Get Out! events, shows, things to do

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'" - Robin Williams

 

Schoolhouse block party
Block parties are just plain cool. Although still in its infancy, the Tom Tom Festival this weekend has managed to make its second annual block party in front of, and inside, the McGuffey Art Center seem like a tradition. The street gets closed to traffic and people crowd onto the lawn in front of the former schoolhouse, enjoying food from food trucks, talking with friends, watching their children run around, enjoying a cold beer, and listening to everything from samba to flamenco to Mexican to hard rock being played on the front steps. This year, there are over 30 acts performing at the party, which starts outside at 5pm with Cara Legal and ends with We Are Star Children. Then the party moves inside for some late-night "Schoolhouse Rock," featuring Americana and folk music from Terri Allard and Devon Sproule, nearly a dozen hip hop acts from T.N.E. to Clark Bars, and indie rock from the likes of Black Twig Pickers and Great Dads. What's more, there's poetry, too. Hey, see you there, man.
April 12, McGuffey Art Center, 5pm-11pm, Free

 

OPENING ACTS 


Foxfield Island
This April, let the beach come to you! As the 2013 Spring Foxfield Races Beneficiary, WVPT will host Surf on the Turf, an evening of beach-inspired fun at the Foxfield Race Track. Guests can enjoy live music by the famous beach band The Embers, a North Carolina group that blends nostalgic sounds of rhythm and blues, soul, and jazz. There will also be a shag dance lesson with Terry Dean’s Ballroom Dance Studio, an open bar, and dinner from The Local restaurant. Their menu includes only fresh, local ingredients and will feature dishes like BBQ glazed beef short ribs and a shrimp and crab claw boil. Be sure to bid in the live auction, which will offer beach vacation getaways to Aruba, Delray Beach, Sandbridge, and San Francisco. All proceeds will support WVPT in continuing to bring quality, educational programming to Central Virginia. This event is going to happen rain or shine, and your best beach party attire is encouraged.
April 13, Foxfield Race Track, 6:30-11pm, $125.


Tom Tom Foodies Festival
The Charlottesville City Market is back, and this weekend the Tom Tom Founders Festival will share the scene. Tom Yum is a community-based food festival in Downtown Charlottesville that will celebrate local food innovators. Going local has been a huge trend in the U.S over the past few years, but Charlottesville has been keeping it local since Thomas Jefferson cultivated his own food in the 1700s. Forbes magazine even named Charlottesville the “locavore capital of the world" in 2011. This weekend, you can come meet the farmers, chefs and artisans and discover what eating local really means. It will be a day of hands-on workshops, food talks, culinary demos, and tastings. There will also be City Market games and art. Delight in the sights and sounds of live bluegrass and classical music as the Water Street parking lot is transformed into a park, a bazaar, and a festival. You can stock up on fresh groceries at the market, participate in the arts and music, and stick around for the Food Talks. Topics include beekeeping for beginners and raising forest-fed pigs. This event is free to the public and designed to entertain the whole family. Bring an appetite and stay a while. 
April 13, Water and 1st Streets,  8am-1pm, Free.

 

Colorado band returns to East Coast
With a new album in the works, roots-rock mavens SoundRabbit announced a Spring 2013 tour. Colorado Music Buzz magazine described their sound as, “non-formulaic music of true songwriters.” The Boulder-based quartet has released four albums since they formed in 2007 and have appeared in venues nationwide. SoundRabbit’s music spans the genres of folk, jazz, Latin, pop, indie, and rock to create original performances that showcase their diversity and ingenuity. The group has been compared to a broad spectrum of bands from Weezer to Bon Iver to Led Zeppelin to Dave Matthews Band. They’ve shared the stage with famous artists like The Avett Brothers and Band of Horses. If you want to catch a listen before heading out, subscribe to the band’s Backstage Community Program, that features music, videos, photos, and blogs. These charitable-minded rockers donate proceeds from merchandise and ticket sales to various charities like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross and many others.
April 17 and 18, The Box, 10pm, Free.

 

THE LIST

4/11
Art: Elements, abstract acrylic paintings by Chad VanPelt. BozArt Gallery, Open hours. Free.
Film: Relocalisation: How Peak Oil Can Lead to Permaculture. The Bridge PAI. 7pm. Free.
Tom Tom: David Wax Museum with Hill and Wood and Nora Jane Struthers. The Haven. 7pm. Free.
Tom Tom: The Batten Institute’s 10K Community Pitch Night and launch of expanded Innovation Lab. i.Lab at UVA. 6pm. $10

4/12
Gardening: 40th Annual Blue Ridge Home Builders Home and Garden Festival. JPJ Arena. 1pm. $5
History: Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday Celebration. Monticello. 10am. Free
Reading: Jay Perry presents his new book, Take Charge of Your Talent. New Dominion Bookshop. 5:30pm. Free.
Tom Tom: McGuffey Block Party. McGuffey Art Center. 5pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Public Debate- Aspen vs. Austin vs. Arlington. The Haven. 5:30pm. Free.
Tom Tom: McGuffey Mural Contest. McGuffey Art Center. 12pm. Free.

