Cultural calendar, October 28-November 4, 2004

THURSDAY, October 28
ART
Going Dada: Leah Dickerman, associate curator of modern and contemporary art at Washington's National Gallery, speaks on "What Is Dada?"– the early 20th-century art movement that set all the surrealists spinning. 6pm. 160 Campbell Hall, UVA. 924-6122.

FAMILY
Headless Horseman Rides in Staunton: In the wooded dell by the Octagonal Barn, Frontier Culture Museum staff host a spooky Halloween rendition of the classic Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 5 and 7pm. $8 adults, $4 children. Advance tickets required. Rt. 250 west in Staunton. 540-332-7850. frontiermuseum.org.

Parents of Teens: Children, Youth, and Family Services offers a six week class on "Surviving the Teen Years" at MACAA starting tonight. 6-7:30pm. $15 for all six classes. Call to register. 296-4118, ext 257.

Frightful Family Fun: AlbemarleFamily hosts a Halloween Costume Contest and Trick-or-Treat at Barracks Road. See Family feature.

Drivers Ed: Parents of kids 15.5 and older who are embarking on the gripping experience of teaching their child to drive have help at hand. Certified driver education teacher Richard Wharam presents the latest driving techniques and tips on organizing driving instruction at Western Albemarle High School (room 121). A recently published driving manual will be distributed. 7-9pm. Free. Reservations required. Rt. 250 west. 975-9451. k12.albemarle.org/opendoors.

WALKABOUT
Cinema Chat: Parla italiano? Ecco Italy and Verity blue announce "Cinema Chat," a series of intermediate Italian conversation classes inspired by Italian films. $55 for a five-week chat series or $15 single class drop-in. Thursday evenings 7:30-9pm in the Verity blue Tower Lounge at the Main Street Market, 406A W. Main St. or 825-4390.

Blood Drive: The American Red Cross is at Fashion Square Mall 1-7pm, to boost the blood supply for the busy holiday season. Sears Court. 973-9331.

Bead Basics: Studio Baboo instructor Terri Gable offers a class in bead-stringing basics. 5:30-7:30pm. $25 fee includes materials. 106 Fifth St. Downtown Mall. 244-2905.

Heavenly Body: The Center for Christian Study presents "An Evening With Lilian Calles Barger," presenting a reading from her book Eve's Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Free. 7pm. 128 Chancellor St. 817-1050. studycenter.net.

Israeli Politics 101: 'Hoos for Israel and UVA's Middle Eastern studies department host Elli Wohlgelernter who offers an overview of the Israeli political system shaping Israeli policy today. Wohlgelernter discusses Israel's political parties, what they stand for, why they take these stances, and what their goals are. 7pm. Rouss Hall 202, UVA.

PERFORMANCE
Anyone Can Whistle: The Tandem Players present this classic Stephen Sondheim musical well-timed with this year's presidential election. Anyone Can Whistle is a comedy that breaks with standard Broadway conventions and sends a powerful social message on insanity and conformity. 7pm. Community Hall, Tandem Friends School, 279 Tandem Lane. $6-10. 296-1303x237.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Titania, Oberon, and that rascally Puck are at it again in this Shenandoah Shakespeare production of one of the bard's most loved and most hilarious comedies. Attend a pre-show lecture tonight an hour before the performance. Stay after the show to meet the cast. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-28. 540-885-5588.

WORDS
The South Speaks: Three contributors to the recently published Where We Stand: Voices of Southern Dissent [See "Minor Key Dixie," August 6, 2004] speak at the Miller Center. UVA historian Paul Gaston joins UNC law professor Gene Nichol and author Leslie Dunbar. 11am. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-0921.

Look Out for Traffic: Maybe dogs chase cars, posits fiction writer George Singleton, to teach us to be safer. Or so that we don't have to in our spare time. Or maybe, as he writes, "to find the Land of Bigger Hydrants and Shorter Trees." He's still trying to figure out, even after having written his book of connected short stories, Why Dogs Chase Cars, called by one reviewer "as poignant as it is outrageous." Singleton visits Charlottesville for a reading at New Dominion Bookshop at noon. 404 E. Main St. 295-2552.

Virginia Thriller: Novelist David Baldacci comes to town for the kick-off book signing for his latest thriller, Hour Game, an adventure of a serial killer pursuit in rural Virginia. Baldacci talks and reads at Barnes & Noble beginning at 7pm. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 984-0461.

TUNES
Tom Gray and Butch Robins at the Prism: Two famous bluegrass musicians, bass player Gray and banjo picker Robins, team up at the Prism for a rare performance made for the 2004 bluegrass classroom-concert series, Bluegrass Music: a History of High Lonesome. $12, 8pm.

Karaoke Night with DJ Wild Wes at Buffalo Wild Wings. Free, 9pm.

Danny Beirne (piano-man) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10pm.

Chicken Head Blues Band at Dürty Nelly's. $4, 9pm.

Shayar at Garden of Sheba. $7, 10pm.

Peter Markush (piano) at Gravity Lounge. Free, 12-1pm.

Star City Wildcats (rockabilly) with Ordinary Madness at Gravity Lounge. $5, 7:30pm.

Open Mic Night at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet. No cover, signup at 6:30.

Thompson / D'earth and friends (freeform jazz) at Miller's. $4, 10pm.

SNUG ("raw party funk") at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm.

Greg Howard withJames McLaughlin at Michael's Bistro. No cover, 10pm.

Satisfaction with Noel Sanger (18 and up dance party) at Rapture. $3/Ladies free, 10:30pm. (W)

Middle Eastern Belly Dance Class at Rapunzel's Coffee & Books. Free, 6:30pm. (W)

Del the Funky Homosapien (from Gorillaz) at Starr Hill. $15, 9pm.

The Smash Casters, Hallelujah, and Ameoba Men at Tokyo Rose. $5, 10pm.

FRIDAY, October 29
ART
Telling It Like It Is: Sue Anderson, visiting researcher from GWU, talks about "Indigenous Oral History in the Australian and North American Contexts" today at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection. 7pm. Reservations required. Peter Jefferson Place, Pantops. 244-0234.

Snap to It: UVA's Artspace hosts a reception for the opening of an exhibition of National Geographic photographs of Egypt, Cuba, and Japan by Kenneth Garrett, David Alan Harvey, and Michael Yamashita. 6-8pm. Newcomb Hall. 227-1066.

WORDS
To SOL or not to SOL: As part of a year-long lecture series to celebrate its centennial, UVA's Curry School of Education hosts David Berliner, professor of education at Arizona State, in a talk on "How High Stakes Testing Corrupts Our Educational Measures and Our Educators." Coauthor of a book on myths and frauds in the U.S. public education system, Berliner worries that high-stakes testing undermines other desirables in learning, like love of subject matter. He speaks at 10am. Ruffner Hall Auditorium. 924-6861.

Good Vibrations: Michael Taylor, also known simply as MT, has spent decades discovering the ways in which light and sound can activate the consciousness. He shares his understanding of vibrational healing with crystal bowls in a lecture at the Quest Bookshop tonight at 7pm. 619 W. Main St. 294-3377.

FAMILY
Headless Horseman Rides Again: It's just not Halloween without Old Michie Theatre's annual performance of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in which a headless horseman goes after schoolteacher Ichabod Crane. 7pm. $7.50. 221 E. Water St. 977-3690. oldmichie.com.

Scared Silly: Misty Mountain Camp Resort gives Haunted Hayrides through some spooky hills and hollers. See Family feature.

