THURSDAY, October 21
FAMILY
Dare to Scare: Little goblins ages 5 and up can hear spine-tingling tales and sing silly songs of ghosts and witches, then make a monster mask to take home. 4pm. Free. Registration required. Northside Library, Albemarle Square. 973-7893.

WALKABOUT
Meet the Candidate: Meet Congressional candidate Al Weed and a "representative" of incumbent Virgil Goode. City and county officials will be on hand at this forum sponsored by high school government students. Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville High School. 7:30pm. 244-3100 or .

Naval Aviation History: Retired Vice Admiral Richard C. Allen, "Sweetpea" to his friends, takes a walk down memory lane to recount his years as a Navy pilot in Vietnam, Libya, Lebanon, and other hot spots. 7pm. The Virginia Aviation Museum, Richmond International Airport, 5701 Huntsman Road. 804-236-3622 or vam.smv.org.

Feds Confab: The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Chapter 135 meet to hear from Tom Frederick, Executive Director of Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. 11:30am. Golden Corral restaurant, Route 29. 293-3170.

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.

PERFORMANCE
Gay Couples Tie the Knot: Sort of. Theatergoers of every stripe are invited to attend the performance of a gay wedding, designed to raise awareness and encourage dialogue on this hot-button topic. Gay Marriage Here Today is the creation of Atlanta activist and artist Scott Turner Schofield, who builds the show's script from local opinions on gay marriage-- pro and con. A reception follows the ceremony. 5pm. Art Gallery, Newcomb Hall, UVA. Info: .

The Election: Offstage Theatre presents The Election, a new interactive play by Joel Jones. Learn how the West was won and brush up for that other upcoming election. 8pm. Plan 9's Outer Space on the UVA Corner. $8.

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. Attend a free pre-show lecture at 6pm and hang around after the show to chat with the cast. 7:30pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-28. 540-885-5588.

WALKABOUT AND WORDS
Talk about Democracy: Media commentators Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Todd Gitlin join with philosopher John Searle, considered the spiritual godfather of the student protest movement of the '60s to talk about free speech in America, what it has been, what it hasn't been, and what effect it has had on our lives and history. 2-5pm. Free. UVA's Rotunda Dome Room. 924-0998. See Walkabout feature.

TUNES
Bluegrass Instrumentals at the Prism: Emory Lester and his Ontario-based quartet rock it, old, old school with a bit of bluegrass to brighten your day. $10, 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.

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

Steve Poltz at Gravity Lounge. $15/$10 advance, 8pm.

A Benefit for MHS DI Team: The Pantops Trio (light jazz) at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet. $3, 7-9:30pm.

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

Max Collins at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm.

Insurgency (formerly Weapon of Choice) with Dementia & The Defense at Outback Lodge. $3, 10pm.

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

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

Ambient Electricity with Michael Jackson at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. No cover, 9pm.

FRIDAY, October 22
ART
Unique Fauna: Why does Australia have the greatest concentration and variety of marsupials on earth? UVA environmental sciences prof Hank Shugart talks about the formation of the Australian continent, its flora and fauna, and the disastrous introduction of new species that has resulted in mass extinctions. 7pm. Reservations required. Kluge-Ruhe. 400 Worrell Drive, Peter Jefferson Place, Pantops. 244-0234.

PERFORMANCE
The Election: See Thursday, October 21.

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.

Pumpkinprov: The Improfessionals compete with each other in a carve-off to determine who will be crowned Grand Poobah for creating the best scene with Halloween pumpkins. 8pm. Live Arts Upstage, 123 E. Water St. $8. 977-4177x100.

They're Playing Our Song: Four County Players brings you this romantic comedy by Neil Simon. A big hit when it premiered 25 years ago, it's based (loosely) on the lives of musical duo Marvin Hamlich and Carole Bayer Sager, who composed the score. Runs weekends through October. 8pm. Barboursville Community Center, Route 678, Barboursville. $10-14. 540-832-5355.

PERFORMANCE AND 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. See Family feature.

FAMILY
Shop Early: The Museum Stores of Richmond hold the 10th annual Holiday Shoppers Fair at the Children's Museum of Richmond. The two-day event features a unique collection of merchandise including holiday ornaments, educational toys, jewelry, cards, candles, clothes, and books from Richmond area museum shops such as Agecroft Hall, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Maymont Foundation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and many more. 9:30am-5pm. 2626 W. Broad St. 804-474-7010.

WALKABOUT
Ghostly Past: The ghosts of Charlottesville's past return once a year to, among other things, guide visitors around the historic Downtown district on the Albemarle County Historical Society's Spirit Walk. Tours leave every 15 minutes between 6:30 and 10:30pm, October 22, 23, and 24. $12 ($5 for kids under 12). Tickets available at the Historical Society. 296-1492 or albemarlehistory.org.

WORDS
Highly Accessible: Iowa law professor Peter D. Blanck, a specialist in disability rights law, speaks at the Miller Center on "Americans with Disabilities and their Civil Rights." 11am. 2201 Ivy Road. 924-7236.

Forget Freedom Fries: Brush up your French and come to UVA's Maison Française to hear Philippe Roger, professor of French, speak on "Du maître à penser au maître penseur: grandeur et décadence d'une mythologie française" at 3:30pm. 1404 Jefferson Park Ave. 924-7158.

A Short, Intense History: UVA's Office of African-American Affairs offers a Powerpoint presentation on the history of African Americans and issues of race at the University of Virginia. 5-6:30pm. Room 108, Clark Hall. 924-7923.

Cityscapes: Diane Balmori, a principal in New York's Balmori landscape design firm, presents the annual Harry W. Porter Jr. Lecture, sponsored by UVA's School of Architecture. Her talk, "Measured Landscapes," is at 5pm. 153 Campbell Hall. 982-2921.

Environmentalism Meets Art: Environmental science professor Hank Shugart offers a new look at the imagery abundant in the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection with his talk on "Marsupials in Australia: A Unique Indigenous Fauna." 7pm. 400 Worrell Drive, 244-0234.