4/13
Sports: “Big Daddy Cool” Kevin Nash headlines the Night of the Legends II: Unfinished Business wrestling show. Waynesboro High School. 8pm. $10-$25

Art: Live Screen Printing with Thomas Dean. Telegraph. 12pm. Free.
Theater: Vaclac Havel’s The Memorandum. PVCC Theatre. 7:30pm. $6-$10
Tom Tom: Jazz on the Library Steps. JMRL Central Library. 2pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Fellini’s #9 Block Party. Fellini’s #9. 5pm. Free.
Art: Bridge, a one-day pop-up gallery event. 16 West Beverly Street, Downtown Staunton. 9am. Free.
Tom Tom: Film premier screening of Autopilots. Old Metropolitan Hall. 8pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Picnic Day in Lee Park to celebrate grand re-opening of the Garage. Lee Park. 1pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Piedmont Council for the Arts Gallery Walk. City Space. 1pm. Free.

4/14
Art: Garden Inspired, pots and sculptures. City Clay. 12pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Tom Talks II: Spirituality, Social Capitalism, Creativity and Media. The Haven. 3pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Film screening of Making Good. Old Metropolitan Hall. 1:30pm. Free.
Tom Tom: Public Art Bike Ride. City Space. 1pm. Free.
Tom Tom: 91.1 WTJU’s Rock Marathon. The Bridge PAI. 3pm. Free.

4/15
Art: Decoration/Destruction, features the work of Olga Antonova, Laurent Crasté, and Cheryl Pope. Second Street Gallery. 11am. Free.
Art: Drawing More: An International Video Project. New Image Gallery in Harrisonburg. 12pm. Free
Comedy: Improv Mondays with the Hamner Improv Troupe. Hamner Theater in Afton. 6pm. Free.

4/16
Reading: Poetry Writing Contest. Milli Joe Coffee and Gelato. 6:30pm. Free.
Film: Family Film Night presents Wreck-It-Ralph. Louisa County Library. 6:30pm. Free.
Art: Corot to Cezanne Exhibition. Fralin Museum of Art. 12pm. Free.

4/17
Auto: The Big Auto Roundup, five-day selling event. JPJ Arena. 9am. Free.
Reading: Poet and translator Andrew Zawacki reads poems. The Bridge PAI. 7pm. Free.
Art: Traces of the Hand: Master Drawings from the Collection of Frederick and Lucy H. Herman. Fralin Museum of Art. 12pm. Free.


SOUND HOUND

4/11
Jimmy Stelling Group at Fellini’s #9.
Immortal Technique, Constant Flow, Akir, DJ G.I. Joe, Black Liquid at The Jefferson $16-$18
Jane Rothfield, Hilarie Burhans, Kellie Allen, Sabra Guzman at Magnolia House.
Ashley McMillen at Whiskey Jar.
Junior Moment at Wild Wolf.

4/12
Wrinkle Neck Mules, Luke Wilson and the Dericks, Bobby St. Ours at The Southern. $10
Last Call Gospel Choir at Fellini’s #9. $5
Over the Rhine, Ben Sollee at The Jefferson. $20-$25
Lisa Miller and the Juke Joint Junkies at Whiskey Jar.
Bennie Dodd and Tony Fortune at Wild Wolf.
Louis Smith Band at Durty Nelly’s

4/13
The Pollocks at Plank Road Exchange.
Invisible Hand, Dead Professional, Yankee Dixie, Black Girls, Carl Anderson and Band, The Judy Chops at The Southern. $10
Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, Paul and the Tall Trees, Grits n’ Gravy DJ at The Jefferson. $20-$120
The Porch Cats at Whiskey Jar.
The Design at Wild Wolf.
Erin Lunsford at Louisa Arts Center. $15-$20

4/14
Jason Burke at Plank Road Exchange
The Engines, Azul, John D’Earth, Brian Caputo at The Southern. $10-$12
Hogwaller Ramblers at Fellini’s #9
Fitz and the Tantrums, Hunter Hunted at The Jefferson. $20-$25
Tony Bruno at Devils Backbone.

4/15
Jazz Collective #9 at Fellini’s #9.

4/16
Brown Bird, Last Good Tooth at The Southern. $10-$12
Travis Elliot at Fellini’s #9.
R5, Alex Aiono, Taylor Matthews, Sunderland at The Jefferson. $18-$20

4/17
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, The Founding Fathers at The Southern. $12
Danny Barrale at Fellini’s #9.
Koda Kerle and Friends at South Street Brewery.
Travis Book at Devils Backbone.
SoundRabbit at The Box.