WALKABOUT
Graduate School Explained: The UVA Women's Center hosts a panel discussion on local graduate/professional opportunities. Get the inside track on the admissions process, hear personal experiences, and ask questions. 1-3pm at the Commonwealth Room in Newcomb Hall. 982-2259.

Go-Kart Fun: Join the Outdoor Adventure Social Club for an evening with Go-Karts, followed by dinner at a Korean restaurant. It's meals and wheels! 6pm. $9, plus membership fee. Outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.

PERFORMANCE
Anyone Can Whistle: See Thursday, October 28.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses: French title, English play– this adaptation of the 1782 Choderlos de Laclos novel was made famous by Hollywood as Dangerous Liaisons. Shenandoah Shakespeare breathes new life into this "wickedly perverse" exploration of aristocratic decadence and deceit. 7:30pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-28. 540-885-5588.

PERFORMANCE AND TUNES
Hot Jazz: Never mind the West Coast reference, The Hot Club of San Francisco jazz ensemble comes to Piedmont Virginia Community College to pay homage to that hopping club scene of Paris in the 1930s. 7:30pm. $10-17. Main stage of the V. Earl Dickinson Building, 500 College Drive. 961-5376.

TUNES
Tret Fure at Gravity Lounge: Winner of this year's South Florida Folk Festival Songwriting Competition in the Best Up-Beat and Best Overall categories, Fure has a lengthy resume includes engineering and producing many bands and working with Yes and the J Geils Band. $20/$15 advance, 8pm.

Tye River Band at Rapunzel's: Folk, rock, country, and originals? These guys do it all and with three part harmonies to boot. $5, 7:30pm.

Patrick and Aaron (Irish flute) at Basic Necessities. No cover, 6:30pm.
Eli Cook's Blues Band at Dürty Nelly's. $4, 9pm.

Vernon Fisher ("romantic side of jazz") at Keswick Hall. No cover, 6:30pm. (W)

Sweet Trouble (blues/pop) at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet. $5, 8-11pm.

The Guano Boys at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm.

T.O.W. at Outback Lodge. $6, 10pm.

The Imaginary Boys (Cure cover band), Jeff Rink, and Dig Shovel Dig at Tokyo Rose. $5, 10pm.

Cannonball Coming at West Main. $3, 10pm.

Westminster Organ Concert at Westminster Presbyterian Church next to the Prism. Donations, 8pm.

SATURDAY, October 30
ART
Stained Glass Workshop: Students have the option of working on a stained glass panel or a three-dimensional stained glass object in this class for beginners and more advanced students. $60 plus materials. 10:am-4pm. McGuffey Art Center. 977-7858.

WORDS
Key to Chianti: Winemaker Gabriele Rausse presents a tasting of Monticello's Sangiovese, along with other examples of the variety, the principal ingredient of Italian chianti. His talk and the tasting begin at 9:30am at the Monticello Visitors Center. $10; reservations required. 984-9822.

FAMILY
Scary but Safe: Young ghouls and goblins prowl the Downtown Mall during the Downtown Safe Halloween Festival. See Family feature.

Party Time: The Virginia Discovery Museum on the East end of the Mall gets festive with an Old Fashioned Halloween Carnival. See Family feature.

Kids Rule: Today is the last day for the City Market. It's also Kids Day with lots of Halloween treats and some tricks too. See Family feature.

Apples from the Ark: Slow Food Virginia offers the rare opportunity to savor the flavor of vintage varieties of America's favorite fruit at an Apple Tasting Festival. See Dish.

Election Procession: Local mothers and others can be part of a national march in support of John Kerry today with a parade on the Downtown Mall starting at the Omni/Ice Park area at 3pm. The march, sponsored by Charlottesville's "Moms for Dems," winds up at City Hall for a rally at 3:30. Kids welcome. 227-2867. momsforkerry.com.

True North: The new Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center offers a compass workshop led by staff from the Virginia Museum of Natural History. Kids in grades K-3 and up can learn navigational skills as they use the compass in a scavenger hunt. Open 10am-4pm. Workshop 10:30am-noon. Free. Keelboat Barn at Darden Towe Park. 979-2425. lewisandclarkeast.com.

Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum: Jack climbs the Beanstalk and finds more trouble than he bargained for when this classic tale comes to the Old Michie Theatre as a puppet play. 11am, 2 and 4pm. $5. 221 E. Water St. 977-3690.

Tell Me a Story: Little literati ages 5 and up can enjoy some favorite stories during story time at Barnes & Noble. 11:30am. Free. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 984-6598.

Headless Horseman Rides Again: See Friday, October 29.

WALKABOUT
Slam Fest: Professional wresting to benefit the UVA Children's Medical Center? Absolutely right. And this is the real deal: Rick Steiner, Midnight Express, Sting, the Fantastics, David Flair and many more live and in person at the Waynesboro High School Gym. And yes, there is a meet-and-greet starting at 6pm. The main event kicks off at 8pm. $15 general admission ($20 ringside). 540-337-3253 or visit wardfamilyentertainment.com.

The Lawn on Speed: Join modern-day Oscar Wilde, New York City tour guide, and amateur philosopher Timothy "Speed" Levitch for an alternate look at a local landmark on this afternoon stroll around the UVA Lawn. Noon and 2pm. Fee. vafilm.com or 982-5277.

First Night 5k: Race through Downtown Charlottesville with this 5k run to benefit the city's annual family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration. 8am. $15. For details and paperwork, avenue.org/firstnightvirginia/5Krun.htm or email .

Hike the Rivanna Trail: It's there every day, but how often do you hike the entire Rivanna Trail all the way around Charlottesville? Try it today on the Trail Society's third annual 20-mile pilgrimage. 6:30am departure. No fee. Email Diana Foster at to sign up.

Naval ROTC Veterans 5k: This 5k benefits Virginia NeuroCare and follows a scenic route through UVA. 8am start, with registration from 7-7:30am at Newcomb Hall Plaza. Pre-registration is $15 ($12 for military personnel) or $20/$15 on race day. virginia.edu/nrotc/race or 924-0970.

PERFORMANCE
Anyone Can Whistle: See Thursday, October 28.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: See Thursday, October 28. Today's 2pm matinee does not include a pre-show lecture or a post-show discussion.

Sleepy Hollow: See Friday, October 30.

Teaching Shakespeare: Staunton's Shenandoah Shakespeare offers an all-day workshop designed to help instructors help their students overcome "Shakesfear." The event begins in the morning at the Blackfriars Playhouse, includes a matinee performance of The Merchant of Venice and ends with a post-show practicum. Class limited to 24 teachers. 9am-7pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $100 includes lunch; $10 more to stay for an evening performance of Falstaff. 540-885-5588.

The Most Lamentable Comedy of Sir John Falstaff: Shenandoah Shakespeare presents the premier run of an original adaptation of that most gluttonous of Shakespeare's characters, culled from choice scenes in Henry IV and a bit of Henry V. 7:30pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-28. 540-885-5588.

Dazzling Workshop: Live Arts invites local actors interested in auditioning for the upcoming show The Dazzle to a workshop exploring the background and context of the play. Get tips on audition techniques, read from the script, and explore its characters. 1:30-3:30pm. Rehearsal room A, Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. $10-15. 977-4177x100.

Merchant of Venice: Money, love, justice, mercy and a pound of flesh– this Shakespearean comedy has it all. Shenandoah Shakespeare's players will entertain and disturb, and leave you guessing who is hero and who is villain. 2pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-28. 540-885-5588.