Calling All Teachers: Tonight is Educators' Night at Barnes & Noble, a way to celebrate Educator Appreciation Week. What does it mean? UVA's kiddie lit specialist, Joan Kindig, will be on hand to give advice on choosing books for students (7pm). Set some aside, then come back between October 16 and 24 to get a 25 percent discount on all you buy. 984-6598.

Bargains Galore: The University of Virginia Press hauls out its slow movers and offers them at discount prices to the public today and tomorrow at its warehouse sale. Stop by the Warehouse at 500 Edgemont Road, three blocks west of the corner of McCormick and Alderman, between 10am and 6pm to find titles of interest. 982-2932.

TUNES
Bohola at the Prism: Modern Celtic music ensemble Bohola is based in Chicago, and mixes instrumentals with vocals. Tonight's Prism show is the first appearance in Charlottesville. $18/$15 advance, 8pm.

The Second Annual Rapunzel's Songwriters Contest: Thirty songwriters, local celebrity judges, coffee for everyone (who pays). What could be better? Anne Williams (of Acoustic Sunrise fame), Andy Waldeck (Earth to Andy, etc.), and Willie Kirschbaum are judges. No cover, 7:30pm.

King Wilkie with Duende at Starr Hill: Local bluegrass band King Wilkie just won the Emerging Artist of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in Kentucky-- that's how good they are. $10/$8 advance, 9pm.

Food For Animals (DC Noise Hip Hop), VCR (Richmond dance), Horses (Ex-Black Eyes), and Cloeburner (Noise Improv) at Tokyo Rose: Varied sounds for a good cause-- a benefit for Shelter for Help in Emergency, which provides aid and services to victims of domestic violence. $5, 10pm.

Virginia on the Harp at Basic Necessities. No cover, 6:30pm.

CD Release Party: Fountainhead (jam) at West Main. No cover, 10pm.

Lauren Hoffman and Marci Geller at Gravity Lounge. $5, 9pm.

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

Fletcher Bridge (southern rock) at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet. $5, 8pm.

Duburbia (grooves from Virginia Beach) at Miller's. $3, 10:30pm.

Freedom One Ensemble at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm.

Bootyquake at Outback Lodge. $6, 10pm.

Eastern Seaboard (jazz) at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. No cover, 9pm.

SATURDAY, October 23
ART
Colorless?: Graduate student Rebecca Schoenthal speaks on the UVA Art Museum's current exhibit, "Whiteness." 12:30pm. Rugby Road.

FAMILY
Ship Shape: The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center launches its replica of a keelboat in a grand celebration that includes period music, a team of oxen and an authentic covered wagon, cider from Monticello vintage apples, and a chance to climb aboard the boat. A representative from the U.S. Mint will distribute the new Lewis & Clark nickel. 1:30-4pm. Free. Located at the barn past the soccer fields at Darden Towe Park, Rt. 20 north. 979-2425. lewisandclarkeast.com.

Ahoy Mates!: Kids ages 5-8 can hear some swashbuckling tales of pirates, search for hidden treasure, and have some pirate fun (or they'll make you walk the plank!) at Crozet Library. 11am. Free. Registration required. In the old train station on Three Notch'd Road. 823-4050.

Pumpkin Carving: Families get together to design and carve their own jack-o-lantern and hear holiday stories at Scottsville Library. 11am. Free. 330 Bird St. 286-3541.

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 22.

Shop Early: See Friday, October 22.

WORDS
Bargains Galore: See Friday, October 22.

Monthly Book Talk: The book under discussion this month during the New Dominion Saturday morning discussion is Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. John Stillwell leads the discussion. 404 E. Main St. 295-2552.

Big Question: Former UN ambassador Donald F. McHenry, now distinguished professor at Georgetown University, asks the question, "The United Nations: Can the U.S. lead but not dominate?" in his talk at the Miller Center. 11am. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-7236.

Holocaust Survival: Hear Belgian-born psychiatrist and author Henri Parens combine personal and professional commentary on surviving the Holocaust during the second annual Volkan Lecture, sponsored by UVA's Center for the Mind and Human Interaction. Parens speaks at 1pm on "Renewal of Life: Healing from the Holocaust." Room 125, Minor Hall, UVA. 982-1045. See Words feature.

WALKABOUT AND FAMILY
Dig In: Ash Lawn-Highland celebrates Virginia Archaeology Month with a workshop dig on the estate. Participant can learn the basics of the trade as they excavate, sceen, and wash artifacts. House tour and exhibit are included. Tools are supplied. 9am-1pm or 1-5pm. $15 for adults, $12 for children ages 6-11. Call for reservations. 1000 James Monroe Parkway. 293-9539. ashlawnhighland.org.

There She Goes: Miss Blue Ridge Mountains Festival, a prelim to Miss Virginia and the Miss America Scholarship Organization, happens today at Wilson Memorial High School in Fishersville. 7:30pm. 979-3259.

WALKABOUT
Wag Party: Who says pure breeds have all the fun? Dogs of every shape, size, and color strut their stuff at the 4th Annual Magnificent Mutt Show to raise money for the Charlottesville/Albemarle SPCA. Sure, there will be a "Best In Show," but the mutts also vie for "Most Musical," Best Dressed," "Looks Most Like Owner," "Least Obedient," and other titles. Live music, food, dog-friendly vendors, silent auction, and more. 9:30am-4pm. $5 (dog registration fees vary). Keswick Hunt Club. 973-5959 or caspca.org.

Trail Run: Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine sponsors the 9th annual Blue Ridge Burn 5k and 10k trail run. Remember those running shoes in your closet? Put them to work on the trails at Walnut Creek Park. 9am. Fees vary. Register on line at blueridgeoutdoors.com or call Sara at 817-2755 ext. 16.

Tip A Glass: Autumn Hill Vineyard hosts its 18th Annual Barrel Tasting with cellar tours, tastings of 2004 wines, homemade soups, breads, and snack foods. Noon-5pm. $6 fee. 301 River Drive, Stanardsville. 985-6100 or autumhillwine.com.

