Globetrotters, the exhibition basketball team that actually formed in the South Side of Chicago in the 1920s, are familiar to people around the world. Who can forget characters like George "Meadowlark" Lemon and Fred "curly" Neal, who became big stars in the 1970s and 1980s? Over the years, players have come and gone, but the team continues to delight children and adults. And they'll be doing just that at John Paul Jones Arena. This year, the team welcomes the tallest pro basketball player around, 7-foot, 8-inch Paul “Tiny” Sturgess, as well as the shortest, 5-foot, 2-inch Jonte “Too Tall” Hall. You'll also get to see the winners of the 2011 College Slam Dunk Contest.
March 8, John Paul Jones Arena, 7pm, $22-$94
Eli Cook at Whiskey Jar
In addition to knocking folks out with its farm-fresh food, craft bourbons, and rustic renovation of the old Escafé space, the Whiskey Jar on the Downtown Mall has become a new music venue as well. This week, you'll want to catch the wicked guitar chops of Eli Cook, whose particular brand of southern rock falls somewhere between Mississippi Blues, Led Zeppelin and Motley Crue.
March 3, Whiskey Jar, 10:30pm, Free
Dance project
Find out what isn't true love at the McGuffey Art Center, as the Miki Liszt Dance Company presents the Starr Foster Dance Project's production of True Love, what the company is calling "a crass assessment of relationships that have been adorned by delusion, lust and deceit." There will even be a Q & A session with the dancers and the composer after each show.
March 2, McGuffey Art Center, 6pm and 7pm, $8
Women's film fest
Ladies, this may be the perfect girls' night out. And Gents, what better way to understand the women in your lives. In an effort to raise money for Postpartum Support Virginia & The Breast Cancer Fund, UVA's School of Nursing will be hosting LUNAFEST, a traveling film festival of nine award-winning short films by, for, about women. And it's a diverse line-up: women who start their own rugby team, an unmarried Persian woman who dodges the matchmakers, a meditation on how to be alone, and adventures on Craigslist's "Missed Connections" forum (still shown here), are just of few of the stories that will be told.
March 12, Claude Moore Nursing Building, 6:30pm, $10-$5
Adventure on film
A harrowing descent of one of the highest mountains in the world, kayaking Africa’s Lukuga River, a year with the Dalai Lama, a disabled sit-skier tackling the steepest and wildest mountains in the world, man and horse traveling from Mongolia to Hungary in the footsteps of Genghis Khan, and the wildest competition known to man–racing up 3,000 vertical feet on the Nose route of El Capitan, a massive granite monolith in Yosemite National Park. These are just a few of the adventure-films you'll see at the Banff Mountain Film Festival tour, a celebration of exploration and adventure.
March 11 & 12, Paramount Theater, $15
Starting a Vineyard
If you've ever thought of starting a vineyard, large or small (or just have love of wine), you don't want to miss this two-hour workshop led by the so-called "Father of Virginia Wine," Gabriele Rausse. He’ll discuss the basic principles of grape growing— variety and site selection, trellis systems, soil preparation, planting, pruning, pest control, and harvesting— and provide beginning grape growers a foundation in serious viticulture.
March 10, Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center, 9:30am, $15
The Nerd
Find out what happens when "The Nerd" enters Vietnam vet and aspiring architect, Willum Cubbert's life in this side-splitting comedy by Larry Shue presented by the Tandem Friends School this weekend. After just one week, Rick, the Nerd, will almost single-handedly destroyed Willum's career, his life and his sanity. This screwball comedy has strong characters, comic dilemma, and plenty of mayhem.
March 2-4, Tandem Friends School, Fri.-Sat. 7pm, Sun. 12pm, $10-$7
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This week's "FunStuff" was compiled by Dave McNair, and next week's "FunStuff" will be compiled by another newsroom staffer. To get your event considered, send a press release to .