TUNES
Acoustic Muse featuring Slaid Cleaves with Proutt & McCormick and Mary Gordon Hall at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet: Singer/songwriter Slaid Cleves and guitarist Charles Arthur perform their singular Americana/blues/country concoction. Supporting them are Proutt & McCormick, ready with some great harmonies and quirky wit. $18/$15 advance, 8pm. 823-5645.

Lindsey Osborne (singer/songwriter), Ken Harrison (songwriter/guitarist), Jubeus (harmonious rock), Junior Moment (hippie folk), and the Red Hot Chilly Pickers (old time) at Mountainside in Downtown Crozet: A day-long celebration with food, crafts, and music at Moutainside Senior Living center in Downtown Crozet. Free. 10am. 823-4307.

Cathie Ryan at the Prism: Irish-American vocalist and guitarist's new group, formerly with Cherish the Ladies. $18/$15, 8pm.

Hooktown Blues CD release party at Rapunzel's: Another blowout for the new Charlottesville themed country/blues release Hooktown Blues, featuring the likes of Honeyboy Rush, Swang, Jeff Romano,Paul Curreri, Corey Harris, Bill Adams and Hugh Kurmley, Nickeltown, and Ordinary Madness. $5, 7:30pm. See Tunes feature.

Victor Cabas (blues) at Basic Necessities. No cover, 6:30pm.

Populist Dancing at Club Rio. $10, 9pm.

Sierra at Dürty Nelly's. $3, 9pm.

Jim White at Gravity Lounge. $15, 7pm.

DJ Williams Band at Gravity Lounge. $5, 10pm.

Vernon Fisher ("romantic side of jazz") at Keswick Hall. No cover, 6:30pm.

Scary Rockin' Halloween Eve. featuring: No Gods No Monsters, The Elderly and Ironhead (formerly The Runarounds from Va. Beach) at Jabberwoke. Free, 10pm.

Innerspace (fine-jams) at Miller's. $3, 10:30pm.

This Means You with Tenebris at Outback Lodge. $6, 10pm.

Smoove DJ blowout: Egghed23 and Sketchy at Rapture. $5, 10-1:30pm.

The Witching Hour at Rapture. $5, 1:30am-?

"Black Silk" Halloween Dance Party at Tokyo Rose. $5, 10pm.

SUNDAY, October 31
PERFORMANCE
Anyone Can Whistle: See Thursday, October 28. Today's performance is a matinee at 3pm.

Sleepy Hollow: See Friday, October 30. Today's 3pm show is the final performance of the run.

FAMILY
Lawn Party: Residents of the historic living quarters on the UVA Lawn dole out the treats. See Family feature.

Fright Night Fun: The folks at Trophy Chase Apartments and the Albemarle County Police Department have teamed up to give kids a safe alternative to trick-or-treating. See Family feature.

Headless Horseman Rides Again: See Friday, October 29. Time today 3pm.

Trick or Treat with Pat: The Kluge Estate Farm Shop welcomes trick-or-treaters of all ages for spooky food, fortune telling, a magic show, free refreshments, candy-filled pinatas, and a best costume contest with prizes (6pm). 3-6pm. 3550 Blenheim Road.Êklugeestate.com or 434-984-4855.

WALKABOUT
Climb On: The Outdoor Adventure Social Club heads out to the real thing for some beginner/intermediate rock climbing among the fall colors. 8am departure. $24 fee, plus membership. Outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.

SPCA Sale: Concludes today. 4-9pm at Moore's Lumber Building, Pantops. Rt. 250E and Rt. 20. 295-2915.

TUNES
Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams at Gravity Lounge. $10/$5, 3pm.

The Silos with Keith and Jennifer Morris at Gravity Lounge. $12/$8, 7:30pm.

Jamanaise at Gravity Lounge. $5, 10pm.

B.C. (clever cello-pop) at Miller's. No cover, 10:30pm. (W)

Man Mountain Jr.'s Annual Halloween Bash (funk) at Orbit, No cover, 10pm.

Irish Music Session at Shebeen. No cover, 3-6pm. (W)

MONDAY, November 1
WALKABOUT
Wild Alaska: Join naturalist and author Bob Jonas for a slide show presentation on the Big Wild, Alaska's massive protected wildness area where Jonas has spent much of the last 30 years as a backcountry guide. 7pm. Free. 977-4400 or visit brms.com.

TUNES
Open Mic Night with Charles Davis at Baja Bean. No cover, signup 8:30pm/9pm.

Richard Shindell with Amy Rigby and Proutt & McCormick at Gravity Lounge. $20/$18, 8pm.

Las Gitanas at Miller's. No cover, 10pm.

George Melvin (piano merriment) at South Street Brewery. No cover, 9:30pm.

Travis Elliott (pop) and John Figura at the Virginian. No cover, 10pm.

TUESDAY, November 2
PERFORMANCE
Devilish Fun: Russian literature and Greek tragedy collide in a black comedy set in New York City, where a Laundromat owner is determined her son avenge his father's murder. Part mystery, part farce, this production of David Lindsay-Abaire's A Devil Inside is the collective master's thesis of six UVA drama students who will rotate their performance of three major roles during the show's two-week run. 8pm. Helms Theatre, UVA drama building. $5. 924-3376. See Performance feature.

UVA Concert: The venerable Tuesday Evening Concert Series continues this week with works by Beethoven, Wolf, Dvorak and Brahms performed by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson trio and the Miami String Quartet. 8pm. Old Cabell Hall. $10-24; $5 rush for student tickets an hour before the show. 924-3984.

TUNES
Karaoke Night (what you make of it) at Baja Bean. Free, 8pm.

Glen Mack (rock) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10:30pm.

Peyton and Andy (bluegrass) at Miller's. $3, 9:30pm.

$2 Tuesdays with Big Circle at Outback Lodge. No cover, 10pm.

WEDNESDAY, November 3
FAMILY
Tut, Tut: Archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb on November 4, 1922. Kids ages 7 and up can make their own discoveries when they create clay cartouches of their names in hieroglyphics, hear stories of the mummy's curse, and sample some ancient Egyptian "candy" at Gordon Avenue Library. 4pm. Free. Registration required. 1500 Gordon Ave. 296-5544.

Tales for Tots: The 5 and under crowd can hear some of the storyteller's favorite picture books at Barnes & Noble's preschool story time. 10:30am. Free. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 984-6598.

WORDS
Triple Whammy: Three young fiction writers, Lydia Peelle, Hannah Pittard, and Emma Rathbone, read from new work at this week's UVA MFA Reading Series, 8:30pm at New Dominion Bookshop. 404 E. Main St. 295-2552.

WALKABOUT
Grow On: This month's meeting of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population features a panel discussion on land use taxation &endash; will it protect rural land from development? 7:30pm at the Westminster Presbyterian Church library. 974-6390 or stopgrowthasap.org.

Parla italiano? If you don't, Christina Ball of Ecco Italy offers "Italian for Beginners" lessons on Wednesday mornings (9:30-11am; $15 drop-in fee). If you do, why not drop by for the Tavola italiana (Wednesdays 11:30am-12:30pm) for a free chat hour in italiano? All classes held in the Verity blue Tower Lounge at the Main Street Market 406A W. Main St.Contact or 825-4390.

Teens Explained?: Drs. Lisa Aronson and Rafael Triana discuss "Insights into Adolescent Vulnerability" as part of the weekly Program of Humanities in Medicine. 12:30-1:30pm. Free. Jordan Conference Center Auditorium at the UVA Medical School. 924-2094 or healthsystem.virginia.edu/him.