Ghostly Past: See Friday, October 22.

History Underground: Experience the past up close this weekend at Monticello. The annual Archaeology Open House is a chance to see recent artifacts, tour the excavations, and talk to staff archaeologists about their ongoing work. Guided tours at 11am, 1 and 3pm. Free admission, but visit the Ticket Office for specific information. 984-9812 or monticello.org.

Seasons Are A-Changin': Watch autumn unfold on Jefferson's mountain. Monticello naturalist Fran Boninti leads a natural history walk along the Jefferson Parkway, focusing on the flora and fauna of the mature hardwood forest. 9:30am. $10, reservations required. 984-9822 or monticello.org.

C'ville Up Close: Get to know your city with the Charlottesville Community Design Center's walking tour through city neighborhoods, part of the Center's goal of compiling photographic survey of the people and places of Charlottesville. No fee, lunch provided. 10am-1pm. 101 E. Main Street on the Downtown Mall. 984.2232 or .

Montpelier Roundup: Taste Montpelier's new private label vintage before it hits the shelves, meet the author of the newest Dolley Madison biography, and watch some of the region's most talented canines perform for fame and prizes at the Charlottesville/Albemarle Kennel Club Dog Show. 8am-5pm. $2 per car. Montpelier in Orange County. Montpelier.org or 540-672-2728.

Clip for the Cure: Get a haircut and help raise money for breast cancer research at the same time. Regis Salon at Fashion Square Mall, as part of the 14th annual Clip for the Cure fundraiser, offers haircuts for $15 each. 100 percent of the proceeds go to the charity. 10am-5pm. 973-9331.

Foliage Fest: Visit the Blue Ridge Mountains in all of their fall splendor at Wintergreen Nature Foundation's Fall Foliage Festival. Interpretive nature hikes, workshops, local crafters, kids activities, and more. 10am-4pm. Registration required. twnf.org or 325-8169.

The Orchid Society: Annual fall show and sale. Fashion Square Mall. 9am-9pm. 975-4231.

PERFORMANCE
Stepping Off: The 24th annual Virginia State Marching Band Festival will feature 31 high school bands competing for numerous awads. CHS is looking to extend its "superior rating" streak to 24. 9am-6pm. Theodose Stadium, Melbourne Road. $3-5; children under 6 free. 295-8453.

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. 2pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $10-28. 540-885-5588.

The Election: See Thursday, October 21.

They're Playing Our Song: See Friday, October 22.

Flamenco Workshop: Learn to dance flamenco to the sound of live guitar with Kristi O'Brien. This is the last day of the current session. 4-5pm. ACAC, Albemarle Square, Route 29 North. $10-12 drop-in. 296-7536.

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.

TUNES
The Lascivious Biddies with Plum Jam, Jeff Romano and Erica Olsen, and Tom Proutt and Emily McCormick at Gravity Lounge: A benefit for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Great music supporting a great cause. $25/$20 advance, 7pm.

Erin James, Mike D'Antoni, Vertical Land, and Grasping At Laws at Live Arts Upstage: James' songs of "social conscience," D'Antoni's autobiographical numbers, Vertical Land's harmony-laced bluegrass, and Grasping at Laws' "eclectoplasmacoustic folk'n rock" make for quite an evening of local acoustic talent. $6, 7:30pm.

Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule with a special surprise guest at Rapunzel's: Join the harmonizing duo for another set that puts the love in "love." $5, 7:30pm.

Jesus Jubilee at Pentecostal Outreach Worship Center: The Clark Sisters, Eddie Lee & Anointed, The Melody Trio, The Haire Family, III For Him & The Sullivan Family sing all day. Food available. No cover. 11am-5pm. 379 Reas Ford Road, Suite 100.

Family Weekend Choral Showcase at Old Cabell Hall: Pieces by Chesnokov, Faure, Morley, Paulus, Rachmaninoff, and the American premiere of a British setting of "My love is like a red, red Rose," dot this years Choral Showcase featuring the University Singers, Virginia Women's Chorus and Virginia Glee Club. Come get harmonic. $10/$5 students, 7pm.

Atomic 3: Matthew Willner (guitar and vocals), Houston Ross (bass and vocals) and Drex Weaves (drums) at Atomic Burrito. No cover, 10pm.

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

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

Anna Wolfe (singer/songwriter) at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet. $5, 8pm.

Stone's Stew (jazz) at Miller's $3, 10:30pm.

Fletcher Bridge at Outback Lodge. $6, 10pm.

Emory Lester and Bluegrass Instrumentals at the Prism. $15/$12 advance, 8pm.

Synthetic (special Mining Vinyl edition of Smoove) at Rapture. No cover, 10pm.

SUNDAY, October 24
ART
Grab On: University of Virginia Art Museum curator Stephen Margulies discusses the current exhibit "Lifeline." 2:30pm. Rugby Road.

PERFORMANCE
Underpants Audition: Tryout for this Steve Martin play, where "the building blocks of prurience and profit stack up to comically dizzying heights." Run: January 21-February 5. 7pm. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. 977-4177x100.

Merchant of Venice: See Thursday, October 21. Today's 2pm show does not include a lecture before or a chat afterward. Come on time, enjoy the show, leave.

Teen Acting Workshop: In this master class for teenage actors, yoga instructor Daria T. Okugawa teaches students how strike a balance between tension and ease on the stage with help from the Alexander technique. 1-4pm. Bring 10 to 20 lines of monologue. Live Arts, 123 E. Water St. $25-40. 977-4177x100.

Get Your Second Wind: Second Wind joins the Charlottesville Municipal Band to celebrate the senior musical group's 10th anniversary with a program of marches, show tunes, and movie themes. 3pm. Main stage of the V. Earl Dickinson Building at PVCC. College Road. Free. 961-5376.