The Trouble With Bass: Dr. Steve Kaataari discusses the causes and repercussions of a recent outbreak of bacterial infection in Chesapeake Bay striped bass at the Science Museum of Virginia's Mini-School of Marine Science. 7-9pm. $15 for all four lectures in the series, or $5 for just tonight. 800-659-1727 or smv.org.

Country Dancing: Kick up your heels at this weekly couples and line dancing extravaganza. Dance lessons 7-8pm; dancing 8-11pm. $7. Fry's Spring Beach Club, 2512 JPA. 977-0491.

Old Rag: You're not an official Virginian until you've hiked up Old Rag Mountain. Join the Wintergreen Nature Foundation for this strenuous but rewarding excursion. 9am. $12 fee ($8 Foundation members). twnf.org or 325-8169.

PERFORMANCE
Merchant of Venice: See Saturday, October 30. Today's 10:30am performance is a school matinee.

Devilish fun: See Tuesday, November 2, and Performance feature.

WALKABOUT
Country Dancing: Kick up your heels at this weekly couples and line dancing extravaganza. Dance lessons 7-8pm; dancing 8-11pm. $7. Fry's Spring Beach Club, 2512 JPA. 977-0491.

Salsa, Salsa, Salsa! The Outdoor Adventure Social Club is about more than sweat and dirt! Join them for this ongoing series of salsa dance lessons at Berkmar Ballroom. 7:45pm. $8 fee, plus membership. Outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE for details.

Media and Democracy: Feeling polarized this election season? Come listen to renowned New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss how the media is choosing to inform the public in the first of two lectures sponsored by the Center on Religion and Democracy and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. 3:30-5pm in the Dome Room of the Rotunda. No fee. Tomorrow at 2pm, eminent scholars Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Todd Gitlin, and John Searle discuss the evolving nature of freedom of speech in America, and how politicians, the media, and special interest groups make use of that freedom to influence the public. Visit religionanddemocracy.lib.virginia.edu or call Marilyn Roselius at 924-0998 for details.

TUNES
Sarah White & The Pearls at Atomic Burrito. No cover, 10pm.

Cheesy Trivia with M&M Express at Buffolo Wild Wings. No cover, 8:30pm.

Benny Dodd (rock covers) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10pm.

Open Mic Night at Dew Drop Inn. No cover, 7:30pm.

Country Dance Night (couples and line) at Fry Spring Beach Club. $7/$4 students, lessons 7-8pm, dancing 8-11pm.

Neuronimo at Gravity Lounge. $5, 8pm.

The Mike Rosensky Jeff Decker Quartet (jazz) at Miller's. No cover, 9:30pm.

Travis Elliott (acoustic pop-rock) at Orbit. No cover, 10pm.

Jamal Millner and Friends at Outback Lodge. Free, 10pm.

Joan Baez and Thea Gilmore at Performing Arts Center. Golden Circle - $39.50/Orchestra - $35.50/Balcony - $30, 7pm. 800-594-TIXX

Morel at Raputre. $5, 9pm.

Open Jam at Rapunzel's Coffee & Books. Free, 7pm. (W)

Middle Eastern Belly Dance Class at Rapunzel's Coffee & Books. Free, 6:30pm.

Galactic with Benevento Russo Duo at Starr Hill. $20, 8pm.

Full Moon Tea Ceremony with Sati at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. No cover, 7pm.

Jim Davies (acoustic rock and blues) at the Virginian. No cover, 10pm.

Karaoke Night at West Main. No Cover, 10pm.

THURSDAY, November 4
ART
Old China: David Sensabaugh, Curator of Asian Art at Yale, speaks on "Foreigners, Funerary Couches, and the Function of Landscape in 6th Century China." 5:30pm. Campbell Hall Room 153. Park behind the museum and in the Culbreth Theatre lot. 924-3592.

Far East Photos: "Thailand-China, September 2004," an exhibition of photographs by Pam Perugi Marraccini, opens November 1 at Angelo. Meet Pam at a reception today and enjoy the photos and a glass of wine or two. 5:30-8:30pm. 220 E. Main St. 971-9256.

FAMILY
Tactile Tales: Kids in grades K and up can warm their fingers and get ready to learn some draw-and-tell, cut-and-tell, and fold-and-tell stories. String fingers and hand shadow puppets may also make an appearance at this touching event at Northside Library. 4pm. Free. Registration required. Albemarle Square. 973-7893.

PERFORMANCE
Les Liaisons Dangereuses: See Friday, October 29. Tonight, attend a pre-show lecture at 6. Stay after the show to meet the cast.

Devilish Fun: See Tuesday, November 2, and Performance feature.

WORDS
How Are Schools Doing? In 1989, Pres. George H. W. Bush convened the first national governors' conference on education at the University of Virginia. Today, the Miller Center hosts a conference to reevaluate that event. Speakers will include Governor Mark Warner, former Governor Gerald L. Baliles, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Clinton's Secretary of Education Richard B. Riley, and Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander. Plenary session, open to the public, begins at 1:30pm. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-0921.

TUNES
The Kruger Brothers with Akira Otsuka at the Prism: A bluegrass power trio from Switzerland continue the non-credit Bluegrass Music: a History of High Lonesome class. $12, 8pm.

Karaoke Night with DJ Wild Wes at Buffalo Wild Wings. Free, 9pm

Danny Beirne (piano-man) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10pm.

Chicken Head Blues Band at Dürty Nelly's. $4, 9pm.

Stable Roots at Garden of Sheba. $7, 10pm.

Peter Markush (piano) at Gravity Lounge. Free, 12-1pm.

Sparky's Flaw at Gravity Lounge. $5, 8pm.

Thompson / D'earth and friends (freeform jazz) at Miller's. $4, 10pm.

Mid-Atlantic Rock Connection Presents: Big Fast Car, All of 15, and Lennex at Outback Lodge. $5, 10pm.

Satisfaction with Noel Sanger (18 and up dance party) at Rapture. $3/Ladies free, 10:30pm.

Middle Eastern Belly Dance Class at Rapunzel's Coffee & Books. Free, 6:30pm.

Dar Williams with Ana Egge at Starr Hill. $20/$18 advance, 9pm.

Carlsonics (tentative), Lovers, Sharpiro, and Bombs at Tokyo Rose. $5, 10pm.

Upcoming and Ongoing
ART
Saturday at Sunspot: Fall session offerings include paperweight, ornament, and glassblowing workshops that require no prior experience and meet one time on Saturday afternoons for three hours (paperweight or ornament) or five hours (glassblowing) until December 18. 540-885-0678 or for schedule information or registration.

WORDS
Submit, Submit: Meridian, the semi-annual UVA literary magazine, sponsors its annual Editors' Prizes in Poetry and Fiction, worth $1000 each. Stories or poems must be submitted electronically on the Meridian website, readmeridian.com. Click "Contest" for instructions.

Send It In: Local literary magazine Streetlight and WMRA invite writers to submit poetry, short-short fiction or flash fiction, and essays to the 2004 Creative Writing Contest. Top 15 entries, as judged by Charlottesville author George Garrett, will be highlighted both on air and in print. Full guidelines available at streetlightmag.org or mail entries to Streetlight Magazine, PO Box 259, Charlottesville, 22902.