Found: Found magazine creator Davy Rothbart, a writer and contributor to public radio's This American Life, unearths some of the wackiest discarded letters, notes, and grocery lists you've ever read. His friend, local singer/songwriter Devon Sproule, offers an extended set to supplement the show. 8pm. Gravity Lounge, 103 S. First St. $5. 977-5590. See Performance feature.

They're Playing Our Song: See Friday, October 22. Today's performance is a 2:30pm matinee.

The Election: See Thursday, October 21.

FAMILY
Headless Horseman Rides Again: See Friday, October 22. Time today: 3pm.

WALKABOUT
Tip A Glass: See Saturday, October 23.

Ghostly Past: See Friday, October 22.

Foliage Fest: See Saturday, October 23. 10am-4pm. Registration required. For details, visit twnf.org or call 325-8169.

History Underground: See Saturday, October 23. 11am, 1 and 3pm. Free admission, but visit the Ticket Office for specific information. 984-9812 or monticello.org.

The Orchid Society: Annual fall show and sale continue. Fashion Square Mall. 9am-9pm. 975-4231.

TUNES
Particle with DJ Logic at Starr Hill: Instrumental electronic act Particle musically cite space as their inspiration, and disco as their method. $14/$12 advance, 8pm. See Tunes feature.

Angela Kelly, pianist Linda Blondel, and violinist Timothy Summers at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church: The group, headed by Kelly, perform works by contemporary composer Gary Schocke, as well as Bach, Enesco, and Dopler. $10/$5 students, 5pm.

Michael Mulvaney (blues) at Kokopelli's Café in Crozet. $3, 7-9:30pm.

Devon Sproule at Gravity Lounge (part of Found performance) 8pm, $5. 977-5590. See Performance feature, page 37.

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

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

MONDAY, October 25
ART
Barbara Talks: The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild's October meeting features a critique by guest artist Barbara Crawford. Members and guests are encouraged to bring a matted, but not framed, painting for the critique. Visitors always welcome. 1pm. 717 Rugby Road. 979-4291.

FAMILY
Nature Explorers: Nature lovers ages 6-11 get a lesson in archaeology at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. This nature club examines artifacts from Native American cultures to learn how scientists figure out what ancient people were like. 4pm. $4. Registration required. 104 Emmet St. 982-4605.

WORDS
Freedom in Farmville: Historian Melvin Patrick Ely shares his book on Israel Hill, a community established by slaves freed by Richard Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's cousin, and a fascinating example of a thriving antebellum African-American community. UVA Civil War historian and Arts & Sciences dean Ed Ayers introduces Ely as he reads from his book, Israel on the Appomattox: A Southern Experiment in Black Freedom from the 1790s through the Civil War, at 5:30pm at New Dominion Bookshop. 404 E. Main St. 295-2552.

Beautiful: The Center for Christian Study presents the first of a four-part lecture series by author Edmund Clowney, "The Beauty of the Lord." Full-time students and senior citizens, free; others, $25. 7pm. 128 Chancellor St. 434-817-1050. studycenter.net.

PERFORMANCE
Underpants Audition: See Sunday, October 24.

Dragapella: The Kinsey Sicks drag-queen quartet perform I Wanna Be a Republican to benefit the local AIDS/HIV Services Group. The show is part of a national tour that The Advocate calls "gut wrenchingly funny." Champagne-and-dessert reception follows. 7pm. $20-35; $75 includes the reception. Gravity Lounge, 103 S. First St. 979-7714.

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

Greg Howard at Miller's. $3, 10pm.

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

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

TUESDAY, October 26
WORDS
Reading and Writing: UVA English professor Mark Edmundson and U. of Maryland English professor David Wyatt team up for an evening of reading from their two new books. Edmundson's Why Read? proposes that in literature, we can find the wisdom and guidance that generations back found in religion-- a new reason to major in English! Wyatt's Accidental Memoir (featured in Words, 10/7/04) explores one man's everyday responses to 9/11. 8pm. UVA Bookstore, atop the Central Grounds Parking Garage. 924-1074.

WALKABOUT
Friendly Skies: Most B-17 bombers haven't seen action since World War II, but this weekend a restored "Flying Fortress" will take to the skies once again at the Virginia Aviation Museum. Climb aboard for a flight to remember in the B-17G "Fuddy Duddy." Flights at 9:30am-1:15pm daily, October 26-27. $395. For details and reservations, 804-236-3622 or vam.smv.org.

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

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

Kym Tuvim and Wendy Repass at Gravity Lounge. $5, 8pm.

Banty Rooster at Miller's. $3, 9:30pm.

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

Matt Nathanson with Charlotte Martin at Starr Hill. $10/$8, 8pm.

American Dumpster at West Main. Last show. See 'em now or never. No cover, 10pm.

WEDNESDAY, October 27
FAMILY
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.

I Made It Myself!: Carpenter and educator Judy Cahill comes to Gordon Avenue Library to introduce young woodworkers ages 5 and up to the joys of building. 4-5:30pm. Free. Registration required. 1500 Gordon Ave. 296-5544.

WORDS
Open Your Eyes: Vamik Volkan, UVA professor emeritus of psychiatry, celebrates publication of his new book, Blind Trust: Large Groups and the Leaders in Times of Crisis and Terror. He discusses its controversial ideas about large-group psychology and today's war on terror at Barnes & Noble at 7pm. Barracks Road Shopping Center, 984-0461. See Words feature.

New Voices: Creative writing MFA students read from their work at 8:30 at New Dominion Bookshop. This week, Anna Shearer shares fiction, and Brittany Perham shares poetry. 404 E. Main St. 295-2552.

WORDS AND WALKABOUT
China Then and Now: Professor Robert Henricks, a specialist on ancient China, speaks on the important advances in our knowledge of Chinese philosophy and Chinese religion in the course of his career. Part of a series of history lectures sponsored by the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. Senior Center, Pepsi Place. 296-1492 or albemarlehistory.org.

WALKABOUT AND FAMILY
Goodnight Moon: Watch as the moon fades from view for 81 minutes at this second of two total lunar eclipses forecast for 2004 and the last until 2007. Unlike others, this eclipse is well timed for viewing in the continental United States. While it will be visible all over town, there will be a free observing session at Ivy Creek Natural Area 9-10:30pm, weather permitting. Astronomers will be on hand with telescopes and to answer questions. 296-0211.

Parla italiano? If you don't, Hook Dish columnist 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.

Apple Hike: Join the Wintergreen Nature Foundation for a hike up to the Mountain Cove Farm Apple Orchard and enjoy a tour of the property and some sweet apple treats. 9:30am. $10 fee ($5 for Foundation members). Call 325-8169 to sign up.

PERFORMANCE
The Most Lamentable Comedy: See Friday, October 22.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: See Saturday, October 23. Today's performance is at 10:30am (school matinee).

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.

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.

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
Cheesy Trivia with M&M Express at Buffalo 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.

Barn Burning and The Pones 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.

Cannonball Coming at Outback Lodge. No cover, 10pm.

Indigenous Womb (hip-hop) at Rapture. 9, 10pm.

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

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

Yonder Mountain String Band at Starr Hill. $15, 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, October 28
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 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 5pm 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. Young ghosts and goblins can parade around the shopping center while participating merchants hand out treats. Prizes will be awarded for scariest, funniest, cutest, most original, and best team costume. 10am-noon. albemarlefamily.com.

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.

PERFORMANCE
A Midsummer Night's Dream: See Saturday, October 23. Today's 7:30pm show is preceded by a lecture at 6pm and audience members are invited to stay afterward to meet the cast.

WORDS
Always Wondered Department: Novelist George Singleton comes to town to read from his new book, Why Dogs Chase Cars, at noon at New Dominion Bookshop, 404 E. Main St. 295-2552.

Thrilling Again: Two days after its official publication date, David Baldacci comes to town to share his 10th novel, Hour Game, a thriller that could take place in our backyard. Starting with discovery of a body wearing a wristwatch in the woods it leads-- as Baldacci's web site puts it-- to "an aristocratic, if dysfunctional, family" and more. 7pm. Barnes & Noble. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 984-0461.

Full-Color Kisses: Jane Mendle, UVA graduate student in clinical psychology, is also a novelist celebrating publication of her first book, Kissing in Technicolor, due from Avon Books this week. She reads twice from the novel this evening, at 7pm and 8:30pm, at Java Java Coffee, Ivy Road. 295-2552.

TUNES
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.

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

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

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

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

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

Upcoming and Ongoing
ART AND WORDS
Look then Write: Starting September 27, area writers are invited to visit the University of Virginia Art Museum to take part in the Writer's Eye competition, an annual competition among poets and prose writers, young and old, who are challenged to turn their responses to art works in the UVA Museum into creative writing. Docents are giving tours of the museum designed to inspire Writer's Eye competitors from now through November 12. Entries due November 19. UVA Art Museum, Rugby Road, 924-7458.

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.

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.

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.

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
Biology 101: Visitors to the Danville Science Center get a lesson in life at the exhibit Head to Toe now through January 9. Read x-rays, examine samples of real livers and lungs, see a real human brain, check out your fingerprints, experience the effects of alcohol ingestion, and more. Open Monday-Saturday 9:30am-5pm, Sunday 1-5pm. $3 for kids ages 4-12, adults $4. 677 Craghead St., Danville. 434-791-5160. dsc.smv.org.

Get Out the Vote: Underage voters have the chance to stand up and be counted at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Through December 5, kids can participate in an interactive exhibit about making decisions and the importance of voting. Free. East end of the Downtown Mall. 977-1025.

Talk About It: Hospice of the Piedmont offers "Journeys through the Seasons," a free bereavement camp for children and teens (6-14) who are affected by the serious illness or death of a loved one. The fall day camp takes place Saturday, October 30 from 8:45am-5pm at Gallastar Equine Center south of Charlottesville. Activities include art therapy, horseback riding, hiking, caring for creatures, games, lunch, and a closing ceremony. Participation is free. For more information and an application call 817-6900 or 800-975-5501.

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.

Get Out the Vote: Underage voters have the chance to stand up and be counted at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Through December 5, kids can participate in an interactive exhibit about making decisions and the importance of voting. Free. East end of the Downtown Mall. 977-1025.

Earthly Power: Visitors to the Science Museum of Virginia can sit back and relax as mountains explode, the ground trembles, and funnel clouds roll by on the larger-than-life IMAX film Forces of Nature now through March 18. Call or check the website for times and tickets. 2500 W. Broad St., Richmond. 800-659-1727. smv.org.

Martian Invasion: Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit discover the importance of exploring the Red Planet in a new multimedia planetarium show Mars Mania at the Science Museum of Virginia through January 9. Included with exhibit admission. Call for show times and other information. 2500 W. Broad St., Richmond. 800-659-1727. smv.org.

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
Holiday Help: Do you or does someone you know need help with food, toys, or clothing for children this holiday season? The Salvation Army can help. Apply for assistance with the Christmas Clearing House October 25-29, 9am-6pm daily. Sign up at the Rivanna Ridge Shopping Center, the Giant on Pantops, and at 1938 Abbey Road. Bring a picture ID, social security card (and S.S. cards for each child) and verification of income and expenses. For more information, call 295-4058.

Trash Amnesty: Get rid of your bulky waste during Albemarle County's fall amnesty days. Furniture and mattresses can go October 16, large appliances on October 23, and 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 is offering 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.

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.

Glass-Blowing Workshop: Try your hand at glass blowing with a one-day class at Sunspot Studios in Staunton. You'll get to watch a master in action, and then jump in to create a paperweight of your own. 9am and 12:30pm sessions (the later class delves into more advanced techniques) through September. $85 fee for the paperweight workshop ($150 for the advanced class). 202 S. Lewis St. in Staunton near the old train station. 540-885-0678 or for info and reservations.

Streamwatch Water Monitoring: Join John Murphy of the Rivanna Conservation Society for a trip to assess watershed health at several sites along the Rivanna River. Contact the RCS for info and to find other certified monitors in your area. 589-7576 or .