PERFORMANCE
Script It: Offstage Theatre seeks scripts for two upcoming series, Barhoppers and Bedroom Plays, set (duh) in bars and bedrooms. Pieces should run 10 to 20 minutes and require minimal props, costumes, etc. Comedies, dramas, monologues, musicals all eligible. Offstage pays $50 per chosen script. Deadlines: mid-December for Barhoppers; mid-February for Bedroom Plays. Send inquiries to and submissions to , or send mail to Chris Patrick, 210 Little Graves St., Charlottesville 22902.

Modern Dance: Classes with the Miki Liszt dance company. Safety release technique: 7pm Tuesdays. Dynamic alignment: 10:30am Wednesdays. Horton technique: 5:30pm Fridays. Studio 20, McGuffey Art Center, 201 Second St. NW. 295-7973.

Practice Swing: The Charlottesville Swing Dance Society hosts weekly practice sessions for beginners and intermediates Thursdays. Singles and couples welcome. DJ takes requests. 7:30-9pm. Auditorium of the Albemarle County Office Building, 401 McIntire Road. Free. 980-2744.

Sunday Salsa: The Charlottesville Salsa Club sponsors a weekly opportunity to learn and practice Salsa and other dances, in a smoke-free nightclub atmosphere. A basic lesson (usually salsa) gets the evening started at 8. DJ'd music is 80 percent salsa mixed with other Latin styles. Complimentary water and sodas. The Outback Lodge, 917 Preston Ave. 8pm-midnight. $5 (members $3). 979-7211.

Country Dance Night: Couples and line dancing at Fry's Spring Beach Club. Dance lesson Wednesday 7-8pm, dancing 8-11pm. $7, students $4. (students $2 every fourth Wednesday). 2512 Jefferson Park Ave. 977-0491.

More Belly Dance: Studio 206 Belmont is offering one-hour belly dance lessons every Tuesday with instructor Amalia Habibi. 7:15pm. 501 Monticello Road (above Mas tapas bar). $9-12. 296-6250.

Playwrights Lab: This safe and inspirational forum to read and discuss your working scripts starts back up again after a summer hiatus. Open to playwrights of all experience levels who seek to revise existing manuscripts or develop new material. Meets on the first and third Mondays of the month. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. Free. 977-4177x100.

Exotic Dance: Get kinky at the Berkmar Ballroom with exotic and modern dance for those at any skill level. Every Thursday night, belly dance for beginners and intermediates, 6-7pm. Fitness pole dance for beginners, 7-8pm. Sexy pole dancing for beginners, 8-9pm; for intermediates, 9-10pm. 652 Rio Road W. 10-lesson series, $125. 975-4611.

FAMILY
Mother's Helpers: La Leche League of Charlottesville offers free breastfeeding information and support to pregnant and nursing mothers. Meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 10am at the Unitarian Church on Rugby Road, and the fourth Monday of the month at 6pm at Gordon Avenue Library. 984-4665; 295-1985; or 296-8875.

Be a Pal: The Piedmont Family YMCA is looking for local businesses to sponsor basketball teams during the winter season. Sponsor a team and the Y will promote your business by putting your name on the back of team t-shirts and placing a direct link to your website on our website, piedmontymca.org. This is a great chance to make a charitable donation to a worthy cause as well as promote and advertise your business.

Bug's Life: Little buggers are invited to buzz their way through the tricks and traps of carnivorous plants at the Virginia Discovery Museum's new Back Gallery exhibit "A World of Bug-Eating Plants." Visitors can learn how these rare meat-eating plants catch their dinner, how they grow, and where they can be found as they slip, crawl, and slide through their fascinating world. Included in the price of admission. East end of the Downtown Mall. 977-1025.

MOPS: Mothers of Preschoolers meets the first and third Thursday of each month at Zion United Methodist Church, Troy. Noon-2pm. Free. Call 434-589-1665 for information and directions.

WALKABOUT
Madison House: Help UVA's Madison House bring a happy holiday to over 100 low-income families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area. Call Reimi Okuyama at 977-7051 for details.

Trash Amnesty: Get rid of your bulky waste during Albemarle County's fall amnesty days: tires on October 30. No charge for County residents to deliver the specified items to the Ivy Materials Utilization Center each day. Contact the County's General Services Division at 296-5816 for more information.

Parkway Nature Walks: Monticello offers guided walking tours of the Thomas Jefferson Parkway, the linear park along the Route 53 entrance to Jefferson's estate, every Sunday morning now through the end of November. 9:30am. No fee. Meet at Kemper Park at the base of the Parkway, a quarter-mile east of the intersection of Route 53 and Route 20. 984-9822.

Early Music Meeting: The Shenandoah Recorder Society meets on the third Sunday of every month to discuss the recorder and early music in general. Open to all. For more information, call 295-1395.

Downtown Tours: The Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society offers walking tours of historic downtown Charlottesville every Saturday at 10am. Tours leave from the McIntire Building across from Lee Park and cover over 250 years of community history in one hour. $3 suggested donation. 296-1492.

Mindfulness Meditation: Tuesdays 12:15-12:45pm. UVA Hospital Chapel. Meditation practice with guidance. Free. No experience necessary. 924-1190.

ART LIST
The Second Street Gallery presents "DC Now," an multi-media exhibition showcasing work by nine contemporary Washington, DC-based artists: Ken Ashton, Joanne Bauer, Jason Falchook, David Jung, Linn Meyers, Maggie Michael, Jose Ruiz, Dan Steinhilber, and Ian Whitmore. Through October 30. Corner of Second and Water streets. 977-7284.

Through December 23, the University of Virginia Art Museum displays "Whiteness, A Wayward Construction," a collaborative exhibition by 24 artists exploring "the concept of whiteness as an ideology of power." Also on view: "Lifeline: Movement and Time in Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Collection," and video artist Bill Viola's "Six Heads," presented in conjunction with the Virginia Film Festival. The latter two run through November 23. 155 Rugby Road. 924-3952.

The McGuffey Art Center offers three shows in October: "A Year at Sea," mixed-media sculpture by NiNi Baeckstrom; new abstract paintings and architectural diagrams by Caroline Cobb; and "It's a Big Wide Wonderful World We Live In– Life in the 21st Century in a Nutshell," mixed-media pieces by Andy Faith. 201 Second St. NW. 295-7973.

Beginning November 3, Piedmont Virginia Community College features pottery by Cri Kars-Marshall and Ted Thill. The exhibition is up through December 1. V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Drive. 977-2001.

UVA's Artspace presents an exhibition of National Geographic photographs of Egypt, Cuba, and Japan by Kenneth Garrett, David Alan Harvey, and Michael Yamashita through November 30. Opening reception, October 29, 6-8pm. Newcomb Hall. 227-1066.

Through the end of November, Gravity Lounge features recent works by oil painter Mary Atkinson. 103 S. First St. 977-5590.

During October, Sidetracks (formerly Spencer's 206) features "Of Leaves and Stellar Phenomena," an exhibition of paintings of Christopher Mason. 218 Water St. 361-0083.

Photographer Aaron Farrington displays his images at the Gallery at Starr Hill during October. 705 Main St. 434-409-0745.

Venture into Belmont to view New Art Across the Bridge/Round 2, in October featuring the work of Lily Grabbi, Will May, Timothy Shearer, Justin Lincoln, THE FACE MUSCLES, "and more."209 Monticello Road (across the street from Spudnuts). 984-5669.

Through October 31, the Main Street Market galleria presents works in pastel and watercolor by Nancy Galloway. Beginning November 1, paintings of musicians by Armando Arroyo grace the space. 416 W. Main St. 244-7800.

The 5th Floor Gallery at Keller Williams is currently showing the work of painter Joan Soderland, stained-glass artist Shelby Bowen, painter Kathleen Karlsen, and photographer Robert Dooley. Ten percent of proceeds from artwork sold goes to Habitat for Humanity. Suite 500, Citizens Commonwealth Building (UVA Credit Union), 300 Preston Ave. 220-2200.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church presents "Fusion II," a group show by Doris deShea, Nancy Frye, Anne Warren Holland, and Joan Griffin, who collectively call themselves the "Four Sisters." Through November 7. 717 Rugby Road. 293-8179.

Angelo presents "Interpretations," acrylic paintings by Talia Lanyi through October 30. Opening November 1 and running through December: "Thailand-China, September 2004," photographs by Pam Perugi Marraccini. Artist's reception, November 4, 5:30-8:30pm. 220 E. Main St. 971-9256.

The Kluge-Ruhe Collection of Aboriginal Art features "Twice Born: Marsupials in Aboriginal Art," through November 6. Also on view through November 27: "Indigenous: Selected Works from the Kluge Ruhe Collection."400 Worrell Drive, Peter Jefferson Place, Pantops Mountain. 244-0234.

Les Yeux du Monde presents an exhibition of new paintings by Herb Jackson. Also on view: Sanford Wintersberger's "Watch Them Watch." Both shows run through November 13. 115 S. First St. 973-5566. See Art feature.

Nature Visionary Art presents "Temptation, Inspiration, Revelation," artwork by C.M. and Grace Kelly Laster, through October. 110 Fourth St. 296-8482.

During October, The Gallery @ 5th & Water displays an exhibit of paintings by North Carolina mother and daughter Sallie and Anne Meade. 107 Fifth St. 979-9825.

CODG presents "Dreams of Another Place," an exhibition of work by Jonathan Blake, through October. 112 E. Main St., under the Jefferson Theater. 242-4212.

During October, the C&O Gallery displays "Drawings and Paintings," artwork by David Reynaud. Next door to the C&O Restaurant, 511 E. Water St. 971-7044.

Sage Moon Gallery features watercolors by Mike Neymeyer during October. 420 E. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 977-9997.

New works by members of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild, featuring watercolors, oils, pastels, and mixed media are on display at the Albemarle County Courthouse. 501 E. Jefferson Court Square. 296-8484.

Orange County art teacher Lee Nixon shows work at the Albemarle County Office Building during October. 401 McIntire Road.

The Laughing Lion Gallery presents "Wedding Portraits," drawings and paintings by Terrence Pratt during October. 103 E. Water St. in the Commerce Building (above Londons). 984-4000.

The Mudhouse shows artwork by Abby Kasonik through October 31. Beginning November 2, painter Barry Gordon's artwork will be on view. 213 W. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 984-6833.

View Mercedes Lopez's watercolor exhibition, "Classic Elements," at Art Upstairs during October. 316 E. Main St., above The Hardware Store, on the Downtown Mall. 923-3900.

Transient Crafters displays "One Subject, Different Images: Exploring Photographic Alternatives," photography by Ben Greenberg, through the month of October. 118 W. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 972-9500.

During October, Bozart Gallery offers painter Matalie Griffin Rivard Deane's exhibition "Organic within Inorganic." 211 W. Main St. 296-3919.

L'étoile Restaurant features paintings by local artists Barry Gordon, Malcolm Hughes, and Christian Peri. 817 W. Main St. (across from the Amtrak Station). 979-7957.

Radar

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts displays "Selections: 20th Century Latin American Art in the VMFA Collection" through March 13. "Albrecht Durer: A Renaissance Journey in Print" runs through January 9. 200 N. Broad St., Richmond. 804-340-1400.

Richmond's Plant Zero Project Space presents "ON MESSAGE: Art for Our Time," featuring work by 19 regional and national artists. Curated by photographer Alyssa Salomon, the exhibition attempts to get out the vote through its critiques of government policies and actions. Through November 7. 0 E. Fourth St., Richmond. 804-321-8899.

Crozet's Ombra's Café presents Georgia Barbour's "Photographs of Vietnam," on view through the end of October. 973-8642.

Through October 31, Lindsay Michie Eades exhibit of oil paintings, "People and Places," hangs at Jarman's Gap restaurant. 5790 Three Notch'd Road, Crozet. 823-4626.

The Artisans Center of Virginia welcomes an invitational exhibition of contemporary craft artisans working in a variety of media, on display through November 4. Also on view: "As the Wood Turns," turned wood vessels by Bruce and Janet Hoover, through November 6. 601 Shenandoah Village Drive (exit 94 off I-64), Waynesboro. 540-946-3294.

The Nichols Gallery Annex presents "Images of the South," an exhibition of paintings by over 20 Mid-Atlantic artists, including Ron Boehmer, Gray Dodson, Philip Koch, Frederick Nichols, and Chica Tenney. Through November 28. Barboursville, near the intersection of Rtes. 20 and 33. 540-832-3565.

During October, The Arts Center in Orange presents its "2004 Showcase of Regional Artists," featuring multi-media work by 50 area artists. 129 East Main St., Orange. 540-672-7311.

Madison's Sevenoaks Pathwork Center displays "Three Artists from One Virginia Family," featuring the work of Peg Redd, Page Coplan, and Paul Charlton, on view through early December. 403 Pathwork Way, Madison. 434-295-2486.

Caffe Bocce presents paintings by Dave Moore during October. Beginning November 1, view "Fresh Off the Easel," paintings by Meg West, as well as paintings by Lindsay Michie Eades. 330 Valley St., Scottsville. 434-286-4422.

Pottery by Janice Arone and Mary Ann Burke, plus other handcrafted artwork is on view at The Barn Swallow. Route 682 off 250W. 434-979-4884.

Staunton's Painted Thunder Studios welcomes the work of equine artist Jennet Inglis. 19 W. Beverley St. 540-851-0864.

Sun's Traces Gallery displays quilting by Patricia Hoke, nature photography by Evelyn Eades, as well as turned wood pieces by Dick Wexelblat and clay works by Paula Brown-Steedly. Barboursville. 540-832-7044.

The Ed Jaffe Gallery features paintings and marble sculptures by Ed Jaffe, plus abstract photographs by Marc Jaffe. 108 W. Main St., Orange. 540-672-2400.

Staunton's Middlebrook Gallery offers contemporary art and fine crafts, including sculpture by Ken Smith. 5 Middlebrook Ave. 540-885-9955.

Other

The University of Virginia Art Museum is conducting its annual prose and poetry competition, "The Writer's Eye." All works on view at the museum are eligible for selection by contestants. Entries are due at the museum by 5pm, Friday, November 19. For more information, call Deryn Goodwin, 924-7458. 155 Rugby Road.

The Arts Center in Orange announces its second session of fall classes, ranging across various media and methods, beginning November 1. Deadline for registration is October 29. Call or stop by The Arts Center In Orange at 129 East Main Street, Downtown Orange, 540-672-7311, or email .

The Communications Arts Guild invites entries for its Promotional Postcard Design Competition. Deadline is November 3. Guidelines available at comarguild.org/postcard.

FEATURES/FEATURES/FEATURES
ART
Color eruptions: Jackson's gneiss paintings
BY LAURA PARSONS
Warning alarms buzz and red lights flash in my head whenever I find myself wanting to tack concrete references onto abstract art. But I couldn't help thinking of geologic upheaval– volcanoes spewing, tectonic plates shifting, fissures cracking, and jagged rocks hurtling through the air– as I looked at Herb Jackson's recent acrylic paintings on display at Les Yeux du Monde.