NAACP Meeting: The local chapter of the NAACP meets on the second Monday of each month. 7pm. Tonsler Park Community Center; Cherry Avenue near Fifth Street. 293-4044.

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.

On October 23, the University of Virginia Art Museum opens "Whiteness, A Wayward Construction," a collaborative exhibition by 24 artists exploring "the concept of whiteness as an ideology of power," which runs through December 23. Also opening October 23: "Lifeline: Movement and Time in Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Collection," On October 26, the museum welcomes video artist Bill Viola's "Six Heads," in conjunction with the Virginia Film Festival. Both of the latter shows run through November 23. 155 Rugby Road. 924-3952.

Piedmont Virginia Community College presents abstract paintings by Alan O'Neal and James Brewer through October 27. V. Earl Dickinson Building, 501 College Drive. 977-2001.

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.

Isabel Mclean presents her show "Detritus: A Mixed Media Memoir" at the Renaissance School through October 31. 406 E. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 984-1952.

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.

During October, Main Street Market galleria presents works in pastel and watercolor by Nancy Galloway. The show runs through the end of the month. 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 is donated 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." Throuogh November 7. 717 Rugby Road. 293-8179.

Angelo is hosting "Interpretations," acrylic paintings by Talia Lanyi, through October 30. 220 E. Main St. 971-9256.

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.

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. 244-0234.

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 the end of October. 112 E. Main St., under the Jefferson Theater. 242-4212.

For the month of 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.

Visit Sage Moon Gallery to see 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-- watercolors, oils, pastels, and mixed media-- are on display at the Albemarle County Courthouse. 501 E. Jefferson Court Sq. 296-8484.

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.

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

During October, the Mudhouse shows artwork by Abby Kasonik. 213 W. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 984-6833. See Art Feature.

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 offers "One Subject, Different Images: Exploring Photographic Alternatives," photography by Ben Greenberg, through 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.

Oakencroft Winery presents "Places Need Keepers," oil and pastel paintings by Barbara Wallace, throuogh October 24. 1486 Oakencroft Lane (three miles W. of Charlottesville on Garth Road). 296-4188.

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

Radar

At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts "Selections: 20th Century Latin American Art in the VMFA Collection" hangs through March 13. 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.

Ombra's Café in Crozet presents Georgia Barbour's "Photographs of Vietnam" through October. 973-8642.

Until October 31, Lindsay Michie Eades' exhibit of oil paintings, "People and Places," will be on view 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, 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," 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 Rts. 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 E. Main St., Orange. 540-672-7311.

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

Dave Moore's paintings are at Caffe Bocce during October. 330 Valley St., Scottsville. 434-286-4422.

Sweet Briar College offers paintings by Nancy Witt in its Babcock Gallery, and "Out of the Darkness," photography by Carrie Cann, in the Babcock Fine Art Center Lobby through October 17. In the Benedict Art Gallery, photographs by Brad Hamilton are on display through October 24. Sweet Briar. 434-381-6248.

The Barn Swallow features pottery by Janice Arone and Mary Ann Burke, plus other handcrafted artwork. 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 Communications Arts Guild invites entries for its Promotional Postcard Design Competition. Deadline is November 3. Guidelines are available at comarguild.org/postcard.

FEATURES/FEATURES/FEATURES
ART
World-weary: Abby Kasonik's bleak vistas
BY LAURA PARSONS
A date with despair-- that's how I remember the midwinter return to college. It wasn't the post-boozy-New-Year's-Eve prospect of getting back to the books. It was the eternal hour-long drive down I-35 from Minneapolis to Northfield, Minnesota. On either side of the asphalt, flat snow-covered fields stretched greyly toward an empty horizon beneath a drab, overcast sky.

The melancholia of those endless miles washed over me again as I viewed Abby Kasonik's vacant yet moving landscapes, currently on view at the Mudhouse. Disconsolate. Dejected. Desolate. All the down-and-out D-words apply.

If you're prone to depression (another d), be sure to dose up on Zoloft or Prozac before you see this show.

Kasonik's sunless paintings resonate with echoes of German painter Anselm Keifer's bleak post-Holocaust landscapes. Both use furrowed fields to create a sense of vastness, with lines angling inward to a distant vanishing point, and both incorporate unexpected media-- in this case plaster and shellac-- to add surface dimension.

But Kasonik puts more emphasis on unsettled skies hovering over her almost featureless plains, often halving her images between earth and ether. And, unlike Kiefer, Kasonik leaves her terrains devoid of life. Manmade objects may be present-- a railroad track or fence posts-- but nothing animate moves; nothing grows.

In "Untitled Ashes," the most minimal of Kasonik's four larger works, a black field sweeps out to the left in the lower two thirds of the painting. The barren expanse ends at the edge of a murky brown-grey sky. Although monochromatic, the field's thickly dark layers roil in silence. Plaster appears chipped away, and paint peels back, crackles, and puckers, adding a physical dimension to the sense of desolation. The wan, washed-out sky resembles what remains after ages-old wallpaper has been stripped from a decrepit house.

Throughout her work, Kasonik sticks to a palette of greys, blacks, and browns, mixed with weather-beaten blues and sunken greens. The exception to the rule is the comparatively bright "Austin," where horizontal strokes of ochre and yellowy browns create a desiccated landscape on either side of a central blue-green train track stretching upward through the center of the painting. On the left, Kasonik augments her brushwork with pasted-in strips of typed text, seemingly random and sometimes upside-down. Although the experiment is admirably bold, the effect isn't entirely successful.

Forlorn as they are, Kasonik's paintings hypnotize, transfixing the eye on their promise-less horizons. And despite the desolation-- or maybe because of it-- we watch and wait. (Cue despondent Cowboy Junkies music.)

Abby Kasonik's plaster, oil, and acrylic on wood paintings hang at the Mudhouse through the end of October. 213 W. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 984-6833.