In Jackson's large works, rough-edged bolts of unexpected colors– varied and never pure– shoot like stony intrusions through contrasting areas of mixed hues. "Ethereal Carriage," for example, features a talon of rusty red-orange and another of greenish yellow-brown curling through a central lilac area mottled with shreds of pink and blue. If that sounds hideous, it's not.

Jackson adds layer upon layer upon layer of paint to create his pieces, at each level using a palette knife to move the multi-tinted paint around, leaving fossil-like traces of wrinkles and creases in smooth surfaces. He then scrapes off and peels away oddly shaped areas to reveal shocks of what's below. Sometimes he opts to paint the opened space again. In other places, Jackson scratches in parallel lines to increase the textural energy.

The geologic impression is enhanced by Jackson's taking his painting onto the sides of his canvases, spilling veins of color over the edges like crosscuts. In addition, the artist occasionally mixes mica and pumice into his paint to change the texture of passages and how they reflect and refract light.

In "Smoke of the Dream Caress," a jolt of chunky iridescent purple streaks across the upper part of the painting like a comet's tail against a milky periwinkle background. At the right edge of the canvas, it abruptly angles toward the bottom of the painting, where it passes beneath a jerky-edged rising bolt of gray clouded by dirty yellow.

At the other end of the gray bolt, a branch of gray-white pale lilac curves up and over the purple comet tail. Meanwhile, behind this area of interaction, a swath of pewter gray flecked with bits of coral pink and azure extends lacily toward the upper right.

Close inspection reveals– surprisingly– that what appears to explode in the foreground is actually located in the bottommost layers of Jackson's painting. As a viewer steps back, the overall effect is like a frozen moment in cataclysmic time.

With their torn-edged textural shapes, intersecting layers, and jarring colors, Jackson's paintings are reminiscent of collage– or the dazzling interiors of broken volcanic geodes.

Herb Jackson's "New Paintings" are on view at Les Yeux du Monde through November 13. 115 South St. 973-5566.

FAMILY
Spooky fun: A weekend full of treats
BY LINDA KOBERT
Halloween is the favorite holiday around our house, and because the date falls on a Sunday this year, we'll be partying all weekend long. And why not? There are so many events and activities going on there's just no reason to stay home.

The festivities start on Thursday at Barracks Road Shopping Center where this month's Mommy and Me (and Daddy too) event features the AlbemarleFamily Halloween Costume Contest. Kids can parade around the plaza in disguise and trick-or-treat at participating shops 10am-noon. Prizes will be awarded for scariest, funniest, cutest, most original, and best team get-up. All activities are free: albemarlefamily.com.

Misty Mountain Camp Resort near Crozet offers visitors an up-close-and-personal experience with ghosts who hang around the hills and hollers. The 30-40 minute hair-raising Haunted Hayrides adventures on Friday and Saturday nights, 8pm-midnight, are very popular, so early reservations are recommended. Kids under six must be accompanied by a parent, and discretion is advised. $5 per person. Rt. 250 west. 540-456-6409.

Saturday is Kids Day at the Charlottesville City Market where scary young spirits can dress up for some market day fun 9am-noon. Balloons, face painting, carrot cake, cookies, apple cider, caramel apples, and more lend a festive air to the Market's final day for the season. Volunteers are on hand with candy, Spot the Horse gallops around to play with young partiers, and kids can set up a stand and hawk their goods for free. Water Street between Second and Fourth. 970-3271.

Costumed characters up to age 12 haunt the Downtown Mall on Saturday during the Downtown Safe Halloween Festival sponsored by Charlottesville Parks and Recreation. Carnival games, festival activities, and trick-or-treating at participating shops will be available up and down the Mall 2:30-6pm. Older kids can freak out at the Boo House at the Downtown Recreation Center. Activities are free. 970-3267.

The Virginia Discovery Museum on the east end of the Mall celebrates the season with an Old Fashioned Halloween Carnival Saturday evening 5-7pm. Goblins ages two and up can come in costume and make scarecrows, paint pumpkins, try roasted pumpkin seeds and other healthy treats, sip hot apple cider, and listen to fun old Virginia music. Reservations are required for this party which costs $7/$5 for members. 977-1025.

The folks at Trophy Chase Apartments and the Albemarle County Police Department team up to give kids there a safe alternative to trick-or-treating. Young ghouls and goblins can tour their Boo House at the apartment complex on Payton and Commonwealth and get great treats on Sunday 6-9pm. McGruff the Crime Dog makes an appearance, and parents can have their children fingerprinted. It's all free.

Finally, it just wouldn't be Halloween without a trip to Mr. Jefferson's Academical Village. Residents of the historic living quarters on UVA's Lawn hand out treats– and sometimes tricks– to costumed kids who knock on their doors from 4-5:30pm on Sunday. This one is free, too.

WORDS
Not fading away: Old radicals talk free speech
BY SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK
Nearly two years ago, hundreds of people from across the continent gathered optimistically in Charlottesville to initiate a three-year 200th anniversary celebration of the expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Many here were particularly heartened by the number of Native Americans who participated.

Celebrations have since moved westward. Charlottesville's was the first of 15 so-called "national signature events" from here to the Pacific Ocean and back, paralleling to some degree the path of the Corps of Discovery. This week, a "Circle of Cultures" happens in North Dakota, the ninth of the signature events.

Hosted by the University of Mary in Bismarck, Circle of Cultures "highlights the cordial welcome Lewis & Clark received from the earth lodge peoples of the Upper Missouri," according to literature promoting the 10-day event. Lectures, performances, discussions, re-enactments, art exhibits, and a 3-D virtual technology representation of a pre-Corps Mandan village crowd the calendar. The October 28 banquet keynote speaker is Francis Cherry, deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management.

Although planners designed events to "renew the bonds of friendship and cooperation forged during the winter of 1804-05 between the United States and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara nations," some Native Americans in the Dakotas have different ideas. This fall, a Stop Lewis and Clark Resistance Group has been staging counterdemonstrations. On September 25, protesters faced off during a Lewis and Clark reenactment near Fort Pierre, South Dakota.

"The L&C Reenactment states that tribal governments are supporting them and welcoming them," says the mission statement, but those tribes "are colonial governments put in place and funded by the Interior Department of the U.S. government." To this group of Native Americans, Lewis and Clark's expedition "represents the dawn of genocide to freedom-thinking natural peoples of this land." Their position is explained on the website stoplewisandclark.org.

To their credit, the National Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Committee highlights the message and activities of these protesters on their own website, lewisandclark200.org. They must be thankful that planned signature events go into hibernation at the close of the Circle of Cultures.

The next one doesn't happen until June-July 2005 at Fort Benton and Great Falls, Montana.

Those here at home who long to learn more about the Corps of Discovery's progress west need travel no further than the State Arboretum at Blandy Experimental Farm, nine miles east of Winchester, where Peter Hatch, Monticello's director of grounds and gardens, talks about botany and the Lewis & Clark Expedition on Sunday, November 7. One expects no protest as Hatch highlights the knowledge of American Indian agriculturists brought back by the travelers to their patron at Monticello.

Peter Hatch speaks on the plants of the Lewis & Clark Expedition at 4pm on Sunday, November 7, at the State Arboretum, Blandy Experimental Farm, Clarke County. $25 Arboretum members, $30 nonmembers. Reservations required by October 30. 540- 837-1758. virginia.edu/blandy/.