FAMILY
Oooooo: Shiver at Icabod's scary ride
BY LINDA KOBERT
When the harvest has been gathered and the chill wind starts to blow, there's a favorite tale often told in certain neighborhoods 'round the winter evening fire. It's the mysterious disappearance of the oddly eccentric school master Ichabod Crane.

In the area around the enchanted 18th century Dutch colonial settlement known as Sleepy Hollow, it's said the young pedagogue was possessed of a great appetite for stories of the supernatural. But after supping on such imaginative narratives with neighbors, wending his way through the swamps and forests, the skittish Ichabod would start and quake at every subtle sound of nature, ready at any moment to give up the ghost. And when he finds himself confronted by the legendary specter of a headless horseman, poor Ichabod might actually succumb.

Here in Charlottesville, the folks at Old Michie Theatre bring this spine-tingling tale to the stage in a dramatic adaptation of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Now in its 10th season, this annual performance has become a Halloween tradition around town with families-- and the young actors who perform it-- returning year after year for yet another dose of goose bumps.

"It's not Halloween without it," declares director Frances Furlong. "We have a little dancing, a little music, some ghost stories, some special effects. It's a great way to get into the spirit of Halloween."

This main stage production also lets the audience get into the play.

"We break down that imaginary fourth wall between the audience and the actors," Furlong said.

Kids from the audience-- especially those who sit in the first row (hint, hint)-- are invited to come up and dance in the frolic scene or help Brom Bones plot a trick to play on Ichabod Crane. Those who are too shy to enter the spotlight can still be part of the party when Mama Van Tassel and Katrina serve treats to the audience. And in the dead of night when the headless horseman rides, everyone feels the chill.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow opens Friday, October 22, for six performances now through October 31. Parental discretion is advised. 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 3pm on Sundays. $7.50 tickets available at the door, 221 E. Water St., across from the parking garage where patrons can get two hours of free parking with a validated parking stamp. 977-3690. oldmichie.com.

WORDS
Not fading away: Old radicals talk free speech
BY SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK
We might as well call it Vamik Volkan Week.

First there's a two-day conference on group trauma, sponsored by UVA's Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction, which Volkan founded in 1987. During the conference, author, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor Henri Parens will deliver the second annual Volkan Lecture, "Healing from the Holocaust."

Then Volkan himself will discuss his new book, Blind Trust: Large Groups and Their Leaders in Times of Crisis and Terror. Throughout, the theme is projecting psychoanalytic theory into the political dimension, the intellectual endeavor for which Volkan has gained international renown.

In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made the bold statement that 70 percent of Arab-Israeli problems were psychological. Vamik Volkan disagreed. To his mind-- trained as a psychiatrist with long ties to the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute-- the figure was more like 90 percent. [Volkan's colleague Andy Thomson wrote the highly controversial September 30 Hook cover story entitled "Why they Kill."--editor]

Volkan's outspoken conviction earned him on a place on a new Committee on Foreign Affairs of the American Psychiatric Association. A faculty member at UVA since 1963, now professor emeritus, Volkan has for 25 years been at the forefront of the new field of political psychology. He has, as he puts it, "rubbed elbows" with Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, Yassir Arafat, Desmond Tutu-- all world leaders who have hoped that psychological understanding could contribute to world peace.

Volkan's new book exemplifies the sort of work that has made him famous. Far from light reading, it's an in-depth psychological study of the dynamics of what he calls "large-group identity": bonds that others might call nationalism, ethnicity, patriotism (all words whose implications Volkan carefully parses). In times of crisis, a large group can undergo regression, just as an individual can regress when threatened. Volkan writes of a woman who craved macaroni and cheese after 9/11: Feeling threatened, she sought childhood comfort food.

When large groups experience regression, Volkan argues, events can lead to "a collective state of developmentally primitive psychological functioning." In his book, he lists signs and symptoms of this condition, which include a group rallying blindly around its leader, a group feeling entitled to do anything to maintain its shared identity, a group sharing images that depict and dehumanize enemy groups.

In short, Volkan sees analogies between behaviors on both sides of the battle today. In psychoanalytic terms, the Taliban, al Qaeda, and bin Laden are analogous to Bush and Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft, homeland security, Abu Ghraib. All shows signs of the condition in which, to use Volkan's words, "large groups [have] become susceptible to political propaganda, maladaptive political decision-making, and massive destructive behavior: large-group regression, the experience I call 'plunging back into a world of fear and desire.' "

Henri Parens gives the Second Annual Volkan Lecture on "Renewal of Life-- Healing from the Holocaust" Saturday, October 23, at 1pm in 125 Minor Hall, UVA. 982-1045. Vamik Volkan discusses his book, Blind Trust, at Barnes & Noble Wednesday, October 27, at 7pm. 984-0461.

PERFORMANCE
Found! Life stories in little snippets
BY ROBERT ARMENGOL
For Davy Rothbart, there's hardly a scrap of notepaper that doesn't tell a story, embody some great mystery or sadness or passion, or provoke some mighty bit of laughter.

"Since grade school," he writes, "I've been collecting notes, letters, photographs and other stuff I found on the ground." And so begins the compilation of flotsam with which he's filled an occasional magazine and now a half-inch volume from Simon & Schuster called Found.

Rothbart visits Charlottesville this weekend to read from his book at Gravity Lounge-- with musical accompaniment from his brother. Together, they dramatize their favorite finds, sometimes with help from the audience.

A writer and contributor to public radio's This American Life, Rothbart began soliciting found objects from all over the country a few years ago, inspired by a handwritten note he found on his car on a snowy night in Chicago.

The note was intended for someone else, a guy named Mario. In it, a girlfriend makes liberal use of the F-word in accusing Mario of infidelity. "I hate you," writes "Amber," who quickly adds a postscript: "Page me later."

That sort of painful honesty typifies the best of Rothbart's finds. "I was so moved by its blend of anger and longing that I knew I had to find a way to share it with the world," he writes.