PERFORMANCE
Role playing: Devil's cast devilishly talented
BY ROBERT ARMENGOL
Maybe the election has gone to everybody's head. Maybe it's Halloween and something funny's in the air. Or maybe reality TV really has ruined us all. Whatever the case, "choose your own adventure" seems to be the order of the day.

Six drama graduates at UVA capitalize on that fever in November with a play they've designed and executed to fulfill the requirements of their master's thesis. Every night they take the stage at the Helms Theatre to perform David Lindsay-Abaire's A Devil Inside, rotating portrayals of three main characters.

And here's the kicker: For the last three shows in the run, the audience (that's you) gets to decide who plays whom. Talk about devilish.

"This truly is experimental," says Maura Malloy, one of the actors in this ad hoc theater company, and the one charged with publicity.

The idea, she says, was to recreate on a small scale the experience of producing a play from start to finish. The twist, of course, is that there's more than one final product. With each actor preparing for different roles, every performance– and every rehearsal– is a slightly different experience.

On any given night, men might play women, women might play men, and everybody has to shift gears to play characters covering a broad gamut of ages, occupations, and desires.

Marianne Kubik, faculty director for the project, says these grad students have spent the last eight weeks negotiating "the logistical process behind rehearsing a complex project such as this."

Not only have all six had to learn multiple roles, but they've been able to compare their own interpretations of the characters to those of their peers. Even the physical space has to change with each interpretation, Kubik says. She calls the play "a unique opportunity for the study of character."

It helps that Devil is fittingly wacky.

A black comedy set in New York, Lindsay-Abaire's work is equal parts mystery and farce. Russian literature and Greek tragedy collide in the story of a Laundromat owner who's trying to get her son to avenge the murder of his father. But he's a lot more interested in chasing a girl in one of his classes– who herself is stalking their professor, "a tormented genius living out the events in Crime and Punishment."

Never mind the repairman and his interest in an artist obsessed with feet, neither of whom has a connection to the rest of the crew, or so it seems.

Phew. Whom would you play?

A Devil Inside shows November 2-4 and 9-16, all shows at 8pm. An additional matinee happens 2pm November 14. Helms Theatre, Culbreth Road, UVA. $5 (UVA students may use their ART$ dollars). 924-3376.

WALKABOUT
Stream on: Talking the acid rain blues
BY TIM SPRINKLE
From Henry David Thoreau to Roger Curtis, the New England landscape has inspired writers and artists for generations. By the late-1960s, however, the land of "Walden" was in serious trouble: The waterways transformed by acid rain, the land suffering under an ever-increasing human population, fish turning up dead all over the Northeast.

Fortunately, the region started to rebound after a 1990 amendment to the Clean Air Act brought stricter testing standards and tighter controls on damaging emissions. The bad news is that scientists are now seeing a similar but even more serious acid rain problem here in the mid-Atlantic. Many even worry that the measures taken in the Northeast aren't going to be enough to save the mountain streams and forests in the Virginias.

"The situations in the North and the South are very similar," says Dr. Jim Galloway, professor of environmental sciences at UVA and member of the University's 1979 Shenandoah Watershed Study (SWAS).

"Both have similar amounts of acid rain, both have streams that are very sensitive to these conditions, but in the Northeast we've seen a much faster rate of recovery," Galloway says. "Down here, there's been a lag effect of acid rain slowly leeching into our waters. So even with steep emissions reductions, Virginia's mountain streams will continue to be acidic."

Acidic streams mean trouble for local fish. A good example is the St. Mary's River in Augusta County. Today, it's a thriving trout stream, but only because state authorities recognized the problem nearly a decade ago and acted quickly to treat the river with chemicals. Fishermen are still waiting for a permanent solution to come down the pike.

"It's a quick fix," symposium spokesperson Fariss Samarrai says of the St. Mary's situation, "but [the river] would be dead if they hadn't done that. And it's just one of hundreds of streams that are at risk."

This weekend, Galloway, his colleagues, and half a dozen stakeholder organizations host a public symposium in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the SWAS study. Representatives from the EPA, National Parks Service, Southern Environmental Law Center, and others will be on hand to answer questions, discuss solutions, and inform Virginians about the threats facing our mountain streams and wildlife.

The Virginia Mountain Streams Symposium begins at 9am in UVA's Clark Hall with a poster session, information displays, and an informal discussion with the audience. Talks happen 10am-5:30pm. Everything is free and open to the public. Email to register. swas.evsc.virginia.edu/symposium.htm or 924-7817.

TUNES
Pickin' Piedmont: Ragtime and the blues
BY MARK GRABOWSKI

The Piedmont blues is a decidedly different animal from the much-revered Delta blues. Thought to have developed shortly after the Delta blues, the Piedmont blues is regarded as having more of a balance between black and white influences, especially ragtime, than its slightly older brother.

"Finger-picking style" is the common mode of presentation in Piedmont blues– the guitarist's thumb produces the rhythm, and his fingers the melody, rather like the left hand of a pianist versus the right. Hooktown Blues, a new collection of tunes by contemporary blues musicians from the Piedmont region, contains 15 tracks of local musicians splaying their guts out, musically, for the world to hear, and I, for one, am glad they took on the task of this sonic hara-kiri.

Hooktown Blues begins with "Hey, hey, hey," performed and arranged by Ralph Rush, and right off the bat the ragtime influences on this blues style are apparent. A slide-filled acoustic guitar opening brings on Rush's "Hey, hey, hey, hey, baby now… I love you, baby, but I ain't gonna be your dog" sung in a voice deeper than the night. A simple tune, with probably not more than 20 words, it encapsulates the Piedmont blues style perfectly, and a better opener is hard to imagine.

Next up is a combination act of the group Swang, composed of Mary Beth Revak and Jackson Boylan, Rush, and Jeff "isn't he in every bluegrass band around here?" Romano. "Richmond Woman Blues" is a slow but up-looking number, where harmonica and softly finger-picked acoustic guitar provide the backdrop for Revak's plain but emotion-filled voice as she sings of "ruby-red garters" and her "bloomers…rumble seat."

A simple melody tops the standard blues chord progression, but the track is still engaging, perfect lie-about music for a Sunday afternoon.

Corey Harris is up next with the winding "Shadwell to Cismont," and from the get-go, where simple but assured guitar picking and Harris's "mmm's" are your only friends, something comes across in Harris's performance revealing why he is such a renowned artist. Be it energy, ability, self-assurance, or some unknown, there's something in Harris's interpretation that sets him apart. His smoky, world-weary voice matches perfectly in tone with his guitar, and they complement each other without his saying a word.

Ordinary Madness's "Alberta" shows a heavy ragtime influence as well, though a slowed-down version of it. Piano and slow guitar chords support a song of lost-love, probably the catchiest in the bunch, though "Stop & Listen," performed by Bill Adams, is a close second. With his guitar playing a scale during the verse, Adams's occasionally paper-thin voice fits his piece the way Harris's full one does his.

Nickeltown contributed "Hacksaw," a staccato-filled piece of contemporary blues that sounds, well, contemporary. Maybe it's the fact that the piece has more than 20 words, or maybe it's the guitar chords, the– well, sheen of the piece– that won't let anyone mistake it for a traditional number. Paul Curreri's "Beauty Fades" does not have this problem– the man always sounds like he's stepped out of time, from the dusty past, the leather-clad future, or somewhere in between.

The Hooktown Blues CD Release Party is Saturday, October 30, at Rapunzel's at 7:30pm. $5.