Pretty soon, submissions to Found magazine began arriving by the boxful. Rothbart had discovered a kind of disconnected underground of textual voyeurs, people who (perhaps like all of us) are unable to resist the temptation to read others' private thoughts, postcards from an attic, love letters left at bus stops, grocery lists dropped in parking lots, notes passed in high school physics class.

Many of the finds are long and rambling letters-- from jail, from a battlefield, from nowhere in particular. Others blur the line between the ridiculous and the sublime, like one to-do list with three items improbably yoked together: "Roach spray, Batteries, Water Mellon."

It's sort of postmodern anthropology taken to its most daring extreme. Raw and largely uninterrupted, jumbled together from a mish-mash of human conditions-- unfulfilled dreams, unbridled rage, missed opportunities, wistful hopes-- these thoughts are ordered by nothing more than their placement on the page. What the heck do we make of them?

Singer/songwriter Devon Sproule, a local celebrity and a friend of Rothbart's, has one answer. She took four of her favorite finds and wove them into a doleful tender tune called "Julie." Sproule will play that song and others during an extended set coupled with Rothbart's appearance.

If you go, you might also get to hear about how the two of them met. The story is too good to be untrue, so I won't ruin it here. You'll have to find out for yourself& maybe they'll write it on a slip of paper and drop it to be found.

Davy Rothbart reads from his book, Found, and contemplates the art of accidental documentary as Devon Sproule offers a cameo set. October 24, 8pm. Gravity Lounge, 103 S. First St. $5. 977-5590. foundmagazine.com.

WALKABOUT
Nations on the couch: Group regression takes a toll
BY TIM SPRINKLE
The University of California at Berkeley was a strange place in 1964. On-campus political activism was growing, the '50s-era administration had decided to keep the peace by silencing dissident voices, and, to many students, their right to free speech was under attack.

But things were changing. Within a year, the student-led Free Speech Movement was making noise, sparking several of the school's earliest mass protests and laying the groundwork for a decade of social activism on the Berkeley campus.

John Searle, then a young philosophy professor at UCB, garnered headlines as the first faculty member to become active with the Free Speech Movement, risking both his job and his reputation in the academic community by doing so. It's been 40 years since he first took a stand, but Searle, still at Berkeley, has remained an outspoken advocate for freedom of speech.

"It's really a constant battle," he says of the issue now. "There's always someone trying to impose limits on what we can and cannot say, but overall I think free speech in this country is pretty healthy. People are& frightened by the Bush administration, and I can certainly understand that, but so far I haven't detected any serious damage in terms of free speech."

Todd Gitlin, professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia, thinks that the question these days isn't so much the freedom to speak our minds, but rather the access to get our views out to the people who need to hear them.

"At one level, we have a fairly porous chat fest going on all the time thanks to the Internet," he says, "so just about anybody who wants to can go out and shout their opinion. But it's still access to the largest number of eyeballs and ears that's the barrier for most people. We have more ways to get our opinion out there, but our ability to speak to large numbers is shrinking."

On Thursday, October 21, Gitlin, Searle, and University of Minnesota communications professor Karlyn Kohrs Campbell will explore "the evolving nature of our freedom of speech and the ways that politicians, the media, and special interest groups use that freedom to influence the public."

The third annual Labrosse-Levinson Lecture is sponsored by UVA's Center on Religion and Democracy and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. It's a chance to not only learn about the current state of the First Amendment, but also to delve into the ways the free speech movement has changed over the past 40 years.

The Labrosse-Levinson lecture, "Discourse and Democracy," happens in the Rotunda Dome Room 2-5pm Thursday, October 21, free and open to the public. For parking information, speaker bios, and other information, call 924-0998 or visit the Center's website at religionanddemocracy.lib.virginia.edu.

TUNES
Crystal-ball gazing: Great funk movement ahead
BY MARK GRABOWSKI

Call me Cassandra: I can see the upstairs of Starr Hill on the night of October 24 as clearly as you can see your last blind date. Remember the food in his teeth? The uncomfortable aroma? The quiet desperation in the voice?

I see a crowded room, divided into three parts. There are a) a large number of hangers-on stuck to the walls, b) a slightly smaller number of gentlemen and ladies (many wearing sandals) dancing with reckless abandon and flailing limbs on the dance floor in front of the stage, c) and an even larger number of individuals somewhere in between the two poles-- loose enough to nod to the pulsating organic rhythm from the stage, conservative enough to feel self-conscious doing anything more.

The organizing force behind these three groups is the electronic funk quartet Particle, who are riding high on the strength of their debut release, Launchpad.

Launchpad is a clever mix of space-inspired sounds (or at least our stereotypical idea of what space sounds like-- lots of whooshing noises) and organic instrumental jamming, combined with one goal: to get people moving.

Disco beats and wah-wah guitar float on a sea of continually expanding keyboard sounds, moving from the mystical to the exact and back again-- and that's only the first song. Further into the album, the mood is set for a little love, as probably the sexiest bass line I've heard all year leads thoughts down from the heavens back to the world of the flesh.

Launchpad begins with a track by the same name, introduced by the old-echoey-women-reading-off-physics-problems trick to imply space travel, an idea supported by soft sounds resembling a rocket taking flight. From there, disco drums pound away as some great keyboard noodling gets down, and soon the whole track is phased in and out (a sound like the song is under a down comforter, occasionally peeking out).

"Metropolis" is up next, and if you're looking for a constant groove, here it is. The chief difference between this song and the first track is the drumbeat, though it does poke its head into disco occasionally-- the guitar and keyboard parts are fairly indistinguishable.

Constant groove starts to be an Achilles heel for the group by song three, "The Elevator," as you begin to wonder if you're actually in the next song, asleep, or in some kind of time warp. "Below Radar" is where things get (sexily) interesting again, pulsating keyboards and slow drums switching the '70s references from disco beats to wah-wah infused porn.

Do you act like you're under Medusa's gaze in public forums? Particle just might be your cure.

Particle with DJ Logic at Starr Hill, October 24. $14/$12 advance, 8pm.

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